Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which potential sites HM Revenue and Customs identified in Leeds for its regional hub.

    Mr David Gauke

    On 12 November, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the next stage of its ten-year modernisation programme. As part of that, the department demonstrated its long-term commitment to Yorkshire and the Humber by setting out that it would establish a Regional Centre in Leeds.

    A number of factors were considered by HMRC when deciding where to locate its new Regional Centres. In addition to cost, it considered local and national transport links, the local labour market, supply of future workforce and the retention of current staff and skills.

    HMRC modelled the impact of locating the Regional Centre for Yorkshire and the Humber in both Bradford and Leeds. For both scenarios, it took into account the potential loss of jobs for staff expected to be outside of reasonable daily travel (defined as approximately 1 hour from home to work, though dependent on individual circumstances).

    HMRC first shared its transformation plans with its employees 18 months ago. Since then has held more than 2,000 events across the UK, setting out how and why it is changing. The department is committed to continuing to support all of its employees who are affected by these changes.

    Staff in Yorkshire attended a number of face-to-face events, providing feedback on the potential location of the regional centre. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their personal circumstances in one-to-one meetings with their manager.

    This transformation programme will ultimately enable HMRC to deliver better public services at lower cost to the taxpayer. It will generate estate savings of £100 million a year by 2025.

  • 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 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of patients who are unable to access dermatology specials when they need them.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We have made no such assessment.

  • 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 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average cost of deporting a person deemed to be an illegal immigrant.

    Lord Bates

    The Home Office has published information on the average cost of detention and removal but this is not broken down by initial application type, and to do so would incur disproportionate cost. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/costs-involved-in-detaining-and-removing-illegal-migrants

  • Paul Maynard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Paul Maynard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Maynard on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the Government plans to do to support reforms to research and development of pharmaceuticals at the World Health Organisaiton meeting in March 2016.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The meeting at the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been postponed to May 2016 and arrangements about the meeting are at an early stage. DFID officials are engaging with WHO on their plans.

    The UK Government priority is to see a Pooled Fund for Research and Development established with support from WHO Member States, especially those that have not yet provided funding for this type of work. The UK Government supports systems that separate the market incentives to produce a drug or vaccine, from the Research & Development process, prioritise public health need over profit and work in partnership with a wide range of different organisations, covering the public, private and philanthropic sectors. The UK is the second largest government supporter of product development partnerships, which prioritise need over profit, and have a proven track record in developing new products.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that victims and witnesses are not subject to increased fear of intimidation from alleged perpetrators when travelling to court.

    Mike Penning

    We have a range of special measures in place to support vulnerable witnesses and victims when they are giving evidence. These include the option of giving evidence from a remote location away from the court via live link, which significantly limits the risk of a witness coming into contact with a defendant or their supporters. This will mean victims of crime can give evidence from somewhere they feel safe.

    The Ministry of Justice also funds the delivery of the court-based Witness Service, delivered by Citizens Advice at all criminal courts in England and Wales. The Service has developed an enhanced package of support to vulnerable and intimidated witnesses (including victims). This enhanced level of support includes both support at court and pre-trial support and an outreach service offering home visits or meetings, in advance of trial, at Citizens Advice offices or another neutral and appropriate location, and meeting the witness outside the court and accompanying them inside. This enhanced service is being rolled out nationally and will be available in all areas by end of April 2016.

    The court can impose any bail condition necessary to ensure that a defendant does not interfere with a witness. If a bail condition is broken, this will have consequences for the offender, including the possibility of a remand into custody.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time for children between referral for an autism diagnosis and first diagnostic appointment was in each clinical commissioning group and primary care trust area in each year since 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department does not collect this information centrally.

    No formal statistics are collected of autism referrals, initial assessments or diagnoses. The Department does however commission Public Health England each year to carry out a self-assessment exercise with local authority areas on progress they are making in implementing the Autism Strategy for Adults in England.

    NHS England has almost completed a programme to visit clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to identify and share good practice in accessing timely autism diagnosis. NHS England with support from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services has visited a selection of areas to talk to CCGs and local authorities about their Autism Diagnostic Care Pathways and post diagnostic support. A report on this work will go initially to the June meeting of the Cross Government Autism Programme Board.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 10 May 2016 to Question 36307, what the total cost was of (a) the Anti-Corruption Summit held on 12 May 2016 and (b) the Tackling Corruption Together Conference held on 11 May 2016.

    Matthew Hancock

    The full costs of the preparation and delivery of the Anti-Corruption Summit are still to be confirmed and this information will be made available in due course.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the level of compliance with Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency guidance that specifies that biological medicines should be prescribed by brand name.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Guidance issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2008 states that, when prescribing biological products, it is good practice to use the brand name.

    MHRA does not have responsibility for monitoring the compliance of healthcare professionals with its prescribing guidance. The responsibility for prescribing rests with the practitioner who has clinical responsibility for their patient’s care and we would expect practitioners to take any relevant guidance into account when making their prescribing decisions. Practitioner professional bodies also have a role in setting out best practice to their members.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much compensation his Department is liable for in its contract with Agility Trains in the event that the Inter City Express (IEP) fleet cannot be introduced in line with the contracted schedule for (a) delivery and (b) operation of new IEP trains on the (i) Great Western and (ii) East Coast mainlines.

    Paul Maynard

    The contract for IEP sets out the process for calculating any liquidated damages the Secretary of State would be liable to pay to Agility Trains in the event that the trains cannot be introduced in line with the contracted schedule for delivery and operation. This would be calculated as a function of the daily Set Availability Payment forgone at that time. The precise amount would remain commercially confidential.

  • Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the Government plans to create a new national scheme to improve home energy efficiency to replace the Green Deal scheme.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Since 2013 Government has supported industry in delivering over 1.6 million measures which were installed in over 1.3 million households through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) alone.

    We are now working with the industry and consumer groups on a new value-for-money approach. We’ve also commissioned an independent review led by Peter Bonfield to investigate quality, standards and consumer protection to ensure that the system properly supports and protects consumers.