The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2016 to Question 25603, on NHS: finance, with which seven trusts Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority have met since 15 January 2016.
Ben Gummer
Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority are unable to disclose the seven trust names that they have met since 15 January for commercial-in-confidence reasons.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that secondary breast cancer patients have access to a clinical nurse specialist as part of their care.
Jane Ellison
The independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, in July last year, recognising the importance of access to clinical nurse specialists or other key workers for patients with all types of cancer.
NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to implement the recommendations of the Cancer Taskforce and has appointed Cally Palmer CBE (Chief Executive of the Royal Marsden) as National Cancer Director to lead on implementation, as well as new cancer vanguards to redesign care and patient experience. She has set up a new Cancer Transformation Board to implement the strategy, which met for the first time on 25 January. There will also be a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Harpal Kumar, to oversee and scrutinise the work of the Transformation Board.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, (a) on how many occasions and (b) in relation to which schools since 2010 an Academy Order has been rescinded due to the inability of the Regional Schools Commissioner to secure a sponsor.
Edward Timpson
Since the Education and Adoption Act came into force in April 2016, the Secretary of State has been under a duty to make an Academy Order in respect of any maintained school that has been judged by Ofsted to be inadequate. Regional Schools Commissioners, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, ensure that the maintained school becomes a sponsored academy as swiftly as possible, after considering the circumstances in the school, and then identifying the most suitable sponsor.
No Academy Orders have been revoked to date.
143 Academy Orders have been made since the new duty came into force. It is too soon to give an annual average of how long it has taken to match a school to a sponsor under these new arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-02-26.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the oral Answer to the hon. Member for Vale of Glamorgan on 11 December 2013, column 224, on Civil Service (union facility time), in which Departments the trade union officers who were promoted in post while doing no work as a civil servant were employed; and in which Department the officer who was promoted twice was employed.
Mr Francis Maude
There are no plans to provide further details to protect the identities of the individuals involved.
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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-07-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions her Department has had with (a) the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation Trust and (b) that Trust’s auditors on possible fraud within the Trust.
Mr Edward Timpson
The Trust reported to the Education Funding Agency (EFA) that a theft had occurred. The Trust undertook a full independent review, and the EFA monitored their response. The Department for Education’s most recent discussion with the Trust has been to confirm progress with the recovery of funds and the police investigation.
The Department has not had recent discussions with the Trust’s auditors. The EFA reviewed the most recent audited accounts in early 2014.
The Department does not hold a copy of the service level agreement between the Federation Trust and its schools.
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.