The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2015 to Question 7630, how many GP practices in each pathfinder area have signed up to care.data to date in total.
George Freeman
The information requested is provided in the following table:
|
Pathfinder clinical commissioning groups. |
GP Practices |
|
Blackburn with Darwen |
23 |
|
Leeds |
15 |
|
West Hampshire |
30 |
|
Somerset |
56 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 10 in the UK.
Mr David Gauke
The government is committed to tackling inequality. According to the latest ONS statistics, original income inequality in the UK is at its lowest level since 1989.
The government believes that the best way to reduce inequality and poverty is through tackling unemployment, and getting workless households into work. Employment has increased by 2 million since the 2010 election, and the percentage of workless households is lower than at any point under the last Labour government.
The Government is tackling low pay by introducing a new National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 25 and above from April 2016. On current OBR forecasts, by 2020 the NLW will be over £9 an hour, meaning a full-time worker aged 25 or above will earn over £4,800 a year more in cash terms than under the current National Minimum Wage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-22.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review to provide ring fenced funding for a feasibility study into the trunk road section of the A595.
Greg Hands
Highways England will soon start a new programme of Route Strategies, aiming to develop an investment programme for the years 2020-25. These will be the forum where MPs and members of the public can make the case for improvements in their area. If improvements to the A595 are proposed through this process, they will be considered carefully for investment in the next Road Investment Strategy.
Further details of Spending Review decisions will be announced on 25 November.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the skills gap in Cumbria.
Nick Boles
It is not for central government to assess local skills needs. Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are working in collaboration with local authorities, colleges and providers in the area to jointly agree key local skill needs and develop a local skills offer that is responsive to local labour market conditions and contributes to improving our productivity.
Cumbria LEP and the Cumbria Employment and Skills Commission are currently refreshing the area skills strategy and this will be finalised in December 2015. It will include a review of the skills needs of the four key sectors denoted in the Cumbria Strategic Economic Plan: Nuclear and Energy; Advanced Manufacturing; Rural and Visitor Economy; and, Infrastructure Improvements. The Skills Commission has noted that the future skills needs of the nuclear sector and BAE Systems Submarine will create significant pressure for skilled labour, particularly in advanced manufacturing and engineering. This will create displacement challenges in other manufacturing businesses in the area.
In September the government announced a programme of area reviews, which will be locally led and will involve key stakeholders. They will be based on the best available evidence of skills requirements and establish a local post-16 education and training offer which is high quality and responsive to employer need. The reviews will support local involvement in the ongoing commissioning of provision, putting responsibility in the hands of people who are best placed to tailor provision to local economic needs. Cumbria will be included in the area review process, due to be completed by March 2017 and an announcement on the date for the review will be announced in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-22.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many official visits he has made to (a) Copeland constituency and (b) Cumbria as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.
Greg Hands
Last week the Chancellor of the Exchequer was in Manchester, Newcastle and Teesside and would hope to visit Cumbria in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department makes available to people who are unable to work whilst receiving treatment for cancer and what assets which cannot quickly be converted to enough money to cover consequential costs.
Esther McVey
People who are unable to work whilst receiving treatment for cancer may be entiltled to claim Employment and Support Allowance and, depending on the circumstances of them and their family, may be entilted to other benefits such as Personal Independence Payment, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) NHS England are working on the transition to a new system following the implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012; and what the cost was of employing such officials in the latest period for which figures are available.
Jane Ellison
The Health and Social Care Transition Programme (HSCTP) was set up to implement the changes introduced under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The programme was led by the Department and closed on 31 March 2013. All of the organisations in the new health and care system assumed full responsibilities and powers as set out in the Act from 1 April 2013.
Any enduring responsibilities that transferred to the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), or NHS England from 1 April 2013 are being discharged as part of business as usual arrangements in each organisation. As the HSCTP has closed and the new organisations are in place, there are no longer any officials working on the transition to a new system.
Further information on the overall cost of transition is available in the National Audit Office report ‘Managing the transition to the reformed health system’ available at the following link:
www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/10175-001-Managing-the-transition-to-the-reformed-health-system.pdf
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve the openness and transparency of the proceedings and accountability of Family Court decisions.
Simon Hughes
The Government recognises the need for greater openness in the family justice system. The challenge is to open the system up to greater scrutiny while protecting those involved especially the welfare of children. Last year, the President of the Family Division issued practice guidance in relation to committal of individuals found in contempt of court to ensure that these proceedings should be held in open court. In January this year, the President issued guidance aimed at increasing the number of judgments in family proceedings which are published. We are grateful to the President for his work in this area.
The guidance is available at the following link:
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that fathers have appropriate access to or custody of their children following separation or divorce in cases where there is no risk to the child.
Mr Edward Timpson
The Government recognises that a father’s role in his child’s life is a very important one and legislation in the Children and Families Act 2014 reflects the importance of children having a continuing relationship with both of their parents following family separation, as long as it is safe and in the child’s best interests.
We are also strengthening the way in which breaches of child arrangement orders are handled. Cases which are breached within the first 12 months of an order being made will in future return to court quickly and, wherever possible, to the judge who made the original order. Courts will also be able to make full use of powers to direct a parent who is in breach of an order to participate in an activity, for example a parenting programme, to address their behaviour.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-04-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much NHS England spent on tendering for clinical services in 2013-14.
Dr Daniel Poulter
NHS England has advised that it does not hold information on spend on tendering for clinical services. Staff payroll costs will form the majority of the cost of any tendering process and it is not possible to determine what proportion of each individual staff member’s time is spent on this work.