The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications for retrospective reviews for continuing healthcare in the North of England have been made in each of the last five years.
David Mowat
NHS England does not collect this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospitals in England treat arteriovenous malformations and pituitary ademomas with stereotactic radiosurgery.
Jane Ellison
There are eight hospitals which currently treat cerebral arteriovenous malformations.
There are 10 hospitals which currently treat pituitary adenomas. This condition falls within the definition of a Tier 2 service in the new service model. It will, therefore, continue to be treated by a range of hospitals across the country.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of fiscal support for the offshore oil and gas sector on (a) employment and (b) pay rates in that sector since 2010-11.
Damian Hinds
The government is committed to maximising the benefits of the UK’s oil and gas resources for the UK economy – the oil and gas industry is the UK’s largest industrial investor, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, supplying a large portion of the UK’s primary energy needs and making a significant contribution to GDP.
The government has taken action as part of our plan to reform the fiscal regime to make it an attractive destination for investment and safeguard the long-term future of this vital national asset. In the March Budget, the government announced a £1.3 billion package of measures which are expected to deliver over £4 billion of additional investment, supporting jobs and supply chain opportunities, and increase production by 15% by 2019-20, the equivalent of 0.1% of GDP.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the role of stakeholder banks in supporting regional growth.
Harriett Baldwin
Each quarter the British Bankers Association and the Council for Mortgage Lenders publish data showing the outstanding stock of lending in each postcode. This allows challenger banks, smaller building societies, credit unions and community development finance institutions (CDFIs) to find areas where there is a lack of lending so they can offer finance to those customers and support growth in that regional area.
The Government recognises the important role that stakeholder banks play in supporting their communities. We more commonly refer to stakeholder banks as credit unions, building societies and mutually-owned savings banks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to recruit and retain embryologists in the NHS.
Ben Gummer
Healthcare providers are responsible for ensuring that they have the right level of staffing to provide high quality care.
Health Education England (HEE) has been established to ensure the National Health Service has access to the right numbers of staff, at the right time and with the right skills. In doing so, HEE works with key external stakeholders to develop its National Workforce Plan for England which sets out the number of training places it will commission in the year ahead.
HEE will continue to work with Local Education and Training Boards and others to ensure that there are sufficient Healthcare Scientists, including embryologists, being trained to meet the needs of patients.
Currently HEE has 28 reproductive Scientists in training (which includes embryology) and are planning a further 11 to start in 2016/17.
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 has taken to ensure that local authorities meet their obligation under the National Planning Policy Framework to meet the housing needs of disabled people requiring wheelchair accessible homes.
Brandon Lewis
Local authorities are best placed to understand the housing needs in their area. We expect them to work closely with key partners and their local communities in deciding what type of housing is needed.
National policy sets out clearly the need for local authorities to plan for the housing needs of all members of the community and that planning should encourage accessibility. The introduction of optional requirements for accessibility in the Building Regulations provides local authorities with the tools needed to ensure that new homes are accessible and that in particular the needs of disabled people are met.
Local authorities are held accountable for their housing delivery via their Local Plans which are tested by local independent planning inspectors and are scrutinised via yearly Authority Monitoring reports which set out progress on delivery against Local Plan targets. In addition local authorities must determine individual decisions in line with the development plan and other material considerations, such as the National Planning Policy Framework and having regard to viability considerations.
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 (a) the amount currently owed to HM Revenue and Customs in tax credit overpayments and (b) the potential effect of the reduction in the income rise disregard on the amount so owed in each of the next three years.
Damian Hinds
The amount of tax credit debt owed to HMRC as at 31 March 2015, the latest available figure, is published in HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2014-15. The Annual Report and Accounts for 2015-16 are due to be published in June this year.
The impact on new debt from the reduction in the disregard is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations he has (a) received and (b) made on the introduction or piloting of 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 Transport, if he will request that train operating companies publish the criteria they use for calculating rail fares.
Claire Perry
The rail fares we regulate have been capped at inflation (Retail Price Index) for three years running, and will continue to be capped for the life of this parliament. The Government sets the maximum amount by which regulated fares can rise. Details of how fares regulation applies to train operators can be found in Schedule 5 of the Franchise Agreement which can be found on the Department’s website. Other fares are unregulated, and train operators are permitted to set these on a commercial basis.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-register-of-rail-passenger-franchise-agreements
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which Jobcentre Plus offices he has contacted on the use of their own locally-developed claimant communications rather than using those produced by his Department.
Priti Patel
The Department has guidelines on its intranet for all Jobcentre Plus offices about the use of locally-developed claimant communications. These guidelines make it clear what can and cannot be produced locally.