Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment his Department has made of the costs and benefits to the UK of leaving the EU Customs Union; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robin Walker

    We are confident that we will secure a successful outcome and deliver the best deal for Britain in the upcoming negotiations. The relationship we build with the EU will be bespoke to the UK. There are of course a number of different models for EU trade relations from which we can learn. We understand the advantages and disadvantages of those models, and are analysing closely the impact which adopting them would have on the UK economy and UK trade.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of government IT spending was spent with small and medium sized (SME) enterprises in 2014-15; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of that spending that will be with SMEs in 2015-16.

    Matthew Hancock

    We are finalising the data for government spend with small business during 2014-15 and will publish this information before the end of the year.

    Data for 2015-16 will be published in due course.

  • Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) surgical operations, (b) diagnostic tests and (c) endoscopy procedures which could be used to treat NHS patients and are available from independent sector healthcare providers in winter 2015-16.

    Jane Ellison

    Decisions about whether to use independent sector capacity are made at local level according to local need, as part of the operational management of capacity and demand.

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 8 December (HL3999), when they expect to publish the Savills report on the regeneration of local authority estates in central London.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    A copy of the report will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what provision there is for people with perinatal mental health issues living in clinical commissioning group areas where there is no specialist community perinatal mental health team.

    Alistair Burt

    This Government is committed to improving access to perinatal mental health services for women during pregnancy and in the first postnatal year. In January 2016 the Government set out that an additional £290 million will be made available over the next five years to 2020/21, over and above the money identified in the Spring Budget, to invest in perinatal mental health services. This is funded from within the Department’s overall Spending Review settlement and means that in total from 2015/16 to 2020/21 £365 million will be invested in perinatal mental health services.

    We are aware that there is unacceptable variation in the levels of access to high quality, NICE-recommended specialist perinatal mental health care for women across England. A 2014 census identified that 40% of women in England have no access to specialist perinatal mental health services and that is why we have confirmed this additional investment. The funding should enable significant progress towards closing this gap and will help to enable women across the country to access evidence-based specialist support, in the community or through inpatient mother and baby services, closer to their home, when they need it. It is anticipated that, by 2020/21, around 30,000 more women should be able to access appropriate specialist support.

    This new funding, together with the recommendations of the forthcoming report of the independent Mental Health Taskforce, will enable NHS England to work with partners to design a longer-term transformation programme to build capacity and capability in specialist perinatal mental health services over the next five years. This will include setting detailed plans for how the additional investment will be targeted over the period to 2020/21 and setting clear outcome measures and metrics to monitor the impact of the funding on perinatal mental health provision.

    In 2015/16 work is already underway to lay the foundations for this longer-term work programme through targeted funding of activities to build capacity in specialist services. This will include, for example, a £1 million investment in strengthening clinical networks across the country. It is also expected to include the provision of national and regional benchmarking data and analytical support to regions, and work to develop clinical leadership capacity. Work will also continue to support the development of specialist mother and baby units in the regions identified as most in need of new services.

    To ensure the workforce are available and appropriately trained, NHS England is working closely with Health Education England and key stakeholders to better understand the future workforce commissioning requirements and how it is best to meet multi professional education and training needs.

  • Philippa Whitford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Philippa Whitford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philippa Whitford on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to (a) claimants of universal credit while the benefit is assessed and dispatched and (b) people becoming unemployed from low-paid and temporary jobs who have no redundancy payments or other income.

    Priti Patel

    Advance payments of up to 50% of their Universal Credit award are available to all new Universal Credit claimants who are in financial need.

  • Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of trends in waiting times for elective surgery for people with inflammatory bowel disease.

    Jane Ellison

    Inflammatory bowel disease is not uniquely identified in the International Classification of Diseases and therefore it is not possible to specifically identify waiting times for people with this condition.

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-04-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average financial penalty issued for a breach of the Highway Code in each of the last three years.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Enforcement of cycling offences and collection of data on such offences is a matter for the Ministry of Justice and Home Office.

    Based on information provided to the Department for Transport, the number of defendants proceeded against at Magistrates’ courts and found guilty and sentenced for some cycling (non- motoring) offences in England and Wales from 2012 to 2014 (latest available) can be viewed in the attached table. This includes the average fine given at all courts for the specific offences listed in the table.

    The Home Office collects data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for motoring offences only and these data are published by the Home Office in the annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ publication. Data on fixed penalty notices issued to cyclists are not held centrally.

    We are not able to provide an overall average financial penalty figure for all cycling offences. Many of these cycling offences are recorded under a miscellaneous offence grouping. The information required to split this miscellaneous grouping at offence level is held in individual court files, which can only be inspected at disproportionate cost.

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

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health has seen the complaint by the Nordic Cochrane Centre to the European Medicines Agency regarding maladministration at that organisation; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    I am aware of the document from the Nordic Cochrane Centre. Whilst the issues raised are a matter for the European Medicines Agency (EMA), we are satisfied that the EMA has adequate processes in place to manage any potential conflicts of interest of its scientific experts and to uphold the integrity and impartiality of its decision-making. There was consensus agreement amongst EU Member States on the conclusions of the recent human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine safety review, and we have confidence in the outcome of this review.

    Aside from the EMA review, the World Health Organization’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety advised in December 2015 that it had not found any safety issues to date that would alter its recommendation to use the vaccine. It concluded that there is no evidence that postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and complex regional pain syndrome are associated with HPV vaccination. Thorough reviews undertaken by the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and Health Canada have also concluded that available evidence does not support a link between HPV vaccine and development of serious and chronic illnesses.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the value of shooting sports is recognised in legislation protecting wildlife.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Nature protection and management is a devolved issue, so I can only answer with respect to England. When carried out in accordance with the law, shooting is a legitimate and humane activity. In addition to its significant economic contribution, providing jobs and investment in some of our most remote areas, the Government recognises that shooting offers important benefits for wildlife and habitat conservation and can be a useful wildlife management measure.

    The Government’s position is that people should be free to undertake lawful activities if they wish to do so and shooting is a permitted method of control in legislation protecting wildlife.