The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the outcomes have been of the universal credit in-work conditionality pilots.
Priti Patel
National roll-out of the In-Work Progression Randomised Control Trial commenced in December 2015 and is likely to be completed in summer 2016. We are unable to provide the information requested at this early stage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of care leavers in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance or employment and support allowance had a sanction applied in each year from 2010 to 2015.
Priti Patel
The information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications from care leavers between the age of 18 and 25 were made for reconsideration or appeal of a sanction decision in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.
Priti Patel
The information requested in respect of care leavers is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the quality and geographical variability of speech and language therapy available to stroke survivors in England.
Jane Ellison
One of the actions set out in the 2007 National Stroke Strategy was to increase the rate of thrombolysis (treatment with clot busting drugs), which stood at around 1% of stroke admissions. Data from the Stroke Sentinel Audit Programme (SSNAP) suggests this rate has risen to 11-12%, with around 9,600 stroke patients now benefiting from treatment with thrombolysis each year. Evidence suggests that, on average, 13% of those treated with thrombolysis will have reduced disability as a result. It is therefore likely that more than 1,200 stroke patients per year now benefit from reduced disability due to thrombolysis.
Although the Government has made no assessment of the quality and variation of rehabilitation and speech and language therapy available to stroke survivors in England, SSNAP has collected data over the last three years on the rehabilitation that patients get in hospital and when they are discharged in to the community.
SSNAP also undertook an audit in 2015 of the provision and organisation of post-acute stroke care which includes details on the provision of speech and language therapy. It shows there are variations around the country in the availability of these services to stroke survivors. The Strategic Clinical Networks and the National Clinical Director for Stroke are working with clinical commissioning groups to help address this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the extent to which current and planned staffing levels at the Equality and Human Rights Commission are sufficient to enable the Commission to fulfil its statutory obligations.
Caroline Dinenage
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body. It makes its own decisions about the allocation of its resources and its procedures for planning changes to its staffing against its business needs as set out in its one-year Business Plan and three-year Strategic Plan.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which three transitional options the former Pensions Minister, Baroness Altmann, commissioned from his Department to address the effects on women born in the 1950s following state pension equalisation.
Caroline Nokes
Transitional arrangements are already in place. At the time of the Pensions Act 2011 the Government introduced a concession worth £1.1 billion to limit the impact of the rising State Pension age on those most affected. The concession capped the maximum delay that anyone would face in claiming their State Pension to 18 months rather than two years, relative to the previous timetable. The Government has no plans to introduce further transitional arrangements.
The following link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-foi-releases-for-march-2016 provides:
These options are not under policy consideration.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2015-10-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress the Government has made on developing proposals for reform of the Human Rights Act 1998.
Dominic Raab
This Government will fully consult on our proposals, this session, before introducing legislation for a British Bill of Rights. Further details will be announced in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the (a) Competition Commission and (b) Office of Fair Trading spent on assessing mergers in the NHS in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.
Jo Swinson
The Competition Commission’s (CC’s) inquiry into the proposed merger between Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital Foundation Trust, which was concluded in 2013/14, was the Commission’s only assessment of an NHS Foundation Trust merger. The cost of this inquiry was £710,000, which includes the cost of the staff on the inquiry amounting to £639,000 and direct costs of £71,000 (including survey costs).
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) did not collect specific information on the resources used in considering mergers involving NHS Foundation Trusts. However, the average approximate cost involved in scrutiny of a merger by the OFT was £20,000; in total, the OFT considered four mergers involving NHS Foundation Trusts in 2012-13 and 2013-14, of which only one was referred for further scrutiny by the CC.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to promote access to justice.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Government’s overall reform programme to promote access to justice aims to deliver a simpler justice system that is more accessible to the public; limit the scope for inappropriate litigation and the involvement of lawyers in issues which do not need legal input; and support people in resolving their disputes through simpler, more informal remedies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2015-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Mr Hugo Swire
We are concerned about the incidents that have taken place in recent weeks on both sides of the Line of Control and the International Border in Kashmir. We hope that both sides can take steps to reduce tensions.