Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what consultations he or officials in his Department have had with (a) further education college representatives, (b) further education providers and (c) sector skills councils about the structures on board composition of the proposed Institute for Apprenticeships announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Nick Boles

    The creation of the Institute for Apprenticeships has been informed by feedback from employers and employer groups such as the CBI, as well as organisations working alongside our employer-led trailblazers to develop new apprenticeship standards. This includes representatives of training providers and sector skills councils.

    The chair and board members of the Institute will be appointed though a public appointments process in 2016.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what use is made of correspondence from GPs in undertaking personal independence payments assessments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Atos and Capita Healthcare Professionals and DWP Decision Makers give full consideration to all information provided by GPs when assessing Personal Independence Payment claimants.

  • Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidelines have been issued to GP practices on the safe ratio of patients to doctors in GP practices.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England is statutorily accountable for ensuring that patients have access to a general practitioner (GP) practice. In the event of a practice closure, NHS England will assess the need for a replacement provider before dispersing a list when a GP surgery closes. A decision to disperse a list will be made on the basis that there is capacity in neighbouring practices to absorb the additional patient numbers.

    To assess GP service provision in an area, NHS England works with the Care Quality Commission and local clinical commissioning groups. The Primary Care Outcomes Framework is published nationally and is derived from data submitted by individual practices on service levels and outcomes alongside national patient survey data on patient satisfaction. In terms of overall strategy, the provision of primary care will be part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) which is published in each local authority area and reported through the local Health & Well-being Board. The JSNA will identify any gaps and risks in the provision of primary care to the local population which, in turn, will then inform commissioning strategies for that area.

    There is no national guidance on the ratio of patients to doctors in GP practices. In recent years, the development of the wider primary care teams (with nurses, healthcare assistants, pharmacists and therapists) means that a focus on the ratio of patients to doctors has less meaning than in previous years. The national workforce survey allows NHS England to benchmark individual practices in terms of the staffing to patient ratio.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with police authorities on tackling stone theft.

    Karen Bradley

    Stone theft has a detrimental effect on towns and communities across England and Wales. The impact of these crimes includes both the economic cost to the victim, but there are also wider costs to the community, for example where schools, churches or heritage items are targeted by criminals.

    We have received no recent representations from local authorities on this issue, nor have we had recent discussions with the police on stone theft specifically. However, the police are working with Historic England, the Crown Prosecution Service and others to share intelligence and shape good practice in tackling and preventing heritage crime, such as stone theft.

    We would encourage all victims of stone theft, whether individuals or organisations, to report instances of these crimes to their local police, so that the crimes can be properly recorded and investigated. The local response is a matter for individual chief officers of police and Police and Crime Commissioners, taking into account the specific local issues and demands that they face.

    We are satisfied that the existing legislation provides the police and courts with sufficient powers to respond to stone theft.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of the number of NHS organisations that have official terms and conditions that set payment terms longer than 30 days.

    George Freeman

    The Department has developed standard National Health Service terms and conditions for use by NHS bodies procuring goods and services from commercial suppliers. The documents were first published in August 2013.

    The Department has details of all activity on the gov.uk website which shows extensive use and downloads of the documents and has also invited regular feedback and online surveys that demonstrate the extensive use of the suite of documents.

    In June 2015, the Department and the Cabinet Office Mystery Shopper scheme carried out spot checks with a number of trusts to find out the level of take up of the NHS terms and conditions. The results showed 90% of the trusts contacted confirmed they were using (or intended to use) the NHS terms and conditions.

    The suite of documents has been endorsed by the Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI), the industry association for the medical technology sector, and the Health Care Supply Association, the representative and network organisation for NHS buyers. Both organisations inform the Department of any activity they are aware of that NHS bodies or suppliers are deviating from the stated terms and conditions. There have only limited examples to date.

    The Department of Health has been made aware of a couple of examples of where NHS bodies were extending their payment terms beyond 30 days. The examples came both via the Cabinet Office mystery shopper scheme and ABHI. To support their members ABHI undertook more extensive research but has found these are isolated cases and the practice is not widespread.

    The Department understands the concern and together with NHS Provider Regulators are working very closely with NHS providers to ensure that they have sufficient cash to support the safe delivery of their essential services. Although the NHS financial position is tight, the Department has not endorsed, and do not support, formal extensions of credit terms, particularly with Small and Medium size Enterprises, beyond the 30 days in statute.

    The Department will also ask NHS Improvement to communicate with all NHS providers through its official monthly bulletin to raise awareness of the Better Practice Payment Code.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee’s counter-proposal to the Government’s plans for the future of community pharmacy, published in April 2016.

    Alistair Burt

    We have been consulting on proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond.

    Throughout the consultation period we have remained open to new ideas and suggestions both from the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) and from other stakeholders.

    We have welcomed the publication of PSNC’s counter proposal on 26 April 2016. This has enabled these ideas to be discussed with other key stakeholders.

    The public phase of the consultation ended on 24 May 2016. The Department, supported by NHS England, will continue to discuss the proposals in confidence, with the PSNC and hold a final round of confidential discussions with other key pharmacy stakeholders.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 29384, for what reasons the announcement of the award of the next East Anglia rail franchise has been delayed; and when he plans to make that announcement.

    Claire Perry

    The successful bidder will help us realise our ambitious plans for East Anglia’s rail network. We have been clear that as a minimum they must provide a modern service with state of the art trains and also introduce at least two 90-minute services each way between London and Norwich. In addition they must invest heavily in improving stations.

    We advised an anticipated date for the award and continue to consider the bids. We will announce the new operator in due course.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Royal Navy is taking to maintain its warship repair capability after the sale of RFA Diligence.

    Harriett Baldwin

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 September 2016 to Question 45203 to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Flick Drummond).

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13828, what other benefits will be available to Syrian immigrants; and what assessment he has made of the effect the payment of such benefits will have on local authorities (a) in general and (b) with regards to the housing of Syrian migrants under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme.

    Priti Patel

    Syrians entering the United Kingdom under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme receive an initial 12 month support package, including accommodation, integration support and English language tuition. Local Authorities are actively engaged in this process. Those participating in the scheme will be able to work and will have access to some benefits (depending upon their individual circumstances and the eligibility criteria for those benefits).

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if HM Revenue and Customs will investigate enforcement of the minimum wage at Sports Direct.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage very seriously.Any worker who believes that they are being paid below the minimum wage should make a complaint to the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reviews every complaint that is referred to them by the Acas helpline. Additionally, HMRC collate and analyse data from various sources in order to identify those employers who are potentially more likely to be underpaying National Minimum Wage, so that they can undertake targeted enforcement against those employers.

    For reasons of confidentiality, HMRC do not divulge information relating to the affairs of an individual or company or confirm whether or not there is an ongoing enquiry.