The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the maximum length of time taken to process an application for personal independence payments has been since the introduction of that payment.
Mike Penning
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Liverpool, West Derby and the hon Member for Airdrie and Shotts, official report, 5 March, column 850W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Environment Agency is taking to reduce the time taken to update its flooding maps after the completion of flood defence projects.
Dan Rogerson
The Environment Agency produces and publishes maps showing areas at risk of flooding from rivers and sea, surface water and reservoirs in England. It reviews and updates these maps on a quarterly basis to ensure they are based on the most recent local mapping and modelling information.
To ensure new flood risk management schemes are included in the map updates as soon as possible, the Environment Agency has put in place changes to speed up the update process, together with a new Key Performance Indicator (introduced in October 2013) specifying that maps showing the risk of flooding from rivers and sea should be updated within six months of completion of a scheme.
Initial performance has been affected by the development and publication of new maps in December 2013 and by the winter floods, but significant efforts are being made to ensure that new defences will be taken into account more quickly in future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what comparative assessment he has made of the estimates made by (a) Experian and (b) the Electoral Commission of the number of unregistered voters in the UK.
Greg Clark
The Government funded the Electoral Commission’s 2011 research into the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register. This informed the approach to the transition to Individual Electoral Registration, including the use of data matching to confirm the majority of current electors on the existing register without their having to make a new application, and the phasing of the transition over two years, which means no one who registered to vote at the last canvass will lose their right to vote at the General Election. Alongside this the Government is funding all local authorities in Great Britain and five national organisations to take steps to boost the completeness and accuracy of the register.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of levels of expenditure of electoral registration measures on levels of registration.
Greg Clark
The Government has made no recent assessment of the effect of levels of expenditure of electoral registration measures on levels of registration.
The Government announced on 5th February 2014 that five national organisations and every local authority in Great Britain would be sharing £4.2 million funding aimed at maximising the rate of voter registration as part of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration in 2014.
They have been provided with guidance to support them in evaluating the success of activity delivered through this funding. Government will continue to work closely with all funding recipients in order to monitor the outcomes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-06.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the Answer of 13 June 2011, Official Report, columns 584-5W, on electoral register, how many letters the Electoral Commission have written to hon. Members as a result of their electoral registration officers having failed at least one standard performance indicator in each year for which data is available.
Mr Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission informs me that it notifies all MPs of the outcomes of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) performance measurement assessments through a Written Statement and it writes individual letters to MPs who have an ERO that has failed at least one performance indicator within their constituency. EROs that have failed the standards are identified in the Commission’s reports each year, which are available on its website:
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/performance-standards
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-12.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what steps he is taking to disseminate the lessons learned from the data mining pilots for the introduction of individual electoral registrations; and if he will make a statement.
Greg Clark
It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) subjective and (b) objective measures the Office for National Statistics uses to measure public wellbeing; and whether that Office is considering any changes to those measures.
Mr Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, with reference to the Answer of 8 November 2011, Official Report, column 283W, on electoral register, if he will make it his policy to collect information on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for non-registration in the run up to the introduction of individual electoral registration.
Greg Clark
From 10 June 2014, alongside the introduction of individual electoral registration (IER), Electoral Registration Officers in England and Wales will be able to impose civil penalty notices for failure to respond to a notice of requirement to register on the electoral register. In Scotland this will be from 19 September 2014 alongside the introduction of IER in Scotland, following the Scottish referendum.
In conjunction with the Electoral Commission we intend to collect information on the number of civil penalties issued for failure to respond to an IER invitation through each local authority’s Electoral Management System.
Local authority staff who are responsible for the delivery of electoral registration have been fully trained on IER processes, including a module on notices of requirement to register and on civil penalties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the benefits of nurse-led patient health checks immediately before GP consultations.
Dr Daniel Poulter
We understand from NHS England that, to date, no assessment has been made of the benefits of nurse-led patient health checks immediately before general practitioner appointments.
However, practice nurses play an invaluable role as part of the multidisciplinary practice team. For example, in some areas nurses will deliver the NHS Health Check Programme, which aims to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.
NHE England will also shortly be employing a practice nurse advisor who will be working at national level to help inform and disseminate best practice in relation to health checks and the Chief Nursing Officer will work closely with the Medical Director to support further work on the Health Check Programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-11.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the postal vote turnout was as a proportion of all votes cast in each UK parliamentary constituency at the 2010 General Election.
Mr Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission has placed the answer to the hon. member’s question in the library.