Tag: Parliamentary Question

Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what level of funding his Department has provided for mental health services in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England in the last three years.

Alistair Burt

NHS England does not split the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) programme allocation across service categories. CCGs receive an annual allocation calculated by reference to the size of population they commission for, and it is up to the CCG to decide how to spend it, taking into account national policy considerations and a local assessment of need.

CCGs are required to submit their spending plans and their annual accounts to NHS England. NHS England reviews spending, including for mental health (MH), through the CCG assurance process.

NHS England has made a requirement of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the planning guidance for 2015/16, The Forward View Into Action: Planning Guidance for 2015/16, that each CCG’s spending on MH services in 2015/16 should increase in real terms, and grow by at least as much as each CCG’s overall funding allocation increase.

CCG actual and planned spend (not funding) can be split between MH and other categories of expenditure. The table below shows CCG MH spend for Liverpool CCG, for Merseyside CCGs and nationally for all CCGs. These figures are actual spend for 2013/14 and 2014/15 and planned spend for 2015/16:

	2013/14 Outturn £k	2014/15 Outturn £k	2015/16 Outturn £k
Liverpool CCG Total	76,335	85,500	89,609
Merseyside CCGTotal	181,521	209,004	217,948
EnglandCCGsTotal	7,818,924	8,289,153	8,602,990

Specialised health services, primary care and other directly commissioned services includes some spend on MH services. This direct commissioning spend on MH services is not routinely split into the different categories of expenditure and is not included in the figures in the table above.

January 1, 2023

Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the waiting time for spouses seeking visas to undertake English language tests.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office is not aware of any issues with regards to waiting times for Secure English Language Testing (SELT).

In the UK, customers should be able to book a test within 28 days, often within a few days. In countries where there are permanent test centres customers should again be able to book tests within 28 days. In busy periods, the centres will test more frequently.

January 1, 2023
Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of whether G4S is currently in breach of its contract for services at Medway Secure Training College.

Andrew Selous

An investigation into the allegations reported at Medway Secure Training College is underway by Kent Police and Local Authority.

We are currently considering how to proceed including looking at whether the contract was breached. Decisions will be announced in the normal way.

January 1, 2023
Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to monitor implementation of the duties in the Children and Families Act 2014 on local authorities to (a) identify, (b) assess the needs of and (c) provide whole family support for young carers from April 2016.

Edward Timpson

Section 96 of the Children and Families Act 2014, which came into force in April 2015, imposes a duty on local authorities to to “…take reasonable steps to identify the extent to which there are young carers within their area who have needs for support.” Once a young carer has been assessed, the local authority must consider whether the child has needs that could be met by services provided under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, that is, whether they should be supported as a child in need.

The Department currently supports the Carers Trust to help local authorities and voluntary sector partners to embed good practice, including good practice surrounding whole family support. This approach is intended to ensure effective, joined up, support with the potential to offer a single point of professional contact for young carers and their families. We will draw on the learning from that work when considering further action.

January 1, 2023
Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many removals of former, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to Vietnam in the last three years were for offences relating to (a) drugs, (b) prostitution and (c) people trafficking.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office does not disclose country specific information regarding deportation of foreign national offenders as its disclosure could prejudice relations between the UK and foreign governments.

January 1, 2023
Christopher Pincher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Pincher on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, upon what criteria she plans to decide whether to remove the derogation in the Waste Framework Directive which currently allows air pollution control residues, which have been recovered from municipal waste to energy incineration facilities, to be treated and disposed to hazardous landfill sites.

Rory Stewart

The derogation to allow the landfilling of air pollution control residues that are three times above normal waste acceptance criteria was originally granted because there was a lack of alternative treatment capacity at the time to either treat certain wastes to levels meeting normal waste acceptance limits, to treat the wastes via alternative treatment technologies or to recycle or recover the residues. The availability of sufficient alternative treatment capacity and the costs of that treatment are therefore the two central criteria that the government will use to decide whether or not to remove the derogation.

The Government is making an assessment of the quantity of air pollution control residues produced at energy from waste facilities to inform its decision on whether or not to remove the derogation to allow the landfilling of air pollution control residues that are three times above normal waste acceptance criteria. These figures will be available following the announcement of that decision.

The Government is making an assessment of the costs of the different forms of treatment for air pollution control residues, including their mixing into concrete blocks and their disposal to hazardous waste landfill, to inform its decision on whether or not to remove the derogation to allow the landfilling of air pollution control residues that are three times above normal waste acceptance criteria. These figures will be available following the announcement of that decision.

January 1, 2023
Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how he plans to modify the outcome area reviews of post-16 education and training to take account of equality impact assessments available only after a review has concluded.

Nick Boles

The Government will produce an evaluation of the area review programme and its potential to impact on groups protected by the Equality Act 2010.

The Joint Area Review Delivery Unit, which supports the individual reviews, will work with the local steering groups overseeing the reviews to make sure that equality issues are considered in each review.

The reviews do not, however, mandate action. Colleges are independent corporations and it will be for each college’s governing body to assess the potential impact on groups protected by the Act, as part of its decision to accept or reject any recommendation requiring a change to their provision. This does not therefore require a modification of the outcomes of a review.

January 1, 2023
Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans she has to extend consumer protections to customers of district heating schemes.

Andrea Leadsom

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my rt. hon Friend the Secretary of State to the Hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich on 19 November 2015, Official Report Column 813-814:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmhansrd/cm151119/debtext/151119-0001.htm

“

January 1, 2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect that a possible Heathrow Airport expansion will have on UK industry.

Mr John Hayes

The Airports Commission shortlisted three airport expansion schemes, two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick. The Government accepted the Commission’s shortlist in December 2015 and is considering all of the evidence very carefully before reaching a view on its preferred scheme. The Government is not providing a running commentary on this work before an announcement on its preference.

January 1, 2023
Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-21.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on its work on an open address register.

Chris Skidmore

The 2016 Budget announced that government would develop options for an authoritative address register that is open and freely available. It is critical that we make wider use of more precise address data and ensure it is frequently updated to unlock opportunities for innovation.

Since the Budget, officials from across government have been exploring a range of potential options for the creation of an Open Address Register and I will look to update the House once this work has been concluded.

January 1, 2023