The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-12-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to reform or strengthen the role of Traffic Commissioner.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Department for Transport published its review of the role of the traffic commissioners this year. This recommends that we continue with the commissioners in their present form.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-01-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the situation in Madaya; and what assessment they have made of the likelihood that access will now be possible on a regular basis.
Baroness Verma
The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the Syria crisis. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US.
On 11 January 2016, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed that aid convoys of humanitarian assistance had arrived in the hard to reach town of Madaya, and the besieged areas of Foah and Kefraya. Further convoys have since arrived and more are planned. DFID funding to UN agencies is directly supporting the current convoys.
The UN and partners continue to do all they can on a daily basis to gain access to the 4.5 million Syrians in hard to reach and besieged areas. The UK supports UN agencies and its partners who are trying to secure such access and deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria
A wide range of constraints on humanitarian access exist, including continued hostilities, onerous bureaucratic requirements, and attempts by parties to armed conflict to intentionally block access. In the past year, only 10% of all requests submitted by the UN to the regime to access besieged and hard to reach areas have been approved and delivered. That is why the UK played a critical role in co-sponsoring and lobbying for UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which enable the UN to deliver aid into Syria without the consent of the regime. It is vital we maintain the pressure on the regime to let aid convoys in and to provide sustained, permanent and safe humanitarian access.
The desperate situation in besieged and hard to reach areas shows why we need the international community to come together at the London Conference for Syria and the Region on 4 February to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis, especially regarding jobs and education. We also hope the Conference will put pressure on the parties to the conflict by shining a spotlight on violations of international law and impediments to humanitarian access in Syria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much funding the Government has allocated to the continued assessment of options for plutonium management in the financial years (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.
Andrea Leadsom
In Spending Review 2015, the Government committed £11bn net funding to NDA over five years (in addition to its forecast commercial income). Government is satisfied with the provision made in the NDA’s budget to continue to make meaningful progress on the plutonium disposition programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health social workers have been employed in each year since 2009-10.
Alistair Burt
The information requested is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many tonsillectomy operations were carried out in England in the last five years.
Jane Ellison
The information is not available in the form requested.
A count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a primary or secondary procedure of tonsillectomy from 2010-11 to 2014-15 is below. Equivalent data for 2015-16 is not yet available, and a small number of tonsillectomy procedures are performed in outpatient settings which are not included in these figures.
|
Year |
FCEs |
|
2010-11 |
48,073 |
|
2011-12 |
47,342 |
|
2012-13 |
48,808 |
|
2013-14 |
52,536 |
|
2014-15 |
52,595 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Note:
An FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Mactaggart on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on increasing the contribution of creative subjects to children’s learning; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Edward Vaizey
My Department works closely with the Department for Education. Government believes all pupils should have access to a broad and balanced education, and the arts are an essential part of the National Curriculum.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-09-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has (a) spent on its contract with Concentrix and (b) received in revenue as a result of reviews of (i) tax credit and (ii) child tax credit claims carried out by Concentrix since that contract was signed.
Mr David Gauke
The estimate of commission paid for the HM Revenue and Customs contract with SYNNEX-Concentrix relating to error and fraud is 15.8m since the start of the contract.
The total savings to date in annually managed expenditure is £284.1m. We have no way to break down this figure any further and can only provide a combined CTC and WTC figure.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what waiting time targets are in place for access to (a) mental health treatment and (b) talking therapies for children experiencing mental health problems; and how many times any such targets have been missed in each of the last 12 months.
Nicola Blackwood
Access and waiting times standards for people aged from 14 to 65 years old experiencing a first episode of psychosis came into effect in April 2016. The target is that more than 50% of all people experiencing a first episode of psychosis should receive National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-concordant treatment within two weeks of referral.
There is also a waiting time standards for improving access to psychological therapies for all ages (six weeks for 75% of people referred to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme, with 95% of people being treated within 18 weeks).
There is no waiting time target for access to mental health treatment or talking therapies specifically for children experiencing mental health problems.
Experimental data to monitor the waiting time target for people experiencing a first episode of psychosis has been collected by NHS England since December 2015 and is available at:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/eip-waiting-times/
Some experimental data from the Mental Health Services Data Set relevant to waiting times standards is also published by NHS Digital.
The most recent figures are at:
http://content.digital.nhs.uk/searchcatalogue?productid=23263&returnid=1741
Information about Improving Access to Psychological Therapies is available at:
http://content.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB21575
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people over 100 years old living (a) in the UK and (b) overseas received the state pension in each of the last three years.
Justin Tomlinson
The requested information as of September 2012, 2013 and 2014 is within the table below:
| Country | Sept-12 | Sept-13 | Sept-14 |
| GB | 8,300 | 9,000 | 9,700 |
| Overseas | 600 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Total | 8,900 | 10,000 | 10,700 |
“-“ indicates less than 100
Source:
DWP 5% data
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding
2. Cases where the payment has been suspended or the payment is not “live” have been omitted from these figures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the powers, duties and responsibilities of Regional School Commissioners.
Lord Nash
The eight Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) take decisions in the name of the Secretary of State in relation to schools and academies (including free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools). The RSCs were appointed through open competition, with successful candidates being appointed for their outstanding leadership skills and track record. The process was overseen by the Civil Service Commissioner. RSCs are line managed by the national Schools Commissioner.
The responsibilities of RSCs include:
a) monitoring the performance of the academies, free schools, UTCs and studio schools in their area;
b) taking action when an academy, free school, UTC or studio school is underperforming;
c) approving the conversion of maintained schools to academies and making the decision on the sponsor for new academies in areas where the local authority has identified a need for additional school places;
d) making recommendations to ministers about free school applications and advising on whether approved free school projects are ready to open;
e) encouraging organisations to become academy sponsors or to establish free schools, approving applications to become sponsors and helping to build the capacity and capability of existing sponsors within their area;
f) approving changes to open academies, for example: changes to age ranges, mergers between academies, and changes to MAT arrangements;
g) addressing underperformance in local authority maintained schools through sponsored academy arrangements.