Tag: Parliamentary Question

Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government’s proposals to cap public sector exit payments will explicitly exclude those workers who are retiring due to ill-health.

Greg Hands

The Government consulted on implementing a public sector exit payment cap in July 2015. The Government response to this consultation was published on 16 September 2015. This response provides detail on which organisations and types of payments the Government intends to capture within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap. This accords with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.

The response document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464367/Public_sector_exit_payments_response.pdf

The exit payment cap will apply to payments made as a result of an employee leaving their employment. It will not affect any pension a person has earned through their years of service or have any impact on accrued pension rights or pension lump sum entitlements on retirement. It will capture contributions, made by the employer, to fund early access to an unreduced or partially reduced pension. This is because such costs are ultimately funded by the tax payer.

The Government has been clear that early retirements relating to ill health are outside the scope of the cap and will not be affected. Additionally, any payments directed by a Court or Tribunal will not be included in the scope of the cap.

Exits on compassionate grounds are not such a clearly defined concept as exits related to ill health or redundancy. There will generally be a large degree of employer discretion on the terms of such exits, and on any payments. In these cases there will be discretion available to relax the cap in individual cases, subject to relevant Ministerial or local council approval, as will be set out in further detail in forthcoming Treasury guidance and directions.

01/01/2023
Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2016 to Question 27033, which governments within the EU support further political integration.

Mr David Lidington

As I said in my response of 23 February 2016 (PQ 27033), there is clearly support in some governments within the European Union for further political integration, but there are other, more sceptical voices too. The recital in paragraph one of section C makes clear that “the United Kingdom, in the light of the specific situation it has under the Treaties, is not committed to further political integration into the European Union”.

01/01/2023
Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how information is (1) collected, and (2) managed, to protect the dignity of patients who receive pharmacy services in retail outlets, under the Standards for registered pharmacies, Principle 1.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Pharmacy owners and superintendent pharmacists of bodies corporate are responsible for meeting the General Pharmaceutical Council’s standards for registered pharmacies and must decide how best to do so, including managing information to protect the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of patients and the public, within their pharmacies.

There are a number of different ways in which pharmacy professionals and the wider pharmacy team may receive patient information. Information is included on prescriptions, or may be shared by patients when seeking care from a pharmacy. In addition, information may be stored in patient medication records or other records.

Through its inspections, the General Pharmaceutical Council seeks assurance from the pharmacy team about how they maintain the confidentiality, privacy and dignity of patients and the public. These assurances can be provided through a number of different means, for example restricted password access to patient information, appropriate training of staff or making sure patients can have conversations with members of the pharmacy team in private.

All National Health service providers, including community pharmacies, also need to provide information governance assurances to the NHS on an annual basis.

01/01/2023
Baroness Howells of St Davids – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Howells of St Davids on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Movement for an Adoption Apology campaign, whether they have any plans to make a public apology to the mothers whose children were taken away from them between the 1950s and 1980s.

Lord Nash

The Government has a great deal of sympathy for those women and children who were affected by the pressures to give children up for adoption. Their accumulated experiences clearly show them to be victims of the prevailing moral and social behaviour of their time. Governments have subsequently done much to resolve these social ills in the past.

01/01/2023
Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the ban on referral fees in insurance claiming has taken effect, and whether they have raised concerns with the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority over its role in enforcing compliance.

Lord Faulks

The payment and receipt of referral fees by legal services providers in personal injury claims is banned under Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 which was implemented on 1 April 2013.

This Ministry of Justice is in regular contact with the regulators of legal services providers, including the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority, about issues relating to enforcement.

01/01/2023
Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the introduction of the cost collection process within the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Richard Harrington

None.

01/01/2023

Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many abortions have been performed on the grounds of possible abnormalities detected in the womb in each of the last five years.

Nicola Blackwood

Data for the last five years derived from HSA4 forms notifying abortions is available through the following links:

Year	Data
2011	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/200529/Abortion_statistics__England_and_Wales_2011.pdf
2012	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/307650/Abortion_statistics__England_and_Wales.pdf
2013	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319460/Abortion_Statistics__England_and_Wales_2013.pdf
2014	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433437/2014_Commentary__5_.pdf
2015	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/529344/Abortion_Statistics_2015_v3.pdf

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01/01/2023

Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for how many days Ms Patricia Hart worked on the Review of the NHS Hospitals Complaints Systems in 2013.

Ben Gummer

Professor Patricia Hart worked for 20.3 days on A Review of the NHS Hospitals Complaints System in 2013.

01/01/2023
Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they treat universities that receive public funding as private or public institutions.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

In general, universities that receive public grant funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England are private institutions.

However there are instances where the law does consider them to be public authorities. For example, they are listed in Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as public authorities for the purposes of that Act. However, for the purposes of the Human Rights Act 1998, they are considered to be ‘hybrid’ public authorities, which means that that Act only applies to their public functions, and not their private ones.

01/01/2023
MiDavies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what incentives his Department provides to encourage local authorities to build retirement and adapted housing.

Brandon Lewis

We are committed to increasing the diversity and choice of housing for older people. We know that the right housing can help people to have the lifestyle they want in later life, and help people stay healthier for longer. The National Planning Policy Framework requires local authorities to plan for a mix of housing based on current and future demographic trends, and the needs of different groups in the area, including older people and disabled people. In March 2015 we strengthened our planning guidance further to encourage local authorities to recognise the importance for planning for older people’s housing.

Local authorities are eligible to bid for capital grant funding for specialised housing for older people, including adapted housing through the Government’s Affordable Homes Programme, which includes funding for supported housing and the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund.

To help older people stay healthier for longer in their existing home the Government provides the Disabled Facilities Grant, which is part of the Better Care Fund. This capital grant for adaptations is paid to local authorities in England to fund the provision of home adaptations (including stair lifts, level access showers and, in some instances, home extensions) to help disabled people to live as comfortably, safely and independently as possible in their own homes for longer. In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced that funding for the Grant will rise to over £500 million by 2020. Annual allocations for the Disabled Facilities Grant for each year until 2020 will be announced in due course.

01/01/2023