Tag: Parliamentary Question

Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Commissioners have been appointed to run local authority children’s services since January 2015.

Lord Nash

Commissioners are appointed where Ofsted find persistent or systemic failure by a council to deliver children’s services to an acceptable quality.

Persistent failure is defined as a council being rated inadequate more than once within a five year period. Systemic failure is defined as a council being rated inadequate across the board on all key Ofsted judgements.

Commissioners are appointed to direct the improvement of children’s social care services; the Council’s leadership and management of them; and, increasingly, to review whether these services should be removed from council control in order to secure more rapid and sustainable improvement.

Since January 2015 the Secretary of State has appointed five Children’s Services Commissioners.

01/01/2023
Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he intends to answer the letter to him dated 23 March 2016 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr C Costigan.

Jane Ellison

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health responded to the Rt. hon. Member’s letter of 23 March 2016 on 22 April 2016.

01/01/2023
Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of existing regulations on drones; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government’s primary responsibility is the safety and security of our citizens. That is why we apply one of the highest regulatory safety standards for commercial aviation in the world.

There are existing regulations in place that require users of drones to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with their vehicle and to not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property. Guidance on tackling the risks of criminal drone use has been provided to constabularies across the UK.

The Department and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) work with a wide range of industry partners across the aviation sector, (including manufacturers, airports, and airlines), to ensure our understanding of potential hazards to aircraft remains up-to-date and mitigations effective. Further work is underway to better understand the risk posed by flying drones close to commercial planes to ensure that regulations remain fit for purpose.

Awareness and education on current restrictions are vitally important. The Civil Aviation Authority is undertaking activities to raise awareness of the basic safety requirements, including an ongoing ‘Dronecode’ safety awareness campaign, issuing safety leaflets at the point of sale, publishing an animated video on their website, and running ‘small UAS’ Risk and Hazard workshops with industry as part of the Mid Air Collision Programme.

01/01/2023
Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to identify businesses that engage in labour exploitation.

Margot James

The Immigration Act 2016 creates a new Director of Labour Market Enforcement. They will be responsible for overseeing and setting priorities for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, National Minimum Wage enforcement and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. This will strengthen efforts to identify businesses that engage in labour exploitation.

To enable more effective enforcement, we are creating:
- A new intelligence hub so that enforcement is targeted at areas of risk; and
- A new regime of Labour Market Enforcement undertakings and orders, backed up by a criminal offence and custodial sentence, to allow us to tackle repeat labour market offenders and rogue businesses.
We have already reformed the Gangmasters Licensing Authority into the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority with the ability to tackle labour exploitation.
01/01/2023
Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the implications for the security of electricity supply for winter 2015-16 of the announced closure of Longannet, Ferrybridge and Eggborough power stations.

Andrea Leadsom

There is no impact on security of supply for winter 15/16 as these power stations are expected to be available for generation throughout this winter. Assessments about plant availability are made during National Grid’s winter outlook process which will inform the final view presented in National Grid’s Winter Outlook Report.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change takes security of supply very seriously and has worked with National Grid to put in place a plan to secure electricity supplies even in tough system conditions such as cold weather

01/01/2023
Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what work his Department is undertaking with partner countries to address the inequalities experienced by Bedouin Arab communities in Israel.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are concerned about the inequalities faced by Bedouin Arab communities in Israel. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv is particularly focused on issues related to housing and supports several Arab town planning projects in Green Line Israel. These projects provide professional training and practical solutions for dozens of urban planners and engineers in Arab towns, helping them to overcome planning obstacles. This year our projects include: establishing an engineers’ task-force, professional advice for Arab local authorities in planning matters and a piece of research into planning obstacles.

We continue to lodge our concerns about ongoing evictions and demolitions with contacts at Israel’s Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Agriculture and to encourage the development of a policy based on genuine consultation, which secures the buy-in of the community. We have pursued this with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s chief advisor on Arab affairs, who told us that the state has invested 1.2 billion NIS in Bedouin education, employment and infrastructure.

01/01/2023
Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what range of financial incentives will be offered to universal credit claimants under the in-work progression pilot.

Priti Patel

Financial incentives are not offered as part of the In-work Progression Randomised Control Trial.

01/01/2023

Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of exports that will be sold to other EU member states by 2020.

Lord Maude of Horsham

The government does not breakdown 2020 export forecasts geographically.

However, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility does publish UK total export forecasts up to 2020, with the most recent publication being in the November 2015 Economic and Fiscal Outlook:

	Exports	Imports
2016	533.6	556.8
2017	557.4	581.4
2018	585.4	609.5
2019	616.3	639.0
2020	648.0	669.7
Source: November 2015 Economic and fiscal outlook

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01/01/2023

Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the humanitarian and emergency response to the earthquakes in Nepal in 2015, and of which organisations were best placed to deliver a quick response to affected areas and to deliver lasting change.

Baroness Verma

The Government’s response to the recent devastating earthquakes now stands at £70 million. Funds raised by the British public for the DEC appeal have already reached over £85 million, which includes £5 million in matched funding provided by DFID. UK support has provided: over 230,000 people with emergency shelter; over 200,000 people with winter support such as clothes, blankets and mattresses; and over 2,000 hours of helicopter flights to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance to communities in areas inaccessible by road.

In the first few weeks after the earthquake, DFID and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office established a project to collect beneficiary feedback. Short, monthly perception surveys on the coverage, quality and fairness of the humanitarian response are produced by this project. This information has informed the DFID response, as well as shaped wider humanitarian efforts in Nepal.

DFID is also funding a number of ongoing surveys to understand the issues and challenges on the ground, including community recovery from the earthquake (with the Asia Foundation) and also levels of food security in the affected areas (with the World Food Programme). In a complex context, this has helped us understand the needs and challenges that are driving costs and delivery timelines.

DFID delivered much of its humanitarian support through International Non-Governmental Organisations, who had the capacity and presence on the ground to respond. We have undertaken regular monitoring of partner performance through field trips, meetings with partners, and routine narrative reporting. We have undertaken three rounds of monitoring to track partner performance, unit costs, timeliness and quality. All partner organisations have delivered to expectations.

01/01/2023
Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pharmacies in the retail sector have been (1) reprimanded, and (2) sanctioned, by the General Pharmaceutical Council, in the last three years, for breaching patient confidentiality.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department does not hold this information. However, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has provided the following information.

The GPhC undertakes inspections of all registered pharmacies in Great Britain. The vast majority of pharmacies currently receive a routine inspection every three to four years. Inspectors will, in addition, visit pharmacies to investigate concerns from members of the public or health professionals.

Since November 2013 the GPhC has conducted 6,814 routine inspections of pharmacy premises to assess them against its standards. During every inspection GPhC inspectors seek evidence from the pharmacy team that standards relating to the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of patients and the public are met. These standards cover the storage of confidential and private information and the physical and governance arrangements for ensuring patients can have private conversations with pharmacy professionals.

Of the 6,814 inspections that have been carried out by the GPhC since November 2013, in 421 (6.2%) cases pharmacy premises were found to have failed one or more of the above three standards:

– 274 did not meet standard 1.7 (Information is managed to protect the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of patients and the public who receive pharmacy services);

– 174 did not meet standard 3.2 (Premises protect the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of patients and the public who receive pharmacy services); and

– 73 did not meet standard 5.3 (Equipment and facilities are used in a way that protects the privacy and dignity of the patients and the public who receive pharmacy services).

When pharmacy premises have not met one or more of the standards, they are required by the GPhC to complete and implement an improvement action plan.

In addition, the United Kingdom and Scottish Parliaments recently approved legislation which includes powers to issue an improvement notice or disqualify a pharmacy from the register for a failure to meet the standards. This will improve the GPhC’s ability to protect patients and improve the quality of the pharmacy services they receive.

In circumstances where the GPhC finds a registered professional’s fitness to practise is called into question it will investigate and can bring proceedings against that individual.

01/01/2023