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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department has allocated to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council for local road maintenance in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Andrew Jones

    Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is part of the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority which will receive £85.1 million in capital funding from the Department for Transport for local highways maintenance from 2015/16 to 2020/21. This funding is for all authorities within the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority except Birmingham which has an operational highway maintenance project funded through the Private Finance Initiative. The Department does not hold information on the highway maintenance funding Solihull receives from the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his oral contribution of 21 March 2016, Official Report, column 1268, on welfare, whether he plans to implement his Department’s proposal to cap housing benefit paid to social tenants at the level of local housing allowance.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government intends to implement policies that have already been announced. This includes the proposal to cap social sector Housing benefit at the level of the local Housing Allowance.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department is providing to schools engaging in consultation processes on the Government’s policy that all schools should become academies to allow maximum stakeholder participation; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2016 to Question 39039, how many of the 193 off-payroll contingent staff employed by her Department since May 2015 were paid through limited companies; and what the total amount paid through limited companies was in that period.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Contingent workers include contractors, agency workers and interims. Our contingent workers are engaged via approved provider frameworks and not directly through limited companies.

    The response to Question 39039 has been revised and reissued. There were 152 contingent workers in core DECC during the period 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2016 (source: legacy HR system).

    As at 1 May 2016 core DECC had 39 off-payroll (contingent) workers. All of these are engaged via an approved provider framework and not directly through limited companies.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that women suffering from metastatic HER2 breast cancer receive (a) the Kadcyla form of Trastuzumab emtansine and (b) other required medication.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Improving the availability and use of effective medicines for all cancers, including breast cancer, is a key priority.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations on whether selected drugs and treatments represent a clinically and cost effective use of National Health Service resources. Commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments for the treatment of metastatic HER2 breast cancer recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of its final guidance being issued.

    NICE technology appraisal guidance, published in December 2015, does not recommend trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) for the treatment of HER2-positive, unresectable locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer after treatment with trastuzumab and a taxane. In the absence of guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund new medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence.

    Trastuzumab emtansine continues to be available to patients in England through the Cancer Drugs Fund, subject to certain clinical criteria.

    The new arrangements for the Fund, which came into effect on 29 July 2016, will ensure that the most promising and innovative medicines get to patients as quickly as possible. In particular, NICE will issue draft guidance on new cancer drugs or significant new licence indications before they have received marketing approval in the United Kingdom. Any drug that receives a positive draft recommendation would then be funded from the point of licence.

  • Lord Teverson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lord Teverson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Teverson on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the Environment Agency is taking to ensure that decisions relating to the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme receive director-level attention and remain adequately staffed.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Implementation of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme remains an Environment Agency priority and there has been no change to the amount of resource assigned to this or to the level of oversight within the Agency.

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

    Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to deal with traffic congestion in towns and cities.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has an ambitious strategy for tackling congestion in our cities and towns and improving performance on our roads. This strategy includes providing significant investment in both our strategic and localroad network, as well as working with highway authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships to encourage more sustainable transport including buses, light rail and walking and cycling.

    In addition, Part 2 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 ("the Act") specifically places a Network Management Duty (NMD) on each local traffic authority in England to manage its road network to secure the expeditious movement of traffic on its own network and to facilitate the same on the network of other authorities. Coordination of activities and actions between authorities is an especially important element of network management.

    The Act is intended to provide better conditions for all road users through coordination and proactive management of the road network. It provides a key tool in the Government’s strategy to tackle congestion through a range of initiatives including for example, better management of street works in order to minimise disruption and delivering fairer systems for civil parking and traffic enforcement.

  • Jake Berry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jake Berry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications by grandparents for permission to apply for a contact order to see their grandchildren were successful in each year since 2010.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Under the Children Act 1989 the court may make a child arrangements order to determine with whom a child is to live or spend time. Prior to 22nd April 2014 such orders were called contact and residence orders. The Department collates figures on the numbers of applications made by grandparents for child arrangements orders and the figures for such applications since 2010 are shown below.

    Number of child arrangement (contact) order applications made by grandparents in England and Wales

    Year

    Applications by grandparents

    2011

    2403

    2012

    2574

    2013

    2755

    2014

    1624

    2015 – 3 quarters only

    1335

    Unlike parents, grandparents and other family members can only make an application for a child arrangements orders with the permission of the court. The requirement to apply for the court’s permission is not designed to be an obstacle to grandparents, or other close relatives, but to act as a filter to sift out those applications that are clearly not in the child’s best interests. Experience suggests that grandparents (or other interested relatives) would not usually experience difficulty in obtaining permission where their application is motivated by a genuine concern for the child.

    The Department does not collate figures on applications for a child arrangements order where the court’s permission has been sought. This information could only be obtained by manually checking each case file at disproportionate cost. Similarly, the Department does not collate figures centrally on family members named in a child arrangements order. Details of the numbers of child arrangements orders issued specifically for grandparents to see their grandchildren could only be obtained by checking each file at disproportionate cost.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2015 to Question 16318, what recent progress he has made on discussions with stakeholders on proposals to exempt certain groups from the removal of automatic entitlement to housing support for 18 to 21 years olds on universal credit; and when he plans to publish proposals resulting from those discussions.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department continues to liaise with a range of key stakeholders as it develops exemptions to the removal of automatic entitlement to housing support for 18-21 year olds in Universal Credit. This includes discussing this policy with landlords, housing associations and charities.

    Once this work has been completed we will bring forward detailed proposals.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Government spent on The Queen on the application of Rights of Women v The Lord Chancellor and Anr. Appeal of Claimant from the order of Mrs Justice Lang, dated 22 January 2015, filed 12 February 2015.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Since 22 January 2015 we have spent approximately £12,500 (excluding VAT) on legal fees in this case. We are pleased the court confirmed the Lord Chancellor did have the power to set domestic violence evidence requirements. We will now carefully consider the two findings made about the period of time for which evidence applies and concerns about victims of financial abuse.