The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for the introduction of proposals for a British Bill of Rights.
Sir Oliver Heald
We will set out our proposals for a Bill of Rights in due course. We will fully consult on our proposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what further devolution is being considered to the Mayor of London; and how his Department is working with the Mayor to tackle rail challenges facing the capital.
Paul Maynard
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked the Mayor of London to submit a business case for running London suburban rail services. This was submitted on Friday 14 October. We will now consider this and decide whether it will improve services for all passengers, including longer distance commuters. We will also need to understand how the Mayor intends to fund his proposals. A decision will be made in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much he expects local authorities to raise through the proposed social care precept arrangements; and what steps he is taking to ensure those funds are ring-fenced for care services.
Mr Marcus Jones
I refer the hon. Members to information accompanying the provisional local government finance settlement 2016-17, which was announced by my rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark) 17 December 2015, Official Report, Column 1722.
This is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/council-tax-in-2016-to-2017 and https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486708/Core_spending_power_supporting_information.xlsx
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to prepare for RansomWare attacks on NHS facilities.
George Freeman
The Department, the Health and Social Care Information Centre and strategic partners, have created the Care Computer Emergency Response Team service (CareCERT).
CareCERT was launched in September 2015 and is a centre of excellence for Cyber Security advice and Security Incident Management.
The CareCERT service is available to provide specific advice and guidance to organisations that may become affected. CareCERT maintains links with the United Kingdom National Computer Emergency Response Team and the Communications Electronic Security Group, and is able to call upon the expertise of these organisations should a larger incident be identified.
CareCERT send regular alerts and advisories to every National Health Service organisation and local authority on a range of Cyber Security issues, three of which have, to date, contained information regarding ransomware.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the way in which the shared accommodation rate is calculated to mitigate the effect of the housing benefit cap in the social sector.
Justin Tomlinson
There are no current plans to review how the shared accommodation rate is calculated within the Local Housing Allowance scheme.
For those under 35, not in supported housing, the existing exemptions that already apply to the shared accommodation rate for private rented sector tenants will be applied to the social sector as a minimum.
In addition, for those in supported housing, we are working closely with the supported housing sector to ensure appropriate protections are in place. For this reason we are awaiting the outcome of a Support Accommodation research project and subsequent policy review, to ensure support is focused on the most vulnerable, and appropriate safeguards are in place.
In addition, an enhanced package of Discretionary Housing Payment funding (£870 million over 5 years) will enable Local Authorities to provide support to the most vulnerable claimants.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to make public transport more accessible for people with guide dogs.
Andrew Jones
The Department is committed to building transport networks which work for everyone, including ensuring that disabled people have the same opportunities to travel as other members of society.
From the 1st January this year all single deck buses designed to carry over twenty two passengers on local and scheduled routes have had to comply with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR), which require vehicles to include contrasting handrails, priority seating and other features of benefit to visually impaired people. At least one priority seat on each bus must have sufficient space to accommodate an assistance dog with its owner. Double deck buses must comply with PSVAR by the 1st January 2017.
Positive interactions with staff can also give visually impaired people the confidence to use bus services. We are working with Mott MacDonald to review disability awareness training from across the transport sector, and to produce best practice guidance by the end of 2016, to help equip bus drivers with the skills and knowledge they need to provide disabled passengers with a first class service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will publish any research it holds on attendance allowance claimants and how such claimants use that funding.
Justin Tomlinson
The Department publishes its research and statistics on Gov.uk, with links to research available on https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/research. There are no current plans to publish any further research on Attendance Allowance claimants outside the regular statistical publications it produces.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she will take to ensure that people with audio or visual impairments benefit from the Digital Economy Bill; and if she will assess how on-demand services will meet such people’s needs.
Matt Hancock
Ofcom is the regulator with responsibility for on-demand programme services (ODPS). Ofcom are presently consulting on how to improve access services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the potential effect of replacing student bursaries with loans on the number of British students entering nursing courses in each of the next five years; and what assessment his Department has made of whether there will be a need to increase international recruitment to the NHS as a consequence of that change.
Ben Gummer
The Government assessment undertaken to date is that nursing is consistently one of the most popular courses on University Central Administration Service (fifth), with 57,000 applicants for around 20,000 nursing places in 2014. Midwifery and Allied Health Professional courses receive higher than average applications as well.
A maximum £9,000 tuition fee for other subjects at higher education institutions was introduced in 2012. Between 2012 and 2014 the number of English domiciled applicants to enter full-time undergraduate courses in the United Kingdom increased by 7.5% (from 454,000 in 2012 to 487,870 in 2014).
We estimate that the reforms will allow universities to be able to offer up to 10,000 more nursing, midwifery and allied health training over this parliament. Nursing is currently on the Home Office Shortage Occupation List (SOL) and we recognise the valuable contribution that international nurses have and will continue to make but the Government is committed to reducing the need for overseas nurses within this parliament, nursing will only stay on the SOL list for as long as they are needed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure there are sufficient safeguards to respect individual privacy in place in respect of intelligence gathered by GCHQ.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
GCHQ’s intelligence gathering powers are authorised under legislation, including the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014, and the Intelligence Services Act 1994. Its work, including its respect for privacy, is scrutinised by the Intelligence and Security Committee, the Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Intelligence Services Commissioner.