Tag: Grahame Morris

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to introduce or pilot a system of automatic electoral registration.

John Penrose

I have considered a range of proposals from local authorities and civil society organisations that could change how registration is currently delivered. The Government is committed to further modernising and improving electoral registration, building on the successful transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER).

We are keen to explore further possibilities in this area but are concerned there may be tension between some forms of automatic registration and the principles underpinning IER, namely individual responsibility and ownership over registering to vote.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the time taken to conduct its Supported Accommodation Review on the number of beds available in the supported accommodation sector.

Brandon Lewis

We understand the importance of ensuring that those people living in supported accommodation, who are generally the most vulnerable members of our society, receive appropriate protections.

The supported housing sector provides valuable support to some of our country’s most vulnerable people.

We have commissioned an evidence review of the supported housing sector which we expect to report shortly. Building on this review, we will continue to work with and listen to providers as part of developing a long-term sustainable funding regime.

In the meantime we have put in place a one-year exception for all supported accommodation from the social rent reduction measures and the Local Housing Allowance cap, so there will be no material change in this financial year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-06-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the reasons are for the difference in the figures quoted as payments to HM Treasury in respect of its guarantee for the Mineworkers Pension Scheme and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme in paragraph 1.21 of the National Audit Office report on Department of Trade and Industry: Sale of the mining operations of the British Coal Corporation, HC 360 1995-96, and the Answer of 8 March 2007 to Question 125573, HC Deb, Column 2124W.

Andrea Leadsom

Analysis by Binder Hamlyn in 2006 for the NAO had estimated the net present value of payments to the Government (net of any payments from the Government arising from its guarantee) at £2bn over 25 years. This reflects the value at the time of the expected future net payments.

The parliamentary question 125573 answered on 8 March 2007 records that the Binder Hamlyn report found that the total gross payments to the Treasury would be £8bn. This would have been both gross of any payments from the Government and also in cash terms i.e. allowing for the returns achieved on the funds before payment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many doctors have requested a certificate of current professional status in each of the last five years.

Ben Gummer

The information requested is not held centrally. Information from the General Medical Council is available about the number of doctors that have been issued certificates of current professional status in each of the last five full calendar years. This is shown in the table.

Source: General Medical Council

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a national pay scale for teaching assistants.

Nick Gibb

The government believes that decisions on the use, deployment, and pay of teaching assistants are best made in a way that reflects local needs.

Support staff rates of pay are determined by employers: in maintained schools, these will be set by the local authority; in Academies and Free Schools, these will be set by school or the Trust.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had about a national job profile for Hazardous Area Response Team paramedics.

Jane Ellison

Local lead Clinical Commissioning Group commissioners contract with providers to deliver a Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) service compliant with the national specification. Banding and pay arrangements are not specified within the national HART service specification. NHS England, as advised by the National Ambulance Resilience Unit deems this to be a matter for employing trusts and their lead commissioners.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether (a) clinicians and (b) patient groups were consulted on the changes to NHS England’s National Clinical Director structure after April 2016.

George Freeman

No patient groups were consulted on the changes, which are being made to ensure that this important resource is focused on clinical areas where we are taking forward major programmes of work, or areas that have otherwise been identified as priorities for service improvement. The changes have been discussed with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, some individual Colleges and NHS England’s senior medical leaders.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help the social housing sector maintain and increase the provision of specialist accessible and adapted housing stock for people with disabilities.

Brandon Lewis

The Government provides direct funding for specialised housing for older and disabled people through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund and the Affordable Homes Programme, making available up to £800 million for specialised housing for older, disabled, and vulnerable people over the next five years, which will deliver over 15,000 specialised homes.

The Government is also putting more money into the Disabled Facilities Grant to enable older and disabled people to live independently and safely in their own homes for longer. On top of the £1 billion the Government has invested in the grant since 2010, the grant will increase year on year for the next five years rising to over £500 million by 2020. In 2016-17 the Disabled Facilities Grant will grow to £394 million, a 79% increase on the current year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-03-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in Easington constituency who will be affected by the reduction of the income rise disregard for tax credits to £2,500.

Damian Hinds

This information is not held and statistically reliable projections at constituency level could only be provided at disproportionate cost. From April 2016, the income rise disregard – the amount by which a tax credit claimant’s income can increase within a year before their tax credit award is adjusted – will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,500.

The only people who will be affected by this will be those who see an increase in their in-year income by more than £2,500. There will be no net cash losers because their income will have increased.

In the subsequent tax year, a claimant’s tax credits award will be calculated in the usual way, using their full annual income for the previous year to determine their tax credit entitlement. This means that after the change in the tax year, whether the claimant’s increase in income was above or below the disregard level, their tax credit award for the following year will be adjusted to what it would have been had no disregard existed

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, by what date he estimates there will be universal access to high-speed broadband services in Easington constituency.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Current estimates suggest that almost 90% of premises in the Easington constituency are subject to commercial rollout, and a further 6% of premises (2,410) now have coverage as a result of the Government’s Superfast Broadband programme.

Based on DCMS modelled estimates and current delivery plans, 97.2% of premises in the Easington constituency will have access to superfast broadband by December 2017. Early gainshare funding that BT will return in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, could help extend coverage further.

In addition, the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation will give people the legal right to request a broadband connection, no matter where they live, by the end of this Parliament. Our ambition is that this should be set at 10 Mbps.