Tag: David Hanson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times Warnings Index checks have been suspended (a) in the UK, (b) at each port, (c) at each airport and (d) nationally in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire

In November 2011, the then Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration found that the then UKBA had carried out a number of suspensions of Warnings Index Checks without due ministerial authority. Since then, Border Force has operated to a Ministerially-approved mandate that requires it to undertake Warnings Index Checks against all passengers arriving into the UK on scheduled, commercial routes; and Secure ID Checks against passengers that require a visa to enter the UK. These checks have not been suspended at any port since November 2011.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the average hourly earnings of (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of her Department were in each of the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd

The figures given in the table below represent the average (mean) salary for each of the defined categories requested as at the 31^st of January in each of the last three years. Providing information for 2012 and 2013 could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Year (as at 31/01)	Average Female Hourly Rate (£)	Average Male Hourly Rate (£)	Average Full Time Hourly Rate (£)	Average Part Time Hourly Rate (£)
2014	24.95	26.53	25.76	25.05
2015	24.95	27.03	25.79	27.10
2016	25.15	27.18	26.08	25.68

DFID pay is set within Civil Service rules defined by HM Treasury, and grade specific scales operate regardless of gender. Differences in hourly rates apply due to the grade and location profile of the organisation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average hourly earnings of (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of her Department were in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb

The Department for Education pays annual salaries. These have been converted to hourly rates using the calculation ((Gross Basic Salary*FTE)/52)/Weekly hours:

	Mar-12	Mar-13	Mar-14	Mar-15	Jan-16
a) Male	£21.62	£22.25	£22.30	£22.37	£22.30
b) Female	£19.73	£19.85	£20.09	£20.36	£20.54
c) Full-time	£20.64	£21.02	£21.16	£21.24	£21.28
d) Part-time	£19.65	£19.70	£20.15	£21.01	£21.25

This illustrates a positive trend as over the five year period the pay gap between men and women has reduced from 8.7% to 7.9% and the pay gap between full-time and part-time employees has reduced from 4.8% to 0.1%.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average duration has been of face-to-face consultations for personal independence payments in (a) Wales and (b) each postcode area in Wales in each of the last three financial years.

Justin Tomlinson

The average duration of Personal Independence Payment consultation times in (a) Wales and (b) by postcode area of Wales (in minutes) were:

Postcode	2013/2014	2014/2015	2015/2016
CF	56	54	51
CH	58	57	57
GL	76	67	66
HR	76	73	59
LD	67	60	57
LL	58	57	56
NP	59	59	53
SA	61	60	54
SY	73	66	59
Wales (Total)	60	58	54

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many arrest warrants have been issued for people sentenced for a serious sexual offence who failed to appear in court for sentencing in each year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Data on Failure to Appear (FTA) warrants collected by the Ministry of Justice includes information on the category of warrant but does not include information on the specific offence for which the defendant is being sought. This information has been provided in response to Parliamentary Question 47082.

It would not be possible to separately identify those defendants for whom a warrant was issued in connection with failing to appear in court for a sexual offence without incurring disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many deaths there have been as a result of faulty heart pacemakers in each year since 2010.

George Freeman

Clinicians are encouraged and manufacturers are mandated to report deaths and other incidents to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) if they suspect a device fault.

The numbers of United Kingdom deaths reported annually since 2010 to the MHRA involving patients implanted with approved pacemakers, are as follows:

Year	Deaths reported involving pacemaker patients
2015 – present	1
2014	8
2013	3
2012	3
2011	1
2010	4

According to registry data from 2014, over 35,000 pacemakers are implanted annually in the UK. Therefore the number of reported patient deaths listed above which could have potentially related to pacemaker failure represents no more than 0.01% of this population.

Analysis of MHRA investigation conclusions revealed that none of the above deaths resulted from a faulty pacemaker.

As the UK regulatory authority, the MHRA is responsible for monitoring the safety of medical devices once they have been approved for market. Although the majority of pacemakers are well functioning, the MHRA actively monitor the performance of implants using a variety of methods.

One key element involves the investigation of device-related adverse incidents, where manufacturers’ mandatory reports are supplemented by voluntary reports from clinicians and members of the public using the yellow card system.

The MHRA challenges manufacturers if it is believed that the proposed post-investigation action is inadequate to protect public health.

Every new incident, including those involving pacemakers, is assessed and assigned to an appropriate type of investigation according to its severity and the likelihood of obtaining further information on the cause of the event. All reports, even those unsuitable for further investigation, are fully recorded and subject to periodic trend analysis by the MHRA to look for signals suggesting any possible device-related problems.

In addition to scrutinizing manufacturers’ device data provided in incident investigations, and their published product performance reports, the MHRA also monitors relevant published research and articles on potential safety concerns as part of its surveillance of the medical device market. If evidence emerges that affects the safety of UK pacemaker patients, the Agency issues advice to the health service and takes any necessary regulatory action.

Furthermore the Agency actively engages with the clinicians and professional bodies to gauge their opinion on early indications for failure and problems encountered with device usage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications from Normandy veterans for the award of the Legion d’Honneur have been made to his Department since 6 June 2014; how many such applications have been approved for forwarding to the French government; and how many of those applications have resulted in receipt of a medal by veterans.

Mark Lancaster

Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials have received approximately 3,850 applications from Normandy veterans in the period 6 June 2014 to date; about 3,300 had been sent to the French authorities by April this year. The French system was overwhelmed by these and other applications from Allied nations, which have far exceeded expectations. We jointly developed a new administrative process with the French whereby, since July 2015, 100 cases per week have been re-submitted to the French authorities.

The MOD is not routinely informed when an individual veteran is awarded the Legion d’Honneur as this is a matter for the French authorities. MOD officials understand that around 150 awards had been made by the beginning of July and that, subsequently, approximately 950 additional awards have been approved; of these we believe that about 600 may have been sent out. I am confident that this number will increase significantly over the coming weeks and months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency have made of (i) the rate of reported faults in heart pacemakers and (ii) research from UK and non-UK sources on heart pacemakers since 2010.

George Freeman

Clinicians are encouraged and manufacturers are mandated to report deaths and other incidents to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) if they suspect a device fault.

The numbers of United Kingdom deaths reported annually since 2010 to the MHRA involving patients implanted with approved pacemakers, are as follows:

Year	Deaths reported involving pacemaker patients
2015 – present	1
2014	8
2013	3
2012	3
2011	1
2010	4

According to registry data from 2014, over 35,000 pacemakers are implanted annually in the UK. Therefore the number of reported patient deaths listed above which could have potentially related to pacemaker failure represents no more than 0.01% of this population.

Analysis of MHRA investigation conclusions revealed that none of the above deaths resulted from a faulty pacemaker.

As the UK regulatory authority, the MHRA is responsible for monitoring the safety of medical devices once they have been approved for market. Although the majority of pacemakers are well functioning, the MHRA actively monitor the performance of implants using a variety of methods.

One key element involves the investigation of device-related adverse incidents, where manufacturers’ mandatory reports are supplemented by voluntary reports from clinicians and members of the public using the yellow card system.

The MHRA challenges manufacturers if it is believed that the proposed post-investigation action is inadequate to protect public health.

Every new incident, including those involving pacemakers, is assessed and assigned to an appropriate type of investigation according to its severity and the likelihood of obtaining further information on the cause of the event. All reports, even those unsuitable for further investigation, are fully recorded and subject to periodic trend analysis by the MHRA to look for signals suggesting any possible device-related problems.

In addition to scrutinizing manufacturers’ device data provided in incident investigations, and their published product performance reports, the MHRA also monitors relevant published research and articles on potential safety concerns as part of its surveillance of the medical device market. If evidence emerges that affects the safety of UK pacemaker patients, the Agency issues advice to the health service and takes any necessary regulatory action.

Furthermore the Agency actively engages with the clinicians and professional bodies to gauge their opinion on early indications for failure and problems encountered with device usage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the statement of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 206, on student visas, whether she is seeking financial compensation from the Educational Testing Service.

James Brokenshire

Investigations are on-going and all potential remedies are being pursued.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for emergency travel documents for children have been received by the Passport Office since 16 June 2014.

James Brokenshire

As at 6 July 2014, 151 emergency travel documents (ETDs) have been issued to
children free of charge as a result of the measures announced by the Home
Secretary on 12 June 2014.