Tag: Catherine McKinnell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of non-priority single homeless people in the UK in each year since 2010-11.

Mr Marcus Jones

Information on homeless households not in priority need is already collected and published in table 770 of the homelessness live tables which can be viewed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness

No information is collected on the household type of households found to be not in priority need.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the penultimate paragraph of her letter to the Education Committee of 10 February 2016 , on personal, social, health and economic education (PHSE) and sex and relationships education, which (a) headteachers, (b) PSHE practitioners and (c) other experts her Department is working with to identify further action.

Edward Timpson

The group of headteachers and practitioners that we are currently working with includes Carl Ward of Haywood Academy in Stoke on Trent; Cathie Paine of the Reach2 Academy Trust; Jerry Rayner of Rugby Independent School in Warwickshire; Michelle Colledge-Smith of the Outwood Grange Academy Trust; and Vanessa Ogden of Mulberry School in Bethnal Green.

We want to draw on expertise from a range of headteachers and practitioners and will invite others to join the group as appropriate. The Department regularly speaks to a wide range of stakeholders and will continue to do so regarding PSHE.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to address variations in stroke care and treatment across England.

David Mowat

The Sentinel Stroke National Audit programme (SSNAP) continuously monitors the quality of stroke care across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Audit results are returned to providers so that they can identify areas for improvement.

There is good evidence that providing detailed information in a timely way has enabled the quality of stoke care to steadily improve. Since the introduction of SSNAP nearly four years ago when no teams scored an ‘A’, there are now units achieving this level, indicating excellent care. The National Clinical Director for Stroke, in association with the clinical networks, continues to work with hospitals to support those in need of improvement.

NHS England is aware that the provision of stroke care in the community remains an area that has not progressed as quickly as hospital care. However, providing data to teams and working with the clinical commissioning groups to ensure that appropriate services are commissioned should help to improve care.

In August this year, NHS England’s Medical Director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, and Professor Anthony Rudd, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for stroke, met with Juliet Bouverie, the Chief Executive of the Stroke Association to discuss issues of common interest. Additionally, Professor Rudd meets regularly with various members of staff of the Stroke Association to ensure that the views of the charity are heard and understood. Departmental officials have also met with the Stroke Association.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2015 to Question 11456, whether any additional blockbuster funding has been requested by the Serious Fraud Office for 2015-16; and what assessment he has made of the likelihood of that office making further requests for additional blockbuster funding in the remainder of this financial year.

Robert Buckland

As I explained in my answer on 15 October, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) receives additional funding as part of the Main and Supplementary Estimates processes. The SFO received £10m of additional funding through the 2015-16 Main Estimates process.

The Supplementary Estimates process for 2015-16 has not concluded. The SFO does expect to request additional funding as part of this process and details will be published at the appropriate time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) independent domestic violence advisers and (b) independent sexual violence advisers operating in the criminal justice system in each year since 2010-11.

Karen Bradley

The previous Government ring-fenced nearly £40 million – £10 million per year – of stable funding up until 2015 for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services, rape crisis centres, the national domestic violence helplines and stalking helpline. This funding has been extended until April 2016 and includes part-funding for 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) and 87 Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs).

The Home Office supports these roles through training and awareness-raising, including for the majority of IDVAs and ISVAs who are employed by local authorities and third sector organisations.

We recognise the importance of specialist support services and are working with voluntary sector partners and local commissioners to assess coverage and need for these specialist advisers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what housing support is provided to ex-offenders on leaving prison; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a statutory requirement to provide settled accommodation for ex-offenders.

Brandon Lewis

Under the Ministry of Justice’s Transformation Rehabilitation reforms, Community Rehabilitation Companies are contractually required to deliver a range of ‘Through the Gate’ resettlement services to offenders. This involves working with offenders before release to assess their housing needs, including helping them to secureaccommodation and maintain tenancies post release.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-04-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of parents eligible for tax-free childcare who do not have access to the internet; and what plans he has to ensure all such families are not excluded from access to tax-free childcare due to lack of access to the internet.

Damian Hinds

The Government will publicise the Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme in good time ahead of its introduction through a range of digital and print channels. HMRC will also work with the childcare industry and representative groups who interact regularly with parents to raise awareness of the scheme.

HM Revenue and Customs is developing an online childcare calculator to help parents understand their eligibility for government childcare support. From early 2017, parents of the youngest children will be able to enter the scheme first, with all eligible parents brought in by the end of 2017. Parents will not be able to open childcare accounts prior to the launch of the scheme.

TFC will be straightforward and quick to apply online for the vast majority of parents. We estimate that up to 9% of the families eligible for the scheme of that population may have issues with either accessing or using the internet. HM Revenue and Customs will ensure that assistance is provided, usually by telephone, so these families do not miss out on the support available.

Tax-Free Childcare is part of the wider government childcare offer which will be worth over £6Bn per annum and together provide generous support to families on all levels of income.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from the Stroke Association and other stakeholders on the future of the National Stroke Strategy.

David Mowat

The Sentinel Stroke National Audit programme (SSNAP) continuously monitors the quality of stroke care across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Audit results are returned to providers so that they can identify areas for improvement.

There is good evidence that providing detailed information in a timely way has enabled the quality of stoke care to steadily improve. Since the introduction of SSNAP nearly four years ago when no teams scored an ‘A’, there are now units achieving this level, indicating excellent care. The National Clinical Director for Stroke, in association with the clinical networks, continues to work with hospitals to support those in need of improvement.

NHS England is aware that the provision of stroke care in the community remains an area that has not progressed as quickly as hospital care. However, providing data to teams and working with the clinical commissioning groups to ensure that appropriate services are commissioned should help to improve care.

In August this year, NHS England’s Medical Director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, and Professor Anthony Rudd, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for stroke, met with Juliet Bouverie, the Chief Executive of the Stroke Association to discuss issues of common interest. Additionally, Professor Rudd meets regularly with various members of staff of the Stroke Association to ensure that the views of the charity are heard and understood. Departmental officials have also met with the Stroke Association.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of Crown Prosecution Service expenditure on (a) victim liaison units and (b) witness care units in real terms in each year since 2010-11.

Robert Buckland

It is not possible to provide the actual expenditure on Witness Care Units (WCUs) and Victim Liaison Units (VLUs) without incurring a disproportionate cost since this information is not separately captured by the CPS. However, the total budget allocated for the administration of WCUs and VLUs in each year since 2010-11 is detailed in the following table;

	WCUs	VLU’s
2010-11	£5,500,000	–
2011-12	£4,000,000	–
2012-13	£4,000,000	–
2013-14	£4,000,000	–
2014-15	£2,500,000	£1,500,000

In each of the last four years the CPS has allocated £2.5 million of its Voted expenditure to WCUs. The remainder of the total CPS allocation was funded by income from the Ministry of Justice, via the Victims Surcharge up to and including 2013-14.

Witness attendance rates (which are used as a proxy for satisfaction) have remained above 80%.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of hearsay evidence in court proceedings in reducing the number of unsuccessful cases due to victim or witness issues; and what estimate he has made of the number of cases where hearsay evidence has been used by prosecutors in each year since 2010-11.

Robert Buckland

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors will apply to admit hearsay evidence where they consider it appropriate to do so and the legislation permits. However, the CPS does not record information on the number of cases where hearsay evidence has been used in the course of criminal proceedings. It follows, therefore, that no assessment of the effectiveness of the use of hearsay evidence in court proceedings in reducing the number of unsuccessful cases due to victim or witness issues is routinely conducted.