Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andy McDonald – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andy McDonald – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason Newcastle was chosen as the National Insurance centre for residents of Middlesbrough; and what effect this choice is having on service provision.

    Esther McVey

    Newcastle was chosen as the National Insurance centre for residents of Middlesbrough as it has centralised expertise in administering applications for National Insurance numbers. Given this expertise, proximity to Middlesbrough and availability of public transport, Newcastle provides a viable service that maintains the level of expertise and security required

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of brownfield land in England is covered by a Local Development Order.

    Nick Boles

    At this point in time, this information is not centrally held.

    However, I refer the rt. hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 16 June 2014, Official Report, Column 71-72WS, on the steps we are taking to promote the use of Local Development Orders on brownfield land.

    In addition, the Written Ministerial Statement of 10 June 2014, Official Report, Column 33WS, provides a broader summary of steps we have taken to facilitate empty and redundant land and property being brought back into productive use.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) prevalence of additional health problems experienced by people with Parkinson’s Disease due to delays in receiving Duodopa and (b) costs incurred by the NHS as a result of such delays; and if he will make a statement.

    Norman Lamb

    We have made no such assessment.

    From April 2013, NHS England assumed responsibility for commissioning adult specialist neurosciences services, including the majority of services for patients with Parkinson’s disease, with some being the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups.

    NHS England has advised that it does not routinely fund Duodopa (co-careldopa) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and is currently considering its clinical policy.

    Clinicians can submit individual funding requests for this treatment on behalf of their patients as per NHS England’s individual funding requests standard operating procedure, which is at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cp-04.pdf

    This process is monitored against the standard operating procedure to ensure that referring clinicians are informed of outcomes in a timely manner.

    Once the commissioning position relating to this service area is agreed and service access criteria published, NHS England has advised that the number of individual funding requests from clinicians may reduce.

  • Khalid Mahmood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Khalid Mahmood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Khalid Mahmood on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the families of all victims of crimes for which the beneficiaries of so-called comfort letters were convicted have yet been informed that such letters were issued.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The administrative scheme established by the previous government operated as follows; the police (and in some cases the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland) checked whether sufficient evidence existed in each case at that time for named individuals to be questioned, arrested or prosecuted if they returned to Northern Ireland or any other part of the United Kingdom.

    If it was concluded that there was no prospect of any prosecution based on the evidence then available, the individuals were informed that they were not wanted by the police – the letters were only ever a statement of fact regarding an individual’s status with the police and prosecuting authorities at a particular point in time i.e. whether they were sought for arrest or not. Lady Justice Hallett has been appointed to investigate the administrative scheme and to provide a full public account of how it operated.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisons operated on half regime during (a) January, (b) February, (c) March, (d) April and (e) May 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    The information regarding how many prisons operated on half regime during (a) January, (b) February, (c) March, (d) April and (e) May 2014, is not collated centrally. The term ‘half regime’ is not used in prison establishments, and is unlikely to be interpreted consistently. The processes required to collect this data would incur disproportionate costs.

  • Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the degree to which his Department has complied with the Public Sector Equality Duty with regard to disabled cyclists.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport considers equality issues in exercising its functions, to comply with the equality legislation and to ensure it understands how its activities will affect different people. While there is no requirement under the Equality Act to carry out Equality Impact Assessment on cycling policy, the Department believes disabled cyclists should not be disadvantaged.

    To help local authorities develop infrastructure for cyclists, including disabled cyclists, the Department has produced guidance through Cycle Infrastructure Design (Local Transport Note 2/08). LTN 2/08 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-transport-notes

    “

  • Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure claimants experiencing delays in their personal independence payments assessments are kept better informed of the status of their applications.

    Mike Penning

    We have taken immediate action to ensure that claimants receive all the information they need.

    This includes a number of actions:

    – SMS updates acknowledging receipt of the ”How your disability affects you” form.

    – Updated Gov.uk to include clear information.

    – Detailed information on estimated journey times.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to make it easier to report benefit fraud allegations.

    Esther McVey

    The public can report benefit fraud by telephoning the National Benefit Fraud Hotline which is a confidential free phone service that anyone can use anonymously to report their suspicions. The service is widely used handling over 350,000 referrals in 2013/14. Alternatively an allegation can be made using an online facility, by letter, or by telephoning a Jobcentre Plus office.

    We recently ran a communications campaign pilot to test the effectiveness of communications in reducing fraud and error and we are looking to expand this activity. Our communication campaign aims to challenge and change attitudes and behaviours towards benefit fraud. This includes improving awareness of the need for claimants to report changes in their circumstances and encouraging the general public to report potential benefit fraud.

    We are actively looking at ways to improve fraud referrals, in particular, focusing on making better use of digital channels and technology.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many hospital beds per head of the population there were in (1) England, (2) London and (3) Lewisham, in each year from 2008–09 to 2013–14.

    Earl Howe

    Hospital beds data per head of population are not collected centrally.

    Hospital beds data are collected for each National Health Service trust and NHS foundation trust.

    Population estimates and projections are available for local NHS commissioning bodies; primary care trusts (PCTs) up to 2011 and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) from 2012. These data can be aggregated up to larger areas such as strategic health authorities (SHAs) up to 2011 and local area teams from 2012.

    A table has been placed in the Library which shows the estimated hospital beds per 1,000 population in England and London each year from 2008-09 to 2013-14.

    It is not possible to show the hospital beds per head of population in a local commissioning body such as Lewisham, because this would be based on the assumptions that the beds in a trust are available only for the population of the local commissioning body and that this population only uses these beds. These assumptions will not reflect reality as trusts serve populations from outside their commissioning areas and patients will access services in hospitals outside their local commissioning area.

  • Andrew Bingham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Bingham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bingham on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many businesses were registered in High Peak constituency in each of the last five years.

    Michael Fallon

    Companies House is only able to provide figures on the number of new companies it registered in each of these years by postcode area. As postcode areas can cross constituency boundaries, the figures below must be considered approximations.

    Year

    Number of Companies Registered

    2009-2010

    15

    2010-2011

    35

    2011-2012

    33

    2012-2013

    28

    2013-2014

    17