Tag: Holly Lynch

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting times are for access to talking therapies in (a) the UK, (b) Yorkshire and (c) Halifax.

Alistair Burt

We do not hold the data in the format requested. What data we do hold is provided in the following table:

The number of referrals entering treatment¹ in the year, with mean and median waiting times to first treatment (days), for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services in 2014/15. Data shown for NHS Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and all Yorkshire CCGs combined².

Organisation code	Organisation name	Total number of referrals entering treatment3	Average (mean) waiting time to first treatment appointment (days)4	Median5 waiting time to first treatment appointment (days)
	All England	815,665	32	17
	All Yorkshire CCGs combined	71,690	39	21
02E	NHS Calderdale CCG	4,200	14	6

¹In order to enter treatment a referral must have a first treatment appointment (an appointment with a therapy type recorded) in the year.

²CCG is based on general practitioner (GP) Practice. Where GP Practice is not recorded, or cannot be assigned to a CCG, the referral is categorised as ‘Unknown’.

³In order to enter treatment a referral must have a first treatment appointment in the year.

⁴The mean was used as the average.

⁵Means and medians have been rounded to the nearest whole number.

Notes:

Waiting time is measured by counting the number of days between a referral being received and the first treatment appointment. For 2014/15, the presence of a valid therapy type is used as an indicator of whether treatment was provided in the course of the appointment.

Entering treatment figures are rounded to the nearest 5.

It is generally advised that the median is used as the more reliable measure of average waiting time, as this accounts better for any outliers in the data.

Source: IAPT

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what equality assessment the Government has made of its policy to provide the national living wage only for people aged 25 and over.

Nick Boles

The Government published its Impact Assessment of the National Living Wage (NLW) on 7 December 2015 which included equality analysis of the policy.

The NLW has provided a higher wage floor for those aged 25 and over because of the need to protect the employment prospects of younger workers. The priority for younger workers is to secure work and gain experience so they can compete in the labour market. Additionally, those aged 21 to 24 have a marked difference in labour market dynamics when compared to older workers, evident through their median earnings, employment rates and unemployment rates.

The design of the NLW reflects provisions in the National Minimum Wage Act allowing rates to vary up to the age of 25, under clause 3.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received from businesses on the enforcement of minor breaches of the Advertising Codes by the Advertising Standards Authority; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey

I have received no representations from businesses on this issue.

This Government supports the system of co-regulation and self-regulation, overseen by the independent Advertising Standards Authority and underpinned by consumer protection legislation. This regulatory system is independent of the Government and is ultimately responsible for setting the standards in advertising, ensuring that all adverts, wherever they appear, are legal, decent, honest and truthful.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to Question 18949, tabled by the hon. Member for Halifax on 7 December 2015.

Mr Shailesh Vara

I can confirm that the answer to PQ 18949 was given on the 29^th February 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the progress of the EU Solidarity Fund application to help people affected by flooding.

James Wharton

The Government submitted an initial UK application to the EU Solidarity Fund on Friday 26 February. The Department for Communities and Local Government is in regular discussions with the devolved administrations, local authorities and other government departments including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as we work to refine our cost estimates and figures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the timetable is for developing the business case for the Inspiring Science Capital Fund.

Joseph Johnson

The business case for the Inspiring Science Capital Fund is currently being developed with science stakeholders, and is expected to go through the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Investment Gateway process within the next two months. No funding can be confirmed until the business case is agreed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Halifax constituency will be affected by changes to employment and support allowance for new claimants in the work-related activity group.

Priti Patel

Forecasts for Employment and Support Allowance are made only at the national level. As such, the information requested is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information she holds on the number of 999 calls abandoned before being answered in (a) England, (b) Yorkshire and (c) Calderdale.

Mike Penning

The Home Office does not hold information on the number of 999 calls abandoned before being answered in (a) England, (b) Yorkshire and (c) Calderdale.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-01-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support the Financial Conduct Authority has offered to people affected by the recent administration of Brightsource Debt Management; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that debt consolidation companies make timely payments to creditors so that their customers’ loans are paid down as quickly as possible.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government has fundamentally reformed the regulation of the debt management market, transferring regulatory responsibility from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) a more robust and better resourced regulator.

The FCA is directing the clients of Brightsource Debt Management towards free debt advice and is engaging with the administrator to ensure the interests of clients are protected.

The FCA require debt management firms which receive client money for the purposes of paying off client debts to pay that money to creditors as soon as is reasonably practical, normally within 5 business days, unless the firm has disclosed to the client that it will hold the money for a longer period in its terms and conditions.

The FCA supervises the market; it has a broad enforcement toolkit to punish breaches of its rules and there is no limit on the fines it can levy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to employment and support allowance for new claimants in the work-related activity group on the mental health of those affected.

Priti Patel

We have fully assessed the impacts on equality of the welfare measures in the Bill and the wider budget, meeting our obligations as set out in the Public Sector Equality Duty. An impact assessment was published on 20 July last year.