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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 2.149 of the Spending Review, where he expects job cuts in his Department; and how many such jobs he expects to be cut.

    Dominic Raab

    The Secretary of State for Justice has set out his vision for a one nation justice system, with swift and certain justice in a reformed courts system and transformed prisons that become places of rehabilitation, not just incarceration. Those on the frontline will be empowered to make the right decisions for those who use their services.

    This means a smaller and smarter Whitehall department with less bureaucracy, including savings which do not impact on staff numbers, such as changes to our estate, our major contracts and better use of technology.

    We also expect to reduce headquarters and administrative headcount and costs over the course of the parliament. This will include reduced reliance on contractors and contingent labour and fewer staff based in expensive London premises.

    Final decisions on the scale of staff reductions have not yet been reached.

  • Baroness Deech – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Deech – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Deech on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the Palestinian Authority concerning incitement to violence in the light of the Palestinian Ministry of Health referring to Nashat Milhem as one of the dearest martyrs”.”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Our Consul-General in Jerusalem met the Palestinian Minister of Health on 21 January and strongly condemned the language used in the statement.

  • Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many paid carers her Department estimates will be eligible for the Government’s proposed free 30 hours of childcare.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The extended entitlement is intended to support working parents with the cost of childcare, enabling them to return to work or work additional hours if they wish to do so. Families where both parents work or one parent works in a single parent household will be eligible for these additional hours. In recognition of the particular challenges that paid carers can face in relation to childcare, the Childcare Bill allows for parents in certain circumstances to be regarded as being in work, for example, those parents who have caring responsibilities.

    Households where one parent is working and one parent is being paid Carer’s Allowance or Universal Credit’s Carer Element will be able to access the extended entitlement provided the working parent meets the income eligibility requirements. This includes households where a parent is caring for their own three or four year old child where the child is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or is certified blind.

    In relation to single parents with a disabled child, where that parent meets the income eligibility requirements, they will also be able to access the extended entitlement. Parents who do not work will continue to receive Carer’s Allowance or Universal Credit.

    It is also important to remember that all paid carers will be able to access the existing 15 hour early education entitlement for three and four year olds and the 15 hour early education entitlement for two year olds if they meet the eligibility criteria. More detail can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-and-education-for-2-to-4-year-olds

    The Department does not hold information on the number of households with three or four year old children where one partner (or the sole parent in a lone parent family) meets the income eligibility criteria and is in receipt of benefits relating to caring responsibilities.

    “

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage families in the UK to sponsor, foster or adopt unaccompanied refugee children who reach this country.

    Lord Bates

    In response to the many generous offers of help, the Home Secretary has announced that we will be establishing a register of people and organisations that can provide support for the settlement of refugees.

    We have asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to make an assessment of the number and needs of unaccompanied children in conflict regions and advise on when it is in the best interests of the child to be resettled in the UK. The UNHCR has already been clear that these are likely to be exceptional cases. This is because it is not uncommon in an emergency situation for children to be temporarily separated from their parents or other family members who may be looking for them. Efforts to reunite children with relatives or extended family members, who may be looking for them in the region, should be preferred to premature attempts to organise adoption. Some lone refugee children may come to the UK for temporary care, but overall our support is for them to be reunited with parents or other relatives wherever possible.

    More information on what the public can do to help Syrian refugees can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/syria-refugees-what-you-can-do-to-help–2

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) female and (b) other students are encouraged to take modules in entrepreneurship and business mentoring.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The government is committed to improving the extent and quality of the careers guidance and inspiration that all young people receive. This should begin with activities to enable children in primary school to explore the world of work. Primary Futures is an example of an initiative that helps primary age children to see a clear link and purpose between their learning and their futures.

    The Department for Education has funded The Careers & Enterprise Company to take a lead role in transforming the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people aged 12 to 18 in England. This work includes ensuring that all students have access to high quality careers and enterprise provision, including interactions with employers. The Company helps employers, schools and colleges and other organisations to navigate their way through the existing landscape and find appropriate careers and enterprise organisations to partner with. An example of a successful initiative is the three-year industry-led Your Life campaign, which was launched by the Government in 2014. This aims to inspire young people, particularly girls, to study A level maths and physics as a gateway to an exciting and wide-ranging career.

    Entrepreneurship education is an important component of high quality careers provision. The careers statutory guidance requires schools in England to offer pupils the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills and have access to advice on options available post-16 including entrepreneurship.

    We are giving more young people access to a mentor to help raise aspirations, improve focus and attainment and help prepare them for the next stage in their lives. The Prime Minister announced on 14 March 2016 that the government will commit £12 million over this parliament for an investment fund to build capacity in the system to recruit and train a new generation of high-quality mentors, focussing on teenagers most at risk of under-achieving or dropping out of education. This will be supported by a national advertising campaign.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to legislate to change non-binding shareholder votes in relation to executive pay in public companies to binding votes if they pass the 50 per cent threshold.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the noble Lord.

  • 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 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of asylum applications were accepted over the past 12 months.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    In the year ending March 2016, there were 33,713 initial decisions on asylum applications from main applicants and dependants. Of these decisions, 37% (12,410) were grants of asylum or an alternative form of protection.

    The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on asylum applications and initial decisions within the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics January to March 2016, is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2016.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to remove restrictions on local authorities raising council tax to meet the needs of their communities.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Government is committed to working with local authorities to protect hard-working council tax payers from excessive increases. In the Spending Review, the Government announced a new adult social care precept worth 2 per cent for authorities with responsibility for adult social care for the remainder of the Parliament, subject to the approval of the House of Commons. This new precept was in addition to a ‘core’ council tax referendum principle of 2 per cent, which would be reviewed annually. The Government has set out its proposals for council tax referendum principles for 2017-18 in the Local Government Finance Settlement Technical Consultation, released on 15 September 2016.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress her Department has made on reducing costs for consumers in making financial claims.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    Information on the number of people who have lost more than 25 per cent of their financial claims compensation to the claims management company (CMC) handling their claim is not held centrally.

    Our priority is to protect consumers who choose to use CMCs. We have consulted on proposals to cap the level of fees that CMCs providing financial claims services can charge consumers. These proposals aim to help consumers get more of the compensation due to them. We are carefully considering the consultation responses and the Government will publish its response in due course.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to introduce a standard dementia test for all people aged between 65 and 70.

    Jane Ellison

    Improving the treatment and care of people with dementia, reducing the incidence of dementia and improving dementia research, is a key priority for the Government. That is why in February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his Challenge on Dementia 2020 as a successor to the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2012-2015.

    There are different models of diagnosis which are being utilised for all stages of the condition across all age groups. A range of different tests and diagnostic procedures are needed to diagnose dementia depending on the person and the type of dementia they may be suspected of presenting with, therefore a single standardised test would not be clinically appropriate.

    On 10 September 2014 NHS England published a new Dementia Toolkit aimed at helping general practitioners making a more timely diagnosis and what they can do in terms of vital post-diagnostic support. Decisions on specific health treatments and tests, however, are made at a local level to best meet the needs of the individual concerned.

    We will be raising awareness of dementia as a component of the NHS Health Check for all attendees aged between 65 and 74.