Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking to assist Ethiopia with famine relief and support in dealing with drought.

    James Wharton

    Ethiopia is coming out of its worst drought for 30 years. At the peak of the crisis, over 18 million people (approximately 20% of the population) were in need of food assistance.

    The UK responded quickly and decisively to the humanitarian crisis and was the second largest bilateral donor. We have provided emergency support for 3.8 million people to date. Through the Government of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Nets Programme (PSNP), which boosts household food security for extremely poor and vulnerable people over five years, UK funds are supporting 1.7 million people in 2016.

    At the highest level, DFID and the FCO in Addis have undertaken diplomatic engagement and provided technical advice around the issue of chronic food insecurity with the Government of Ethiopia. My predecessor, Nick Hurd, met with Government of Ethiopia officials and committed to work together with the United Nations and others to assist them to cope with this crisis.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of proposed changes to (a) the student loans system and (b) maintenance grants on productivity.

    Greg Hands

    The government’s system of student support enables students to cover the costs of studying at university. At Summer Budget 2015, we announced that maintenance grants would be replaced by more generous maintenance loans and that we would consult on freezing the repayment threshold for loan repayments. These measures help create a financially secure Higher Education system, allowing the government to remove the student numbers cap and enable more students to go to university than ever before.

  • Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme; and what steps he is taking to increase uptake of such screening among (a) men, (b) people living in deprived areas, (c) ethnic minorities and (d) all people.

    Jane Ellison

    The UK National Screening Committee recently consulted on the use of Faecal Immunochemical testing (FIT) as an alternative screen test for bowel cancer. Initial results of the FIT pilot, indicates that this test is more acceptable to the screened population with a significant increase in participation (10%). This is particularly marked amongst men and disadvantaged groups.

    At the end of January 2015, 25 million faecal occult blood test kits had been sent out to men and women aged 60-74 to self-sample at home. Over 15 million kits have been returned by post to one of five regional laboratories (programme hubs). Over 21,000 cancers have been detected and over 122,000 patients have been managed for polyps, including polyp removal.

    Public Health England (PHE) Screening held a national workshop engaging various organisations to discuss inequalities in accessing screening programmes.

    The national workshop was attended by colleagues from local authorities, the Department of Health, PHE, National Health Service and cancer research UK. The day looked at current knowledge about the extent of inequitable access, what works to improve access for those in deprived and protected groups, how existing levers might best be used and by whom.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to ensure that exams are marked accurately on the first occasion.

    Nick Gibb

    These are matters for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her replies will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

  • Baroness Massey of Darwen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Massey of Darwen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Massey of Darwen on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign in 2015, and in particular its recommendations that an independent body be established actively to monitor and enforce schools’ admissions arrangements.

    Lord Nash

    The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the School Admissions Code which will both respond to concerns from parents and to the findings in the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.

    We want the Schools Adjudicator to be able to focus on objections raised by those who will be affected by admission arrangements. Local Authorities will continue to have a right to object on behalf of the local community.

    The Government supports the need for an independent body to respond to concerns raised about the fairness of school admission arrangements. The Schools Adjudicator is that body and we are confident of both the independence and rigour of the adjudication process.

  • Biography information for Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Biography information for Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Rennard on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the Electoral Commission’s conclusion in its report UK Parliamentary General Election 2015: Campaign spending report, that in principle

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Electoral Commission published its “UK Parliamentary General Election 2015: Campaign spending report” on 29 February 2016. The Government is considering the report and will respond in due course.

  • Mike Weir – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mike Weir – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weir on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the efficiency of the pension schemes of abolished non-departmental public bodies in (a) identifying pensioners as they become eligible for payments and (b) ensuring that payments are processed and triggered for payment on the due date.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Departmental preparations for the reform of non-departmental public bodies take account of the Checklist for Departments published by the Cabinet Office, which includes advice on pensions.

    In the past five years, the Department has reformed three bodies which employed staff.

    In two cases, staff pensions were provided by the Civil Service Pension Scheme, which has established procedures in place for identifying pensioners as they become eligible, and ensuring that payments are processed on time:

    The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission was abolished on 31 July 2012 and employed 7,652 full time equivalent staff, all of whom were civil servants;

    The Independent Living Fund legally closed on 30 June 2015, however a small residual team of 15 staff was retained until 30 September to deal with any residual closure issues. It had previously employed 99.5 full time equivalent staff.

    In April 2015, the Remploy business was sold to a new company outside Government control. The majority of its employees transferred to that company and left the Remploy Pension Scheme at the time. The pension scheme continues to be managed by its trustees and the scheme administrators, who remain responsible for identifying pensioners and ensuring they are paid appropriately once they become eligible. At 1 January 2016, the Remploy Pension Scheme had approximately 18,000 members, of whom over 9,500 were deferred members and thus potential future pensioners. From 1 April 2016, my Department is now the Principal Employer for this scheme.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process they plan to follow to identify eligible unaccompanied minors and bring them to the UK from refugee camps in Europe.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    As announced by the Prime Minister on 4 May and now reflected in the Immigration Act 2016, we will work to admit unaccompanied refugee children to the UK from elsewhere in the EU, where this is considered to be in the child’s best interests.

    The legislation is clear that consultation with local authorities is needed before any figure is set. We are working closely with local authorities and consulting NGOs, the UNHCR, UNICEF and relevant Member States to establish suitable processes to im-plement this initiative.

    We are committed to act as quickly as we can but we must take the necessary time to ensure we have the capacity to resettle and support those who are resettled.

    We must also ensure that we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK. We will be working closely with local authorities to find suitable placements within the UK. Statutory agencies at a local level are best placed to understand and meet the needs of all children and will continue to make decisions about the right accommodation and support services for those who are looked after. Unaccompanied children will be eligible for foster care if it is considered that that this placement type will provide appropriate support and best meet their individual needs.

    The UK has well-established and effective safeguarding procedures to ensure the safety of children who come to the UK. All children brought to the UK will be given the care, support and education they require.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Prime Minister, whether she has made any further machinery of government changes since her Written Ministerial Statement of 18 July 2016.

    Mrs Theresa May

    Machinery of Government changes are set out in Written Statements, and are available in the Official Report.

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

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve early diagnosis of childhood cancers; and if he will make available additional funding to improve such early diagnosis.

    David Mowat

    Improving early diagnosis of cancer is a priority for this Government, and was clearly highlighted in the report Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes published last year by the Independent Cancer Taskforce. Earlier diagnosis makes it more likely that patients, including children with cancer, will receive effective treatments. We have committed to implementing all the recommendations of the Taskforce including that, by 2020, everyone referred with a suspicion of cancer will receive either a definitive diagnosis or the all-clear within four weeks (28 days).

    NHS England has the funds necessary to improve cancer services over the next five years, including up to £300 million by 2020 to support earlier diagnosis of cancer and the £10 billion of real terms increase in National Health Service funding by 2020-21. The recommendations in the Taskforce report give direction as to where these funds should be targeted.

    In order to continue to support general practitioners (GPs) to identify patients whose symptoms may indicate cancer and urgently refer them as appropriate, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated suspected cancer referral guideline in June 2015. The guideline ‘Suspected cancer: recognition and referral’ includes new recommendations for childhood cancers.

    NICE also addressed generally, non-site specific symptoms of concern in children and young people, recommending that GPs should take into account the insight and knowledge of parents and carers when considering making a referral for suspected cancer. NICE noted that more lives could be saved each year in England if GPs followed the new guideline, which encourages GPs to think of cancer sooner and lower the referral threshold.