Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 January 2016 to Question 15523, when he last discussed alleged violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen with his Saudi counterpart.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The UK government has regularly raised with the Saudi Arabian Government the need to comply with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Yemen. I raised the issue of compliance with IHL during my October visit to Saudi Arabia. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with IHL.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of whether common system failures contributed to the deaths of Sam Morrish in Devon in December 2010 and William Mead in Cornwall in December 2014; and what steps his Department is taking to address those failures.

    Ben Gummer

    The Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman’s report into the death of Sam Morrish, published in June 2014, made several recommendations for local National Health Service organisations involved in Sam Morrish’s care to implement. NHS England advises that these have now been implemented.

    We are advised by NHS England that there has been ongoing dialogue with the Sam Morrish’s family, including their full involvement in development of an integrated care pathway for paediatric sepsis, which has been piloted in the South Devon and Torbay area and is currently being evaluated.

    The (NHS England South) Regional Quality Surveillance Group is responsible for ensuring that all the national recommendations outlined in NHS England’s report on the death of William Mead, in December 2014, are implemented.

    The Department will be keeping track of progress on this front.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce crimes against wildlife in the UK.

    Karen Bradley

    We fully understand the importance of tackling wildlife crime. This is reflected in the fact that, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office provides specific funding to support the work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

    The funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit is in addition to the funding central Government provides to the police in England and Wales to tackle all types of crime, including wildlife crime. Additionally, Border Force leads the operational response in respect of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to help more homeless people rent privately.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to doing all we can to prevent homelessness. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million. At Budget, we went one step further and announced £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living.

    We’re determined to create a bigger, better private rented sector and are attracting billions of pounds of investment to build homes specifically for private rent, which will increase choice for tenants. Our £1 billion Build to Rent fund will deliver up to 10,000 new rental homes, with over 4,500 already started, and our £10 billion of debt guarantees programme will also support the delivery of new rental homes, as well as up to 30,000 additional affordable homes.

    We have also already made a significant investment of nearly £14 million for Crisis to develop a programme to help single homeless people access private rented sector accommodation. Over 10,000 people have been helped, with over 90% maintaining tenancies for at least 6 months


  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupil referral units have been graded (a) outstanding, (b) good, (c) requires improvement and (d) inadequate in each year since 2010.

    Nick Gibb

    These are matters for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to encourage businesses to train and employ people with learning difficulties to give them equal opportunities.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Employment for people with learning disabilities is a Government priority.

    Through our Disability Confident campaign we are encouraging employers to attract, recruit and retain disabled people, including those with Learning Disabilities, who are eager to work and have the skills, talents and abilities that employers are looking for.

    In 2014/15 Access to Work supported 2,010 awards for people with learning disabilities; the highest ever number of learning disabled people supported since the start of our records in 2007.

    The Department is an active member of the National Learning Disability Programme Board, chaired by Department of Health. This is a cross-government group, working co-productively with disabled people and disability organisations to positively shape future policy to improve services and increase work opportunities for people with Learning Disabilities. The Department is supporting the development of a joint Learning Disability Strategy to drive this agenda forward.

    We have also set up a taskforce to look at improving accessibility of apprenticeships for people with Learning Disabilities. Individuals invited to sit on the taskforce represent a range of organisations and specialisms, from employers and training providers to charities and educational experts. Organisations representing disabled people and those with learning disabilities (for example Scope and MENCAP) are also taking part.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-09-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the contractors commission to date arising from HM Revenue and Customs’ contract with SYNNEX-Concentrix relating to error and fraud.

    Mr David Gauke

    Since mid-October 2015 there has been 120 instances where Concentrix has not fully met the performance standards set out in the contract out of a total of 1625.

    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 to date.

    SYNNEX-Concentrix under its contract with HM Revenue and Customs have completed around 308,718 undeclared partner cases, 198,422 work and hours cases and 152,771 child care cases.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population affected by (a) foetal alcohol syndrome and (b) foetal alcohol spectrum disorder in (a) Liverpool, Wavertree constituency, (b) Liverpool, (c) the Liverpool City Region and (d) England.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Department has made no estimate of the proportion of the population affected by Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) or Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in England, regionally or locally.

    The diagnosis for babies born with FAS may not be made easily at birth, and problems may present only later in childhood, for example at school. Estimates for the incidence of FASD are still more uncertain and relate to the lack of consensus on diagnostic criteria for these conditions.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the fisheries Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive on the level of cod stocks in the Irish Sea.

    George Eustice

    Defra holds regular discussions on a wide range of fisheries issues, including cod stocks, with counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive. We are currently working together to prepare for the annual European fisheries negotiations that will take place in Brussels on 14-15 December 2015.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the planned reductions in current staff numbers in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, how many of those job reductions will be in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19, (e) 2019-20 and (f) 2020-21; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    The civilian staff reductions announced as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review will be managed in a number of different ways. In the short term, the Ministry of Defence has agreed to make further savings and adjustments in this current financial year as part of the Government’s commitment to reducing the deficit. This is still on-going and may mean restrictions on recruitment.

    Over the longer term, a number of change programmes already under way across the Department are reducing our civilian workforce. These programmes will continue, and individuals are already aware if they are affected. We will also drive forward programmes to consider better ways of delivering services, and explore opportunities to deliver outputs in more efficient or innovative ways.

    We are confident these programmes will deliver the required reductions to meet the efficiency and reform savings announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.