Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a Minister of her Department plans to attend the UNHRC high-level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees in Geneva on 30 March 2016.

    Richard Harrington

    I am currently planning to attend the UNHCR high level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees in Geneva on 30 March 2016.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) longest and (b) average journey time to attend a medical assessment was for Scottish claimants of (i) employment and support allowance and (ii) personal independence payments in each of the last four quarters for which information is available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Centre for Health Disability Assessments (for ESA assessments) and Atos Healthcare (for PIP assessments in Scotland) do not hold or retain information about customer journey times to attend assessments. Should a customer foresee a problem with travelling to their assessment they are asked to contact the appropriate provider to discuss their circumstances.

    DWP’s requirement is that claimants do not have to travel for more than 90 minutes by public transport (single journey) for a consultation. However, this limit is an absolute maximum and for the majority of claimants their journey will be less than this. A home consultation can be offered, in particular where a claimant is unable to travel to a consultation as a result of their health condition or impairment. More specifically home visits are generally offered when the claimant provides confirmation via their own health professional that indicates that they are unable to travel on health grounds or at a claimant’s request where the assessment provider’s health professional determines this is appropriate for their health condition or disability.

  • Alan Whitehead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Whitehead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many staff of her Department she expects to transfer into the Oil and Gas Authority.

    Andrea Leadsom

    When the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) was established as an Executive Agency in April 2015, 85 Civil Servants were transferred from DECC. When the OGA becomes a Government Company staff will be transferred by a Staff Transfer Scheme. There are currently 130 staff employed by the OGA.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support Cervical Screening Awareness Week.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England closely monitors the coverage rates for cervical screening in all age groups. NHS England is committed to improving coverage and reducing variation between all age groups.

    Local NHS England commissioners analyse coverage rates within their area and work with general practices to improve coverage by sharing best practice. In addition a primary care cancer screening best practice guide has been developed jointly with the transforming cancer services team, clinical commissioning groups and local authority public health representatives.

    NHS England is working in partnership with Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support on the ACE (Accelerate, Coordinate, Evaluate) Programme aiming to generate knowledge about effective approaches to achieve earlier diagnosis. A number of ACE test sites are evaluating approaches to increase screening rates in a range of groups.

    A range of research studies are also underway, such as Imperial College conducting a randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of texting non-responders on improving coverage. In addition, the Department’s Behavioural Insight team has undertaken a trial to investigate the use of behavioural insights to optimise the content of the invitation letter for cervical screening. Results are due shortly.

    The Independent Cancer Taskforce recognised the importance of screening for cervical cancer and the potential of the new human papillomavirus (HPV) test in their report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, published in July 2015. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as National Cancer Director to lead the implementation of the strategy, and an implementation plan outlining the key first steps for the national cancer programme was published on 12 May. In addition, the routine HPV vaccination programme, offering immunisation to girls aged 12-14 years, is expected to reduce the already low rates of cervical cancer in these young women and allow them to be protected for years to come.

    Ministers welcome cervical cancer prevention week and we are fully supportive of the work Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust does to raise awareness of cervical cancer and the importance of cervical screening for eligible women.

    According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, Health at a Glance 2015: How does the United Kingdom compare?, the UK has cervical screening rates well above the OECD average. Further information is available at:

    https://www.oecd.org/unitedkingdom/Health-at-a-Glance-2015-Key-Findings-UK.pdf

    http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/8115071ec053.pdf?expires=1465810879&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=102E30B1A256588EDD14918B5BE3AA4C

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average cost for each patient of second allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplants for relapsed disease in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    No such estimate has been made.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information schools are required by law to collect regarding their pupils.

    Lord Nash

    Schools collect a range of information on pupils for their own purposes. Full details of all the data collected by law is accessible via the links in the attached list.

    Some of this information is required to be submitted to the Department via various collections which are undertaken throughout the school year. The main types of information collected by the Department are:

    • pupil identifiers (name, date of birth, etc)
    • pupil characteristics (gender, ethnicity, language, etc.)
    • pupil attendance and exclusions
    • pupil special educational needs
    • pupil attainment and teacher assessments

    The school census has collected such data at pupil level from the introduction of the Pupil Level Annual School Census in 2002.

  • Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what costs relating to the relocation of Moussa Koussa to Qatar in 2011 were met by the UK Government; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Mr Koussa’s entry into Doha was a matter for him and the Qatari authorities.

    No elements of Moussa Koussa’s travel to Qatar were paid for by the UK Government.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals they have to strengthen legislation in order to prevent cyber bullying.

    Lord Faulks

    Legislation that can be used to prosecute cyber-bullying related offences includes the Protection from Harassment Act 1997; the Public Order Act 1986; the Malicious Communications Act 1988; and the Communications Act 2003. The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 made changes to the relevant offences in these last two Acts which will help to ensure that people who commit them are prosecuted and properly punished.

    The Government believes that this is sufficient and therefore does not intend to introduced specific additional legislation to address the issue of cyberbullying.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to encourage people to submit their tax returns before the January deadline.

    Mr David Gauke

    The vast majority of Self Assessment customers complete their returns on time (92% last year).

    This year, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is sending millions of targeted emails and texts to remind customers to submit their return by 31 January, for instance to customers who missed the deadline last year or those who are new to Self Assessment. Alongside this, HMRC is running a national marketing campaign to remind customers of the 31 January deadline. Support is available to those who need it as HMRC is putting hundreds of extra people on its helplines during this very busy period, and has introduced new support channels like webchat and online video guidance.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Colombian counterpart on the 24 trade unionists killed in Colombia in 2015.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Our Embassy in Bogotá takes every opportunity to urge the Colombian government to take further measures to prevent violence and threats against human rights defenders and trade unionists. Our Ambassador in Bogotá raised concerns about human rights defenders with the Colombian Interior Minister on 1 February and with the Presidential Advisor for Human Rights on 4 February. Furthermore, this year we are funding a Colombian NGO to develop protection measures for human rights defenders in rural areas. Our Embassy will continue to raise these issues in regular meetings with the Colombian government.