Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff have been employed to cover HM Revenue and Customs’ tax credit telephone lines in each of the past five years for which figures are available.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold this information.

    HMRC has a number of significant peaks of customer contact every year, and since 2005 it has moved its resources around to meet those seasonal priorities.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the educational needs of young people in mental health facilities are assessed; and what system is in place to ensure that the needs of those patients are monitored and provided for as they change.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Local authorities have a duty to ensure suitable education is in place for children of compulsory school age who would not otherwise receive it. This includes pupils with medical conditions that prevent them from attending a mainstream school. Where pupils are in-patients in medical facilities, this education would in many cases be provided by the facility itself via an on-site hospital school.

    In all cases, decisions on the education required should be based on an assessment of the pupil’s needs and in consultation with the pupil, parents, medical practitioners and other relevant professionals. Providers and the local authority must ensure that the education a pupil receives is of good quality, allows them to take appropriate qualifications, prevents them from slipping behind their peers in school and allows them to reintegrate successfully back into school as soon as possible. Monitoring and assurance processes should be established to ensure this quality education is in place and in all cases, effective collaboration between all relevant services is essential to delivering effective education for children with additional health needs.

    The Department for Education’s guidance ‘Ensuring a good education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs’ sets out the legal duties and responsibilities of the local authority with regards education for such pupils. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/269469/health_needs_guidance__-_revised_may_2013_final.pdf

    “

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 16 December (HL4512 and HL4513), what when necessary to deliver the carrier strike programme” means precisely.”

    Earl Howe

    Our aim is to ensure that embarked, jointly manned F-35B air squadrons operate to the same harmony guidelines. The overall principle is that we will manage all embarked air squadrons – which will include Fixed and Rotary Wing forces and personnel from all three Services – to ensure that the different harmony guidelines which all three Services routinely apply, do not adversely affect the way in which the operational output of the aircraft carriers will be delivered, and that they do not undermine joint unit or joint force cohesion. This principle will be given practical application as we continue our work to develop the routine carrier, combat air and helicopter operating cycles from 2020.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost is of each patient who attends a Same Day Walk-In Centre in the Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group area.

    Jane Ellison

    The data requested are not centrally available. This is a matter for Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group.

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to employment and support allowance for new claimants in the work-related activity group on the mental health of those affected.

    Priti Patel

    We have fully assessed the impacts on equality of the welfare measures in the Bill and the wider budget, meeting our obligations as set out in the Public Sector Equality Duty. An impact assessment was published on 20 July last year.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children up to the age of four received the meningitis B vaccination in (a) Lancashire and (b) the UK in 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    The Meningitis B (MenB) immunisation for infants was introduced on 1 September 2015.

    The vaccine is offered alongside other routine immunisations at two and four months of age, with a booster dose at 12-13 months. A limited one-off catch-up programme was also offered, targeting infants born in May and June 2015. Information on the number of children who received the meningitis B vaccination as part of National Health Service programme in 2015 is not yet available.

    Coverage of vaccines offered in the routine childhood immunisation programme is usually evaluated at 12 months of age, however, in order to provide more timely information about the newly introduced MenB vaccine, a temporary sentinel surveillance programme was set up to extract monthly coverage data direct from general practice systems for children who had just reached six months of age in England. Preliminary vaccine coverage at six months of age for children born in May, June and July 2015 is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake.

    It is anticipated that coverage for both doses of vaccine will increase when evaluated again when they are 12 months of age.

    “

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which members of the armed forces work with trichloroethylene in the line of duty and the suitability of existing health and safety arrangements when this takes place.

    Mark Lancaster

    The assessment of exposure to hazardous chemicals, including Trichloroethylene, by Armed Forces personnel is covered by legislative requirements in the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH). These require that the employer makes a suitable and sufficient assessment of exposure to employees, and that any exposure is prevented or adequately controlled. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) fully complies with these regulations, through risk assessments of exposure to hazardous substances being undertaken at local level by the Chain of Command. This includes an assessment of the suitability of arrangements to prevent or control exposure.

    The MOD is also aware that after 21 April 2016, an authorisation will be needed for continued use of Trichloroethylene and has arrangements in place to ensure compliance.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they intend to make to the government of Turkey about the proposed expropriation and partial demolition of the Sur neighbourhood and the city of Diyarbakir; and what assessment they have made of whether those actions constitute collective punishment.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We understand that the Turkish government has proposed expropriation in order to facilitate reconstruction of certain areas damaged during security operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. We have not made representations or assessed the question of collective punishment.

  • Baroness Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Cox on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they or the UN are collecting reports or intelligence detailing suspected crimes against humanity or genocide in Iraq and Syria, and if so, whether that information will be used to profile people who wish to enter the UK from that region.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have provided over £8 million to support the documentation of human rights abuses and violations in Syria and Iraq.

    In Syria, we support the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry and continue to call for them to be given unhindered access to investigate human rights violations and abuses. The UK provides financial support to a specialist organisation to collate and build prosecution-ready criminal case files against the high level perpetrators in Syria. These cases are built for international prosecution should a referral to the International Criminal Court be forthcoming, or should individuals be subject to litigation by hybrid, specialised and national courts.

    In Iraq, the UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution in September 2014 mandating the investigation of Daesh abuses. The UN continues to issue regular reports on abuses committed by Daesh in Iraq. Through our Human Rights and Democracy Fund we funded a project that documents case of sexual violence crimes.

    A unit within the Office of Counter-Terrorism monitors various country situations, focusing on issues such as international crimes. This information can be used to help identify possible perpetrators and also to support any decision to refuse their application to enter or stay in the UK.

    Where there is credible evidence that a visa applicant has been involved in international crimes (war crimes and crimes against humanity) their case will be investigated further. This applies to any nationality. If there is sufficient evidence, the applicant would be refused entry on the of grounds of their character, conduct or associations. It is also possible to exclude such people from the UK by virtue of the Home Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Theresa May)’s powers under the Immigration Act. With regard to Syria, applicants under the Syrian Humanitarian Assistance Programme are also screened for any security concerns; including international crimes.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to identify families in the UK who would be willing to receive related unaccompanied child refugees from the refugee camps in Calais.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    UK Government officials have confirmed that the Citizens UK list has been passed to the French authorities, who are primarily responsible for migrants on French territory.

    We continue to work with the French authorities and others to speed up exist-ing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary. We will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.

    We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe; over 70 of these are from France.

    It is important that the due processes under the Dublin Regulation are followed. This position was recently confirmed in a Court of Appeal judgement (“ZAT and others”). Families are only contacted once a transfer request has been made and a family link has been established. When we accept a request to transfer an unaccompanied minor we liaise with Local Authorities and the child’s family.

    A new scheme to allow community groups to directly sponsor a refugee family was launched by the Home Secretary and Archbishop of Canterbury on 19 July. The Full Community Sponsorship scheme enables community groups including charities, faith groups, churches and businesses, to take on the role of supporting resettled refugees in the UK. A ‘Help Refugees in the UK’ web-page has also been developed on GOV.UK to make it easier for the public to support refugees in the UK and allow local authorities to focus support on the goods and services that refugees need.