Tag: Parliamentary Question

Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maggie Throup on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to increase the powers of local authorities to (a) remove travellers camped illegally on public land and (b) recover site clean-up costs from those illegally settled on public land.

Gavin Barwell

Local authorities and the police have a range of strong powers that enable them to take action against unauthorised encampments and developments. Ministers sent a summary of these powers to all council leaders, Police and Crime Commissioners and Police Chief Constables in March 2015:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/418139/150326_Dealing_with_illegal_and_unauthorised_encampments_-_final.pdf

The government is open to suggestions for how enforcement could be strengthened and continues to keep this issue under review.

“

01/01/2023
Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been banned from attending Premiership and Championship matches in England over the last five years.

Brandon Lewis

The Home Office annually publishes statistics on football banning orders imposed in England and Wales. The table below contains published statistics for the last five football seasons, detailing the total number of extant football banning orders and the number of new football banning orders imposed. A football banning order imposed in England and Wales prevents the individual from attending all matches in the Premier League and Football League. The statistics for season 2015-16 will be published on 24 November. Please refer to the table attached for detailed statistics.

01/01/2023
Jessica Morden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of standard passport applications made in the last six months were processed within three weeks.

James Brokenshire

Between 1 May 2015 and 31 October 2015, 96% of UK standard applications processed by Her Majesty’s Passport Office were done so within 3 weeks.

01/01/2023
Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether hospitals will incur financial penalties if they breach performance standards as a result of the suspended industrial action on 1 December 2015.

Ben Gummer

In the normal course of events, a hospital which misses a key national standard (such as the 18-week referral to treatment waiting time standard or the six-week diagnostic wait standard) will incur a mandatory financial sanction applied by its commissioners, as set out in the NHS Standard Contract.

However, the Contract also includes a ‘Force Majeure’ clause (General Condition 28) which would, in principle, apply to planned industrial action. Under this clause, a provider is able to claim relief from its liabilities under the Contract, to the extent that an event outside of its reasonable control has directly caused it to fail to meet its contractual obligations.

Therefore, if a hospital were to breach an operational standard for the month, but could demonstrate to the commissioner that:

* this was solely and directly due to the action it had reasonably taken in anticipation of the industrial action proceeding; and

* it had done everything reasonable to mitigate the impact of its actions on achievement of the standard in that month

then the commissioner could set aside the sanction for that month.

If the breach of the standard was only partly due to the impact of the planned industrial action, only the relevant proportion of the sanction would be set aside.

01/01/2023
Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure children receive education and protection in conflict zones.

Mr Nick Hurd

DFID supports international efforts in conflict-affected and fragile countries to assist children and reduce their risks of violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. This work is in partnership with mandated protection agencies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and UNICEF, as well as non-governmental organisations.

DFID aims to improve learning outcomes, to reach all children in fragile states, and to keep girls in school. DFID supports children overseas to go to school and continue learning even when they are forced from their homes and this includes our flagship £355 million Girls’ Education Challenge that will enable up to 1 million more of the world’s most marginalised girls to benefit from an education of sufficient quality and transform their lives. In addition, DFID is supporting improvements to how the international community provides education in emergencies, including support for the ‘No Lost Generation’ Initiative to provide over 251,000 Syrian children with formal and informal education inside Syria and in the region, allowing them to catch up on lost learning time and sit public school examinations.

Education and protection will be key themes of the Syria Conference co-hosted by the UK in early February and the protection and education of children affected by natural disasters and conflicts will be addressed at the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016.

01/01/2023
Lord Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authority areas in the UK have been identified through official statistics as having public services that are under excessive pressure as a consequence of migration from other EU member states; which official statistics show such pressures; and in each case, what is the usual time lapse between the collection and publication of those statistics.

Lord Bates

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a report based on 2011 census data, on the changing levels of the non-UK born population in every local area, available at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rpt-international-migrants.html#tab-Local-geography-of-non-UK-born-and-non-UK-nationals.

The Home Office also published a research report ‘The Social and Public Service Impacts of International Migration at the Local Level’ (July 2013) which shows the local authorities that have been particularly affected by international migration, including migration from the European Union member states (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210324/horr72.pdf).

01/01/2023
Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to protect customers from the practice of telephone slamming.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Ofcom, as the independent telecommunications regulator, introduced rules in May 2005 to protect consumers against slamming. Its most recent rules, updated in June 2015, prohibits all telephone companies from engaging in dishonest, misleading or deceptive conduct, and oblige providers to ensure consumers fully understand and consent to a contract before it is agreed.

Ofcom’s most recent complaints data shows that slamming complaints have reduced significantly to an average of 140 complaints per month, compared with an average of over 700 in 2010. Ofcom can take action if companies repeatedly breach these rules and has the power to fine companies up to 10% of their annual turnover and to require them to remedy any issues that have arisen, including repaying affected customers who have lost money. In addition, safeguards have been built into the landline/broadband switching process on the Openreach network that are designed to protect consumers from being slammed. Consumers are required to receive a letter informing them that a switch is scheduled and that there is a 10-day switchover period, during which the order can be stopped if a customer has been inadvertently signed up.

01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy for the House to be informed after his Department’s cyber strike capability has been used in cases where urgent action has been required such that it has not been possible to inform the House in advance.

Penny Mordaunt

We continue to develop the ability of our Armed Forces to deploy a broad range of offensive cyber capabilities as an integrated part of military operations. As with other sensitive defence capabilities, we do not reveal specific details in order to safeguard national security. As we have previously made clear in the context of the war powers convention, we do not propose to define the circumstances in which we would consult Parliament about the use of particular military capabilities.

01/01/2023
Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of vehicle hire in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne

The MOD uses hire and lease vehicles to transport personnel and equipment around the country, often to areas not readily accessible by public transport. The vehicles are used for different tasks, ranging from moving defence personnel and stores to support military operations or training exercises, to enabaling taskings such as mountain rescue and emergency support to the civil authorities.

The MOD’s vehicle lease and hire in the UK is covered by the Phoenix contract with Babcock Land Limited, which was placed in April 2012. The department does not hold readily available and comparative spend data before this date. The cost to the MOD of vehicle lease and hire through the Phoenix contract is as follows:

FY15/16

FY14/15

FY13/14

FY12/13

£124.1m

£132.4m

£125.5m

£101.9m

The MOD recently negotiated a new contract with Babcock Land Limited for the continued provision of its lease and hire cars, targeting savings of around £100m over the next six years through more efficient use of the MOD’s vehicle fleet.

01/01/2023

Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will undertake a review of the reasons for the length of time taken by NHS Property Services to take decisions related to property in (a) West Sussex, (b) Mid Sussex and (c) East Grinstead.

George Freeman

Officials at NHS Property Services (NHSPS) are not aware of any undue delays with regard to decision making in these areas.

As a publically funded company, NHSPS takes its duty to ensure that properties are managed efficiently and that its services and transactions achieve best value both on behalf of the National Health Service and the taxpayer. NHSPS undertakes comprehensive due diligence on all property transactions to ensure all risks and liabilities are managed appropriately before legal documents are executed.

Forthcoming planned work at East Grinstead Health Clinic forms part of a programme of works that is being worked up for 15 properties across Sussex. At East Grinstead, this is likely to focus on:

― Equality Act compliance;

― Fire safety improvement; and

― Roof insulation.

The following table summarises the capital projects underway, planned or proposed for the Mid and West Sussex area. The Company’s primary customers for these projects are Crawley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Horsham and Mid-Sussex CCG who commissioner clinical services and lead development of Local Estate Strategies for the areas they cover.

Location	Project	Value	Current Position
Sidney West Primary Care Centre	Diagnostics refurbishment	To be confirmed	This does not have an approved business case. Confirmation is being sought from the CCGs as to the specification of works they would wish us to undertake. Timescales for delivery cannot be confirmed at this point.
Horsham Hospital	Landlord works: Flooring, windows and roofing	£0.61 million	NHSPS are investing in a package of landlord works within Horsham Hospital including the gym refurbishment, new flooring in key areas and the refurbishment of windows. The works will start in June 2016 and are expected to be complete in October 2016.
Horsham Hospital	Muskoskeletal Physiotherapy (MSK)	£1.20 million	NHSPS are currently delivering the final phase of the MSK programme. The £2.4 million construction works at Horsham and Crawley are being managed by NHS PS as a single project and are due for completion on 20 July 2016.
Crawley Hospital	MSK	£1.20 million	Please see above Horsham MSK position.
Crawley Hospital	Sub-acute ward refurbishment	£3.97 million	This project is for development of a 26 bed step-up/step-down facility housed within the Crawley Hospital red wing 6th floor. Works have been designed and priced. Discussions are expected to conclude in the near future between NHSPS and the CCG on agreed terms of commissioner commitment. It is anticipated that formal approval for the investment will be signed off in June 2016 with works to be completed in November 2016.
Crawley Hospital	Transforming Urgent Care refurbishment	£4.53 million	This project is for development of a combination of a clinical assessment unit, extend paediatrics, urgent treatment centre and an upgraded reception. Works have been designed and priced. Discussions are expected to conclude in the near future between NHSPS and the CCG on agreed terms of commissioner commitment. It is anticipated that formal approval for the investment will be signed off in June 2016 with works to be completed in November 2016.
Crawley Hospital	Landlord works associated with the Sub-acute and Transforming Urgent Care projects	£0.70 million	Subject to the final approval of the Sub-acute and Transforming Urgent Care customer projects NHSPS intend to invest in additional landlord works to ensure the supporting infrastructure matches the updated patient facilities.
Crawley Hospital	Landlord works: Fire compartmentalisation and safety upgrade	£2.50 million	The Crawley Hospital red wing is viewed strategically as the core building of the hospital complex. NHSPS are investing in essential landlord works to guarantee the safe and effective back office functions of the hospital infrastructure. Included within this scheme are a review and reconfiguration of fire safety zones, replacement of fire doors, removal of asbestos and improvements to the water supply system. These works will be complete in October 2016.
Crawley Hospital	Theatre Air Handling Unit lifecycle replacement	£0.36 million	NHSPS have addressed the end-of-life-status of physical assets, with planned investment that future proofs the Crawley Hospital facilities. An example the planned renewal of the theatre air conditioning systems which will accommodate increased theatre activity and utilise energy efficient systems to improve upon the previous infrastructure. Installation is expected to be completed in November 2016.

01/01/2023

FY15/16	FY14/15	FY13/14	FY12/13
£124.1m	£132.4m	£125.5m	£101.9m