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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andrew Bingham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Bingham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bingham on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Chinese counterpart on the health and whereabouts of human rights’ lawyer Mr Gao Zhisheng following his further detention by Chinese authorities.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We remain concerned about human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who has been imprisoned in Xinjiang since 2011. We raised his case directly with Chinese officials during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue on 19-20 May, and urged the Chinese authorities to respect the constitutionally guaranteed rights of all detainees, including access to family, lawyers and adequate medical care.

    We understand that Gao’s prison term is due to end soon, and we urge the Chinese authorities to ensure that his rights to freedom of movement and communication are duly protected on his release.

  • Tessa Munt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tessa Munt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tessa Munt on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many individual funding requests per indication were received by NHS England for radiotherapy treatment in the last financial year; and how many requests, per indication, were refused by NHS England.

    Norman Lamb

    Since April 2013, radiotherapy treatment has been planned and paid for nationally by NHS England.

    NHS England has informed us that information on the number of individual funding requests made to NHS England is not currently available. NHS England is improving its data collection mechanisms and aims to improve availability of such information in the future.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to facilitate the establishment of a gender identity clinic in Brighton and Hove; and if he will make a statement.

    Norman Lamb

    We are advised by NHS England that there are currently seven gender identity clinics (GICs) in England and three providers of gender reassignment surgery. The nearest GIC to Brighton and Hove is located in London. These GIC clinics have considerable experience of delivering this highly specialised service and are able to accept referrals from all over the United Kingdom. At present there are no plans to undertake a procurement exercise to increase the number of providers.

    NHS England report that waiting times for pre-surgical assessment at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust one of the three NHS England commissioned providers of gender surgery are currently running at around 12 months, compared to 10 months in 2013-14. The increase in waiting times is due to the increase in demand for the service nationally that has seen referrals increase from 195 in 2011-12 to 300 in 2013-14.

    Individual patient waits vary according to the needs of the patient. Currently, the average wait for surgery is just under a year from the point at which funding is confirmed.

    Information from the website of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust shows that there are currently 279 patients approved for this surgery and that it carried out 178 male to female gender reassignment operations in 2013-14.

    Following a change in staffing, Imperial appointed a new gender reassignment surgeon who will start performing gender reassignment surgeries in September 2014. As a temporary measure, the trust is referring a small number of patients who have waited longer than others to a private provider under a sub-contracting arrangement with that provider, Imperial retain responsibility for managing all patient pathways.

    Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has published an update of the position on its website, which can be viewed at the following link:

    www.imperial.nhs.uk/aboutus/news/news_044629

    The trust is also sending this information directly to patients.

    These issues have not been the subject of discussions between Ministers and the Chief Executive of NHS England.

  • Jonathan Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jonathan Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Evans on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many project licences were granted under the Animals (Scientific Pocedures) Act 1986 in Wales in 2013; and how many such licences were in force at the end of 2013 in respect of work to be carried out in Wales.

    Norman Baker

    The number of project licences granted, under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, in Wales in 2013 was 18. The numbers of project licences in force in Wales at the end of 2013 was 65.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department gives to police on ensuring that children whose parents have been arrested and detained are taken care of in the interim.

    Mike Penning

    The police have a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of
    children under Section 11 of the Children Act 2004.

    All frontline officers have a crucial role to play in identifying, protecting
    and safeguarding children. Police officers attending domestic violence
    incidents, for example, should be aware of the effect of such violence on any
    children normally resident in the household.

    The College of Policing issues authorised professional practice guidance in
    relation to detention and custody. This makes clear that staff must be aware of
    the potential implications of detention for each detainee and their dependants.
    Detainees should be asked about any caring responsibilities during the
    booking-in process. This information must be recorded in the risk assessment or
    other appropriate place in the custody record. If a detainee is identified as
    having dependants for whom arrangements are required, appropriate arrangements
    should be made as necessary to find alternative care.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    In the financial years 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14 no duplicate supplier payments were made; all duplicate invoices were stopped before payment and therefore no recovery action was necessary. In 2010/11 duplicate payments totalling £8,964.35 were made. This represents a small proportion, 0.039%, of the total number of duplicate payments invoiced over the four year period. It is possible that this entire amount was recovered, however, disproportionate cost would be incurred in determining this.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department paid to (a) G4S, (b) Serco, (c) Sodexo, (d) GEOAmey, (e) Capita, (f) Atos, (g) Mitie, (h) Working Links, (i) A4E, (j) MTC Amey, (k) GEO Group and (l) Carillion in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14.

    Claire Perry

    As part of the department’s transparency programme, any spend over £25,000 is available on the Department’s website. Since January 2011, all contracts over £10,000 in value are published on Contracts Finder (http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk/).

    “

  • Chris Bryant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Bryant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Bryant on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on (a) accommodation, (b) taxis or private cars and (c) alcoholic beverages in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

    Steve Webb

    The Department is a geographically-dispersed organisation employing around 90,000 staff across some 870 sites, delivering services directly to around 22 million customers. The table below shows the expenditure on accommodation and taxis for the years in question. The average spend per head on accommodation for 2012-13 was in the region of £70.

    The expenditure on taxis includes reimbursement of the cost of actual fares to support our disabled staff travelling to and from their place of work.

    Date

    (a) Accommodation

    (b) Taxi

    2010/11

    £6,932,231

    £1,539,581

    2011/12

    £5,281,218

    £1,201,506

    2012/13

    £6,571,462

    £1,288,034

    In the years 2008/09 and 2009/10 the Department’s spend on hotels under the previous administration was £11,264,324 and £11,694,697 respectively. This has almost halved under this administration. Spend on taxis for the year 2009/2010 was £1,526,863.

    As the purchase of alcohol is exceptional, there is no separate finance code to identify this spend.

  • Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the review by Lord Myners of the process of privatisation of Royal Mail will be published in full; and when this report will be completed.

    Matthew Hancock

    The review is intended to inform wider HMG considerations about alternatives to bookbuilding, as recommended by the National Audit Office in its report on the Royal Mail Initial Public Offering (IPO). It will help my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in his own assessment of the system the Government operates for the sale of its assets through IPOs to ensure that Government can meet its full objectives whilst achieving value for money.

    It is not a public review but my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for BIS will make the key findings of the review public.

    It is expected that the noble Lord Myners will complete his review later this year.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many reports the DVLA has received of applicants’ documents going missing in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Jones

    The table below provides the number of complaints received at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) from customers about application documents that have been lost or damaged.

    Year

    Number complaints received

    Number of relevant transactions* handled by the DVLA

    2010

    125

    31,153,825

    2011

    105

    30,670,002

    2012

    129

    30,510,913

    2013

    63

    30,506,202

    2014

    71

    29,503,088

    2015 to date

    68

    20,029,717

    *This is for driver licensing and vehicle registration and licensing transactions, which may include supporting documentation, such as, identity documents.