Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Liam Fox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Liam Fox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Fox on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been paid in personal independence payments to (a) UK and (b) non-UK citizens in each of the last five years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has been available in Great Britain since April 2013 and will be introduced in Northern Ireland later this year. A person’s nationality is not a consideration when assessing entitlement to PIP; rather it is whether they have a right to reside in Great Britain and whether they have met the presence conditions which are material. Information on the amount of PIP paid to UK and non-UK citizens is not available. Information on benefit expenditure as is available is published on Gov.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables.

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  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33196, whether his Department plans to place work coaches in other food banks.

    Priti Patel

    Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches undertake outreach work every day in local communities on a number of activities which includes supporting the Troubled Families Programme, homeless hostels, drug and alcohol dependency and ex-offenders. They have recently been helping people with back-to-work support and advice in Manchester at the Lalley Community Centre, where a food bank sits alongside other support services.

    The decision on engagement with food banks and other local community initiatives will continue to remain at local discretion; where Jobcentre Plus is invited to work with a food bank provider and where there is local need.

  • The Countess of Mar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The Countess of Mar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 27 April (HL7764), whether or not European Aviation Safety Agency certification standard 25.1309c, which requires warning systems for any unsafe operating system, applies to engine oil that leaks onto hot aircraft engines over which cabin bleed air” is drawn.”

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    European Aviation Safety Agency certification standard 25.1309c does not require this. However the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standard for engine certification, CS-E 510, requires that a failure analysis and safety assessment is conducted by the engine manufacturer to show that hazardous concentration of toxic products will not enter the cabin bleed air.

    EU airlines are legally required to report any potential safety incident including where fumes or smoke are detected on board an aircraft. Although these incidents are rare, these reports are taken very seriously and reviewed thoroughly to identify any safety issues or trends.

    Passenger and crew safety is of paramount importance. The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority are constantly working to enhance safety standards.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what mission statements and priorities her Department has had in place in each of the last six years; and what recent changes have been made to those statements and priorities.

    Rory Stewart

    DFID’s mission and priorities have been set out in various publications since 2010 including the “UK Aid Changing Lives” publication, the DFID Results Framework, and the DFID Business Plan. Priorities and progress are updated periodically, including through DFID’s Annual Report to Parliament. Most recently the Government published the “UK Aid Strategy: tackling global challenges in the national interest” and DFID’s Single Departmental Plan.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that GP surgeries have the (a) resources and (b) training to provide a patient-friendly service, including appointments with a preferred GP in advance and at a time convenient to patients; and what rights patients have if GP surgeries do not meet such standards.

    David Mowat

    The Government is committed to improving access to general practitioner (GP) services as part of our plan for a seven day National Health Service, and has invested £175 million in the GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. Across the two waves of the Access Fund there are 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices and 18 million patients, testing a wide variety of approaches that will ensure a patient-friendly services. These include opening 8am-8pm on weekdays and weekends; better use of telecare and health apps; more innovative ways to access services by video call, email or telephone; and developing more integrated services with a single point of contact to co-ordinate patient services.

    GPs are contractually required to provide essential services to meet the reasonable needs of their patients within core hours. Under the NHS constitution, patients have the right to express a preference for using a particular doctor within their GP practice, and for the practice to try to comply. The 2015-16 (July 2016) GP Patient Survey found that 91% of patients who had a GP they preferred to see them at least some of the time, and 92.1% of patients who got an appointment found it was convenient. If a patient believes they are not receiving this standard of care they have the right to complain; any complaint made must be acknowledged within three working days and be properly investigated.

  • Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent estimate her Department has made of the amount of carbon dioxide displaced in the UK by installed renewable heat technologies.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department has made projections of carbon dioxide savings (MtCO2) in the Updated Energy & Emissions Projections (EEP), last updated Sept 2014. In the absence of funding arrangements after 2015/16, these carbon savings assume an extrapolation of RHI deployment to 2020.

    The projections cover carbon dioxide displacement from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), the main scheme in its heat strategy. The Department has not made projections for renewable heat carbon savings from technologies not supported by the RHI scheme.

    The projected savings will be updated if required for any RHI scheme changes following the Spending Review outcome.

    The EEP, which include the relevant carbon saving projections from the RHI are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/406805/Copy_of_Annex_D__corrected_17-Feb-2015_.xls.

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  • Charlotte Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Charlotte Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2015 to Question 12813, what assessment he has made of the accessibility, clarity and ease of comparison of the care home ratings referred to; and if he will encourage the Care Quality Commission to develop a ratings table to increase transparency of that data.

    Alistair Burt

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social acre in England. The CQC publishes the results of its new inspections regime including ratings on its website to help people choose care.

    The CQC website provides a search facility for the services registered with it, including care homes. It is possible to search by name of provider or post code area. The results may be viewed as a list or on an interactive map and may also be downloaded on a spreadsheet. In this way, the CQC provides flexible access to the most up to date information of the sectors it inspects.

    The Department expects the CQC to consider how it presents information to the public to ensure it is provided in a transparent and meaningful way and to keep its presentation of information under review.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 19529, if he will publish the internal modelling his Department undertook prior to finalising the details of the apprenticeship levy.

    Nick Boles

    The results of the modelling can be found in HM Treasury’s Spending Review and Autumn Statement which was published in November 2015: page 140 shows HMT’s assessment of the income which will be raised by the levy in each year of the parliament. The Spending Review and Autumn Statement can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479749/52229_Blue_Book_PU1865_Web_Accessible.pdf .

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  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what changes to the annual seafarer statistics published by his Department were made as a result of his Department’s methodological review of projected seafarer numbers; when that review was conducted; and if he will publish the findings of that review.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The invitation to tender for the Seafarer Projections Review was sent out by the Crown Commercial Service on Tuesday 19 January 2016 and the closing date for bids is Tuesday 1 March 2016.

    Seafarer Statistics 2015, published on 27 January 2016, was produced using the same methodology as in previous years. As mentioned in the release, in 2016, the department will be undertaking a user engagement exercise to find out more about how the Seafarer Statistics are used and to collate views on the methodology. The aim of this will be to identify any opportunity for methodological improvements and ensure that the statistics continue to be fit for purpose.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s plans are for the delivery of IT and digital services after the end dates of current contracts.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department anticipates a shift in the way in which citizens will engage with the Department – with greater digital interaction in the future. Digital Technology, Data and Security capabilities are a key enabler of this shift. The Department is progressing its strategy to deliver the underpinning technology requirements, and this includes both in-house services and externally provided services through procurement exercises using open competitions under the EU Procurement Directives and call-off competitions under Government Frameworks, such as GCloud and Crown Hosting.