The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-06-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will seek parliamentary approval before deciding whether to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
It is a matter for the Government, and the new Prime Minister, to decide whether there should be a Parliamentary vote before the UK notifies the European Council of its intention to withdraw from the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people her Department has granted asylum to in each year from 2010 to 2016.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on asylum applications and initial decisions (including grants) within the Immigration Statistics release.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on advanced nurse practitioners of his plans for a seven-day NHS.
Ben Gummer
An advanced nurse practitioner is generally accepted to be a registered nurse who has acquired the expert knowledge base, complex decision-making skills and clinical competencies for expanded practice, the characteristics of which are shaped by the context of practice. A Master’s Degree is recommended for entry level to an Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANPs) role. This role is not defined by the Nursing Midwifery Council or the Department.
Today ANPs work in a variety of health care settings and in a number of different roles, which range from a nurse consultant managing a specialist service in a hospital to being a nurse partner within a general practice.
Information on how many ANPs are employed by the National Health Service in each region of the United Kingdom in each of the last five years is not held by the Department.
We have made it clear that we are not planning to impose a ‘one size fits all model’ for our plan to provide a seven-day NHS. It will be for local commissioners and providers to decide how best to deliver seven day services in hospitals and for them to work with their Local Education and Training Boards to develop workforce plans to support this.
Although not explicitly mentioned in NHS England’s Five Year Forward view, ANPs are part of the solution to addressing the health and well-being gap; care and quality gap; and funding gap. For example, ANPs are involved in the new care models such as in Derbyshire. The Derbyshire Vanguard site will develop a prevention team made up of health and care professionals including general practitioners (GPs), ANPs, mental health nurses, extended care support and therapy support.
Seven day access does not mean that every GP must work every day or that all practices must open at evenings and weekends. Through schemes such as the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund, practices are encouraged to collaborate together in delivering more convenient and accessible services for patients in the evenings and weekends through multiple methods including innovative use of technology, working together at scale, and better use of skill mix to both improve patient care and release GP capacity.
The recent independent evaluation of the first wave of the PM’s GP Access Fund reported that “evidence to date suggests that the strategy of making more use of nursing staff, particularly Advance Nurse Practitioners (ANPs), is resulting in benefits including released GP capacity…”
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lansley on 2015-11-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the impact in England of the exemption of a main home from the calculation of assets on the charges that would be payable under the means test for domiciliary care.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Under the Care Act (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and the Care and Support Statutory Guidance, local authorities may not charge a recipient of domiciliary care against the value of their main or only home.
The Department estimates that around 120,000 people benefit from this exemption at any given time, and that the beneficiaries collectively save approximately £1.3 billion annually.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19495, what the (a) names, (b) job titles and (c) salary bands were of the staff who worked on Just Solutions International.
Andrew Selous
As was stated in the Answer to questions HL2604 and 19495, 3.5 full time equivalent staff (FTE) worked under the Just Solutions International (JSi) brand. These staff also worked on other, core business within the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). As none of these staff were members of the Senior Civil Service, it would not be appropriate to name them in a Parliamentary answer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Strategic Defence and Security Review, which improvements in performance in the delivery of the Successor submarine programme (a) have been achieved and (b) he expects to be achieved in the next 12 months.
Mr Philip Dunne
We are working closely with all of our key suppliers to ensure that they make improvements, where required, to deliver both the capability and the capacity we need to successfully deliver the Successor programme. This work builds on the efficiencies and improvements already made as part of initiatives such as the Submarine Enterprise Performance Programme.
Discussions with our key suppliers are ongoing and it would not be appropriate for the Ministry of Defence to discuss this work publicly for commercial reasons.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will place in the Library any information her Department holds on the number of jobs imported coal supports in each of its source countries; and if she will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
The number of jobs imported coal supports in each of its source countries is not information that the Department of Energy and Climate Change holds.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-03-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has made to the EU Commission on the application of VAT to energy-saving materials.
Mr David Gauke
The Government is considering the responses to the consultation published following the judgement of the European Court of Justice and an announcement will be made in due course.
In the meantime, all those energy savings products which are currently eligible for the reduced rate of VAT will remain eligible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the publication by HS2 Ltd, Broad options for upgraded and high speed railways to the North of England and Scotland, published in March 2016, whether the Government is planning to extend High Speed 2 beyond Manchester and Leeds.
Mr Robert Goodwill
When Phase One of HS2 opens in 2026, new HS2 trains will serve Manchester, north west England and Glasgow. When the full Y Network opens in 2033, the new HS2 route will extend to just south of Wigan and York and HS2 trains will then also serve Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh. The UK and Scottish Governments share an ultimate ambition for 3 hour journeys between London and Scotland’s central belt, but we recognise the further work needed to understand the benefits and business cases of different options.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, by what technical mechanisms her Department plans to take coal-fired power plants offline.
Andrea Leadsom
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has announced that the Department will be launching a consultation on proposals to end unabated coal generation by 2025. Options will be set out in that consultation.