Tag: Parliamentary Question

Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-07.

Mr Philip Dunne

In April 2013, Public Health England took over the mandatory surveillance of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), formerly undertaken by the Health Protection Agency.

The total number of trust apportioned cases of HCAIs can be found in Table 1. For the purposes of answering this question trust apportioned cases can be considered “hospital-borne” infections.

Data for the years 2000 and 2005 are not available.

Table: Counts of trust apportioned HCAIs by financial year in 2010 and 2015:

	April 2010 to March 2011	April 2015 to March 2016
Meticillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA)	ND	2,910
E.coli	ND	7,692
Clostridium difficile infection (patients aged 2 years and over)	10,417	5,164
Meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)	688	297

Notes:

ND – Not Determined
Cases are deemed to be trust apportioned if the following criteria are met:-

– The location where the specimen was taken is given as ‘acute trust’ or is not known;

– The patient was either an ‘In-patient’, ‘Day-patient’, in ‘Emergency assessment’ or is not known.

– Patient’s specimen date is on, or after, the third day of the admission (or admission date is null), where the day of admission is day 1 (for MSSA or E. coli bacteraemia)

– Patient’s specimen date is on, or after, the fourth day of the admission (or admission date is null), where the day of admission is day 1 (for Clostridium difficile infection).

January 1, 2023

Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that job vacancy statistics do not double-count jobs advertised through multiple agencies on the job vacancy portal.

Priti Patel

The official vacancy statistics are national statistics, produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and not DWP. ONS is the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics and is the recognised national statistical institute for the UK.

The ONS is overseen by the UK Statistics Authority, which is an independent body operating at arm’s length from government as a non-ministerial department, directly accountable to Parliament. The UK Statistics authority provides independent scrutiny (monitoring and assessment) of all official statistics produced in the UK.

January 1, 2023
Lord Kilclooney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the EU guidelines for labelling products made in Israeli settlements will apply in the UK, and if so, what are the implications for future meetings between the Ambassador of the UK to Israel and representatives of the government of Israel.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The principal feature of the Interpretative Notice issued by the European Commission on 11 November on indication of origin of goods from the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 is a recommendation that goods imported into the EU which originate from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories should bear an indication which makes that provenance clear. That recommendation was included in technical advice to UK retailers and importers concerning labelling agricultural produce from the West Bank that was issued by Defra in 2009. We are currently in discussion with other Departments to consider whether revisions need to be made to the 2009 advice in the light of the Interpretative Notice. I do not anticipate that the UK’s bilateral relations with Israel will be affected by the EU’s decision to adopt this Notice, given that we have already had guidance in place for several years.

January 1, 2023
Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department plans to allow local authorities to charge for membership of public libraries.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 restricts local authorities in England and Wales from charging for library facilities made available by the authority unless permitted by the Library Charges (England and Wales) Regulations 1991. These regulations empower local authorities in England and Wales to make certain charges for the provision of library facilities but this does not include charging for ordinary library membership.

The Government has no plans to amend the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 to allow local authorities to specifically charge for ordinary membership of public libraries..

January 1, 2023
Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on the treatment of Sikhs campaigning for human rights in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) discussed religious tolerance in India with Prime Minister Modi on 12 November 2015. Mr Modi reassured the British Government that he remained committed to diversity and fundamental freedoms. Mr Modi was clear in his commitment to and respect for India’s core values of tolerance and fundamental rights, as well as reaffirming the importance of social harmony and inclusive development. Mr Modi met a delegation of Sikh leaders during his visit to the UK in November 2015 and discussed a range of issues effecting the Sikh community in India. His visit, including his address at Wembley, highlighted the contribution that Sikh and other religious minority communities make to India, and to UK-India relations. I also discussed religious tolerance with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh on 5 November.

January 1, 2023
Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many summer school programmes there were for disadvantaged students transitioning from primary to secondary school in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

Mr Sam Gyimah

In 2014, approximately 2,121 secondary schools received summer school grant funding. This figure rose to 2,259 in 2015.

January 1, 2023
Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have received demands to pay underpaid tax as a result of his Department not notifying HM Revenue and Customs when an employment and support allowance claimant is moved from the work-related activity group into the support group in each of the last three years.

Priti Patel

The information requested is not held.

January 1, 2023
Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on Turkish facilitated talks between Somalia and Somaliland.

James Duddridge

The next round of Turkish facilitated talks between the Federal Government of Somalia and Somaliland were due to take place in Ankara on 31 May but we understand that they have been delayed. We hope that the talks, which are an effort to promote genuine dialogue and cooperation, will be able to continue shortly.

January 1, 2023
Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to improve the quality of initial interviews and decisions in asylum cases in order to reduce the need for appeals.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Home Office carefully considers all asylum claims on their individual merits and grants protection for those who genuinely need it, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. In every asylum case the particular circumstances of the individual is considered in light of published country information.

All asylum decision-makers receive extensive training on how to consider asylum claims and are expected to follow published Home Office policy guidance. The 5-week Foundation Training Programme (FTP) for new decision makers trains staff on all aspects of the asylum decision making process. All decision makers are currently receiving credibility training. This course trains decision makers on how to assess the evidential value of their interview questions, the various reasons why someone may not come across as credible in an asylum interview and discusses issues such as speculation and implausibility. Asylum decision-makers carefully assess the protection needs of each asylum claimant following an interview by assessing all available evidence provided by the claimant in light of published country information and policy guidance. The Home Office systematically assesses the quality of asylum decisions against a detailed quality audit framework drawn up and agreed with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

We expect asylum claimants to disclose all relevant evidence to support their claim at the earliest opportunity so that we can properly consider their claim. We aim to reduce the appeal rate by analysing the reasons why appeals are allowed and using this to further improve guidance and training. We are committed to continuous improvement.

January 1, 2023
Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Foster on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, based on today’s values, what the expected lifetime earnings are for a junior doctor starting in training in August 2016 if they become (a) a consultant, (b) a GP and (c) remain a junior doctor; and what assessment his Department has made of how those earnings compare to other (i) public and (ii) private sector professionals.

Mr Philip Dunne

The career earnings of a doctor will depend on many factors and are therefore highly specific to individual circumstances. They will depend on decisions around gap years and career breaks, part-time working, the choice between general practice and other specialties, when they leave the National Health Service or retire and on the speed of progression through training. However, indications can be provided by constructing a hypothetical career based on reasonable assumptions in-line with current data.

It is estimated that assuming a 40 year full time career from Foundation Programme up to consultant or partner in General Practice, a junior doctor starting training in August 2016 could expect to earn around £4 million or an average of around £100,000 per year in 2016/17 prices.

Comparisons of pay across industries and sectors are notoriously difficult, capturing differences in pressures and working patterns is particularly complicated. Comparison of recent earnings growth for doctors compared with other high-earning occupations shows that doctors remain one of the very highest-earning occupations in the United Kingdom.

January 1, 2023