Tag: Chris Ruane

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nursing staff were in post in each year since 1999.

Dr Daniel Poulter

The annual National Health Service workforce census, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows the numbers of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in the NHS in England as at 30 September each year. The Department does not hold information on the number of nursing staff in post in other settings.

The number of qualified nursing staff in each year from 1999 to 2013 is shown in the attached table. The latest data in the table relates to September 2013 and is taken from the annual census. The monthly workforce statistics provides more recent data but does not include primary care staff.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will consider the merits of ring-fencing funds allocated by his Office to local government for the purpose of voter registration.

Greg Clark

Both the paper forms and the new online registration channel to be used under Individual Electoral Registration have been designed to meet a wide range of accessibility needs. The Government has no current plans to commission such research, but the Electoral Commission is currently aiming to publish its assessment of registration rates under individual electoral registration in July 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, with reference to the Answer of 6 September 2010, Official Report, column 302W, on electoral register, what additional research has been conducted into the reasons for the apparent decline in registration levels and the growth of local and regional variations in electoral registration.

Greg Clark

The Electoral Commission is currently conducting research into the completeness and accuracy of Electoral registers which will be published in Summer 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the Answer from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Constitutional and Political Reform of 11 October 2011, Official Report, column 344W, on electoral register: standards, what assessment she has made of the effects of the visits of electoral registration officers in Northern Ireland to schools with 10 or more pupils between the ages of 16 and 17 on electoral registration for that age group in Northern Ireland.

Mr Andrew Robathan

Concerns about under-representation of attainers were raised following the introduction of individual registration in Northern Ireland in 2002. The registration of attainers improved significantly with the introduction of the Chief Electoral Officer’s Schools Initiative. The Electoral Commission’s 2012 report on continuous electoral registration in Northern Ireland estimated that 66% of attainers were registered.

Although the number of attainers registered in December 2013 fell to 9,945 from 11,477 in December 2012, the Electoral Commission’s recent report on the electoral registration canvass suggests that this can be partially explained by the fact that the Electoral Office did not conduct any activity with schools to register attainers in autumn 2013 due to canvass activity. The Electoral Office will commence school visits in September 2014 for the academic year 2014-15 and will also take applications from those pupils not visited last year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-12.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of people eligible to be on the (a) most recent census and (b) most recent electoral register who were not recorded.

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 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

The Government published its results in March 2012 and July 2013 and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/60723/FINAL-Data-Matching-Evaluation-Report-new.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223850/Data_Mining_Evaluation_FULL_Report_FINAL.pdf

The Electoral Commission also produced their assessment of the pilots. Their reports can be found at:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/162106/Data-mining-pilot-evaluation-report.pdf

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/146836/Data-matching-pilot-evaluation.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what use his Department has made of the National Wellbeing Index introduced by the Office for National Statistics in formulating policy since the introduction of that Index in 2011; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national wellbeing as defined in that Index since 2010.

Norman Lamb

The Department has worked closely with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on the development of the Measuring National Wellbeing Framework. Given the experimental nature of the data it is too early to use it specifically to formulate policy. However, some examples of relevant work taken forward by the Department include:

– working in partnership with ONS to include a measure of mental wellbeing into the Measuring National Wellbeing Framework;

– including wellbeing questions on a range of health surveys, for example the Health Survey for England, Health Behaviours of School-aged Children, the trial of a local level survey of 15 year olds, and the current wave of the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey;

– including wellbeing as a key indicator in the Public Health Outcomes Framework;

– publishing a narrative and a series of factsheets on why wellbeing matters to health policy;

– publishing a report on the predictors of wellbeing across the lifecourse;

– conducting two wellbeing workshops with policy makers to allow them to consider their policies from a wellbeing perspective; and

– co-founding a collaborative studentship with the University of Warwick on positive genetics using twin data to explore how genetics are related to wellbeing.

Wellbeing will also be considered in the forthcoming Chief Medical Officer’s annual report.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what comparative assessment he has made of the rates of mental ill health caused by (a) working long hours and (b) being unemployed.

Norman Lamb

Numerous studies, including the Marmot Review into health inequalities in England (published in 2010) draw attention to the impacts of unemployment, and particularly long-term unemployment, on mental health.

Research also demonstrates that work related stress and mental health problems often go together. Work related stress may trigger an existing mental health problem that the person may otherwise have successfully managed.

However, common mental health problems and stress can exist independently. For example, people can have work related stress leading to physical symptoms such as high blood pressure, without experiencing anxiety and depression. They can also have anxiety and depression that is unrelated to stress.

Gainful employment promotes mental well-being. Unfortunately, the workplace can also be the source of nonproductive stress leading to physical and mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts and behaviours and suicide.

A number of studies demonstrate an association between the areas of England worst affected during the recent financial crisis and increased suicide rates. Between 2008 and 2010, there were approximately 800 more suicides among men and 155 more among women than would have been expected based on historical trends. This was supported by a recent review of the international impact of the global economic crisis. A rise in poor health status associated with the recession has also been found not only for the unemployed, but also among people who remain employed.

People come into contact with the welfare system at a time when they may be vulnerable because of unemployment and its associated consequences. The Department for Work and Pensions provides guidance and training for staff to help them identify and support people who are vulnerable, including those who may be at risk of suicide or self-harm.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-18.

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many of the six million people identified as missing on the electoral register by the Electoral Commission in 2011 have been registered to vote in each year since 2011.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Electoral Commission informs me that its last GB wide study into the completeness of electoral registers was completed in 2011. This type of research does not specifically identify unregistered individuals but provides an assessment of the overall accuracy and completeness of the registers. The Commission’s next study is being published in July and this will update the picture on levels of completeness in 2014.