Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) MRI machines (b) CT Scanners (c) PET-CT scanners (d) Linear accelerators and (e) Robotic surgery systems in use in each NHS trust are older than ten years.

    George Freeman

    Information on the age of MRI machines, CT scanners, PET-CT scanners, linear accelerators and robotic surgery systems and the proportion of the cost of backlog maintenance that relates to these are not held centrally.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the ban on bearer shares which came into force on 26 May 2015.

    Anna Soubry

    The government introduced a ban on the issue of new bearer shares on 26 May 2015 through the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. The legislation provided a transition period to allow existing bearer shareholders to convert their shares into other types of shareholding or to realise their value. The transition period ended on 25 February 2016. Companies notify Companies House of the removal of bearer shares when they file their annual return (which will change to the confirmation statement from 30 June 2016).

    Since 26 May 2015 Companies House has worked closely with the approximately 1,300 companies that had bearer shares as well as their directors and professional representatives. Over 1,233 of those companies have confirmed to Companies House that they have no longer have bearer shares.

    Companies House is monitoring each filing of these companies’ annual return to confirm that the bearer shares have been converted. This exercise will end in February 2017 once the annual filing cycle concludes following the end of the transition period.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commission an impact assessment of the potential effects of the provisions of his Department’s Blue Badge Scheme Local Authority Guidance (England), published in October 2014, on people with autism, mental ill health and learning disabilities.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department’s Blue Badge Scheme Local Authority Guidance (England) is non-statutory and non-binding. We therefore have no plans to commission an impact assessment. It is the statutory regulations – the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000 – which local authorities are obliged to follow.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish the impact assessment for her Department’s proposals for changes in funding rates for colleges and providers, published on 12 August 2016.

    Robert Halfon

    We have engaged thousands of employers and training providers throughout the development of the apprenticeship funding reforms and continue to do so. This engagement helped to shape the funding policy proposals for England from May 2017, published on 12 August. A survey seeking detailed views from employers and providers closed on 5 September.

    Feedback from the survey will inform our understanding of the potential impact and final policy decisions will be made in due course. We aim to publish final policy in October 2016.

  • Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of whether it is necessary to improve support services for people with disabilities entering the labour market; and what steps his Department is taking to make recruitment processes accessible for all.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Government is committed to enabling all disabled people to fulfil their potential and achieve their aspirations. Work is an important part of this, and the Government wants all disabled people and people with a long term health condition to go as far as their talents will take them. Every individual should have the opportunity to work and share in the economic and health benefits that work brings.

    A new Disability Confident employer scheme went live on 14 July 2016. When employers sign up as Disability Confident they are asked to make specific meaningful offers of opportunities for disabled people such as jobs, apprenticeships, internships, and work experience opportunities.

    We will soon publish a Green Paper that will explore a range of options for long-term reform across different sectors, targeting the factors which contribute to the disability employment gap.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 29 October (HL2879) concerning the 1998 Belfast Agreement, whether the answer applies to changes in the names of cities and towns in Northern Ireland other than Londonderry.

    Lord Dunlop

    The Government has no plans to change any names of towns or cities in Northern Ireland, and would only do so with consensus. It remains fully committed to supporting the institutions and principles established under the Belfast Agreement and to affording due respect to the cultural traditions in Northern Ireland.

  • Stella Creasy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stella Creasy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will publish all guidance it has issued to schools and colleges for the implementation of PREVENT strategy activities for all age groups.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Home Office published guidance on the Prevent statutory duty for specified authorities, including schools, in March 2015. In September 2015, the Home Office published Prevent duty guidance specifically for colleges and universities. The Department for Education issued advice for schools and childcare providers relating to the Prevent duty, which was published in July 2015. All of this guidance and advice is publicly available at the following website links:

    • Prevent duty guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance

    • Department for Education advice for schools and childcare providers on the Prevent duty: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/439598/prevent-duty-departmental-advice-v6.pdf

  • Lord Willis of Knaresborough – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Willis of Knaresborough – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy on safe staffing levels for qualified nurses in the NHS and other health and care establishments subject to Care Quality Commission or Monitor inspections.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government is committed to supporting National Health Service trusts to put in place sustained safe staffing by using their resources as effectively as possible for patients.

    Hospitals should be able to demonstrate that they are able to ensure safe, quality care for patients and that they are making the best use of resources. This should take account of patient acuity and dependency, time of day and local factors. It is therefore important for providers to take a rounded view, looking at staffing in a flexible way which is focused on the quality of care, patient safety and efficiency rather than just numbers and ratios of staff.

    The responsibility for both safe staffing and efficiency rests, as it has always done, with provider Boards.

    Comprehensive lists of research commissioned and published, of criteria in all European Union countries, Australia and the United States, each of which have a variety of systems in operation, and of discussions held by United Kingdom officials to compare patient outcomes in those countries with outcomes in England, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    However, the 2013 National Quality Board (NQB) guidance on safe staffing issued in 2013 How to ensure the right people, with the right skills, are in the right place at the right time: A guide to nursing, midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability, referred to a number of sources of evidence on this issue. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) safe staffing guideline Safe staffing for nursing in adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals, July 2014 set out the evidence and expert papers, including international evidence, that was considered in preparing the guideline. A copy of the NQB guidance and the NICE guideline are attached.

    In addition, The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) commissions research evidence to improve the quality, accessibility and organisation of health services through the NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research programme. Current research of particular relevance to the relationship between nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes and mortality includes:

    – a study on nurse staffing levels, missed vital signs observations and mortality in hospital wards; and

    – a study on the future of 24/7 care: investigating the links between staffing levels, patient access and inequalities in health outcomes.

    As announced by the Secretary of State on 16 July 2015, Dr Mike Durkin, National Director for Patient Safety, is working with the Chief Nursing Officer to complete the work started by NICE on safe staffing levels. Their work will draw on evidence and expert advice from England and internationally, and will be reviewed independently by NICE, the Chief Inspector of hospitals, and Sir Robert Francis to ensure it meets the high standards of care the NHS aspires to.

    The programme includes revision of the NQB 2013 guidance to take account of further developments in the evidence base, the need to look beyond acute settings, new models of care leading from the Five Year Forward View and the need for providers to secure both safe staffing and greater efficiency.

  • Kwasi Kwarteng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kwasi Kwarteng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kwasi Kwarteng on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is his policy to expand London’s transport zones to include (a) Spelthorne constituency and (b) other new areas inside the M25 orbital that do not use the oyster system.

    Claire Perry

    The Travelcard map, showing the zone in which each station falls, is set out as part of the Travelcard Agreement between the Train Operating Companies and Transport for London (TfL). Any changes to station zones must be proposed by a signatory to the Agreement and then agreed by the remaining signatories. The government is not a signatory to the Agreement and therefore has no role in proposing such changes to station zones.

    Once a change is proposed by TfL and the Train Operating Companies, the Department for Transport can approve or reject the change proposals. This decision is made by the Secretary of State for Transport, on the basis of a business case and other wider policy and initiatives that may be considered at the time. If the proposal does not represent good value for money, it would be unlikely to get approval. It would be inappropriate for the Government to promote or back any proposals outside of this established process.

    In the current rail franchising contracts there are commitments for train operators to bring forward proposals to extend Oyster and Contactless to Swanley, Epsom, Hertford North, Luton Airport Parkway and Welwyn Garden City. The Secretary of State will consider these proposals on their individual merits when they have been developed and submitted in accordance with the process set out above.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with Sir John Chilcot on the publication date of the Iraq Inquiry.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    None.