Tag: David Crausby

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to improve access to food hygiene score information in England.

Jane Ellison

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has responsibility for the Food Hygiene Ratings Scheme. The FSA is currently collecting evidence on the impact of the mandatory display of food hygiene ratings at food outlets in Wales. The Government will consider this evidence carefully once it is available. In the meantime, the FSA will continue working with its local authority partners to encourage businesses to voluntarily display their ratings and to promote the scheme to consumers.

Ratings are published on the FSA website (and via phone apps), and there is open access to the data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the consolidated local transport budget for Greater Manchester after implementation of the devolution deal (a) in total and (b) per capita.

Andrew Jones

The Budget 2016 document set out that a total of £2.86bn would be provided to the places that had agreed devolution deals as unringfenced single pots. This includes the consolidated transport grants. A detailed breakdown of the grant for Greater Manchester will be set out by Ministers shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to specialist care for people with muscular dystrophy.

Jane Ellison

Through the Mandate we have asked NHS England to make measurable progress towards making our health service among the best in Europe at supporting people with long-term conditions such as muscular dystrophy, to live healthily and independently, with much better control over the care they receive.

NHS England commissions specialised neurological services at a national level, including for patients with muscular dystrophy. The neurosciences service specifications set out that patients with neuromuscular conditions, such as muscular dystrophy should have access to, including a multidisciplinary team (MDT) to will assess, diagnose and provide support. The MDT team will include neuromuscular consultants, neuromuscular physiotherapists, specialist nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and other care professionals. One of the key service outcomes of the specification is that all patients with long-term neurological conditions have an individualised care plan.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) total and (b) per capita consolidated local transport budget for London is for (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Transport for London (TfL) receives its funding from a wide range of sources, with the largest single contribution (around £4.6 billion in 2015/16) coming from fare-payers. This Department pays a transport grant to TfL, via the Greater London Authority, which was £1.516 billion in 2015/2016 and which will be £1.418 billion in 2016/17. We do not routinely publish a per capita breakdown of this grant, because spending on London’s transport infrastructure benefits not only London residents but also commuters and others travelling into the capital. There are also differences in the funding and regulatory framework between London and the rest of the country, making like-for-like comparisons difficult.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time for a decision on an asylum application was in each of the last 10 years; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce the waiting time for such decisions.

James Brokenshire

The table below shows the average time, in calendar days, from date of claim to date of decision including the number and percentage of cases that received a decision in six months. Figures for the year 2015 are not available.

The exercise in the financial year 2014-15 to clear all straightforward cases with a claim date preceding 1 April 2014 led to a rise in the average time for some of the years above most notably 2008.This required the progression of a number of cases far older than 12 months which would have influenced the average decision times on those cases.

The Home Office continues to target resources to drive down the waiting time for decisions and currently strives to give decisions on all straightforward cases within 6 months, a timescale which it has been consistently meeting since April 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal British Legion on the Count Them In campaign.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to support the aspiration of the Royal British Legion’s (RBL) ‘Count Them In’ campaign to include a veteran’s marker in the 2021 census to provide information to better support the commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. In June this year I wrote to John Pullinger, the National Statistician, to request that the position set out in the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) response to the census consultation was revisited. Following discussions this has been agreed and further work is being taken forward. The ONS and the MOD have established a working group to review the decision not to record veterans in the 2021 census. To date it has met six times. The working group is developing a number of themes which have allowed us to develop a good understanding of each other’s needs, including those of other Government Departments, Local Authorities and the charitable sector. The latest ONS statement on this issue can be found at the following address: https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/censustransformationprogramme/consultations/the2021censusinitialviewoncontentforenglandandwales/updateonmeetinginformationneedsonthearmedforcescommunityveterans The ONS will be inviting key stakeholders from across Government, Local Authorities and the charitable sector to a meeting this autumn to seek their further input on this issue. In addition, the MOD and the ONS met with the RBL in July this year to explain the work that both Departments are taking forward.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what monitoring his Department is undertaking to ensure that the level of service to the public is not negatively affected by the transfer of responsibilities from the Child Support Agency to the Child Maintenance Service.

Priti Patel

The government has introduced a new statutory Child Maintenance Service for parents who are unable to make a family-based arrangement. It will bring speedier processing of applications, simpler calculations and faster enforcement action for those that choose not to pay. This will help increase the number of payments reaching children on time and in full and will result in a better use of taxpayers’ money.

We are contacting parents 6 months before their CSA case closes to allow them the opportunity to access the support services available to them. They receive a reminder 1 month before their CSA case ends, and a confirmation once it has actually ended. We do not transfer cases automatically to the Child Maintenance Service. We close them in a way that minimises the risk of disruption to child maintenance payments.

Cases on the previous CSA schemes are being closed in an order determined by case characteristics. This includes the micro-management of the phases of case closure using our tried and tested pathfinder approach; sequencing and prioritising case closure to minimise disruption for clients.

The Department set out an evaluation strategy in December 2014 which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/387584/child-maintenance-reforms-evaluation-strategy.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to restore compensation for war widows who remarried between 1973 and 2005.

Mark Lancaster

There are currently no plans to restore War Widows Pensions to those who had surrendered it on re-marriage or cohabitation, however, I remain sympathetic to the circumstances of this group of widows and have asked Ministry of Defence officials to continue to consider potential options given the financial and legal considerations we are faced with.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-01-21.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average time taken was to resolve enquiries from hon. Members about tax credit cases; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce that time.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Tax Credit Office aims to prioritise and respond to representations from hon. Members as soon as possible. HMRC do not routinely record and collate performance against specific timescales for such representations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the UK intends to maintain the EU ban on neonicotinoids after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice

As part of the preparation for EU exit, we are considering future arrangements for pesticides. Our highest priority will continue to be the protection of people and the environment.

The Government remains of the view that decisions on the use of neonicotinoids and other pesticides should be based on a careful scientific assessment of the risks. Pesticides that carry unacceptable risks to pollinators should not be authorised. The Government keeps the developing evidence on neonicotinoids under active review, advised by the Expert Committee on Pesticides.