Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on raising of the state pension age.

    Justin Tomlinson

    I can confirm that the Secretary of State and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have recently discussed and agreed the Terms of Reference for the Independent State Pension age review. The Government’s position on future State Pension ages is to consider the independent review’s report when it is received in 2017.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will consult veterinary and animal welfare experts on the planned update of farm animal welfare codes; and if she will publish in draft those updated codes for consultation.

    George Eustice

    We have the highest standards of animal welfare in the world, and we will be retaining the framework that upholds them. Defra will continue to work with industry to ensure farmers have the guidance they need to help them comply with legislation, and we will consult as and when updates are needed.

  • Sammy Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Sammy Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sammy Wilson on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many additional electric motorcycles his Department expects to register as a result of the introduction of the motorcycle plug-in scheme.

    Andrew Jones

    Sales of electric motorcycles in the UK rose by 63% in 2015. The Government remains committed to supporting the zero emission motorcycle industry, we are assessing options to support this growing market and will make an announcement as soon as is practical.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to review the role of the Ministry of Defence Police in safeguarding the Trident nuclear deterrent.

    Mark Lancaster

    As part of the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we are reviewing a series of options that may change the way we provide our policing and guarding at some sites. Further work is required to assess the feasibility and implementation of these options and, at the appropriate time, we will initiate formal consultation with the Ministry of Defence Police staff associations.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding the Local Air Quality Management team in her Department awarded to local authorities for monitoring air quality in the last year.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Defra monitors, models and reports on air quality at a national level in accordance with the requirements of EU and international legislation. There are 272 air quality monitoring stations in Defra’s UK national monitoring networks. Local authorities in England fund and operate approximately 720 monitoring stations, of which 59 are affiliated to the Defra networks.

    Local authorities are responsible for reviewing and assessing local air quality, including decisions on local air quality monitoring. Their local knowledge and interaction with the communities that they serve mean that they know the issues on the ground in detail and the solutions that are best suited to local circumstances.

    In 2015/16, Defra’s air quality grant scheme awarded £0.5m to eight local authorities to support a range of air quality related projects, including installation of pollutant monitoring stations.

  • Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support local authorities in training staff to identify and support those with mental health problems, and to link services in local areas to support mental health strategies.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    It is important that local authorities employ individuals who possess the necessary skills to engage effectively with those with mental health problems. Local authorities should make training opportunities available to all staff.

    Mental health social workers empower individuals with mental illness and their families, carers, and communities to lead fulfilling, independent lives. On 1 September this year applications for a new fast track route into mental health social work careers opened for an intensive on-the-job programme called Think Ahead. The programme aims to attract promising students and graduates into mental health careers.

    Health Education England, working with NHS England, aims to ensure that there are suf­ficient therapists and other staff with the right skills to support the identification of mental health issues.

    Community mental health services, which include community mental health teams, crisis and home resolution teams, assertive outreach teams and early intervention in psychosis teams, all have a key role in supporting people with mental health problems either to avoid the need for in-patient care or to provide them with on-going support once in-patient treatment is no longer necessary.

    From April 2016, the first set of mental health waiting time standards will be introduced which requires that 50% of people experiencing a first episode of psychosis are treated with a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved package of care within two weeks of referral; 75% of adults referred to the national programme for psychological therapies will be treated within 6 weeks, and 95% within 18 weeks.

    This is supported by an £80 million funding package for 2015-16 from NHS England’s budgets, breaking down as:

    ‒ £40 million recurrent funding to support delivery of the early intervention in psychosis (EIP) standard;

    ‒ £10 million to support delivery of the new psychological therapies standards; and

    ‒ £30 million to support liaison psychiatry in acute hospitals.

    The Time to Change initiative is an ambitious national programme being delivered by leading mental health charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness to reduce stigma and discrimination towards people with mental health problems. The Department, the Big Lottery Fund and Comic Relief have all provided funding for the programme.The Department funded the campaign with over £16 million between 2011-12 and 2014-15 and is continuing to fund the programme with £2.5 million in 2015-16. Time to Change continues to work with people with experience of mental health problems to challenge attitudes and discrimination; run social marketing campaigns and work with local and regional partners on community-led activity. To date, more than 350 organisations across England have committed to tackling mental health stigma and discrimination in the workplace.

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has put in place to fund walking and cycling infrastructure once the Local Sustainable Transport Fund ends in March 2016.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department has a statutory obligation to deliver the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). The Department has commenced the early first stages of work to develop the first CWIS by summer 2016 following a formal consultation in spring 2016. Detailed content of this Strategy is not yet available.

    The Government recently reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking by investing over £300m during this Parliament. This includes delivering the Cycle City Ambition programme in full, and funding the Bikeability cycle training programme, which increases cycle proficiency amongst school children. It also includes a new ‘Access’ fund for sustainable travel building on the legacy of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. It is too early to say what the details of this new Access fund will be as discussions are ongoing, but information is expected to be available in the coming weeks.

  • 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 2016-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what timetable has been set for the introduction of NHS England’s new National Clinical Director for Cardiac Services after April 2016.

    George Freeman

    NHS England expect the National Clinical Director for Cardiac Services to take up their role from 1 April 2016.

  • 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 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) more efficient use by the NHS of funding from the public purse and (b) support for investment in the health and care system in areas most likely to deliver positive benefit to the most people.

    Alistair Burt

    We are taking steps to help spend taxpayers’ money more efficiently and enable the National Health Service to live within its resources. By 2020-21, the Government will increase funding for the NHS by £10 billion a year in real terms compared to 2014-15, to support the implementation of the NHS’s own plan – the Five Year Forward View. We will be giving the NHS £3.8 billion more next year, over and above inflation. This will in part support a sustainability and transformation fund to give the NHS the resources it needs to sustain services as well as delivering the transformational changes required to achieve year-on-year efficiency and productivity improvements. We will use the local planning process to identify those areas where investment in transformation will deliver positive benefits to the most people and will focus on encouraging the most productive ways of working throughout the NHS. These measures will help ensure we get the maximum value for patients and service users whilst delivering high quality care.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what timetable he has set for the development of the National Shipbuilding Strategy; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 January 2016 to Question 20545 to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon).