Tag: Parliamentary Question

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

    Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government for what reason NHS England intends to treat only a specified number of patients in 2016–17, as defined by recently published run rates for operational delivery networks services.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) specifically requires Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) to prioritise hepatitis C patients on the basis of highest unmet clinical need, as part of a progressive rollout of treatments over the next five years.

    NHS England is funding providers to double the number of patients treated and this number will ensure the National Health Service fully meets in 2016/17 the patient numbers NICE set out for progressive rollout of the treatments at the time it published its guidance.

    NHS England has invested in a Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme to incentivise ODNs to meet their agreed rate of roll-out. If their treatment rates deviate from this agreed rate of treatment, they are no longer eligible for these incentives.

    In meeting the obligations of its Mandate, NHS England has set out a planning approach for hepatitis C that delivers access to NICE recommended treatment without disinvestment in other health services.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what guidance his Department makes available to UK Special Forces and intelligence agencies on the dissemination of intelligence relating to individuals who are at risk of targeted lethal strikes by the US.

    Penny Mordaunt

    It is the longstanding policy of the Government not to comment on our Special Forces or intelligence activities.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, in how many local authority areas in (a) London and (b) England broadband speeds are below the recommended speed as advised by Ofcom.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Superfast broadband with speeds of at least 24Mbps is now available to 90 per cent of UK premises and this will reach 95 per cent by December 2017. The Government has also implemented a basic broadband scheme to enable all premises to gain access to speeds of at least 2Mbps. This enables residents and businesses in all parts of the UK to gain access to every government service available online.

    In addition it is the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation that will give people the legal right to request a broadband connection, no matter where they live, by the end of this Parliament. Our ambition is that this should initially be set at 10 Mbps.

    There is no specific recommended speed advised by Ofcom.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people with refugee status have undertaken study at the level of higher education in the UK in each of the last six years.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government has a longstanding and proud tradition of providing a safe haven to those who have no choice but to leave their home country because of endangerment to their lives or those of their families.

    Student support is available to those recognised as refugees (and their spouses, civil partners and children named on the initial application for asylum), provided they have been ordinarily resident in the British Islands since being recognised by the Government as a refugee and are ordinarily resident in England on the first day of the first academic year of the course. They are exempt from the three year residence requirement.

    Asylum seekers who are recognised as refugees after the start of their course may qualify for support for the remainder of their studies as follows:

    • living cost support in any subsequent years of the course (and in the quarters following the award in the year of the award); and

    • fee assistance in any subsequent years of the course (and in the year of the award if the award is made within three months of the first day of the academic year of the course).

    Information on the total number of students with a refugee status undertaking Higher Education courses in the UK is not available.

    Information is available from the Student Loans Company (SLC) on applicants with refugee status awarded student finance. Management information from the SLC showing the number of refugee applicants awarded loans in England in each of the last six years can be found in the table below:

    English Domiciled applicants with a refugee status awarded student loans

    Academic years 2009/10 to 2014/15 (data effective as at the end of each academic year)

    Academic Year

    Number of refugees awarded loans

    2009/10

    2,000

    2010/11

    2,500

    2011/12

    3,000

    2012/13

    3,700

    2013/14

    3,800

    2014/15

    3,900

    Source: SLC, Management Information

    Note: Awards do not necessarily translate into payments. An awarded applicant will only receive payments once SLC has received confirmation from the student’s provider at the start of the academic year that the student has been registered on the course.

  • James Cleverly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    James Cleverly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cleverly on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department had on the candidates for appointment for the post of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth before the most recent appointment to that post made at the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting in November 2015.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​​We demand a lot of the Commonwealth and had high expectations for the new Secretary-General. The UK wanted the strongest possible candidate to steer the Commonwealth through reform, to ensure that it has a voice on the most pressing global challenges and to unite countries behind the Commonwealth’s values such as the protection and promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. We assessed candidates for the position based on this criteria. We welcomed Patricia Scotland’s appointment as Secretary General in November 2015.

  • Clive Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Clive Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to chart 4.2 of the Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics Report 2015, published by her Department on 28 May 2015, what proportion of the (a) local authority, (b) owner-occupied, (c) private rented and (d) housing association households are in fuel poverty.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The number and proportion of fuel poor households in England by tenure are shown below:

    Tenure

    Local Authority

    Owner occupied

    Private Rented

    Housing Association

    2003 – Number of fuel poor households (000s)

    496

    1,220

    483

    215

    2003 – Proportion of households (%)

    21

    8

    25

    14

    2013 – Number of fuel poor households (000s)

    193

    1,104

    816

    234

    2013 – Proportion of households (%)

    12

    8

    19

    10

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the local economy of the potential closure of HM Revenue and Customs offices in West Yorkshire.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced its plans to create a new regional centre in West Yorkshire, investing in up to 4,400 full time posts in the region. HMRC will be offering career opportunities to those from across the county in a range of the Department’s professions and intends to partner with local colleges and universities to provide a pipeline of staff to work in its new centre. The Department’s proposed changes will also save money for the taxpayers of West Yorkshire as HMRC’s national estates costs will reduce by around £100 million a year by 2025.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what contingency arrangements her Department has made for the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer given by my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister on 14 January 2016.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prisoners were in open prisons in each of the last five years.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    Progression to open prisons is never automatic, and prisoners must generally be within two years of release before they can be considered for allocation. Public protection is paramount, so the only prisoners transferred to open prison are those whose risk of escape/abscond and risk of causing harm to the public are assessed as capable of being effectively managed in an open prison.

    Indeterminate sentence prisoners are, with few exceptions, transferred to open conditions only following a positive recommendation by the Parole Board. The Board will make such a recommendation after a robust risk assessment, based on reports provided by offender managers, offender supervisors and, where appropriate, by psychologists, with the overriding priority being the safety of the public.

    The following table shows the number of male and female prisoners held in dedicated open prisons as at the last Friday in June in each of the last five years. The data below do not include the number of male and female prisoners held in category D units in otherwise closed prisons.

    Date

    Population

    June 2011

    4,808

    June 2012

    4,953

    June 2013

    4,981

    June 2014

    5,087

    June 2015

    5,020
  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the World Bank gender policy, and of whether the bank’s inspection panel has ever been guided by a gender safeguard.

    Baroness Verma

    The World Bank Gender Policy sets out how Bank staff should assess the gender dimensions of development in their work and is an important part of Bank’s commitment to drive progress on gender equality. The Inspection Panel assesses compliance with Bank policy including not only the Gender Policy but also with the Environmental and Social Safeguards, which includes requirements for a social assessment that may cover gender.