Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the arrival of unaccompanied children from refugee camps (1) in Europe, and (2) outside Europe, on waiting lists for mental and other health services.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The United Kingdom has been operating resettlement schemes for many years and we already have established and effective networks to accommodate and support resettled people. The increase in numbers will require an expansion of current networks and the impact on local communities and infrastructure will need to be managed carefully. That is why we are working with a wide range of partners to ensure that people are integrated sensitively into local communities and that we have the right support in place for unaccompanied refugee children who arrive in the UK from Europe whilst ensuring we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK.

    The guidance, Statutory Guidance on Promoting the Health and Well-being of Looked After Children, sets out the health duties for local authorities, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and NHS England. The guidance sets out that local authorities and the National Health Service should take account any particular needs of the child, including if they are unaccompanied asylum seekers. This guidance is attached.

    Whilst there are a range of health care professionals, for example youth workers and teachers, who deliver interventions and support for children and young people with mental health conditions, clinical need should be determined by a specialist initial assessment in line with guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

    Local areas have published Local Transformation Plans that set out how mental health services will be delivered for their population. As part of their plans, local areas were asked to set out how they planned to meet the needs of more vulnerable groups, including unaccompanied refugee and asylum seeking children (UASC).

    NHS England ensures that all commissioners of health services have appropriate arrangements and resources in place to meet the physical, emotional and mental health needs of looked-after children, including UASC. They will work with local commissioners to raise awareness of the Resettlement Programme and highlight the additional numbers of children who will require their attention and support.

    Decisions about the resources needed to meet the mental health and other health needs of all children and young people, including UASC, are taken at a local level by CCGs. This may include decisions to recruit additional staff where necessary.

  • Robert Neill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Robert Neill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Neill on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect the interests of Gibraltar as a result of the outcome of the EU referendum.

    Mr David Lidington

    I saw the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, yesterday; it was my third such conversation with him since the UK referendum. I have not only recommitted the British Government to the full involvement of Gibraltar in the negotiations for our exit from and subsequent relationship with the EU 27; I have also invited the Chief Minister to identify the key economic priorities for the people of Gibraltar as we approach those negotiations.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to bring about an international commission into the killings in Rabaa in June 2013.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Egyptian Government under Interim President Adly Mansour established a National Fact Finding Committee in 2013 to investigate the events following President Morsi’s removal. Their mandate was to examine these events and their implications, issue recommendations, review existing legal cases, and on the basis of evidence collected, establish whether additional legal action was warranted.

    A 57-page executive summary of its conclusions was released in December 2014. The conclusions included recommendations for the police, educational institutions, the legislature, investigative authorities and the media. Since the publication of the summary of the Fact-Finding Committee’s report, the UK has encouraged the Egyptian Government to release the report in full, and has stressed the importance of accountability for the deaths that took place during the clearances. This remains our policy.

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disability discrimination tribunals have been brought against his Department as an employer in each of the last five years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    In the years since 2011 staffing levels in DWP have reduced from 109,445 to 84,610.

    The number of disability discrimination tribunals DWP lost in the years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 is 5, 6, 13, 2, and 2 respectively.

    The number of disability discrimination tribunals dismissed in the years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 is 14, 23, 17, 25, and 19 respectively.

    The number of disability discrimination tribunals withdrawn in the years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 is 36, 57, 50, 14, and 10 respectively.

    The number of disability discrimination tribunals settled in the years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 is 28, 24, 16, 14, and 6 respectively.

    The number of disability discrimination tribunals DWP won in the years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 is 21, 30, 23, 6 and 2 respectively.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people who were infected with hepatitis C due to contaminated blood products supplied by the NHS have attained sustained virological response following treatment for the infection.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on the numbers of people with hepatitis C through NHS-supplied blood or blood products who have attained sustained virological response following treatment for the infection is not held centrally. NHS England’s commissioning policy is for the treatment of patients based on clinical need, not on the route of infection.

    All patients who meet the policy criteria, including those infected through NHS-supplied blood or blood products, are eligible for the new hepatitis C treatments. This will be dependent upon the individual patient’s hepatitis C genotype and cirrhosis status.

  • Chris Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chris Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Green on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many young people have taken part in the National Citizen Service in Bolton West constituency.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    National Citizen Service is the fastest growing youth programme for a century and over 200,000 young people across the UK have already taken part in this life changing opportunity. I am pleased to report that in the local authority areas of Bolton and Wigan, 1,962 and 676 young people have taken part respectively. NCS data is not held on constituency basis.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-02-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax credit investigations carried out by Concentrix under its contract with his Department have resulted in (a) no change in and (b) withdrawal of the tax credit award; and how many decisions to withdraw such awards were appealed successfully.

    Mr David Gauke

    As at 21 February 2016 Concentrix had closed around 440,000 cases. Around 390,000 of these resulted in no amendment to the award. Around 50,000 awards have been amended, though HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold information on how many of these were cancelled and how many adjusted.

    HMRC does not separate out the number of awards that were amended for error and from the number amended for fraud.

    On appeals, I refer the member to the answer I provided on 15 February 2016 to question 26041.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2016-03-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits and costs of a business rates holiday for the steel industry.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government has worked hard to deliver on the steel industry’s key asks. We (a) secured state aid approval to compensate for energy costs, (b) secured flexibility over EU emissions regulations, (c) published guidance so that the true value of UK steel can be taken into account in major procurement decisions, and (d) continue to tackle unfair trading practices at an EU and an international level.

    Further, Budget 2016 confirmed that the annual indexation of business rates will switch from the Retail Price Index to be consistent with the main measure of inflation, currently the Consumer Prices Index, from April 2020 for all ratepayers, including the steel industry. This represents a cut every year from 2020 worth £370 million in 2020-21 and growing significantly thereafter.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the employment rate is for (a) the general population and (b) people experiencing enduring and severe mental health issues who are being supported by specialist mental health services.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The employment rate for 16 to 64 year olds within the UK is 74.1 per cent; this is based on the latest available figures from the Labour Force Survey covering the period of November 2015 to January 2016.

    A measure of those people in contact with mental health services who are ‘experiencing enduring and severe mental health issues’ is not available as a description to identify this group is not currently defined.

    On 15 February, the Prime Minister announced that tens of thousands of people with mental health conditions will be supported to find or return to work. Action will be taken across government, the NHS and private companies to treat potentially debilitating mental health conditions early on through improved access to care and to help those already struggling with mental health issues to find or return to work.

    The new approach is based on recommendations from the Mental Health Taskforce which set out a comprehensive plan to tackle the problem and which recognised clear links between work and good mental health and the need for more people to be able to access treatment early on so they can avoid long-term unemployment.

    DWP secured over £115m, including at least £40 million for a health and work innovation fund to pilot new ways to join up across the health and employment systems, in addition to existing £43m for a range of mental health trials.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and others who live for part of the week in Northern Ireland can avail themselves fully of parity of esteem, and if not, what parts of the concept of parity of esteem they are unable to avail themselves of.

    Lord Dunlop

    This Government understands the concept of parity of esteem, as set out in the 1998 Belfast Agreement, as placing a general obligation on the UK Government to treat people of different traditions in Northern Ireland fairly and with equal respect. In the Agreement it is clearly expressed and defined in relation to people living in Northern Ireland.

    As a general obligation there is no definition of particular circumstances in which it does or does not apply.

    As I have set out in previous replies to the Noble Lord, this Government is firm in its commitment to the protection of people against any form of discrimination, and the promotion of opportunity for all, across the whole of our United Kingdom.

    In respect of the Noble Lord’s question about those who might march wearing army uniforms but who are not members of an army, the concept of parity of esteem clearly does not absolve people from upholding the law. This Government has made clear many times that we will never accept any form of equivalence between members of the security forces and those who engage in terrorism or other forms of paramilitary activity.