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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what treatment options are available to adults with uveitis to access anti-TNF treatment therapy who do not meet the exceptionality criteria of the individual funding request process.

    David Mowat

    Due to a lack of clinical evidence anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) to treat uveitis in adults is not currently routinely commissioned by the National Health Service. Therefore patients can only access the treatment through the individual funding request process.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 7.4 of the Explanatory Memorandum for the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Functions) (Local Housing Allowance Amendments) Order 2015 (S.I., 2015, No. 1753), when he plans for the first instalments of additional funding under the Targeted Affordability Fund to be made available to local authorities.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Since 2014/15 the Government has made available £140 million in Targeted Affordability Funding (TAF). Over the next five years TAF will be drawn from recycling a percentage of the savings from the freeze of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates. As a result of the level of savings produced by the freeze next year there will be no TAF available in 2016/17; however, there will be funding from 2017/18 to 2020/21.

    From 2017/18 around 30 per cent of the potential savings per year from the freeze to LHA will be used to support areas where higher rent increases are causing a shortage of affordable accommodation.

    The level of TAF in 2016/17 would have been the same if, as planned, LHA rates had been uprated by CPI inflation. This is because the CPI forecast in September was zero (0.01 per cent) and therefore LHA rates would not increase in 2016/17 but would remain at the 2015/16 levels.

    The amounts of TAF which will be available each year from 2017/18 and the plans to distribute it will be announced in due course.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many specialist inpatient services for older adult mental health patients have closed in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    This information is not held centrally.

    In-patient services for older mental health patients are now included in the range of services provided by NHS mental health trusts and independent providers.

  • Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the Archbishop of Canterbury on the recent communiqué from Anglican Primates about homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government has made no representations to the Most Rev. and rt hon Archbishop of Canterbury, or the Anglican Community, regarding the recent communique from the Anglican Primates, issued on 15 January.

    The Government does not normally make comments in response to statements issued by the Church of England.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of increased waiting times for driving tests for young drivers on (a) failure rates and (b) increased travel time and cost to examination centres.

    Andrew Jones

    Any comparison between waiting times and failure rates would be highly subjective as the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has no way of excluding other factors. DVSA also cannot identify the motivation of candidates choosing test centres for their practical test; therefore, DVSA is unable to assess what the costs would be.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of potential cost savings from an extension of driver-only operation on Govia Thameslink Railways services.

    Claire Perry

    The potential cost savings from an extension of driver-only operation were included in Govia Thameslink Railway’s formal bid for the franchise. The Department assessed all bids for the franchise against the evaluation criteria in the Invitation to Tender which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/245041/invitation-to-tender.pdf.

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  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many cases of alleged (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) domestic violence where the alleged offence took place in the UK were prosecuted by the Services Prosecuting Authority in (i) 2013, (ii) 2014 and (iii) 2015.

    Robert Buckland

    Figures for all prosecutions by the Services Prosecuting Authority of Rape, Sexual Assault & Domestic violence covering the period 2013 to 2015 where the alleged offence took place in the UK are contained in the following table.

    Year

    Rape Prosecutions

    Sexual Assault Prosecutions

    Domestic Violence Prosecutions

    2013

    2

    8

    0

    2014

    2

    11

    5

    2015

    3

    14

    6 (1 case yet to go to trial)
  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether parity of esteem as established in the Belfast Agreement 1998 applies to (1) people temporarily residing in Northern Ireland, and if so for how long such people have to live there for parity of esteem to apply; and (2) people who live outside Northern Ireland but work in the province.

    Lord Dunlop

    This Government understands the concept of parity of esteem, as set out in the 1998 Belfast Agreement, as placing a general obligation on the UK Government to treat people of different traditions in Northern Ireland fairly and with equal respect. In the Agreement it is clearly expressed and defined in relation to people living in Northern Ireland.

    As a general obligation there is no definition of particular circumstances in which it does or does not apply.

    As I have set out in previous replies to the Noble Lord, this Government is firm in its commitment to the protection of people against any form of discrimination, and the promotion of opportunity for all, across the whole of our United Kingdom.

    In respect of the Noble Lord’s question about those who might march wearing army uniforms but who are not members of an army, the concept of parity of esteem clearly does not absolve people from upholding the law. This Government has made clear many times that we will never accept any form of equivalence between members of the security forces and those who engage in terrorism or other forms of paramilitary activity.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-06-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will bring forward proposals to underwrite all EU funding for projects in Scotland in response to the result of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

    Mr David Gauke

    As the Prime Minister has made clear, while the UK remains a member of the EU, current EU funding arrangements continue unchanged. It will be for the new Government to begin the negotiation to leave, and set out arrangements for those currently in receipt of EU funds.

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of spit hoods and the extent of their use by police forces.

    Brandon Lewis

    The use of ‘spit hoods’, as with any other use of restraint or force, is an operational matter for Chief Officers. Accordingly, the Home Office has not conducted any assessments on their use or the extent of use by police forces in England and Wales. However, the Home Office is clear that all uses of force or restraint must be necessary and proportionate.

    In recognition of the importance of ensuring transparency in how police forces use various means of restraint, the former Home Secretary asked Chief Constable David Shaw to review what data should be collected and published. The review recommended that forces record a range of data in all instances when significant force is used, including restraint techniques and the use of spit hoods. The data to be collected includes the age, gender, ethnicity and sex of the subject, the type of force used, reason for the use of force, and the outcome of the incident. The new data collection system is currently being piloted in a number of forces before it is implemented nationwide. We expect all use of force records to be published by forces, and a subset of the data will be part of the mandatory requirement for the 2017/18 Annual Data Requirement (ADR).