Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Youth Obligation can be extended beyond six months for a participant who is not work-ready at the end of that period.

    Priti Patel

    The Youth Obligation will be introduced from April 2017 for 18-21 year old Universal Credit claimants (UC) in the all work related requirements conditionality group.

    At the 6 month stage, UC claimants who are not in work, on an Apprenticeship or participating in work-related training, will be required to go on a mandatory work placement to give them the skills they need to get on in work.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to ensure levels of bursaries and salary support for trainee clinical psychologists for the 2017-18 cohort are adequate to ensure a diverse future workforce.

    Ben Gummer

    Health Education England (HEE) funding for trainees in clinical psychology is currently determined at a local level based on local need and is subject to annual workforce planning. For 2016-17, HEE will fund those commissions set out in the HEE Commissioning and Investment Plan for 2016-17. HEE’s plans for training clinical psychologists remain unchanged from 2015-16 with 526 commissions proposed for 2016-17. HEE will set out its plans for 2017-18 training commissions in its next annual Commissioning and Investment Plan or Workforce Plan for England which is expected to be published in December 2016 prior to the start of the financial year.

    The Government is currently consulting on the implementation of the education funding reforms for pre-registration undergraduate and postgraduate nursing, midwifery and allied health courses which are currently funded through both HEE funded tuition, a National Health Service bursary and reduced rate loan for maintenance. Respondents to the consultation may wish to raise issues relating to the funding for courses operating outside of this model, such as clinical psychology training programmes. The Government will consider these in the context of its consultation response.

  • David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Rural Payments Agency to resolve the backlog of 2015 Basic Payment Scheme payments.

    George Eustice

    I have regular discussions with the Rural Payments Agency on the progress of Basic Payment Scheme payments.

    As of 3 July 86,760 (99.6%) farmers have received a payment on their 2015 BPS claim. The Rural Payments Agency continues to focus on making top up payments to those farmers who have already received a bridging payment.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many times his Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms since his Department was established; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

    Greg Hands

    The information will take time to collate. I will place this in the libraries of the House as soon as the information is available.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions the Government has had with (a) the Egyptian authorities, (b) airlines and (c) other national and international bodies on changes to the allocation of slots for flights arriving and leaving Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Both the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have been in regular liaison, and worked in partnership, with the Egyptian authorities to agree the allocation of slots for UK aircraft at Sharm-el-Sheikh since the temporary resumption of UK-bound flights on 6 November. As is the usual practice, UK airlines have agreed the slot timetables directly with the Egyptian authorities for the flights being arranged. Both the FCO and DfT spoke with other national bodies at Sharm-el–Sheikh on the overall initial allocation.

  • John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to contribute towards stabilising the security situation in Burundi.

    James Duddridge

    I have recently returned from a visit to Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi on 15, 16 and 17 December to contribute towards stabilising the security situation in Burundi. In my meeting with the Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, I encouraged him to take forward the proposed dialogue with renewed urgency. In my meeting with the Rwandan Foreign Minister, I underlined the need for constructive engagement to solve the Burundi crisis. I was clear with the Burundian Foreign Minister that President Nkurunziza must take up President Museveni’s offer of mediation and engage in talks with all parties. This follows a number of telephone calls I have made to the Burundian Foreign Minister following the inflammatory comments made by the President and President of the Senate. This engagement is the latest example of the lead role that the UK has played in building a single, consistent, international community response to the security situation in Burundi. In January we set up a group of key international partners, who have since worked together to develop a common strategy and encouraged President Nkurunziza to engage with the international community and respect the principles of the Arusha Agreement. In June the UK appointed a Special Envoy to the Great Lakes, Danae Dholakia, who is active in delivering our messages on Burundi. We have supported the East Africa Community in delivering a regional solution. And we have encouraged the African Union efforts to play a strong role in organising an inclusive dialogue outside of Burundi. This would do much to help to pave the way for delivery of a sustainable solution to the crisis. We continue to work with the African Union to mobilise the financial and political resources to support the mediation process. It was under the UK’s Presidency of the UN Security Council that Resolution 2248 was agreed. This Resolution demonstrates the unity of the international community in its approach to the crisis. We continue to work with our colleagues around the world on contingency options. In addition, the Department for International Development is providing £14.25 million to support the relief efforts for refugees fleeing to the region. The Department for International Development is further providing £3.9 million for the refugee response in Rwanda through the United Nations and non-governmental organisations. This has been used to fund refugee transport, medical care, shelters and food rations. Finally, the UK strongly supported a sanctions regime for Burundi. Four individuals have been listed so far. The European Union and African Union are giving consideration to further sanctions against individuals.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of how many cancer patients could receive a molecular test on Genomics England’s cancer sequencing budget for 2016 if Genomics England (1) continued to use whole genome sequencing on tumour and normal tissue pairs, and (2) switched to deep sequenced panel tests.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The information requested is not yet available. The 100,000 Genomes Project is a research project which is investigating the benefits of whole genome sequencing for patients with cancer and rare diseases. One of the objectives of the Project is to establish the evidence to inform future decisions on National Health Service testing.

    The cancer part of the 100,000 Genomes Project has only recently completed the pilot phase and is incorporating those lessons into routine recruitment of cancer patients. To date, 1,286 tumour and normal genomes have been sequenced and are being interpreted by Genomics England. The pilot phase has involved research participants who have given informed consent, including details about whether there will be feedback of results during the pilot phase. The pilot phase has proved invaluable in understanding the technical requirements for sample preparation and data collection which will be incorporated into the main phase of recruitment in early 2016. As this phase is just starting there is no data on the average turn-around-time or on patient survival.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 22 January (HL4915), what is the longest period that any individual detainee has been held in an immigration detention centre.

    Lord Bates

    Information on the length of detention has been published since quarter 1 (January to March) 2010.

    The longest time a person has been detained in the immigration estate – a foreign criminal who left detention and was returned to Algeria in Q1 2012 – was 2,319 days. The individual in this case had accumulated 14 convictions from 32 offences committed between 1998 and 2004, including – but not limited to – convictions for firearms/ shotguns/offensive weapons, drug offences, offences relating to police/courts/prisons and theft. He was continuously non-compliant with the Home Office and Algerian authorities, using a false identity and nationality, which frustrated attempts to obtain travel documentation to facilitate his deportation. His continued non-compliance, deception and a history of absconding led to detention being prolonged. This information does not include those held in prisons solely under Immigration Act powers.

    The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of people detained in the United Kingdom for immigration purposes, within the Immigration Statistics release on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in the light of the concerns raised by the National Children’s Bureau that academy schools are refusing to take children with special needs in order to take pupils who are likely to get the best results.

    Lord Nash

    The School Admissions Code and equalities legislation prevents any school from taking account of a child’s SEN or disability in deciding whether to admit him or her. Children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities who do not have a statement of SEN or an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan which names a school, will apply to schools as mainstream applicants. In these circumstances, academies, like local authority maintained schools, are required to comply with the statutory School Admissions Code in applying their admission policies. Any parent whose application is refused has a right to appeal to an independent appeal panel and the School Admission Appeals Code requires the panel to uphold any appeals where a school has not applied its admission policy correctly. The panel’s decision is binding on the school.

    When a child has a statement of SEN or an EHC plan, naming a school, the law requires the school to admit the child (including if it is an academy). If an academy named in a pupil’s statement of SEN or EHC plan were to refuse to admit him or her, we would not hesitate to take action.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have yet considered the remainder of the Law Commission’s recommendations on the reform of level-crossing legislation.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport is continuing to develop its response to the Law Commission’s recommendations on the reform of level crossing legislation in conjunction with stakeholders.

    We expect to finalise our deliberations shortly with a view to a consultation on preferred options later this year.