Tag: Jeff Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it the Government’s policy to require local authorities to collect data on the number of children who have experienced abuse and neglect.

Edward Timpson

The Government collects and publishes ‘Characteristics of children in need’ statistics annually. This includes data on the number of children in need where the primary need identified at assessment is abuse or neglect, the number of assessments undertaken by children’s social care services where different types of abuse and neglect are a factor, and the number of children on child protection plans by different categories of abuse and neglect.

The statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 27610, on Volkswagen, what response he has received from Volkswagen on the difference in compensation offered to US and UK customers.

Andrew Jones

We continue to engage with Volkswagen on the issue of compensation for UK consumers. The Secretary of State summoned the Managing Director of VW UK to a further meeting earlier this month to discuss the issue. Volkswagen’s position is that there is no evidence that drivers in the UK have suffered a loss, and so they maintain there is no need for compensation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service were not resolved within 60 days in (a) the UK, (b) Manchester and (c) Manchester Withington constituency in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Sarah Newton

In the last 12 months (1 October 2015 – 30 September 2016), the proportion of disclosure applications which took longer than 60 days was as follows: (a) the UK – 5.4%, (b) Manchester – 3.9%, (c) Manchester Withington – 2.8%. The Disclosure and Barring Service is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner and is working closely with those forces whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. The average time taken in days to process disclosures checks in the last three years is as follows:

Time Period	Average waiting time – United Kingdom	Average waiting time – Manchester Withington
Oct-13 to Sep-14	13.4	12.0
Oct-14 to Sep-15	14.4	12.1
Oct-15 to Sep-16	15.5	12.6

The average processing time for applications to the DBS for each police force area in England from 1 October 2015 to 30 September 2016 is set out in the table below. This shows the average number of days each application took from the point at which the application form was received to the date the certificate was issued, broken down by the applicant’s geographical police force area. This information reflects all applications sent to the DBS, of which a proportion are sent to police forces for consideration for disclosure.

Police Force Area in which applicant lives	Average time taken in calendar days
Metropolitan	28.1
Cumbria	11.5
Lancashire	11.6
Merseyside	12.1
Greater Manchester	14.1
Cheshire	11.1
Northumbria	13.9
Durham	11.9
North Yorkshire	14.1
West Yorkshire	12.7
South Yorkshire	19.8
Humberside	12.2
Cleveland	13.5
West Midlands	10.3
Staffordshire	9.6
West Mercia	11.9
Warwickshire	9.4
Derbyshire	14.1
Nottinghamshire	11.7
Lincolnshire	10.5
Leicestershire	9.4
Northamptonshire	17.9
Cambridgeshire	10.1
Norfolk	9.1
Suffolk	9.9
Bedfordshire	11.6
Hertfordshire	14.8
Essex	14.2
Thames Valley	16.1
Hampshire	14.2
Surrey	14.1
Kent	15.8
Sussex	11.9
City of London	11.9
Devon & Cornwall	11.3
Avon And Somerset	10.7
Gloucester	10.7
Wiltshire	10.2
Dorset	26.8

For a breakdown of how long police forces take to process applications they receive; this information is regularly published on the DBS website and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dbs-performance

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many smart (a) electric and (b) gas meters have been installed in (i) Manchester, Withington constituency, (ii) Greater Manchester and (iii) the UK since the smart meter programme was implemented.

Andrea Leadsom

Data on the number of smart electricity and gas meters installed in Great Britain is set out in the Government’s ‘Smart Meters, Great Britain, Quarterly report to end December 2015’, published on 31 March 2016:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistical-release-and-data-smart-meters-great-britain-quarter-4-2015

The roll-out is making good progress with more than 3 million meters now operating under the Programme which covers Great Britain. Northern Ireland is undertaking a separate roll-out programme.

Data is not collected from energy suppliers in a way that allows constituency or regional-level data to be produced.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was for the completion of pre-employment checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service in each of the last three years in (a) the UK and (b) Manchester Withington constituency.

Sarah Newton

In the last 12 months (1 October 2015 – 30 September 2016), the proportion of disclosure applications which took longer than 60 days was as follows: (a) the UK – 5.4%, (b) Manchester – 3.9%, (c) Manchester Withington – 2.8%. The Disclosure and Barring Service is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner and is working closely with those forces whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. The average time taken in days to process disclosures checks in the last three years is as follows:

Time Period	Average waiting time – United Kingdom	Average waiting time – Manchester Withington
Oct-13 to Sep-14	13.4	12.0
Oct-14 to Sep-15	14.4	12.1
Oct-15 to Sep-16	15.5	12.6

The average processing time for applications to the DBS for each police force area in England from 1 October 2015 to 30 September 2016 is set out in the table below. This shows the average number of days each application took from the point at which the application form was received to the date the certificate was issued, broken down by the applicant’s geographical police force area. This information reflects all applications sent to the DBS, of which a proportion are sent to police forces for consideration for disclosure.

Police Force Area in which applicant lives	Average time taken in calendar days
Metropolitan	28.1
Cumbria	11.5
Lancashire	11.6
Merseyside	12.1
Greater Manchester	14.1
Cheshire	11.1
Northumbria	13.9
Durham	11.9
North Yorkshire	14.1
West Yorkshire	12.7
South Yorkshire	19.8
Humberside	12.2
Cleveland	13.5
West Midlands	10.3
Staffordshire	9.6
West Mercia	11.9
Warwickshire	9.4
Derbyshire	14.1
Nottinghamshire	11.7
Lincolnshire	10.5
Leicestershire	9.4
Northamptonshire	17.9
Cambridgeshire	10.1
Norfolk	9.1
Suffolk	9.9
Bedfordshire	11.6
Hertfordshire	14.8
Essex	14.2
Thames Valley	16.1
Hampshire	14.2
Surrey	14.1
Kent	15.8
Sussex	11.9
City of London	11.9
Devon & Cornwall	11.3
Avon And Somerset	10.7
Gloucester	10.7
Wiltshire	10.2
Dorset	26.8

For a breakdown of how long police forces take to process applications they receive; this information is regularly published on the DBS website and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dbs-performance

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of reductions in the public health grant for local authorities on local smoking cessation services in (a) Manchester, Withington constituency, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) the UK.

Jane Ellison

Local authorities will, over the next five years, receive £16 billion through the public health grant. Local authorities have responsibility for protecting public health and meeting the needs of their local population, including tobacco control.

Public Health England supports local authorities by developing and distributing information and advice for the commissioning of effective regional approaches to tobacco control which maximise value for money at a local level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time was for applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service for each police force area in England for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Sarah Newton

In the last 12 months (1 October 2015 – 30 September 2016), the proportion of disclosure applications which took longer than 60 days was as follows: (a) the UK – 5.4%, (b) Manchester – 3.9%, (c) Manchester Withington – 2.8%. The Disclosure and Barring Service is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner and is working closely with those forces whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. The average time taken in days to process disclosures checks in the last three years is as follows:

Time Period	Average waiting time – United Kingdom	Average waiting time – Manchester Withington
Oct-13 to Sep-14	13.4	12.0
Oct-14 to Sep-15	14.4	12.1
Oct-15 to Sep-16	15.5	12.6

The average processing time for applications to the DBS for each police force area in England from 1 October 2015 to 30 September 2016 is set out in the table below. This shows the average number of days each application took from the point at which the application form was received to the date the certificate was issued, broken down by the applicant’s geographical police force area. This information reflects all applications sent to the DBS, of which a proportion are sent to police forces for consideration for disclosure.

Police Force Area in which applicant lives	Average time taken in calendar days
Metropolitan	28.1
Cumbria	11.5
Lancashire	11.6
Merseyside	12.1
Greater Manchester	14.1
Cheshire	11.1
Northumbria	13.9
Durham	11.9
North Yorkshire	14.1
West Yorkshire	12.7
South Yorkshire	19.8
Humberside	12.2
Cleveland	13.5
West Midlands	10.3
Staffordshire	9.6
West Mercia	11.9
Warwickshire	9.4
Derbyshire	14.1
Nottinghamshire	11.7
Lincolnshire	10.5
Leicestershire	9.4
Northamptonshire	17.9
Cambridgeshire	10.1
Norfolk	9.1
Suffolk	9.9
Bedfordshire	11.6
Hertfordshire	14.8
Essex	14.2
Thames Valley	16.1
Hampshire	14.2
Surrey	14.1
Kent	15.8
Sussex	11.9
City of London	11.9
Devon & Cornwall	11.3
Avon And Somerset	10.7
Gloucester	10.7
Wiltshire	10.2
Dorset	26.8

For a breakdown of how long police forces take to process applications they receive; this information is regularly published on the DBS website and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dbs-performance

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people under the age of 25 in (a) England, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Manchester, Withington constituency are employed on zero-hours contracts.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs in England have a specialism in mental health.

David Mowat

This information is not collected by the Department.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many fines have been issued for claiming free prescriptions without a valid exemption certificate in each (a) month and (b) year since the NHS Business Services Authority began checking eligibility for free prescriptions in September 2014.

Alistair Burt

Since September 2014, when the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) took on responsibility for the service, a total of 747,790 penalty charge notices have been issued where someone claimed exemption on the basis that they held a valid exemption certificate but this could not be verified by the NHSBSA. A further 278,053 surcharge letters have been issued to follow up on penalty charge notices which have not been resolved through payment, cancellation (due to correction of erroneous information, for example) or waiving of the penalty charge. The annual and monthly breakdown is set out below.

Annual breakdown of Penalty Charges Notices and Surcharge letters

	Penalty Charge Notices	Surcharge letters
September 2014 – December 2014	59,564	20,562
January 2015 – December 2015	430,971	171,065
January 2016 – April 2016	257,255	86,426
Total	757,790	278,053

Monthly breakdown of Penalty Charge Notices and Surcharge letters

	Penalty Charge Notices	Surcharge letter
September 2014	5,298	1,733
October 2014	5,007	1,697
November 2014	23,511	8,344
December 2014	25,748	8,788
January 2015	53,668	11,445
February 2015	21,706	7,969
March 2015	15,316	6,182
April 2015	12,687	5,032
May 2015	20,122	8,189
June 2015	22,472	8,984
July 2015	18,249	6,550
August 2015	39,626	17,282
September 2015	57,661	24,634
October 2015	56,952	25,075
November 2015	64,573	28,655
December 2015	47,939	21,068
January 2016	82,881	36,766
February 2016	55,650	24,079
March 2016	49,767	20,340
April 2016	68,957	5,241
Total	747,790	278,053