Tag: Helen Hayes

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what further steps the Government plans to take to reduce the incidence of drownings of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean.

Mr David Lidington

The Government’s focus is on addressing the root causes of irregular migration so as to reduce the need for people to make perilous journeys to Europe. We have taken action to tackle smugglers and save lives at sea: HMS Enterprise is deployed as part of the EU’s counter migration operation, Operation Sophia. The UK has rescued almost 18,000 people, and disrupted suspected people smugglers, in the Mediterranean since 2015. At the G7 Summit in Japan on 27 May, the Prime Minister announced that the UK will work on a plan to boost the capability of the Libyan coastguard to stem the flow of illegal migration across the Mediterranean into Europe. Once a detailed plan has been agreed with the Libyan authorities, the UK will send a training team to assist in its implementation, and as soon as the relevant permissions and UN Security Council Resolution are in place, we will deploy a naval vessel to the South Central Mediterranean.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government plans to take to support providers of supported housing affected by planned reductions in social housing rents.

Gavin Barwell

The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable through our welfare reforms. That is why we have exempted supported housing from the Local Housing Allowance cap until 2019/20, from which point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents. We will apply the rent reduction to supported housing, with the exception of domestic violence refuges, with rents in these properties decreasing by 1% a year for 3 years, up to and including 2019/20.

Our social rent reduction policy was based on the need to put welfare spending on a sustainable footing whilst protecting the most vulnerable. It is right that supported housing providers make the efficiency savings we are asking of the whole social housing sector, and that’s why the 1% rent reduction will apply to the majority of them. In exceptional circumstances, supported housing providers (as for general needs social sector providers affected by the policy) who feel that compliance with the social rent reduction policy would result in serious financial difficulty or jeopardise their financial viability, can apply for an exemption from the requirement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-11-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the cumulative effect of the Government’s spending policies on the economic prospects of young people.

Damian Hinds

The economic prospects of young people are improving. The number of 18 to 24 year olds not in education, employment, or training is at its lowest rate since Q1 2004. And the youth unemployment is at its lowest rate since Mar-May 2008.

We have supported youth employment by abolishing employer National Insurance Contributions for those aged under 21, introducing the apprentice levy to provide funding for 3 million apprenticeships, and will introduce the Youth Obligation, which will help develop the skills that young people need to enter sustainable employment. The government is also building 200,000 starter homes, sold at a discount to first time buyers, which will help young people to get on the housing ladder.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the financial performance of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Alistair Burt

In March 2015, Monitor launched an investigation to find a lasting solution to performance issues and financial difficulties at King’s College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Following the investigation and evaluation of the progress the trust had achieved, Monitor initiated a programme of work to ensure that credible turnaround and strategic plans were put in place for the benefit of patients.

Monitor has supported the trust to produce financial recovery plans and a five-year strategic plan and is co-ordinating the joint actions that are required across the local health economy to ensure delivery of the plans.

The Department has approved an application from King’s for Interim Support Funding for the remainder of the current financial year, up to an agreed limit. Further work is currently in progress to assess the trust’s future requirements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-07-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the change in the number of jobs in the UK solar sector since May 2015.

Jesse Norman

The Department does not hold estimates of the number of jobs in the UK solar sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much Southern Railway has paid in compensation to Network Rail since the start of that franchise.

Paul Maynard

Under their track access agreement, compensation for unplanned disruption passes between Govia Thameslink Railway and Network Rail based upon which party is responsible for each disruptive incident. The Department does not see the breakdown of the compensation paid by each party. The net figures covering the years 2011-12 to 2014-15, are published on Network Rail’s website (‘Payments for disruption on the railway made under schedule 8’) at the following address:

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/transparency/datasets/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what rights protected in the Human Rights Act 1998 the Government plans not to include in the proposed British Bill of Rights.

Dominic Raab

We have been clear that the Bill of Rights will remain faithful to the basic principles which we signed up to in the European Convention on Human Rights. Our focus will be on mitigating the expansion of rights by the Strasbourg Court and the Human Rights Act. This government is as committed as any to upholding such rights, which underpin any civilised society, but we also want to prevent abuse of the system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department is giving to foundation trusts that are experiencing cash shortages.

Alistair Burt

Cash support is provided to foundation trusts to ensure the continued delivery of safe and quality health services during a period in which an assessment is made of the underlying issues and a recovery plan developed. The range of financial support available is set out in the Secretary of State’s Guidance under section 42A of the National Health Service Act 2006.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-07-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to announce the rate for the NHS-funded nursing care for residents of care homes in 2016-17.

Alistair Burt

Mazars LLP were appointed to carry out an independent review of the costs of nursing care by a registered nurse. Mazars’ report[1] recommends that the National Health Service-funded nursing care rate should be £156.25 – 40% higher than the 2015/16 rate. The Government has taken on board Mazars’ recommendation, meaning the rates paid by clinical commissioning groups for eligible care home residents assessed to require the help of a registered nurse are now as follows:

― standard rate – £156.25 per week; and

― higher rate – £215.04 per week (this is only relevant for those people who were already on the higher rate in 2007 when the single band was introduced).

These rates will be backdated to 1 April 2016 for individuals who were in receipt of NHS-funded Nursing Care from that time and paid on an interim basis whilst regional variation and the element of the rate for staff working on an agency basis are reviewed.

[1] http://www.mazars.co.uk/Home/Our-Sectors/Public-Services/Health/NHS-Funded-Nursing-Care-Review

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to publish its responses to the consumer group, Which?, super-complaint on rail delays compensation made to the Office of Rail and Road.

Paul Maynard

The Department is developing its response following the Office of Rail and Road’s formal investigation of this super-complaint. We will publish this response in due course.