Tag: Jon Trickett

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help strengthen local authority powers to deal with rogue landlords.

Gavin Barwell

The Government introduced a package of measures in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to help local authorities crack down on rogue landlords. They comprise civil penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution, the expansion of Rent Repayment Orders to cover a wider range of offences, a database of rogue landlords and property agents and banning orders to prevent serious and prolific offenders from being involved in the renting out or management of private rented properties. In addition, over the past five years, we have have made £12 million available to a range of local authorities to help them tackle acute and complex problems associated with rogue landlords. This has resulted in the inspection of over 70,000 properties with more than 5,000 landlords now facing further enforcement action.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals to introduce a national heart condition screening programme using a minor non-intrusive test for all young people between the ages of 14 to 35.

Jane Ellison

The UK National Screening Committee reviewed the evidence for screening for the major causes of sudden cardiac death in young people between the ages of 12 to 39 in 2015 and recommended that screening should not be offered. The Committee is scheduled to review the evidence again in 2018-19, and will only consider bringing this forward if significant new peer reviewed evidence emerges.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the cost to the public purse is of dealing with rogue landlords in each year since 2010.

Gavin Barwell

This information is not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the extension of the mental health officer pension age to 65 on the health and income of pension scheme members with Mental Health Officer status.

Alistair Burt

Mental Health Officer status is a reserved right for members who joined the NHS Pension Scheme before 6 March 1995 and have continued working in a role that qualifies for this status. The historic rationale for Mental Health Officer status related to working in long stay mental hospitals that no longer exist. It was clearly inappropriate and unnecessary to retain different pension arrangements for staff working in mental health to other National Health Service staff. This was recognised in 1995 when it was removed for new entrants.

When the normal pension age (NPA) for new members of the scheme changed to 65 in 2008, the only Mental Health Officers with an NPA of 65 are those who, at the time, chose to transfer to the 2008 section of the scheme. Those who did not transfer retained their Mental Health Officer status. As part of the Hutton reforms to public service pensions, scheme members who on 1 April 2012 were not within 10 years of their NPA moved to the 2015 scheme for future service with an NPA the same as their state pension age. Most Mental Health Officers were within 10 years of their NPA of 55 and so were unaffected. A minority of Mental Health Officers did transfer to the 2015 scheme but all their benefits earned up to that point are fully protected and payable in accordance with Mental Health Officer status rules, so without reduction at 55 and including a calculation to reflect the doubling of the value of some service for accrual purposes.

The Working Longer Group, a partnership group of nationally recognised NHS trade unions, NHS employers and health department representatives, was established by the Government to review the implications of the NHS workforce working to a later, raised retirement age. The Group is taking forward its recommendations, accepted by Ministers, to support staff working longer in the NHS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS trusts have reported difficulty recruiting specialist nurses for patients with neurological conditions in the last three years.

Ben Gummer

Information on how many trusts have reported difficulty recruiting specialist nurses for patients with neurological conditions is not collected centrally.

It is for local National Health Service organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills and to deploy specialist nurses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the time period is within which NHS England has to respond to patients’ complaints.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 provide the legislative framework within which NHS complaints must be handled.

There is no set timescale, though the body receiving the complaint must have arrangements in place to ensure it is dealt with efficiently, and the complainant receives a timely response.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many Syrian nationals have resettled in each region under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme since March 2014.

Richard Harrington

My rt. hon. Friend, the Prime Minister confirmed on 7 September 2015 that the UK would resettle an additional 20,000 Syrian refugees using the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees process for identifying and resettling refugees. On 16 December he announced that the Government had met its target of resettling 1,000 Syrian refugees by Christmas.

The Home Office is committed to publishing data on the number of people resettled under the programme as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release on 25 May 2016 and will cover the period January – March 2016. These numbers will be updated each quarter.

Participation in the Resettlement Scheme is voluntary by local authorities, and some do not wish to have their participation published. As such, the statistics do not include the local authority or region to which people are resettled.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the numbers of staff at Pinderfields Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

This is a matter for Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust, which operates Pinderfields Hospital. Staffing levels are the responsibility of trust boards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of Syrian nationals resettled under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme since March 2014 were housed under the COMPASS accommodation contract agreements.

Richard Harrington

Syrian nationals resettled in the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme are not housed under the COMPASS accommodation contract agreements. These agreements are only for asylum seekers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Care Quality Commission report of December 2015, on Pinderfields Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

These are matters for the local National Health Service. It is the responsibility of the Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust Board, its commissioners and regulators, and of the clinicians who work at the Trust, to ensure that the expected standards of care quality are being met.

Patients at Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust deserve the highest quality care and there is no excuse for services to fall short of the standards. The Trust must take the necessary steps to improve its safety and leadership with the support of NHS Improvement.