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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle domestic abuse.

    Norman Baker

    The Coalition Government’s approach to tackling domestic violence and abuse is
    set out in its Violence against Women and Girls Action Plan, updated in March
    2014. It is a subject we take very seriously.

    In 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
    Constabulary (HMIC) to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with domestic
    violence and abuse. HMIC’s report exposed significant failings. The Home
    Secretary is establishing a new national oversight group, which she will chair, and on which I will sit, to ensure HMIC’s recommendations are acted upon.
    The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it
    clear that every police force must have an action plan in place by September
    2014, to improve their response to domestic violence and abuse.

    The Government is committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have
    the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice
    and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. The
    Government accordingly announced the national roll-out of Domestic Violence
    Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme
    from 8 March 2014.

  • Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental impact assessment the Forestry Commission has carried out in respect of the proposed corridor up to 65 metres wide through Hurn Forest for cables connecting Navitus Bay Offshore windfarm with the national grid.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Forestry Commission is fully committed to protecting and improving the nation’s public forests for the benefit of people, nature and the economy. It is not required to carry out a formal Environmental Impact Assessment in this case but it has considered the potential impact of the cable route and is working with the developer to ensure that the impact is minimised. Any woodland that is lost will be restored to heathland to improve the diversity of habitat, as well as opening the views and improving public access.

  • Gregg McClymont – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregg McClymont – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-04-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the number of staff required at HM Revenue and Customs in Cumbernauld following his Department’s decision to award the mail management contract to the EDM Group.

    Mr David Gauke

    The timetable for implementation is still being finalised, HMRC does not yet have details of how and when teams currently handling post will be impacted.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in the 70 to 79 age group have received a shingles vaccination since the vaccination programme began in September 2013; how many people he expects to take up the offer in the current cohort; when he expects that figure to be met; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Provisional vaccine uptake data for England show that about 360,000 70 to 79 year olds received the shingles vaccine between 1 September 2013 and 30 April 2014. The actual number will be higher as about 20% of general practitioner (GP) practices are not able to automatically submit uptake information. If it is assumed that the non-reporting practices have similar uptake rates to those that have reported, then the estimated total number of people aged 70 to 79 years receiving the vaccine in the first eight months of the programme, would be around 450,000.

    This is the first year of this immunisation programme and there is no formal target for the number to be vaccinated. Eligible patients aged 70 and 79 who have not yet received shingles vaccine during the 2013-14 programme will continue to be offered vaccination under the national programme until 31 August 2014. It is not possible to predict how many will take up the offer of vaccination in this period, but Public Health England expects vaccine uptake to continue to rise, and we would encourage those eligible individuals to contact their GP to arrange their vaccination if they have not already done so.

    Further provisional cumulative coverage data will be published on a quarterly basis, with the final annual coverage data for the 2013-14 programme due to be published in autumn 2014.

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what consideration his Department gave to procuring the Rangeless Airborne Instrumented Debriefing System with Collision Warning software for installation on the Tornado aircraft.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The requirement of the Ministry of Defence was for an Instrument Debriefing System. Records of any consideration given to the procurement of additional capabilities are no longer centrally held and the retrieval of this information would be possible only at disproportionate cost.

  • Alan Beith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alan Beith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Beith on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) arrangements and (b) contracts NHS England has for non-emergency specialist care and treatment of English residents in Scottish hospitals.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England has a block contract (value £250,000 a year) for vein of Galen malformation services with the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to roll out mobile telephone blocking technology across HM prisons estate.

    Jeremy Wright

    The National Offender Management Service is committed to addressing the risks that mobile phones present in prisons. Part of its response is to deploy technology in prisons that prevents mobile phones from working.

    In 2012 the government enacted the Prisons (Interference with Wireless Telegraphy) Act 2012. The Act places the use of mobile phone signal interference technology in prisons on a clear legal footing, enabling maximum use of such technology and to enable private prisons to use it.

    A number of prisons are equipped with ‘fixed’ (as opposed to ‘portable’) signal interference technology. Since 21 October 2013 around 300 short-range portable blockers have been deployed to 88 public sector prisons.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on hearing aids in each of the last five years.

    Norman Lamb

    Information on National Health Service expenditure on hearing aids is not collected centrally. However, reference costs, which are the unit costs to NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts of providing defined services in a given financial year to NHS patients, provide some information which is shown in the following table.

    Estimated cost to NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts of hearing aid provision, 2008-09 to 2012-13, £ million

    Year

    Hearing aid costs

    Associated hearing aid costs

    Cochlear implants and bone anchored hearing aids

    2008-09

    60.7

    89.0

    18.7

    2009-10

    57.7

    96.0

    17.7

    2010-11

    55.8

    103.2

    19.2

    2011-12

    62.1

    118.5

    26.6

    2012-13

    62.7

    127.6

    25.8

    Source: Reference Costs, Department of Health

    Notes:

    1. Hearing aid costs are the actual costs of the hearing aids excluding other associated costs.

    2. Associated hearing aid costs include assessment, fitting, follow-up and aftercare.

    3. Reference costs are submitted on a fully absorbed basis, which means that all the costs of running the organisation are included in the return except where their exclusion is permitted.

    4. Some relevant costs may be excluded. For example, maintenance and reprogramming costs for cochlear implants and bone anchored hearing aid costs were excluded from reference costs for these years.

    5. The supply and fitting of hearing aids is also commissioned from the independent sector, and this expenditure is not reflected in the table.

    6. 2012-13 is the latest year for which reference costs data are available.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many surgical care practitioners have practised in the NHS in each year since 2005.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The information is not held centrally. The number of surgical care practitioners who have practised in the National Health Service in each year since 2005 are not identified separately in the annual NHS workforce census.

  • Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department takes to ensure that accommodation provided by the COMPASS contracts meets the Decent Homes Standards.

    Karen Bradley

    It is a statutory requirement that social housing meets the Decent Homes
    Standard as defined in the Housing Act 2004.

    All COMPASS contracts incorporate the requirements of the Decent Home Standards
    for social housing as part of the contractual performance management
    arrangements and are robustly monitored through three key performance
    indicators which relate specifically to property standards.

    Providers are required to inspect all properties on a monthly basis or at the
    point when a service user first occupies the property. In addition, the Home
    Office has a team of 17 contract compliance officers who also closely monitor
    property standards as part of their contract compliance and assurance role.

    Any failure of the critical service levels may result in financial penalties.