Tag: Heidi Alexander

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health of 11 January 2016, Official Report, column 238WH, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of unsuccessful applicants for nursing training courses who met the entry criteria.

Ben Gummer

Information relating to the number and proportion of unsuccessful applicants is not collected by the Department.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service collect and publish figures on the number of applications and the number of applicants accepted by subject for full-time undergraduate courses. However this data does not provide information on how many of the unsuccessful applicants to nursing would meet the entry criteria.

The existing cap on the number of student places imposed by Health Education England means universities are limited to only offering places made available within the cap, plus a percentage above this to account for applicants offered places choosing other universities. Universities cannot accept more candidates who may meet entry criteria places as the number of places is capped.

As part of the reforms to health higher education we are abolishing this cap, enabling universities to recruit as many eligible applicants as they choose.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what risk assessment was carried out on his policy to impose a new contract on junior doctors.

Ben Gummer

Sir David Dalton, who led recent negotiations on behalf of the National Health Service, advised my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health that the offer made to the British Medical Association (BMA) was developed with the input of a senior reference group of NHS leaders and shared with a wider group of senior NHS leaders, all of whom agreed it to be fair and reasonable for doctors in training and for the service. In negotiations, agreement had been secured with the BMA on approximately 90% of the issues discussed. Sir David’s letter advised the government “to do whatever it deems necessary to end uncertainty for the service and to make sure that a new contract is in place which is as close as possible to the final position put forward to the BMA”.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what enhancement to pay rates officials in his Department receive for working on Saturdays and Sundays.

Ben Gummer

Civil Servants at the Department are contracted to work Monday to Friday. Senior Civil Servants are not eligible to claim any paid overtime for weekend or late working outside of contracted hours.

In the majority of cases, for civil servants in the delegated grades (AO-G6), overtime is paid in exceptional circumstances and must be agreed in advance with the appropriate senior official. The rate for paid overtime is dependent on the official’s grade and/ or the day worked.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what checks the Education Funding Agency makes on the quality of auditors and others taking professional fees for services provided to academies.

Mr Edward Timpson

As companies and charitable trusts, academy trusts are required to appoint independent auditors to report on their financial statements. It is for the academy trust to manage the contract for their services.

Auditors are qualified accountants and regulated by their professional institutes. The institutes undertake a programme of quality assurance visits to ensure firms are operating in accordance with expected professional standards. The outcomes of these reviews are publically available.

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) supplements the various institute regulatory regimes with:

· reviews of academy trusts’ audited financial statements, the associated audit reports on these and auditor management letters. The EFA follows up significant issues with individual trusts and their auditors;

· regular attendance at sector training events and delivery of online presentations/webinars for auditors on the key issues arising from reviews, to help ensure they are aware of the requirements expected of them and key risk areas; and

· responding to auditor queries received through the academy questions mailbox.

Other professional services provided to academy trusts will also be regulated by their relevant institute body, e.g. the Law Society.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much land his Department has released for the purpose of building new homes since May 2010.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The Department is committed to disposing of surplus property assets expeditiously. Since the start of the Spending Review (SR10) the size of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) estate has reduced by over 600 properties to nearly 1,500 properties. The MoJ has already released land suitable for 1,253 housing units and in 2014/15 we are expected to release land suitable for a further 300 units. Therefore we will comfortably exceed our SR10 target of releasing land suitable for 1,262 housing units.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much land his Department has released for the purpose of building new homes since May 2010.

Stephen Crabb

None. Our London office stands on the only land owned by the Wales Office.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what target his Department sets for the amount of time for people to receive an accurate assessment for personal independence payments under (a) normal rules claiming and (b) special rules claiming.

Mike Penning

There are no legal requirements to complete action on a claim to PIP within a specified time, but we continuously monitor how long the claimant journey is taking against original estimates and implement measures to speed up the process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps are being taken to better identify those personal independence payment claimants who could be assessed solely on the basis of evidence without the need for face-to-face assessments.

Mike Penning

We are working with our providers to ensure that all PIP claims received are reviewed and where sufficient evidence is available at that initial review we may make a decision on the claim without the need for a face-to-face consultation. Where a face-to-face consultation is needed or further evidence must be gathered, the assessment provider will undertake that activity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will provide financial assistance to people facing delays to personal independence payments applications.

Mike Penning

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Answer I gave the hon. Member for Livingstone, Graeme Morrice, on 24 June, Official Report, col 178W.