Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • 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 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the decline in average traffic speed over the last five years.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department publishes statistics on average traffic speeds on locally managed ‘A’ roads in England and the Strategic Road Network. For locally managed ‘A’ roads, average speeds have decreased since 2014, when the Department started measuring speeds over the full 24 hours of the day. This is in line with the previously published statistical series which presented average speeds, on locally managed ‘A’ roads during the weekday morning peak, decreasing from 2012 to the end of that series in 2015.

    The statistics for average speeds on the Strategic Road Network start in 2015-16. The latest statistics in this series (the 12 months to June 2016) presented a small decrease in average speeds compared to 2015-16 (the 12 months to March 2016).

    The Department has not undertaken a formal assessment of the reasons for the decline in average speeds. However, we believe that the decreases observed in average speeds on locally managed ‘A roads in England since 2012 are, at least in part, a result of the impact of increases in traffic on these roads. We know that people rely on roads in increasing numbers as our economy grows, and that is why, for example, we are investing £15billion in the strategic road network which will help to help tackle congestion.

    In addition, in 2012-13 there were unusually high levels of rainfall in England, which we also believe contributed to the decrease in average speeds at that time.

  • Baroness Hamwee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Hamwee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hamwee on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation was undertaken before giving guidance to Home Office officials on adults at risk in immigration detention to distinguish between torture by state actors and by non-state actors.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The definition of torture adopted for the “adults at risk in immigration detention” policy is in line with that set out in the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) although, for the purposes of the policy, it has been extended to cover serious harm inflicted by terrorist groups exploiting instability or civil war to hold territory.

    The Government adopted this definition as it most accurately reflects the need to protect those who are most likely to be adversely affected by detention – that is, those who have been harmed by the state, or by an organisation exercising similar control, and for whom detention is most likely to be redolent of the harm they have suffered.

    In order to be consistent, the same definition was applied to the reporting system in rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 under which doctors working in immigration removal centres are required to report concerns that a detainee may have been the victim of torture. This has no effect on the requirement also in rule 35 for such doctors to report where a detainee’s health is likely to be injuriously affected by continued detention or the conditions of detention.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions since the National Assembly for Wales acquired full legislative powers (1) the Welsh Government has sought permission under Minister of the Crown functions for proposals within Welsh bills, and (2) such permission was refused.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Secretary of State consent to amend Minister of the Crown functions has been sought in relation to seven of the Acts passed by the Assembly since 2011. The Government has refused such consent once, in relation to the Local Government Byelaws (Wales) Act 2012, having suggested an amendment to the drafting which would have enabled the UK Government to give consent but was rejected by the Welsh Government.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of regulation of the quality of social care paid for through Direct Payments.

    Alistair Burt

    The Care Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities to meet an individual’s eligible needs for care and support. If a person is assessed as being eligible for care and support from their local authority, they must be provided with a care plan to help decide the best way to meet their needs. People may choose to take a direct payment with which to purchase their own care and support, or they may wish to receive services arranged by their local authority, or a combination of both.

    It is important that people are enabled to be flexible to choose care and support from a diverse range of sources. This may include registered care providers but also “non-service” options, such as information and communication technologies and personal assistants. Providers of adult social care must register with the national regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which is responsible for regulating the quality and safety of services. However, non-care services, including personal assistance services, are not required to register with the CQC.

    Statutory guidance issued under the Care Act makes it clear that local authorities should provide people with appropriate advice concerning their use of direct payments, including how they differ from traditional services and provide helpful information such as the difference between purchasing regulated and unregulated services, for example, personal assistants, to help people make fully informed decisions on how best to meet their needs.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to encourage investment in infrastructure in the north and east of Sri Lanka; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID does not have a bilateral programme with Sri Lanka. However, the UK continues to provide assistance through a share of its contributions to multilaterals working in Sri Lanka, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Inclusive growth is a major thrust of the ADB’s Sri Lanka strategy, with projects that support investment in infrastructure in the north and east of the country, as well as elsewhere.

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives from the health sector on the development of services to treat arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department is in regular contact with stakeholders, such as Arthritis Research UK, and hosted a roundtable with them in November. The group is in the process of producing a toolkit for commissioners to support commissioning of physical activity interventions for people with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

    Whilst the Department has no plans to publish an arthritis action plan, NHS England and Public Health England are taking forward a number of projects.

    Specifically on MSK conditions, the National Health Service National Clinical Director for MSK, Peter Kay, has been working in partnership with the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance, to develop new MSK clinical networks across England to build consensus on the way forward for models of care. In addition, in February 2015, Public Health England, in partnership with NHS England and the Department, ran a local pilot campaign to raise public awareness of the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in Nottingham City and Hardwick Clinical Commissioning Group. The aim of the campaign was to support earlier diagnosis and thereby enable treatment to begin earlier to improve the quality of life for people with the condition. The results of the campaign are currently being evaluated.

  • John Cryer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Cryer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Cryer on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many meetings he or other Ministers of his Department have had with representatives of Care UK, BUPA, Virgin Care, The Practice, United Health/Optum, Serco, Nestor Primecare, General Healthcare (BMI Netcare), Spire/Classic, HCA International, Ramsay and Capio in each month of (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014, (f) 2015 and (g) 2016 to date.

    Ben Gummer

    Information regarding all meetings between Departmental Ministers and external organisations is included in the Transparency Data, published quarterly. This can be accessed at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-of-health&publication_type=transparency-data.

    “

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Bahrain pressing for (a) the release of all people arrested in relation to peaceful protest and (b) reconsideration of the July 2014 amendments to the nationality laws in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK encourages Bahrain to respect the rights of all peaceful opposition figures. We call on the Bahraini government to act proportionately in all such cases to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression and assembly. We also continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to meets its human rights obligations and honour all conventions to which it is a party – including on citizenship rights. We regularly discuss human rights with the Government of Bahrain. I most recently raised human rights with the Bahraini Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, on 8 March.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Northern Powerhouse schools strategy plans to fast-track the best (a) schools to become teaching schools and (b) local heads to become national leaders of education.

    Nick Gibb

    Our White Paper, Education Excellence Everywhere, sets out the range of support we will offer to schools across England.

    Where schools are failing, Regional Schools Commissioners will identify a suitable academy sponsor to turn them around. In areas where there are too few sponsors, we will recruit new sponsors, including high-performing schools and more sponsors from business, charity and philanthropy. We will also encourage existing sponsors to expand, increasing incentives and minimising barriers, learning from the investment we have already made through the Northern Sponsor Fund.

    For other struggling schools, we will ensure there is nationwide coverage of system leaders (teaching schools and National Leaders of Education), who will be expected to work with weaker schools to support them to improve. To help achieve this, we will improve how we designate system leaders by introducing a more sophisticated approach based on timely and accurate data rather than relying heavily on Ofsted judgements. We will also partner schools with the potential to become strong system leaders with existing teaching schools and National Leaders of Education.

    Through the Department’s strategy for Achieving Excellence Areas, we will target our existing programmes to secure sufficient high quality teachers, leaders, system leaders, sponsors and members of governing boards on the areas of greatest need. At the Budget, the Government announced that we will invest an additional £20 million a year to build on this strategy to raise education standards across the Northern Powerhouse. The allocation of this funding will depend on the identified need and will be reassessed each year, based on the evidence.

    For the additional funding announced in the budget, decisions on how the funding will be allocated for the 2016-17 financial year will be made by the autumn of this year and will be informed by the emerging findings of the review by Sir Nick Weller. We will be publishing the terms of reference for Sir Nick Weller’s review shortly.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many civil servants in her Department are paid through limited companies.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office have no civil servants employed that are paid through limited companies.