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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2014-04-30.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the level of unscrupulous money lending in (a) the UK, (b) East Midlands, (c) Nottinghamshire and (d) Ashfield in each of the last five years.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government has not made an estimate about levels of unscrupulous money lending. The National Audit Office estimated that unaddressed detriment in the UK consumer credit market cost consumers £450m in 2011-12.

    The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market. The new, more robust Financial Conduct Authority regime will help to deliver the Government’s vision for a well functioning and sustainable consumer credit market which is able to meet consumers’ needs.

  • David Davis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Davis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many directions under section 94 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 have been issued, amended or renewed in this Parliament.

    James Brokenshire

    Section 94 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 states that the Secretary of
    State may issue directions in the interests of national security and, as with
    the practice of previous Governments, we do not comment on security matters.

  • 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 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, at how many tribunal hearings on appeals over benefit claims in each of the last four years the relevant Department failed to send a presenting officer; and how many such hearings were lost by the Government.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The First-tier Tribunal – Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work & Pensions’ (DWP) and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) decisions on a range of benefits. It also hears appeals against Local Authorities on Housing Benefit decisions.

    The table below shows the data requested for each year from 1 April 2010 until December 2013 (the latest period for data is available).

    It is a matter for the relevant Department or Local Authority as to whether they send a presenting Officer to an appeal unless directed to do so by the Tribunal. Departments and Local Authorities will consider each appeal on a case by case basis.

  • Rob Wilson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Rob Wilson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Wilson on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on ensuring that legal aid is targeted at people with a strong connection to the UK.

    Chris Grayling

    The Government believes that individuals should have a strong connection to the UK in order to benefit from the civil legal aid scheme and that the residence test we propose is a fair and appropriate way to demonstrate that connection.

  • David Anderson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Anderson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure the viability of the financial position of the North East Refugee Service; and for what reasons her Department has not yet paid exit costs to that organisation.

    James Brokenshire

    Negotiations on the exit claim are underway between the Home Office and the
    Refugee Council and we hope to conclude these as soon as possible. The North
    of England Refugee Service was a subcontractor of the Refugee Council, and the
    Home Office is therefore unable to negotiate directly with the North of England
    Refugee Service.

  • John Leech – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Leech – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Leech on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by NHS England to work on cancer policy at a national level in each of the last two years.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested on staffing levels is not held centrally. Prior to 1 April 2013, staffing levels for both clinical networks, including cancer networks, and strategic health authorities, including staff working specifically in cancer networks, were a matter for local National Health Service organisations.

    NHS England does not employ people to work on disease-specific policy areas. It is structured according to five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework. Only National Clinical Directors (NCD) are employed to work on specific conditions. There is one NCD for cancer employed on a 0.4 full-time equivalent basis. It is likely that most directorates will have roles contributing to improved outcomes for people with, and at risk of cancer, but NHS England does not record staff time in a way which would make this quantifiable.

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research he has commissioned on the effect of patients receiving urgent investigations and treatment following a transient ischaemic attack on reducing (a) the risk of future strokes and (b) the cost to the NHS of treating strokes; and if he will make a statement.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Funding from the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has supported the EXPRESS (Early use of eXisting PREventive Strategies for Stroke) study led by the Stroke Prevention Research Unit at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. The aim of the study was to measure the effect of more rapid treatment after transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and minor stroke in patients who were not admitted directly to hospital. Findings have been published in the journals Lancet and Lancet Neurology. These include findings on the effect of urgent treatment for TIA and minor stroke on early recurrent stroke, and on disability and hospital costs.

    An NIHR-funded project commissioned by the former Service Delivery and Organisation programme studied the optimum model of service delivery for TIA. A report of the study is available in the NIHR Journals Library at:

    www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/64505/FR-08-1504-112.pdf

    The study included consideration of the cost-effectiveness of different patterns of service provision for patients who have had a TIA.

  • James Duddridge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    James Duddridge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Duddridge on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will instruct HM High Commissioner to Swaziland to raise the case of Mario Masuku and the Zakhele Remand Centre with the Swaziland government.

    Mark Simmonds

    We will continue to raise human rights concerns, such as Mr Masuku’s arrest and current detention with the Swazi authorities at senior levels. The UK has no permanent diplomatic presence in Swaziland. However, our High Commission in South Africa covers our relations with Swaziland and our officials visit Swaziland regularly.

  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of the work done on the Kajaki Dam project in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The Kandahar Helmand Power Project to enhance the electrical power output of the Kajaki Dam is not funded by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), but by the US Agency for International Development and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The MOD is therefore unable to provide a thorough estimate of costs. In 2008, the UK’s 16 Air Assault Brigade provided protection for the movement of a turbine to Kajaki. By the end of 2014, the project aims to deliver reliable, sustainable electricity to around two million people in Kandahar and Helmand, and to support the continued development of the regional South-East Power System (SEPS) power grid.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what technology he plans to use to restrict the sharing of NHS patient data extracted under care.data to countries inside the European Economic Area.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Data Protection Act (1998) allows personal data to be transferred to countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) on the same basis as transferring data within the United Kingdom. Personal data can only be sent to a country or territory outside the EEA if an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of individuals when processing their personal data is ensured.

    Every application for information will be considered by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), in line with the Data Protection Act, taking account of their location if it is outside the UK.

    HSCIC is required to generally publish the information it collects or may derive from a collection, but not in forms which would identify or enable the identification of individual patients or service users. HSCIC’s published data will be openly available via its website.