Tag: Ben Howlett

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what timetable he proposes for legislative reform of the regulation of health care professionals.

Ben Gummer

This Government is grateful for the work of the Law Commissions of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in reviewing the regulation of health and (in England) social care professionals.

The Law Commissions made 125 recommendations to reform the existing complex and burdensome regulatory system. The joint four UK country response to the Law Commissions was published on 29 January 2015 which accepted wholly or in part the vast majority of its recommendations.

The Department is currently reviewing how best to take forward the work of the Law Commissions. We hope to be able to provide an update on this work soon.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will reduce the level of VAT applicable to construction companies involved in the conversion of non-residential buildings to residential use.

Mr David Gauke

The sale of, or long lease in, non-residential buildings that have been converted to residential use is, subject to certain criteria, zero-rated for VAT.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-02-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the proportion of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who applied to university in each of the last six years.

Joseph Johnson

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) publishes data on application and entry rates for full-time undergraduate courses.

The tables show the proportion of 18 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds who applied to university by the main January deadline (application rate) and the proportion of 18 year olds that accepted a place during a UCAS application cycle (entry rate).

Table 1: Application rates for English 18 year olds from POLAR3 quintile 1 areas (for entry in year)
2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
15.2%	18.0%	18.6%	17.9%	18.9%	20.4%	21.0%	22.0%

Table 2: Entry rates for English 18 year olds from POLAR3 quintile 1 areas (for entry in year)
2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
13.6%	14.2%	15.1%	15.1%	16.4%	17.8%	18.5%

Notes:

1. Data published by UCAS covers full-time undergraduate applications. Table 1 shows the application rates by the main January deadline.
2. Data for entry rates in Table 2 include acceptances across the whole application cycle.
3. Disadvantage is measured by POLAR quintile 1 an area based measure of low participation.
4. Source of data for application rates: UCAS ‘Application rates by the January Deadline’ report for the 2016 cycle (underlying data for Figure 14) – published in February 2016.
5. Source of data for entry rates: UCAS ‘2015 End of Cycle’ report (underlying data for Figure 65) – published in December 2015.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consultations the Joint Work and Health Unit has undertaken with external groups on its work since its creation.

Priti Patel

The Work and Health Unit has been established to lead the drive for improving work and health outcomes for people with disabilities and long term health conditions, as well as improving prevention and support for people absent from work through ill health and those at risk of leaving the workforce.

Since Q1 2014 the number of disabled people in employment has increased by around 365,000 people, with a total of 3.3million disabled people now in work as of Q1 2016.

The Unit will build on this progress by improving integration across healthcare and employment services as well as supporting employers to recruit and retain more disabled people and people with long term health conditions. We have set up work-streams focused on delivery workforce, fitness for work, culture change and stakeholder engagement, employers and building the evidence base through developing a ‘test and learn’ approach.

We have been seeking and listening to the views of people that use current health, care and employment services, engaging with charities and other stakeholders, to understand what works and what needs to change and will continue to engage at all levels over the coming months.

The Work and Health Unit is leading the process for preparing a green paper which will be published later this year that will begin the consultation about how to improve support for people with disabilities and long term health conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to work with businesses to improve the health of the workforce.

Jane Ellison

The Workplace Wellbeing Charter, published by Public Health England (PHE) provides a national standard for employers of all sizes and sectors with a systematic, evidence-based approach to workplace health improvement. The Charter is commissioned and coordinated by local authorities to support coherent action by businesses to improve the health of the local population.

The Workplace Wellbeing Charter consolidates the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance relating to employer action. Organisations are accredited across critical areas such as leadership, specific health issues, systems for absence management and health and safety at three levels; commitment, achievement and excellence.

PHE has worked with the Work@Health Centre, Alzheimer’s Society and British Heart Foundation and other partners to develop a series of topic based guides for businesses to support action on specific areas such as the food environment in workplaces and promoting physical activity and supporting carers.

PHE is currently working with Business in the Community on a new resource for businesses focused specifically on addressing mental health issues building on the existing best practice and considering the transferable learning between business sectors and businesses of different sizes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Highways Act 1835 to allow for the use of self-balancing scooters, segways and z-boards on roads.

Andrew Jones

To maintain the UK’s position as a world-leading location to test, develop, and use connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies, the Department for Transport is planning a wider review of domestic regulations by Summer2017. The review is at an early stage.

While the Highways Act 1835 will form part of the review, decisions have yet to be taken as to which regulatory changes will be necessary to support CAV technologies, or if the review will cover other forms of transport such as Segways, or so-called ‘hoverboards’, ‘balancing scooters’ and ‘z-boards’, all of which may already be used on private land.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to expand access to treatments for severe asthma in the South West of England.

Jane Ellison

Services for people with severe asthma are commissioned by NHS England in line with national specifications to ensure patient numbers are sufficient to support safe services.

We are advised by NHS England that in the South West there are currently treatment hubs in Bristol and Taunton that provide services for children; and services for adult in hubs at Bristol, Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth, Swindon and Gloucestershire.

NHS England advises that other asthma services are commissioned locally, via community providers and primary care (general practice and pharmacy).

In the constituency of Bath, we are informed by NHS England that asthma is largely managed by primary care providers, while more complex patients with severe or difficult asthma are seen by the acute respiratory teams. We are assured by NHS England that secondary care services in the area are both appropriate and accessible for patients with acute asthma and that NHS Bath and North East Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group has no plans to change or expand its existing asthma provision at this time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what workstreams have been established by the Joint Work and Health Unit; and when each such workstream is expected to report.

Priti Patel

The Work and Health Unit has been established to lead the drive for improving work and health outcomes for people with disabilities and long term health conditions, as well as improving prevention and support for people absent from work through ill health and those at risk of leaving the workforce.

Since Q1 2014 the number of disabled people in employment has increased by around 365,000 people, with a total of 3.3million disabled people now in work as of Q1 2016.

The Unit will build on this progress by improving integration across healthcare and employment services as well as supporting employers to recruit and retain more disabled people and people with long term health conditions. We have set up work-streams focused on delivery workforce, fitness for work, culture change and stakeholder engagement, employers and building the evidence base through developing a ‘test and learn’ approach.

We have been seeking and listening to the views of people that use current health, care and employment services, engaging with charities and other stakeholders, to understand what works and what needs to change and will continue to engage at all levels over the coming months.

The Work and Health Unit is leading the process for preparing a green paper which will be published later this year that will begin the consultation about how to improve support for people with disabilities and long term health conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support the conversion of cars to run on liquefied petroleum gas.

Andrew Jones

Cars that have been constructed or modified to run on gas, including Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), benefit from a £10 reduction in tax levels for Alternative Fuel Cars under Vehicle Excise Duty. Owners of LPG cars also benefit from paying lower fuel duty on LPG than would be paid on petrol and diesel.

In addition amendments made to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) earlier this year increased the potential rewards for those supplying biopropane (Liquefied Petroleum Gas produced from a biological source) under the RTFO scheme.

As part of the department’s 2014 Clean Vehicle Technology Fund (CVTF) grant scheme, Birmingham City Council were also awarded £500,000 to enable the conversion of 80 older black cabs from diesel to LPG which will help improve air quality on some of the most polluted roads.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with businesses on increasing the gender balance on corporate boards.

Caroline Dinenage

I have met with many business representatives since taking on the role of Minister for Women and Equalities and always ensure I use these opportunities to raise the issue of achieving a better gender balance on boards. More recently (October 2015) I spoke at the launch of Lord Davies’s final report where I was able to engage with a broad range of stakeholders who all have a key role to play in this agenda including Executive Search Firms, Chairs and Investors.

Lord Davies’s collaborative approach, which engaged all parties, was crucial in achieving the unprecedented number of women on boards we now have in the FTSE 350. The Government looks forward to continuing this approach with the new review on the executive pipeline.