Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many provider NHS trusts achieved an improvement in operating efficiency of four per cent or more without aggravating their debt position in the last financial year.

    Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

    There is no nationally agreed metric for operating efficiency. However, an annual efficiency requirement is built into the tariff uplift calculation that is used by commissioners in their contract negotiation with providers. In 2015-16 this efficiency requirement was 3.5% over 2014-15. Therefore, we can assume that organisations are delivering this efficiency if they improve their financial position based on these efficiency adjusted prices.

    In February 2016, the Department published Lord Carter’s Operational productivity and performance in English NHS acute hospitals: Unwarranted variations report, a review of efficiency in hospitals which provided details of how operational savings can be achieved. A copy of the report is attached. This programme, along with ‎additional funding provided by the government, will help reduce deficits in this year and bring the sector back into financial balance in future years.

    The National Health Service will receive additional funding of £10 billion per year by the end of the current Spending Review period, with £3.8 billion provided in 2016-17 alone. From this £3.8 billion, we have created a £2.1 billion Sustainability and Transformation Fund that will help providers move to a sustainable financial footing.

    NHS Improvement’s 2016-17 quarter 1 performance report confirmed that things are improving in this year, with lower levels of deficit, fewer trusts reporting a deficit and savings on agency staff.

  • Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to consult clinicians on his policy on access to off-patent drugs.

    George Freeman

    Our policy on generic prescribing has been in place for a number of years. The policy helps ensure that patients can access the medicine that best meets their needs and it has been a key driver in the National Health Service making maximum use of off-patent drugs which are also known as generics. We have the best prescribing rate for these drugs in Europe.

    To support clinicians who may want to prescribe a product off-label for a patient to and improve the flow of research evidence into clinical practice, the Department hosted a Roundtable Event in February 2015. Attendees included the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Breast Cancer Now and other charities and discussions helped determine those non-legislative measures that could be undertaken. The Government is committed to this work and is holding a further roundtable event with charities.

  • Lord Birt – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Birt – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of road vehicles in the UK they expect to be wholly electrically powered by 2030.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has a commitment that nearly every car and van will be zero emission by 2050. Already over 1% of new cars are ultra low emission and we expect uptake to continue to rise over time consistent with this goal. We do not provide interim forecasts or targets as this market is now moving so rapidly. We will spend over £600m 2015-16 and 2020-21 to put the UK on track to meet our ambitious long term target.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he visited the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2016, in his official capacity.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) did not attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2016.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when and where they will establish application procedures for the new funds they are providing to assist the education of the children of refugees and displaced people from Iraq and Syria.

    Baroness Verma

    At the Supporting Syria and the Region conference, the UK committed to more than double our total pledge to the Syria crisis to over £2.3 billion. Within this allocation, we committed to double education funding for Lebanon to £40 million per year and increase funding in Jordan to £20 million a year to support the conference goal of getting all refugee children from Syria and vulnerable children in host communities in quality education by the end of the 2016/17 school year. We also committed to increasing access to learning for the 2.1 million children out of school in Syria itself.

    Implementation plans to deliver the Conference goals on education are currently being discussed with partner governments, UN agencies, NGOs and donors. New UK funding will be aligned with these plans, and will be implemented through partners who can deliver increases in access to quality education, quickly, efficiently and at scale. Implementing partners will be identified selected in accordance with normal DFID procedures.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people using the Chorlton Benefit Delivery Centre applied for funeral payments in each month in 2015; how many of those applications were granted; and what the average amount awarded was in each of those months.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Table below gives figures for the number of application and awards for Funeral Expense Payments for the Chorlton Benefit Delivery Centre by month for 2015. (Some individuals may have made more than one application in a month.)

    Month

    Applications Received

    Awards

    Average Award

    Jan

    480

    290

    £1,375

    Feb

    460

    270

    £1,229

    Mar

    360

    270

    £1,323

    Apr

    390

    270

    £1,286

    May

    440

    300

    £1,380

    Jun

    440

    310

    £1,377

    Jul

    360

    240

    £1,382

    Aug

    310

    180

    £1,368

    Sep

    350

    220

    £1,344

    Oct

    340

    200

    £1,369

    Nov

    350

    230

    £1,361

    Dec

    190

    130

    £1,379

    Source: DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System

    Figures for Applications Received and Awards made are rounded to the nearest 10.

    Average Award amounts are given to the nearest £1. The average award is calculated by dividing gross expenditure by the number of awards (including awards made on review, reconsideration or appeal).

  • Lord Livermore – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Livermore – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Livermore on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they consider to be the most accurate way of measuring social mobility in the UK.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    There is currently no commonly agreed measure for socio-economic background for employers in the UK. As committed to in our Talent Action Plan 2016, we are working with a number of major employers and organisations promoting social mobility to create new national common measures for determining socio-economic background of applicants and workforces. This will help to boost social mobility in workplaces across the UK, in both the public and private sectors.

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children have been reunited with their families in the UK in (a) the last five years and (b) the last year under (i) the EU Dublin III Regulations, (ii) part 11 of the UK immigration rules, (iii) other parts of the UK immigration rules and (iv) under exceptional circumstances.

    James Brokenshire

    It is not possible to provide a full answer to this question. I shall write to the hon. Gentleman on the issues he has raised.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s Local Transport Note No. 2/95, published in April 1995, if he will amend that note to assume a lower walking speed for pedestrian crossing timings.

    Andrew Jones

    Local Transport Note 2/95 provides advice to local authorities on calculating timings for crossings.

    The design walking speed of 1.2m/s used in the guidance covers 85% of the population. It is generally felt that this allows enough time for pedestrians to cross, and is long enough to accommodate people that walk more slowly. Where a crossing might be used by a large number of older people or those with mobility issues, for example outside residential care homes, we recommend that this should be taken into account when setting timings. The guidance for crossings is not statutory and local authorities can choose to use a slower walking speed if they deem it suitable.

    The Department is considering how best to update guidance, including that on pedestrian crossings, in light of the revision to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 which came into force on 22 April.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the amount of student loans outstanding was as of 31 March in each of the last three years.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Student Loans Company (SLC) administers student loans for each of the UK Government Administrations. Statistics on student loan debt and repayment in England are published annually by the SLC in the Statistical First Release ‘Student Loans in England’. Information on the amount of student loan outstanding as of 31 of March in each of the last three years is available in Table 1. The information can be accessed at the following link:

    http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/student-loans-debt-and-repayment/england.aspx

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