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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether full funding for the implementation of the new access target for early intervention in psychosis is included in the Government’s commitment to an additional £600 million of funding for mental health in 2016-17.

    Alistair Burt

    No decision has yet been reached on how the additional £600 million of funding for mental health in 2016-17 will be allocated.

    A key element of achieving parity across mental and physical health care is in people having timely access to evidence-based and effective treatment.

    One focus of the first set of mental health standards for 2015/16 is that from 1 April 2016, 50% of people experiencing a first episode of psychosis are treated with a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved package of care within two weeks of referral. This is being supported by £40 million recurrent funding from NHS England to support delivery of the early intervention in psychosis (EIP) standard. Health Education England are focusing £5 million for workforce development towards meeting the EIP standard.

  • Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to workers affected by the recent job losses in the United Kingdom steel industry.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    We have announced packages of support worth up to £80 million to support people who have lost their jobs in Redcar and up to £9 million, with Tata, for people who have lost their jobs in Scunthorpe. We have also established Task Forces at both locations which are making good progress under the strong leadership of Amanda Skelton and Baroness Redfern respectively. I am pleased that we have recently agreed a number of support packages worth over £40million with the Redcar taskforce which will provide financial assistance to affected workers, fund retraining, rehouse fifty apprentices and support the wider local economy and supply chain. We are working closely with the Scunthorpe taskforce on how best to target support there.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assumptions his Department has made about the average amount of time for which people migrating from tax credits onto universal credit will have no change in circumstance that means they will lose transitional protection.

    Priti Patel

    At the summer budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out the Government’s commitment to move the UK from a high tax, high welfare, low wage society to a lower tax, lower welfare, higher wage society. This remains the case, and Universal Credit (UC) is delivering this.

    UC is a fundamentally different benefit to the legacy benefit system and provides people with support into, and to progress in work.

    Therefore there is no meaningful way of comparing an unreformed Tax Credit system with Universal Credit. The Government has committed to transitional arrangements as we reform the benefits and Tax Credit system. Those transferred by DWP from tax credits to UC will receive Transitional Protection. In addition, estimates of entitlements under UC of the sort requested will vary depending on assumptions on the level of earnings.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the membership and terms of reference of the investigation commissioned by NHS England into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership to deliver urgent care for the over-65s and adult community services.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England advises that it has commissioned David Stout OBE to carry out an independent review of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership. The terms of reference are to establish, from a commissioner perspective, the key facts and root causes behind the termination of the contract in December 2015 and to draw out recommendations and lessons to be learned. This will include a review of documentation and discussion with staff members.

    Relevant individuals will be contacted during the course of the review to inform the findings. NHS England is also setting up a web page which will include an email address where comments and responses can be submitted. This will enable the public to contribute.

    The review is expected to start in January and to be completed in February 2016. NHS England plans to publish the review when complete.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) deaths, (b) missing persons incidents and (c) sexual assaults or serious crimes against the person have been reported against UK citizens whilst at sea in each year since and including 2010.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport does not hold statistics on the number of UK citizens who die at sea, become missing persons or are the victims of sexual assault or serious crimes against the person whilst at sea.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    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 assessment the Government made of the effect on (a) high streets, (b) small businesses and (c) post offices of the temporary changes to Sunday trading laws during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

    Anna Soubry

    The Office for National Statistics analysed the impact of the short term Olympic relaxation of the Sunday trading rules and found that it was not possible to make any inference from the data. They found no definite pattern amongst the growth rates of retail sales and noted that other factors, such as the weather and time of year, will have impacted sales.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make plans to provide the Housing Ombudsman service with greater powers to deal with complaints from members of the public.

    Brandon Lewis

    There are no current plans to provide the Housing Ombudsman Service with greater powers.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to encourage apprenticeships in cyber studies.

    Matthew Hancock

    Government has supported a Cyber Higher Apprenticeship programme delivered by the Tech Partnership with Training Provider QA, creating more than 250 new roles across industry for school leavers. New Cyber Intrusion Analyst and Cyber Security Technologist Trailblazer Apprenticeships have been developed which are now available to Employers and Apprentices. We have also integrated a cyber stream into the Fast Track Civil Service Apprenticeship scheme, offering 50 new roles across government with another cohort joining this year. Additionally, GCHQ has its own apprenticeship scheme incorporating cyber security. Since 2012, over 170 new apprentices have either graduated or joined the tailored two year foundation degree course.

    As announced by the Chancellor in November 2015, we are working with Employers to develop a Cyber Security Higher Apprenticeship pilot scheme that will address cyber skills gaps in three critical sectors: Transport, Finance and Energy. These apprenticeships will combine relevant cyber content, with sector-specific training. Industry in each sector will play a leading role in defining the additional course content. We will launch a targeted marketing campaign to encourage businesses and young people to consider a cyber apprenticeship with opportunities being advertised shortly.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to introduce mandatory data collection on hospital-initiated postponement or cancellation of ophthalmology follow-up appointments.

    Alistair Burt

    All follow-up appointments should take place when clinically appropriate. It is for clinicians to make decisions on when they see patients, in line with their clinical priority, and patients should not experience undue delay at any stage of their referral, diagnosis or treatment. The appropriate interval for follow up appointments will vary between different services or specialties, and between individual patients, depending on the severity of their condition.

    To ensure that patients are seen at the appropriate time, NHS England’s guidance, “Recording and reporting referral to treatment waiting times for consultant-led elective care” is clear that when patients on planned lists are clinically ready for their care to commence and reach the date for their planned appointment, they should either receive that appointment or be transferred to an active waiting list. At that point, a waiting time clock will be started and their wait reported in the relevant statistical return.

    Hospital episode statistics contain details of all outpatient appointments at National Health Service hospitals in England and commissioned by the NHS from independent sector organisations in England. The recording of a primary diagnosis and postponed or cancelled appointments is not mandatory within the outpatient commissioning data set and there are no plans to make it so.

    Data is not, therefore, available on the number of cancelled or postponed follow up appointments for patients with age-related macular degeneration, central retinal vein occlusion and diabetic macular oedema.

    No assessment has been made of the effect of hospital-initiated postponement or cancellation of ophthalmology follow-up appointments on patients’ sight. However, officials have met with the Clinical Council for Eye Health Commissioning and are considering their concerns.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the expected maintenance period is for HMS Defender.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The maintenance period of HMS Defender is planned to start before the end of 2016 and complete in late 2017. Precise details and its duration are currently the subject of ongoing negotiations with industry.