Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to recruit and retain embryologists in the NHS.

    Ben Gummer

    Healthcare providers are responsible for ensuring that they have the right level of staffing to provide high quality care.

    Health Education England (HEE) has been established to ensure the National Health Service has access to the right numbers of staff, at the right time and with the right skills. In doing so, HEE works with key external stakeholders to develop its National Workforce Plan for England which sets out the number of training places it will commission in the year ahead.

    HEE will continue to work with Local Education and Training Boards and others to ensure that there are sufficient Healthcare Scientists, including embryologists, being trained to meet the needs of patients.

    Currently HEE has 28 reproductive Scientists in training (which includes embryology) and are planning a further 11 to start in 2016/17.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many unregistered schools there are in England and Wales.

    Edward Timpson

    We are currently investigating 21 institutions that may be operating as unregistered independent schools in England and have not applied for registration. However, this number often changes as new settings are established and existing ones close, or are confirmed not to be operating as schools. We have taken robust steps to tackle unregistered schools and improve safeguarding which includes being clear it is a criminal offence to operate an unregistered independent school. All these institutions have been warned that it is a criminal offence to operate as an unregistered school. We are asking Ofsted to visit and to prepare cases for prosecution as necessary.

    We do not hold data on the numbers in Wales as the Department is not the regulatory body for independent schools in Wales.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect on the number of people employed as teachers who are from non-EU countries of the salary threshold increase for Tier 2 visa applications to £35,000.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government announced in 2012 that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 visa holders who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000. PhD level roles and those in recognised shortage will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold.

    Data of the number of people employed in specific regions of the United Kingdom is not available. The Home Office holds individual records showing the working location of Tier 2 (General) migrants, but centralised records show the registered address of the Tier 2 Sponsor, which is normally that organisation’s Head Office.

    The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. This includes the impact on the top ten occupations and is available on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on treating people with inflammatory bowel disease in (a) the last 12 months and (b) each of the last five financial years.

    Jane Ellison

    The information is not available in the format requested.

    Such information as is available on the cost to the National Health Service of treating inflammatory bowel disease is from reference costs, which are the average unit cost to NHS hospital trusts of providing defined services to patients in a given financial year. Reference costs for acute care are collected by Healthcare Resource Group (HRG), a secondary classification system which groups similar treatments that use similar resources. Reference costs are published annually, most recently for 2014-15.

    The following table reflects the costs of treating patients who are admitted to hospital and does not include the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease in outpatient or other settings outside of hospital. The costs are not comparable between years because of changes to the HRG design and to the underlying primary classification system for diseases.

    Estimated total costs (£millions) to NHS hospitals of treating inflammatory bowel disease, 2010-11 to 2014-15

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    Inflammatory bowel disease

    207.3

    147.1

    73.0

    78.8

    82.9

    Paediatric inflammatory bowel disease

    12.1

    8.4

    9.7

    10.6

    10.9

    Total

    219.4

    155.5

    82.6

    89.5

    93.8

    Source: Reference costs, Department of Health

    Notes:

    1. For each HRG or other currency in the reference cost collection, NHS hospital trusts submit a unit cost and amount of activity undertaken.
    2. Costs are not comparable between years:
      1. changes to the HRG design in 2011-12 resulted in the removal of HRGs specific to procedures for inflammatory bowel disease. These costs are included in other HRGs and are no longer separately identifiable.
      2. revised clinical coding guidance introduced in 2012-13 with the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision (ICD-10), fourth edition, resulted in the transfer of significant activity (and therefore costs) associated with infectious gastroenteritis and colitis to other HRGs.
    3. The following HRGs are included in the table:

    2010-11

    FZ37F Inflammatory Bowel Disease with length of stay 1 day or less

    FZ37G Inflammatory Bowel Disease with length of stay 2 days or more with Major Complications and Comorbidities (CC) with Interventions

    FZ37H Inflammatory Bowel Disease with length of stay 2 days or more with Major CC without Interventions

    FZ37I Inflammatory Bowel Disease with length of stay 2 days or more without Major CC with Interventions

    FZ37J Inflammatory Bowel Disease with length of stay 2 days or more without Major CC without Interventions

    FZ14Z Complex Procedures for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

    FZ15Z Major Procedures for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

    FZ28A Endoscopic or Intermediate Procedures for Inflammatory Bowel Disease 19 years and over with CC

    FZ28B Endoscopic or Intermediate Procedures for Inflammatory Bowel Disease 19 years and over without CC

    FZ28C Endoscopic or Intermediate Procedures for Inflammatory Bowel Disease 18 years and under

    PA27Z Inflammatory Bowel Disease

    2011-12

    FZ37F Inflammatory Bowel Disease with length of stay 1 day or less

    FZ37G Inflammatory Bowel Disease with length of stay 2 days or more with Major CC with Interventions

    FZ37H Inflammatory Bowel Disease with length of stay 2 days or more with Major CC without Interventions

    FZ37I Inflammatory Bowel Disease with length of stay 2 days or more without Major CC with Interventions

    FZ37J Inflammatory Bowel Disease with length of stay 2 days or more without Major CC without Interventions

    PA27Z Inflammatory Bowel Disease

    2012-13

    FZ37K Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Multiple Interventions, with CC Score 3+

    FZ37L Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Multiple Interventions, with CC Score 0-2

    FZ37M Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Single Intervention, with CC Score 4+

    FZ37N Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Single Intervention, with CC Score 0-3

    FZ37P Inflammatory Bowel Disease without Interventions, with CC Score 5+

    FZ37Q Inflammatory Bowel Disease without Interventions, with CC Score 3-4

    FZ37R Inflammatory Bowel Disease without Interventions, with CC Score 1-2

    FZ37S Inflammatory Bowel Disease without Interventions, with CC Score 0

    PA27Z Inflammatory Bowel Disease

    2013-14 and 2014-15

    FZ37K Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Multiple Interventions, with CC Score 3+

    FZ37L Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Multiple Interventions, with CC Score 0-2

    FZ37M Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Single Intervention, with CC Score 4+

    FZ37N Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Single Intervention, with CC Score 0-3

    FZ37P Inflammatory Bowel Disease without Interventions, with CC Score 5+

    FZ37Q Inflammatory Bowel Disease without Interventions, with CC Score 3-4

    FZ37R Inflammatory Bowel Disease without Interventions, with CC Score 1-2

    FZ37S Inflammatory Bowel Disease without Interventions, with CC Score 0

    PF27A Paediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease with CC Score 1+

    PF27B Paediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease with CC Score 0

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government has taken to regulate unsolicited emails offering free online gambling opportunities.

    David Evennett

    The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 are clear that organisations may only send marketing emails to individuals if the individual has agreed to receive them, or where there is a clearly defined customer relationship and the recipient has been given a simple means of refusing the use of their contact details for the purposes of such marketing.

    The Information Commissioner’s Office upholds the rules and regulations governing unsolicited emails, and offers advice to consumers on reporting abuses. The Gambling Commission has been working with the Information Commissioner’s Office to raise awareness of the rules across the gambling industry.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people entering or leaving the UK by air had pre-boarding electronic checks in each of the last seven years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The total volumes of passengers and crew crossing the UK border via scheduled commercial air routes, along with the figures for the volumes that underwent electronic checks, are listed in the table below.

    The following table shows assessed number of passengers and crew travelling to and from the United Kingdom on commercial international aviation routes (excluding the Common Travel Area) and the percentage of those undergoing electronic checks, over the last five years. Full detail is not available for 2009/ 2010 given the events surrounding the termination of the Raytheon-led Trusted Borders contract.

    Year

    Number of passengers and crew on international scheduled commercial aviation routes (excluding Common Travel Area) travelling to and from the UK (Millions) *

    Percentage of passengers checked electronically on international scheduled commercial aviation routes (excluding Common Travel Area)

    2011

    190.4

    67%

    2012

    186.2

    69%

    2013

    182.3

    81%

    2014

    179.7

    96%

    2015

    211

    100%
  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the financial saving to the NHS of the policy to no longer routinely fund second stem cell transplants for blood cancer patients who have relapsed.

    David Mowat

    Decisions are taken by NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group that leads on the annual prioritisation process. The prioritisation process includes an impact assessment that compared the cost of a second transplant to alternative treatment pathways for relapsed disease.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to ensure that the rights of part-time and agency workers will be (a) protected in the long-term and (b) retained in primary legislation.

    Margot James

    As a Government, we have been clear that we will do nothing to undermine workers’ rights. All law in this area at the time of exit will be brought under UK law as part of the Great Repeal Bill, ensuring continuity.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the return to Afghanistan of Al-Qaeda.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has regular discussions with his US counterpart and other allies on global security challenges, including Afghanistan. In addition, Government officials regularly discuss insurgency and terrorism in Afghanistan, including Al-Qaeda, with US and NATO partners. This includes how we can best continue to support the Afghan National Unity Government to deliver their own national security.

  • Chris Law – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Law – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the 130 HM Revenue and Customs staff at Caledonian House, Dundee will have a guaranteed job in the new regional HM Revenue and Customs centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the planned locations of its future Regional Centres based on a number of key principles. In addition to cost, HMRC has taken account of the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, and the need to retain the staff and skills they need to continue their transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

    HMRC plans to open two new Regional Centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow, with a combined total of between 5,700 and 6,300 posts.In Dundee, Caledonian House is planned to close in 2018 and Sidlaw House will transfer to the administering of Universal Credit. HMRC will be holding individual meetings with every member of staff prior to any office closures or moves, to discuss what these plans mean for them and their choices.‎