Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-03-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new Cabinet Office guidelines that no government grants may be used to lobby for new regulation or more government funding would preclude Historic England from carrying out its statutory function as an adviser on the historic environment.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The new clause will not prevent recipients from performing activities that are part of the intended purpose of the grant. It makes sure that taxpayers’ money is not diverted from their intended purpose and wasted on political campaigning and political lobbying.
    As indicated at the House of Lords Science Technology Committee, BIS and Cabinet Office are looking into how this new clause will apply to academic research.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of officials of his Department resigned in each of the last six years.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    2015-16

    Resignations (FTE)

    10

    30

    18

    15

    21

    Payroll Employees (FTE)

    457

    376

    381

    461

    517

    Proportion

    2%

    8%

    5%

    3%

    4%

    The data for resignations has been sourced from the HR Management System Leavers Reports for each financial year. Data is recorded from 2011 onwards and records prior to this data cannot be provided.

    The Total headcount figures have been sourced from the DCMS Annual Accounts and only employees who were on DCMS payroll at the point they left the department are included in the data above.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s news story of 27 April 2016, Update on a new clause to be inserted into grant agreements, how long his Department plans to spend on the review of representations received on the anti-lobbying clause; and whether his Department will continue to consider representations made after the date of that announcement.

    Matthew Hancock

    As I made clear in the House on 27 April, we are committed to protecting taxpayers’ money from being wasted on government lobbying government. We are pausing the implementation of this clause into grant agreements, pending a review of the representations made.

  • 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, how many follow-up appointments for patients with a primary diagnosis of (a) age-related macular degeneration, (b) central retinal vein occlusion and (c) diabetic macular oedema were cancelled or postponed by the NHS in each of the last three years.

    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.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contingency plans his Department has to respond to a raised security threat level in Northern Ireland.

    Mike Penning

    Policing and security remains the responsibility of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Security Service. As with the rest of the UK, there are a number of standing contingency plans in place to provide Defence support in Northern Ireland beyond the capacity of the civil authorities and in times of crisis. I am withholding the detail of these contingency plans for the purpose of safeguarding national security and in order not to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.

    Beyond this, as with the rest of the UK, Defence will consider requests for additional assistance on a case-by-case basis, ensuring that support provided is in line with Military Aid to the Civil Authorities principles.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Prime Minister’s announcement of 7 November 2015 on broadband access, whether the Government will consult on the Universal Service Obligation for broadband.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    As announced by the Prime Minister on 7th November, the Government plans to launch the consultation in early 2016.

  • John Healey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John Healey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the application of local housing allowance rates for housing benefit paid in the social sector will take into account core rent and housing service charge elements.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The introduction of Local Housing Allowance limits to social sector tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit will only apply from April 2018 where new tenancies have been taken out or renewed after April 2016.

    This reform will prevent social sector tenants from receiving more than if renting privately and the Department will set out the exact policy design in due course.

  • Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of housing association residents have access to the internet at home.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government is on target to deliver access to superfast broadband for 95% of UK premises by December 2017, and to extend coverage beyond that as far as possible. As the Prime Minister announced last autumn, the government proposes that by the end of this parliament people should have a legal right to request access to a good level of broadband speed, no matter where they live.

    The honourable member will be pleased to hear that in her Great Grimsby constituency, 96 per cent of homes and businesses can already access superfast broadband – and it is estimated that coverage will rise to98 per cent by the end of 2017. Additional funding sources, including the £129 million of gainshare funding that BT will return in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, will allow coverage to be extended further in Great Grimsby and the rest of the area covered by the North Lincolnshire broadband project.

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many responses his Department received from (a) convenience stores, (b) shop workers and (c) faith groups to the consultation on Sunday trading devolution.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department does not hold full data from this consultation broken down by specific question as a large portion of respondents chose to respond in their own words rather than addressing the consultation questions directly, and/or did not indicate the type of organisation they represented.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Work and Pensions on the consequential effects of the introduction of maintenance loans for part-time students.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government announced in the Spending Review that for the first time, student finance would be available to part time students to help meet both tuition and living costs.

    Discussions are ongoing with other Government Departments and stakeholders regarding the new maintenance loan product for part time higher education students, and specifically its interaction with the social security system.