The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers are on duty each night of the week in each division of Greater Manchester Police.
Mike Penning
The Home Office does not hold the requested data centrally. The deployment of a police force’s available workforce is an operational decision for chief officers, in conjunction with their police and crime commissioners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department took when devising the new model of community pharmacy to take into account both (a) rural and (b) urban deprivation.
Alistair Burt
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.
We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) and others, including patient and public representatives, on our proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.
The proposals were considered against the Public Sector Equality Duty and other duties. The consultation responses will inform the final impact assessment, which will be published in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-06-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has seen the latest draft of the EU Commission’s proposals for the (a) EU Budget and (b) any re-assessment and adjustments relating to previous years budgets; and if he will publish those proposals and their effect on the public purse before 23 June 2016.
Mr David Gauke
We have not received any unpublished EU budget proposals or any re-assessments and adjustments relating to EU budgets of previous years. Any budget proposals must conform to the legally binding annual expenditure ceilings agreed in the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time was for fee remission in employment tribunal claims between receipt of such claims and final processing in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of fee remission applications were successful in that period.
Sir Oliver Heald
This information is available on gov.uk within the published Tribunals and Gender Recognition Statistics Quarterly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proposal to remove a panel member with direct experience of disability from appeals for Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance.
Lord Keen of Elie
The Government is investing close to £1 billion to reform and digitise our courts and tribunals to deliver swifter and more certain justice.
Technology will be at the forefront of our reforms but specific support will be provided to ensure tribunals remain accessible to all and physical hearings will continue to be used to resolve many cases.
An impact assessment was published alongside the Transforming our Justice System consultation paper.
The panel composition reforms will ensure that the most appropriate panel is always selected to hear a case. As now, relevant expertise will always be available where needed, regardless of how a case is resolved. The Senior President of Tribunals will continue to determine when panel members are used.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of provision of play opportunities for children with disabilities and complex needs.
Edward Timpson
Play has an important role in supporting all young children to develop and prepare for later learning. The importance of play is recognised in the Early Years Foundation Stage framework[1], which states: “Each area of learning and development must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity. Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.”
Early Years educators and Early Years teachers are required to have an understanding of different pedagogical approaches, including the role of play in supporting early learning and development. It is for individual schools and settings to provide opportunities for play for their children and pupils, including those with special educational needs.
We welcome the report published by Sense and their continuing efforts to support deafblind children and young people.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework–2
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of cancelling the carbon capture and storage on oil recovery from the North Sea oil field over the next 20 years.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government’s view remains that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors. There are also potential opportunities for the oil and gas and CCS industries to work together.
The Wood Review identified a range of key issues faced by the maturing UK continental shelf, which the Government and industry must jointly address to deliver maximum economic recovery (MER) of UK petroleum. In response, the Government has established the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) as a body focused on delivering MER. This has attracted strong industry support.
The OGA is considering the role of CCS in the technology and decommissioning strategies it is developing and will engage with the CCS industry to ensure that opportunities between the industries are identified and explored wherever possible.
DECC will continue to engage with industry and academia, to understand the potential for any future schemes to enhance oil recovery from the North Sea.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many SMEs have been declared bankrupt as a result of late payments in each of the last 10 years.
Anna Soubry
The Department does not hold the information required. However, BACS data shows that small and medium businesses are owed a total of £26.8 billion, and the average small business is waiting for £31,900 in overdue payments.[1]
The Government recognises that late payment remains an important issue for small businesses in the UK and is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts. This is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We have also legislated for new transparency measures in the public and private sectors.
The Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 legislated for new reporting requirement on the UK’s largest companies and Regulations will be introduced this year which will compel larger companies to report on payment practices and performance. This information will be published on a six-monthly basis and will be made publicly available.
The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 introduced a requirement for all public-sector buyers to publish annually, from 2017, their liability to debt interest payments. In central government we have gone further and faster. We will be publishing against these requirements quarterly from April this year. This will allow full public scrutiny of payment performance.
Through the Enterprise Bill, currently before Parliament, we will legislate to establish a Small Business Commissioner to give general advice and to help small businesses resolve disputes relating to payment matters with larger businesses.
Tackling late payment is about creating a responsible payment culture where larger companies recognise the benefit of having a sustainable and robust supply chain, and smaller businesses feel able to challenge poor behaviour. Once implemented, the Government is confident that these measures will lead to significant changes in the UK’s payment culture.
[1] BACS Data June 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to develop the model of co-location of urgent and emergency primary care service with accident and emergency departments.
Lord Prior of Brampton
In August 2015, NHS England published Safer, faster, better: good practice in delivering urgent and emergency care. A copy is attached. This provides guidance to help frontline providers and commissioners re-design urgent and emergency care services, including considering locating urgent care centres in emergency departments.
Safer, faster, better notes that urgent care centres co-located with emergency departments provide an opportunity to stream patients with less serious illnesses and injuries to a service that is resourced to meet their needs, while reducing crowding in emergency departments. It also sets out that to preserve flow, urgent care centre staff and cubicles must wherever possible be entirely separated from the majors/admission stream and that where urgent care centres are co-located with emergency departments, there must be appropriate integration, with shared governance arrangements and clearly defined protocols for the two-way transfer of patients.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Bryant on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, how many contracted canteen and hospitality staff worked on the parliamentary estate in each year since 2009.
Tom Brake
The number of Contracted (Agency) staff is difficult to calculate due to the number of different agencies used and the often short term, varied work they are engaged to do. The number of contracted (agency) staff compared to the number of permanent staff is relatively low and accounts for less than 10% of the workforce costs with most contracted (agency) staff covering ad hoc operational requirements.
The percentage of workforce costs that represent agency staff for the years 2009 to 2015 were as follows:
|
2009/10 |
2.84% of staff costs |
|
2010/11 |
2.17% of staff costs |
|
2011/12 |
4.11% of staff costs |
|
2012/13 |
4.34% of staff costs |
|
2013/14 |
6.00 % of staff costs |
|
2014/15 |
8.11% of staff costs |
Along with growing guaranteed hours staff, contracted (Agency) staff have helped with the flexibility of the business needs since the directorate restructured to a smaller core team in 2011 and 2013 and in response to a growing banqueting and events business through income generation initiatives. As a result total staff costs have been much better controlled by being able to have a flexible resource which resources up to peaks in demand rather than having too many staff during quieter periods.