The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what change there has been in the proportion of children and young people referred to Tier 2 CAMHS services since 2013 in (a) England, (b) each region, (c) each clinical commissioning group area and (d) each local authority area.
Alistair Burt
This information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what amount of child maintenance arrears accrued on the 1993 and 2003 schemes has been transferred to the 2012 scheme for collection in relation to 1 April 2015 (a) cases with a current CMS liability order and (b) cases with not current CMS liability order.
Priti Patel
Information on whether cases with transferred arrears have a current liability on CMS is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Information on transferred arrears is set out on Page 14 of the 1993 and 2003 Child Maintenance Schemes – Client Fund Accounts 2014/15 which can be accessed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/485960/HC687_Client_fund_1993_tagged.pdf
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to ensure all frontline NHS staff are trained in suicide prevention; and whether such training will be compulsory.
Ben Gummer
It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure staff receive appropriate training to deliver high quality healthcare. This includes training in suicide prevention. There are no plans to make it compulsory.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-04-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will name those businesses that are known to have changed the terms and conditions of their low-paid workers in order to recover some of the costs of paying an increased minimum wage; and what steps they plan to take to discourage businesses from taking such steps.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government believes that it is essential for employers to ensure that their reward packages are competitive, in order to retain and develop the staff who are fundamental to their success. In a growing economy, the National Living Wage should represent an opportunity to invest in talented staff and improve productivity.
The Government does not plan to operate a formal scheme to name employers who change employees’ terms and conditions. But we will continue to be clear that reducing wider remuneration packages and blaming the National Living Wage is short-sighted and not in the spirit of the introduction of the National Living Wage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward planned improvements to the Northern Rail service between Scarborough and York that are due to take place in 2019.
Andrew Jones
The possibility of bringing forward the planned improvement to this route was fully explored with Arriva Rail North during the closing phases of the franchising process in late 2015 and was not considered achievable. This position has currently not changed, but should it do so then earlier implementation would then be considered with the franchisee.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will amend the eligibility criteria for bereavement benefits to enable unmarried couples who have cohabited for many years to claim the same bereavement benefits as married couples and civil partners.
Caroline Nokes
A key principle of the National Insurance system is that all rights to benefits derived from another person’s contributions are based on the concept of legal marriage or civil partnership. This is a long-standing position in bereavement benefits and will continue under the new Bereavement Support Payment, the provisions of which were debated during the passage of the Pensions Act 2014.
Marriage and civil partnerships are legal contracts that are associated with certain rights, including inheritance, recognition in the tax system and entitlement to certain benefits. Given this legal position, the Government has no plans to extend eligibility for bereavement benefits to cohabitees.
However, cohabitees do have access to income-related benefits. They may also qualify for help with funeral costs from the Social Fund and may of course choose to provide security for their families by way of private pension or life insurance arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-10-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the quantitative easing programme on defined benefit pension schemes.
Simon Kirby
Monetary policy is set independently by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England. The minutes to the MPC’s August meeting, in which the Committee expanded its asset purchase programme, noted that ‘lower yields posed potential risks to some aspects of the functioning of the financial system, for example by increasing the deficits of many pension funds’ but concluded that ‘at present, however, those effects appeared to be relatively limited’.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2015-11-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will continue to fund the Routes into Languages programme after the current funding expires in July 2016.
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
This programme is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE). HEFCE will review its spending priorities (including for Routes into Languages) in the light of its grant settlement from Government, following the Spending Review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will establish an independent inquiry to consider the costs and benefits of frozen pensions.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Any independent inquiry to consider the costs and benefits of frozen pensions for the Civil Service Pension Scheme will be a matter for the Cabinet Office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many press and public relations staff are employed by her Department; how many of those employees are paid more than (a) £50,000 and (b) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by her Department in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
The Northern Ireland Office employs four communications officers who deal with press and public relations as part of their roles. One is paid more than (a) £50,000 and none are paid more than (b) £100,000 per year. Total expenditure for press and public relations for the current financial year is £255,230 which includes staff time.