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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number of people with sight loss in the UK and (b) likely number of people who will have sight loss in 2050.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has made no recent estimate of the number of people with sight loss, the likely number who will have sight loss in the future, or of the costs in treating sight loss and eye health issues.

    Information on the number of patients who are blind or have sight loss is not collected centrally. However information is available on the number of people who are registered by local authorities as blind or partially sighted. At March 2014, the number of people on the register of blind people was 143,000 and on the register of partially sighted people 147,700.

    Registration as blind or partially sighted is voluntary so the numbers registered are likely to be an underestimate of the total number of people living with sight loss. Research funded by the Royal National Institute of Blind People, published in 20091, estimated there were almost 2 million people in the United Kingdom living with sight loss and that this number would double to 4 million by 2050.

    Information is collected centrally and published on NHS expenditure on `problems of vision’ across both primary and secondary care. In the latest year for which data has been published2 for both primary and secondary care, 2012/13, primary care trust expenditure was £2.3 billion. The Department expects NHS England to commission services for eye health to meet any increased demand, as it would in any other area of healthcare. The ‘Five Year Forward View’3 sets out the vision for how services may be organised going forward.

    1 http://www.rnib.org.uk/sites/default/files/FSUK_Report.pdf

    2 http://www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/prog-budgeting/

    3 http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5yfv-web.pdf

    “

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) financial implications for her Department and (b) potential risks to Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and the public of proposals to give PCSOs powers of arrest.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office has no plans to give powers of arrest to police community support officers (PCSOs); we have therefore made no assessment of the consequences of making such a change.

    On Wednesday 9 Septemer 2015, my Right Honourable friend the Home Secretary launched a consultation on reforming the powers of police staff and volunteers. The proposals set out in the consultation document seek to make police staff and volunteers more flexible in their roles by enabling Chief Constables to designate them with a wider range of powers, ensuring that they have the police powers necessary to do their job. The consultation also proposes a list of core powers that will be exclusively available to Constables, including Special Constables, and this list includes the power of arrest.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what procedures are in place in his Department to consider the implications of a decision by the Court of Appeal that a sentence has been unduly lenient; and what steps his Department takes in relation to the judge in the case concerned as a result of such a ruling.

    Mike Penning

    Whether or not a judge has correctly applied the law is a matter for the Court of Appeal alone. It is the responsibility of the Government to uphold the independence of the judiciary and that includes the judicial decision making process.

    The unduly lenient scheme currently allows anyone to ask for a Government Law Officer to consider referring a sentence to the Court of Appeal for consideration that it was unduly lenient. The scheme applies to all indictable-only offences and a specified selection of either-way offences sentenced at the Crown Court.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to amend the Blue Badge scheme to allow badges to be awarded to those with severe cognitive disabilities.

    Andrew Jones

    The Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000 allow badges to be awarded to people with any permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking, which may include those with cognitive disabilities. The Government has no plans to amend the eligibility rules for Blue Badges.

  • Andrew Griffiths – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Griffiths – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Griffiths on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the total value of (a) public service contracts and (b) grants that were awarded by local authorities to voluntary sector organisations in the last year for which figures are available.

    Brandon Lewis

    [Holding Reply: Monday 30 June 2014]

    Our most recent estimates suggest that local authorities in England gave £1.1 billion in grants to voluntary bodies in 2012-13. A further £23.9 billion was spent on public service contracts, which would include those awarded to both voluntary and private sector bodies (a breakdown between the two is not available). These figures are based on updated methodology and returns, and are not comparative to the previous figures supplied to my hon. Friend.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many transactions were made by each (a) Minister and (b) official in his Department on government procurement cards held by his Department in the last financial year; and what the cost, date and reasons for each such transaction was.

    Elizabeth Truss

    Government Procurement Card transactions over £500 are published on: http://data.gov.uk/dataset/gpc-spend-dfe

    Information on transactions below that level is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

    “

  • Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what monetary thresholds were applied to the cost-per-quality adjusted life year quoted in the evidence submitted as part of his Department’s work with the Inter-departmental Group for the Valuation of Life and Health review in 2008.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    I refer my Rt. hon. Friend to the answer given on 26 June 2014, Official Report, column 283W.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) mean and (b) median duration to assessment, duration to treatment and duration to departure was in (i) type 1 and (ii) all accident and emergency departments in each month in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The information has been placed in the Library.

  • David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the statement of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 206, what the terms of reference are of the working group established, who the members of that group are and when that group is first expected to meet; and if she will make a written statement to the House on the conclusion of that group’s work.

    James Brokenshire

    The initial members invited to join the working group are:
    • Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS)
    • Universities UK (UUK)
    • UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA)
    • Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
    • Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCEW)
    • Scottish Funding Council
    • National Union of Student (NUS)
    • British Council
    • UCAS
    • Association of Colleges (AoC)
    • Guild HE
    • Russell Group
    • Welsh Assembly Government

    The first working group meeting took place on 7 July.

    The draft terms of reference were discussed at the first meeting and will be
    finalised in discussion with working group partners. Once finalised, a copy
    will be placed in the Library of the House.

    As I stated to the House on 24 June, the Home Office will provide regular
    updates to the House on progress with this work.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ben Bradshaw – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of cases in which compulsory mediation and information meetings would have been appropriate in 2013-14; and what funding is being made available in 2014-15 to provide that service.

    Simon Hughes

    We do not have the data to allow us to assess how many family court applications filed in 2013-14 might have been appropriate for a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) in comparison with the number of MIAMs actually attended. In 2013/14 13,354 couples attended a publicly funded MIAM (that is, where at least one of the parties was legally aided).

    Implementation of the Children and Families Act 2014 on 22 April 2014 means that attendance at a MIAM is now compulsory for the potential applicant.

    Public funding (legal aid) remains in scope for family mediation for those who qualify on means and merits, and the budget for legal aid for mediation is uncapped. In 2013/14, the LAA spent £9m on mediation. If one party is funded the other will be covered for the MIAM as well. Legal help with mediation is also available for the funded party and includes help from a lawyer with applying to the court for a consent order based on the agreement reached in mediation.