Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of provision of play opportunities for children with disabilities and complex needs.

    Edward Timpson

    Play has an important role in supporting all young children to develop and prepare for later learning. The importance of play is recognised in the Early Years Foundation Stage framework[1], which states: “Each area of learning and development must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity. Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.”

    Early Years educators and Early Years teachers are required to have an understanding of different pedagogical approaches, including the role of play in supporting early learning and development. It is for individual schools and settings to provide opportunities for play for their children and pupils, including those with special educational needs.

    We welcome the report published by Sense and their continuing efforts to support deafblind children and young people.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework–2

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  • Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of cancelling the carbon capture and storage on oil recovery from the North Sea oil field over the next 20 years.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government’s view remains that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors. There are also potential opportunities for the oil and gas and CCS industries to work together.

    The Wood Review identified a range of key issues faced by the maturing UK continental shelf, which the Government and industry must jointly address to deliver maximum economic recovery (MER) of UK petroleum. In response, the Government has established the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) as a body focused on delivering MER. This has attracted strong industry support.

    The OGA is considering the role of CCS in the technology and decommissioning strategies it is developing and will engage with the CCS industry to ensure that opportunities between the industries are identified and explored wherever possible.

    DECC will continue to engage with industry and academia, to understand the potential for any future schemes to enhance oil recovery from the North Sea.

  • Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many SMEs have been declared bankrupt as a result of late payments in each of the last 10 years.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department does not hold the information required. However, BACS data shows that small and medium businesses are owed a total of £26.8 billion, and the average small business is waiting for £31,900 in overdue payments.[1]

    The Government recognises that late payment remains an important issue for small businesses in the UK and is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts. This is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We have also legislated for new transparency measures in the public and private sectors.

    The Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 legislated for new reporting requirement on the UK’s largest companies and Regulations will be introduced this year which will compel larger companies to report on payment practices and performance. This information will be published on a six-monthly basis and will be made publicly available.

    The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 introduced a requirement for all public-sector buyers to publish annually, from 2017, their liability to debt interest payments. In central government we have gone further and faster. We will be publishing against these requirements quarterly from April this year. This will allow full public scrutiny of payment performance.

    Through the Enterprise Bill, currently before Parliament, we will legislate to establish a Small Business Commissioner to give general advice and to help small businesses resolve disputes relating to payment matters with larger businesses.

    Tackling late payment is about creating a responsible payment culture where larger companies recognise the benefit of having a sustainable and robust supply chain, and smaller businesses feel able to challenge poor behaviour. Once implemented, the Government is confident that these measures will lead to significant changes in the UK’s payment culture.

    [1] BACS Data June 2015.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to develop the model of co-location of urgent and emergency primary care service with accident and emergency departments.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    In August 2015, NHS England published Safer, faster, better: good practice in delivering urgent and emergency care. A copy is attached. This provides guidance to help frontline providers and commissioners re-design urgent and emergency care services, including considering locating urgent care centres in emergency departments.

    Safer, faster, better notes that urgent care centres co-located with emergency departments provide an opportunity to stream patients with less serious illnesses and injuries to a service that is resourced to meet their needs, while reducing crowding in emergency departments. It also sets out that to preserve flow, urgent care centre staff and cubicles must wherever possible be entirely separated from the majors/admission stream and that where urgent care centres are co-located with emergency departments, there must be appropriate integration, with shared governance arrangements and clearly defined protocols for the two-way transfer of patients.

  • Chris Bryant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Chris Bryant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Bryant on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, how many contracted canteen and hospitality staff worked on the parliamentary estate in each year since 2009.

    Tom Brake

    The number of Contracted (Agency) staff is difficult to calculate due to the number of different agencies used and the often short term, varied work they are engaged to do. The number of contracted (agency) staff compared to the number of permanent staff is relatively low and accounts for less than 10% of the workforce costs with most contracted (agency) staff covering ad hoc operational requirements.

    The percentage of workforce costs that represent agency staff for the years 2009 to 2015 were as follows:

    2009/10

    2.84% of staff costs

    2010/11

    2.17% of staff costs

    2011/12

    4.11% of staff costs

    2012/13

    4.34% of staff costs

    2013/14

    6.00 % of staff costs

    2014/15

    8.11% of staff costs

    Along with growing guaranteed hours staff, contracted (Agency) staff have helped with the flexibility of the business needs since the directorate restructured to a smaller core team in 2011 and 2013 and in response to a growing banqueting and events business through income generation initiatives. As a result total staff costs have been much better controlled by being able to have a flexible resource which resources up to peaks in demand rather than having too many staff during quieter periods.

  • Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will reply to the letter from Lord Ahmed to the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Theresa May, dated 9 February 2016.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    I must apologise for the delay in responding to your letter. The response was sent on 29 March.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of capping housing benefit to the same level as local housing allowance on the number of specialist homes in (a) Sunderland, (b) the North East, and (c) England.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We recognise the importance of assessing the potential impact on specialist homes. However, as the policy is not yet fully developed we are unable to provide any Information relating to this at this time.

    For this reason on 1 March 2016 we announced, via a Written Ministerial Statement, that the effect of the LHA cap for those living in social sector supported housing would be deferred by a year, pending the outcome of a review, This means that the measure will only effect those who have taken on or renewed a tenancy from April 2017 rather than April 2016.

    We have done this because we understand the importance of ensuring that both those living in supported housing and those who provide this type of accommodation receive appropriate protections. This is why we are awaiting the outcome of a “Supported Accommodation” research project and subsequent policy review, to ensure support is focused on the most vulnerable and appropriate groups are safeguarded.

  • Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has for training the judiciary on the implementation of problem-solving courts.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Working Group has now submitted its findings, which support the case for problem-solving courts.

    Training of the judiciary is a matter for the judiciary and the judicial college. We will be working with both, taking learning from approaches nationally and internationally, as we progress our work on problem-solving courts.

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

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost of bed-blocking in NHS hospitals in each of the past three years and what plans they have to invest in social care services to reduce those costs.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    To date, the Department has made no formal estimate of the costs of delayed discharge to the National Health Service. However, the Department and NHS Improvement are working together to implement Lord Carter’s recommendations on hospital productivity. As part of this, the two organisations are working with providers to develop a richer dataset around all aspects of the patient pathway, including estimates of the cost of delayed discharge.

    At the same time, the Department continues to work closely with the NHS and local government to help local areas improve transfers out of hospital, share best practice, and reduce unnecessary delays. We are funding the NHS’s own plan for the future with £10 billion and we are giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of new support for adult social care by 2019/20.

    Since April 2015, the Government’s £5.3 billion Better Care Fund has provided much needed investment in better integrated care through locally developed plans and by putting resources where the local NHS and social services think they are needed. Alongside this we are working with local areas to improve the transfer of patients back into the communities.

    In 2016-17, there is a new Better Care Fund requirement on local areas to develop a clear, focused action plan for managing delays, including locally agreed targets. The requirement is designed to reduce delays across the health and care system.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2016 to Question 47793, if he will publish a full description of defence training which the UK has provided to Gulf state armed forces; and whether human rights training was included in such training.

    Mike Penning

    Further to my answer of 13 October 2016 to Question 47793, I will provide a full list of the training we have provided to Gulf States Armed Forces at the end of the current military training year. This list will cover the training provided in the current military training year which runs from 1 April 2016 until 31 March 2017 and will be provided on 7 April 2017.

    UK defence training exposes international partners to UK policy, and promotes concepts of accountability, human rights and transparency.