Tag: Cat Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Post Office has spent on refurbishing the premises of (a) the 39 Crown post offices it is proposing to franchise and (b) the three Crown post offices the Post Office is proposing to close since January 2010.

George Freeman

Post Office Limited runs and manages its Crown post offices. Franchising of these offices is the operational responsibility of the Post Office.

I have asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on these matters. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of youth centres planned for closure in 2016-17.

Mr Rob Wilson

It is the responsibility of local authorities to decide how to allocate funding for youth services, according to local need. Individual local authorities would be best placed to advise on any youth centres that are planned for closure in their local area in 2016-17.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 11 March 2015 to Question 226385, how many local authorities supported by PHE are developing withdrawal services for people affected by addiction to prescription benzodiazepine and drug tranquilisers.

Jane Ellison

Public Health England is currently working with two local authorities and one other area which is part of a Clinical Commissioning Group who want to improve their responses to addiction to medicines. These improvements are wide-ranging and do not necessarily involve developing bespoke services for people affected by specific medicines. There are also other areas which are looking at how they respond to addiction to medicines locally.

Local authorities are responsible for commissioning effective services to meet the need of their local populations which experience dependence on any medicines or drugs, including treatment for people dependent on prescription benzodiazepines and tranquillisers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-01-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps UK forces take to avoid civilian casualties when targeting (a) oil facilities and (b) other infrastructure in Syria.

Penny Mordaunt

Regardless of the type of target being considered, the UK performs an assessment prior to every UK strike to assess the likelihood of any civilian casualties. This examines the impact of the strike on the surrounding area and whether there are likely to be any civilians present.

The UK military takes every possible step to avoid civilian casualties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland who have accessed abortion services commissioned by a clinical commissioning group by registering on a temporary or permanent basis with a general practitioner in England.

Jane Ellison

The Department does not hold this information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of mental health issues among firefighters; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Penning

The physical and mental well being of fire fighters is of utmost importance and we recognise that from time to time some fire fighters may experience challenging times because of the stressful and demanding functions of the role. The responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of fire fighters rests with individual fire and rescue authorities. The Chief Fire Officers’ Association supports them in this work through its lead on fire and rescue occupational health matters.

The Government announced in October last year the allocation of nearly £10 million to help support 200,000 emergency services personnel and volunteers, funded through the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) fines. Of this funding up to £4 million was allocated to mental health charity MIND to develop a programme of targeted mental health support and information for all emergency services personnel across England. The programme includes an anti-stigma campaign, a confidential advice line for emergency service staff, training, peer learning events and other resources to help promote better mental health in the work place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many franchise Post Office branches have (a) closed and (b) relocated since January 2010.

George Freeman

Post Office Limited runs and manages its Crown post offices. Franchising of these offices is the operational responsibility of the Post Office.

I have asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on these matters. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making the provision of youth services a statutory duty for councils.

Mr Rob Wilson

Government does place an existing statutory duty on local authorities through the Education Act 2006 (Section 507B) to secure, as far as is practicable, sufficient services and activities to improve the wellbeing of young people. However, in fulfilling this responsibility government believes that local authorities should be empowered to decide how best to secure services that meet the needs of young people within the budget that is available to them.

Government is committed to ensuring all young people can reach their full potential and has recently announced an £80 million investment in the youth sector that is being delivered through the Youth Investment Fund and the #iwill Fund.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of compliance by doctors with the four-week recommended maximum prescribing period for benzodiazepines and z drugs since 2011.

George Freeman

No assessment has been made of compliance by doctors with the four-week recommended maximum prescribing period for benzodiazepines and z drugs since 2011. Guidance on the prescribing of benzodiazepines and “z” drugs can be found in the British National Formulary.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the reduction in personal independence payment award rates between October 2014 and October 2015.

Justin Tomlinson

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is continuing to roll out in a safe and steady manner and as such there will be a variety of cases, and case volumes, within the system at any one time. Correspondingly, variation in PIP award rates and amounts is to be expected in a live system of this scale as cases are assessed on an individual basis.

There are no targets for the numbers who are in receipt of PIP.