Tag: Barry Sheerman

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to reduce the number of false personal injury claims.

Dominic Raab

This Government is building on the significant reforms of the coalition Government to tackle fraudulent and unnecessary personal injury claims. We are looking forward to receiving the recommendations of the Insurance Fraud Taskforce later this year and will announce further reform in this important area in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with representatives from the Icelandic government on debt owed to (a) UK taxpayers and (b) the public purse by Icelandic banks.

Harriett Baldwin

HM Government officials continue to engage with the Icelandic authorities in order to complete the recovery process from the failed Icelandic banks. In total, £8.64 billion was paid out by HM Treasury to compensate UK depositors of the Icelandic banks Kaupthing, Singer and Friedlander Ltd (KSF), Heritable Bank plc and Landsbanki (Icesave).

All eligible UK retail depositors were fully compensated. To date, the Treasury has recovered £7.71 billion from the three estates. The Government expects to make a full recovery of the outstanding funds from the estates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of whether the current sentencing framework for mothers with children takes sufficient account of the needs of those children.

Caroline Dinenage

Sentencing guidelines are issued by the independent Sentencing Council. They are available on the Sentencing Council website. They confirm that the gender of the offender is irrelevant for sentencing purposes in accordance with Equalities duties. They also confirm that where the offender is the sole or primary carer for dependent relatives, this should be taken into account for sentencing purposes as a mitigating factor.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all GPs are trained in awareness of the diagnostic pathway for people seeking a diagnosis of autism.

Alistair Burt

In 2015, new statutory guidance building on the 2010 Autism Strategy, and the 2014 Think Autism update, set out expectations for local authorities and the National Health Service in relation to autism training. It is the responsibility for the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council, to ensure newly qualified pharmacists and health visitors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. The Department has worked the Royal College of Nursing, and Skills for Health and Skills for Care, to develop autism training material. Health Education England is also working with the Royal Colleges and other stakeholders to increase awareness and knowledge of autism for NHS health professionals.

The Department has also provided financial support to the Royal College of General Practitioners’ clinical priorities programme on autism which is undertaking practical work on autism awareness and training for general practitioners (GPs). GPs should be aware of what the local arrangements are for making referrals for autism diagnosis and how to access appropriate post-diagnostic interventions.

NHS England has commenced a programme to visit clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to identify and share good practice in accessing timely autism diagnosis and post diagnostic support. NHS England with support from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services is to visit a selection of areas to talk to CCGs and local authorities about their Autism Diagnostic Care Pathways. A report on the work will be completed by the end of April 2016.

We know that people with autism can experience common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, as well as other mental illnesses. Over £400 million has been invested in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies to ensure access to talking therapies for those who need them, including those with autism.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve the diagnosis and treatment of lipoedema.

Jane Ellison

No such analysis has been made.

There are several different treatments available for the management of lipoedema such as compression therapy, exercise and massage. There is limited evidence on the efficacy of liposuction for the treatment of lipoedema, and it is not routinely available on the National Health Service.

In May 2014, the Royal College of General Practitioners, in partnership with the charity Lipoedema UK, developed and published an e-learning module for general practitioners on the diagnosis and management of lipoedema. The module was endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing and can be found at the following link:

elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/info.php?id=146&popup=0

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with social enterprises and other small and medium-sized enterprises about the potential effect of the closure of the Growth Accelerator Programme.

Anna Soubry

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills continues to have discussions with businesses and their representatives. They have told us that there is strong appetite in the private sector to fill the gap in the market and develop sustainable offers of support.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of China’s record in observing the agreements made in the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong.

Mr Hugo Swire

During his meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on 5 January and in London on 4 February, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), stressed the importance of respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of all residents of Hong Kong. He also made clear our expectations that the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law for Hong Kong should be respected. During those meetings, China reaffirmed its commitment to the implementation of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ and Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy.

During the visit to London by Hong Kong Chief Executive C Y Leung on 15 and 16 October 2015, the Foreign Secretary and I also discussed with him the importance of Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and the need to preserve the rights and freedoms which are enshrined in the Joint Declaration.

The Foreign Secretary’s most recent six-monthly report to the House, published on 11 February (covering the period 1 July–31 December 2015), urged “the Chinese and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region governments to reassure the people of Hong Kong that the fundamental rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents will continue to be fully protected, and respected by all, in accordance with the Joint Declaration and Basic Law.” The report also stated that “while we assess that during the reporting period ‘One Country, Two Systems’ has, in very many areas, continued to function well, there have been some areas which have given grounds for concern. These revolve principally around the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Joint Declaration, including academic freedom and the freedom of the press.” We will continue to raise such issues with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities.

We aim to provide consular assistance to all British citizens, and to dual nationals in their country of other nationality in exceptional circumstances, in line with our consular guidance. We acknowledge that some countries do not accept dual nationality.

In the case of British citizen Mr Lee Po, the Government continues to call at the highest level on the Chinese Government for his
immediate return to Hong Kong. Despite formal requests which we continue to make, we have not been granted consular access to Mr Lee. We also stand ready to provide consular assistance to Mr Lee’s family.

The Government will continue to monitor rights and freedoms in Hong Kong through the Foreign Secretary’s six-monthly reports.

The full report can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/six-monthly-report-on-hong-kong-july-to-december-2015

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the capital and revenue costs of free schools that (a) have been provided to date, (b) are to be provided in 2016-17 and (c) are projected to be provided between 2017 and 2020.

Edward Timpson

The Department for Education’s accounts show that the total capital spend on free schools up to the end of 2013-14 was £1.029bn; the accounts for following years will be published in due course. The capital costs of individual projects are published once contracts are finalised and are no longer commercially sensitive. They are published, along with the costs of sixteen projects in London and one project in Kirklees, on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-funding-for-open-free-schools

The total pre- and post-opening revenue expenditure for free school projects that opened in 2011 to 2013 is also published on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/revenue-expenditure-for-free-schools

We plan to publish updated revenue expenditure for free schools that were opened in 2014 and 2015 within the next few weeks. This data will be updated annually each Autumn.

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people with autism were admitted to hospital as an emergency in 2015.

Alistair Burt

The Department does not collect information on how many of its staff have received autism awareness training. However following the success of its own pilot sessions, the Department will be offering further autism awareness sessions to staff over the summer.

Through the Cross Government Autism Strategy, most recently updated as Think Autism, we have worked alongside people with autism, their families and carers to improve their lives and mortality through better access to healthcare by making adjustments for their conditions. This includes supporting the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGPs) Autism Initiative to improve understanding of autism amongst GPs.

Information on how many people with autism were admitted to hospital as an emergency in 2015 is not collected by the Department.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in other NATO countries on the conflict in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK Government regularly engages with our key allies about the conflict on Yemen. Along with our international UN partners we welcomed the UN-led talks and encourage the Yemeni parties to engage constructively in these and implement the commitments made.