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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff were paid off-payroll in each agency for which his Department is responsible in each of the last three financial years for which information is available.

    Jane Ellison

    The number of people paid off payroll, in both of the Department’s agencies, for the last three financial years are presented in the table below.

    The information given is an average for each financial year. Off payroll staff includes all agency workers, contractors and consultants.

    Number of People Paid Off Payroll by Financial Year

    Financial Year

    Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

    Public Health England

    Average Headcount

    Average Headcount

    2013-14

    41.17

    279

    2014-15

    43.33

    167

    2015-16

    40.08

    179

    Notes

    1. An average figure for the year has been used to take account of staff who leave and/or join within the year.

    2. Headcount refers to the total number of staff in both part-time and full-time employment.

    3. The figures in the table also includes the off payroll workers earning £220 or more per day and reported separately in the agencies respective annual resource accounts.

    “

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people who received redundancy payments from the NHS in 2015-16 were subsequently re-employed by the NHS on a (a) consultancy and (b) permanent basis; and what the cost to the NHS was of those redundancy repayments.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The number of compulsory redundancies in 2015-16 was 1,944.

    The number of staff made redundant and then re-employed is not currently available.

    In May 2015 the Government announced that it intended to take forward its manifesto commitment to end six-figure exit payments for public sector workers, including the National Health Service. The Enterprise Act containing provisions for the £95,000 public sector exit payment cap received Royal Assent in May 2016 and will come into force later this year.

    Further legislation is being taken forward to allow for the recovery of exit payments from all high earning public sector workers who return to any part of the public sector within 12 months of leaving.

    The Government’s changes to the NHS mean a huge net gain for the taxpayer. The Department published a written ministerial statement on 21 July 2015: Column 90WS NHS Modernisation setting out the costs and benefits of NHS modernisation. “The Department of Health also originally forecast that between 2010-11 and 2014-15 the reforms would save the NHS £4.5 billion in lower administration costs, as well as a further £1.5 billion a year thereafter. Actual savings were far greater, in cash terms at £6.9 billion over this period, including £2 billion in 2014-15—and in 2010-11 prices comparable to the impact assessment £6.5 billion, including £1.8 billion in 2014-15. This means the Government have successfully achieved their aim to reduce NHS bureaucracy costs by a third”.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the £55.7 billion cost of the High Speed 2 project also includes the cost for the High Speed 3 project.

    Andrew Jones

    Spending Review 2015 restated the long-term budget for HS2 at £55.7bn (2015 prices). This is for the entire ‘Y’ network, including Phase 1 and 2.

    The government committed a separate £60m from the Transport Development Fund for the development of Northern Powerhouse Rail (sometimes known as HS3) at this year’s Budget. Transport for the North are leading the development of a range of potential options for Northern Powerhouse Rail, including options that make use of sections of the HS2 network, major upgrades, and new lines. Transport for the North will publish their priorities for further development in spring 2017.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Israeli government on the eviction of the Ghaith-Sub Laban family from their home in East Jerusalem.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are concerned about the imminent threat of eviction to the Ghaith-Sub Laban family and about the forcible displacement of protected persons. An official from our Consulate General in Jerusalem attended the court hearing on 31 May. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem raised this issue with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October. Most recently our Consulate General in Jerusalem expressed our concern publicly on 18 November via Twitter, calling for the eviction to be halted.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the recommendations of the independent reviewer of the overseas domestic worker visa will be implemented.

    Lord Bates

    The Government is considering carefully the recommendations of James Ewins and will announce its response in due course.

  • Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Eurostar about child trafficking.

    Lord Bates

    The UK Government takes child trafficking extremely seriously. All Border Force officers at the Eurostar ports in the UK France and Belgium have received training in keeping children safe and all operational processes involving children comply with requirements as set out in the Children and Young Persons Act. Border Force and Eurostar have daily contact on operational matters. When passengers are identified by Border Force officers as potential victims of trafficking, immediate action is taken to safeguard the individual by following Home Office guidance on the treatment of the victims of trafficking. Border Force collects data on these cases in order to notify the Human Trafficking Centre. Contact is also made with Camden Social Services Safeguarding Team as soon as possible in order to establish safe care of the child. Eurostar has its own policy on unaccompanied children travelling on its services which can be found on the internet at: http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-planning/accessibility#unaccompanied_children

    Border Force has not provided training to French border officials on UK child trafficking patterns. All cases of suspected trafficking detected by the French border officials at St Pancras are handed to the BTP to action. In France and Belgium any concerns Border Force officers have about vulnerable children attempting to travel to the UK would be referred to the French and Belgian frontier control authorities. The Home Office has not had any discussions with Patina Rail about a proposed new routing between St Pancras and Ashford.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will widen the Blue Badge criteria to allow for cognitive as well as physical disabilities.

    Andrew Jones

    The regulations governing the scheme already apply to any permanent and substantial disability which causes very considerable difficulty in walking. We have no plans to widen the scope beyond this.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of those eligible claimed winter fuel payments in 2014-15.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    The majority of Winter Fuel Payments are made automatically from information already held by the Department. We invite claims mainly from men under 65 who meet the eligibility criteria, as the largest group not identified and paid automatically. Claims can be made up to and including 31 March and are not accepted after that date.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 21 April (HL7530), what is their assessment of the state of trade relations between the UK and Poland.

    Lord Price

    The UK-Poland trade relationship is strong and is set to get stronger. In 2014, the value of UK exports to Poland amounted to £3.84billion and UK imports from Poland £7.84 billion.

    The Government’s focus on trade and investment with Poland is on 6 strategic sectors which we believe offer most opportunity for UK exporters. These are defence and security, energy, infrastructure, financial services, healthcare & life sciences and advanced manufacturing.

    Our Embassy in Warsaw works in close collaboration with a recently established Overseas Business Network (OBN) partner to identify business opportunities for British firms and then to help them make the most of them. In 2015-2016, they were directly involved in winning contracts worth almost £450 million.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Written Statement of 26 May 2016, HCWS30, what proportion of the 1,500 roles will have ministerial exposure following the centralisation of policy functions in London.

    Joseph Johnson

    Co-locating policy teams with the Department’s Ministers and close to Parliament will provide opportunities for all staff to have more ministerial exposure, which helps improve understanding of government priorities.

    The Department does not expect a set number of roles to be consistently exposed to Ministers whilst others are not. This will be dynamic as resource demands shift over time and will depend on policy priorities.