Tag: Parliamentary Question

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an additional allocation will be made to the National Health Service to compensate for the costs of the proposed increases in fees set out in the options in the consultation paper published by the Care Quality Commission on 2 November.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Government policy for fee-setting regulators is that their chargeable costs should be fully covered through their fees income, in line with HM Treasury Guidance set out in ‘Managing Public Money’.

The proposed fees increases being consulted upon for 2016-17 reflect the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) commitment to achieving full cost recovery, in line with Managing Public Money, within the period of the Spending Review. The fees being charged are therefore funding the CQC as an effective regulator. They allow the CQC’s tough inspection regime to drive up standards across the country, which in turn ensures quality and safety of health and social care provision.

The CQC’s new regulatory model, led by three specialist Chief Inspectors, provides for robust monitoring and inspection of hospitals, adult care providers and general practitioners.

Our expectation is that National Health Service providers should be able to absorb these increases within their overall income which will depend, amongst other factors, on the outcome of the Spending Review and the subsequent tariff setting process for 2016-17.

The Department has also announced that it will make up to £15 million available for general practice in order to cover this and other pressures in 2016/17.

It is for providers to ensure that they have the appropriate capacity and capability in place in order to deliver a safe, high quality service.

01/01/2023
Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive about comparative support between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK for charities for encouraging young people to get involved in social action.

Mr Rob Wilson

Officials from the Office for Civil Society have regular contact with their counterparts in Northern Ireland on a range of matters of mutual interest, including better charity regulation. I would personally welcome any further contact and future collaboration in driving forward our mutually important agenda.

01/01/2023
Lord Adebowale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Adebowale on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in transferring healthcare in police custody to the NHS from April 2015; why that transfer has been delayed; what plans they have to ensure that work done by the police and NHS England to date is not lost; and how they will ensure that the same level of physical and mental healthcare is available to those in custody as to those not in custody.

Lord Bates

My rt honFriend the Home Secretary has decided that a reallocation from the overall police settlement in respect of custody healthcare costs would not be appropriate at this time. Funding responsibility for police custody healthcare services will therefore remain with Police and Crime Commissioners who will have flexibility to prioritise resource towards police custody healthcare, based on local needs. We expect that in doing so, they will wish to continue to develop the close partnerships which have already been established with local NHS England commissioners as part of the work on police custody healthcare arrangements in ensuring the most appropriate local commissioning, and healthcare arrangements.

We will continue to support such partnerships to build upon the work done to date and, particularly, to work with them to explore the scope for new models for better integrating the commissioning of the range of physical and mental health initiatives and interventions available.

01/01/2023
Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes her Department has contributed to from the £300 million it allocated to eradicate polio.

Mr Nick Hurd

The United Kingdom remains fully committed to global polio eradication and has pledged £300 million to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative for 2013 to 2019. Of the £300 million, £270 million is directed to the World Health Organisation, which hosts the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. £30 million is allocated to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to support its role in the global introduction of the Inactivated Polio Vaccine, a key step in the path to eradication.

As the third largest contributor towards global polio eradication, UK support has played a crucial role in the more than 99% decrease in polio cases since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988.

01/01/2023
Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government took to ensure that its response to its consultation, Sunday Trading, published in August 2015, took substantive account of the range of responses to that consultation.

Anna Soubry

The Government has conscientiously taken into account all the responses and evidence submitted during the consultation in formulating our proposals.

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01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy for the House to be informed after his Department’s cyber strike capability has been used in cases where urgent action has been required such that it has not been possible to inform the House in advance.

Penny Mordaunt

We continue to develop the ability of our Armed Forces to deploy a broad range of offensive cyber capabilities as an integrated part of military operations. As with other sensitive defence capabilities, we do not reveal specific details in order to safeguard national security. As we have previously made clear in the context of the war powers convention, we do not propose to define the circumstances in which we would consult Parliament about the use of particular military capabilities.

01/01/2023
Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of vehicle hire in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne

The MOD uses hire and lease vehicles to transport personnel and equipment around the country, often to areas not readily accessible by public transport. The vehicles are used for different tasks, ranging from moving defence personnel and stores to support military operations or training exercises, to enabaling taskings such as mountain rescue and emergency support to the civil authorities.

The MOD’s vehicle lease and hire in the UK is covered by the Phoenix contract with Babcock Land Limited, which was placed in April 2012. The department does not hold readily available and comparative spend data before this date. The cost to the MOD of vehicle lease and hire through the Phoenix contract is as follows:

FY15/16

FY14/15

FY13/14

FY12/13

£124.1m

£132.4m

£125.5m

£101.9m

The MOD recently negotiated a new contract with Babcock Land Limited for the continued provision of its lease and hire cars, targeting savings of around £100m over the next six years through more efficient use of the MOD’s vehicle fleet.

01/01/2023

Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will undertake a review of the reasons for the length of time taken by NHS Property Services to take decisions related to property in (a) West Sussex, (b) Mid Sussex and (c) East Grinstead.

George Freeman

Officials at NHS Property Services (NHSPS) are not aware of any undue delays with regard to decision making in these areas.

As a publically funded company, NHSPS takes its duty to ensure that properties are managed efficiently and that its services and transactions achieve best value both on behalf of the National Health Service and the taxpayer. NHSPS undertakes comprehensive due diligence on all property transactions to ensure all risks and liabilities are managed appropriately before legal documents are executed.

Forthcoming planned work at East Grinstead Health Clinic forms part of a programme of works that is being worked up for 15 properties across Sussex. At East Grinstead, this is likely to focus on:

― Equality Act compliance;

― Fire safety improvement; and

― Roof insulation.

The following table summarises the capital projects underway, planned or proposed for the Mid and West Sussex area. The Company’s primary customers for these projects are Crawley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Horsham and Mid-Sussex CCG who commissioner clinical services and lead development of Local Estate Strategies for the areas they cover.

Location	Project	Value	Current Position
Sidney West Primary Care Centre	Diagnostics refurbishment	To be confirmed	This does not have an approved business case. Confirmation is being sought from the CCGs as to the specification of works they would wish us to undertake. Timescales for delivery cannot be confirmed at this point.
Horsham Hospital	Landlord works: Flooring, windows and roofing	£0.61 million	NHSPS are investing in a package of landlord works within Horsham Hospital including the gym refurbishment, new flooring in key areas and the refurbishment of windows. The works will start in June 2016 and are expected to be complete in October 2016.
Horsham Hospital	Muskoskeletal Physiotherapy (MSK)	£1.20 million	NHSPS are currently delivering the final phase of the MSK programme. The £2.4 million construction works at Horsham and Crawley are being managed by NHS PS as a single project and are due for completion on 20 July 2016.
Crawley Hospital	MSK	£1.20 million	Please see above Horsham MSK position.
Crawley Hospital	Sub-acute ward refurbishment	£3.97 million	This project is for development of a 26 bed step-up/step-down facility housed within the Crawley Hospital red wing 6th floor. Works have been designed and priced. Discussions are expected to conclude in the near future between NHSPS and the CCG on agreed terms of commissioner commitment. It is anticipated that formal approval for the investment will be signed off in June 2016 with works to be completed in November 2016.
Crawley Hospital	Transforming Urgent Care refurbishment	£4.53 million	This project is for development of a combination of a clinical assessment unit, extend paediatrics, urgent treatment centre and an upgraded reception. Works have been designed and priced. Discussions are expected to conclude in the near future between NHSPS and the CCG on agreed terms of commissioner commitment. It is anticipated that formal approval for the investment will be signed off in June 2016 with works to be completed in November 2016.
Crawley Hospital	Landlord works associated with the Sub-acute and Transforming Urgent Care projects	£0.70 million	Subject to the final approval of the Sub-acute and Transforming Urgent Care customer projects NHSPS intend to invest in additional landlord works to ensure the supporting infrastructure matches the updated patient facilities.
Crawley Hospital	Landlord works: Fire compartmentalisation and safety upgrade	£2.50 million	The Crawley Hospital red wing is viewed strategically as the core building of the hospital complex. NHSPS are investing in essential landlord works to guarantee the safe and effective back office functions of the hospital infrastructure. Included within this scheme are a review and reconfiguration of fire safety zones, replacement of fire doors, removal of asbestos and improvements to the water supply system. These works will be complete in October 2016.
Crawley Hospital	Theatre Air Handling Unit lifecycle replacement	£0.36 million	NHSPS have addressed the end-of-life-status of physical assets, with planned investment that future proofs the Crawley Hospital facilities. An example the planned renewal of the theatre air conditioning systems which will accommodate increased theatre activity and utilise energy efficient systems to improve upon the previous infrastructure. Installation is expected to be completed in November 2016.

01/01/2023

Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse of reviewing the level of net pay deductions from the salaries of Ministry of Defence fire fighters and fire officers was in each year since 2008-09.

Mark Lancaster

The cost to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for work commissioned from the Government Actuary Department (GAD) to review the abatement and Net Pay Deduction level for MOD Fire-fighters and Fire Officers since 2009 is £139,000 plus VAT. This figure represents costs for wider advice provided by GAD on Pension issues for Defence Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) personnel and is not specifically related to abatement reviews. It has not been possible to itemise the costs in the time available, and neither has it been possible in the time available to confirm costs in 2008.

01/01/2023
Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings took place between Liz Sanderson and the Secretary of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, John O’Brien; on what dates those meetings took place; and who was present at each such meeting.

Sarah Newton

Liz Sanderson was the then Home Secretary’s special adviser. The Department holds no records of separate meetings or conversations between Ms Sanderson and Dame Lowell Goddard, panel members or the statutory officers. However, she routinely attended the Home Secretary’s meetings, including with Dame Lowell Goddard and panel members during the appointment processes. She also had occasional conversations with the Secretary to the Inquiry.

01/01/2023

FY15/16	FY14/15	FY13/14	FY12/13
£124.1m	£132.4m	£125.5m	£101.9m