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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what powers the Child Maintenance Service has to address non-compliance by employers with a notice of deduction of earnings; and how many cases have there been of such non-compliance in each of the last three years.

    Steve Webb

    It is a criminal offence under section 32 (8) of the Child Support Act 1991 not to comply with a deduction from earnings order. Failure to comply may result in enforcement action being taken against the employer, which can include a fine of up to £500.

    The 2012 child maintenance scheme, administered by the Child Maintenance Service, was opened to all new applicants on 25 November 2013. We are not yet in a position to release full statistics for this scheme. When 2012 system data become available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

    With regard to cases on the 1993 and 2003 schemes operated by the Child Support Agency (CSA), it is not possible to specify the exact number of instances of non compliance with these orders. This is due to the fact that while data are collected on the numbers of deduction from earnings orders not receiving payment, this can be for reasons other than non-compliance, including time delays of the employer implementing the request and the time to action a change in employment circumstances.

    However, information on the number of prosecutions under section 32(8) of the Child Support Act 1991 in cases on the 1993 and 2003 schemes can be found on page 48 of the CSA Quarterly Summary of Statistics at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics-december-2013.

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  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward proposals to enable small businesses to claim a rates reduction to help them retain staff.

    Brandon Lewis

    As announced at the Autumn Statement, the Government has introduced in England a £1 billion package of business rates support for 2014-15. That includes the continued doubling of Small Business Rate Relief for a further year which we estimate will support 540,000 businesses. The Localism Act has also made it easier for small firms to claim the rate relief to which they are entitled. This support builds on the £11 billion a year of tax cuts this government has announced to corporation tax, employer National Insurance Contributions and fuel duty.

    Business rates in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to publish in full all monitoring data collected on the second year of the pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset.

    George Eustice

    The outcome of the monitoring of the second year of the pilot culls will be published after culling has concluded and the analysis is completed.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) surgeons have been employed at (i) Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and (ii) Nottingham University Hospitals in each year since 2007.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Information on the number of (a) qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff (b) Hospital and community health service (HCHS) doctors and (c) surgeons employed at (i) Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (FT) and (ii) Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, in each year since 2007 is shown in the attached table.

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

    Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists acts to accommodate doctors and nurses who have a conscientious objection to supplying contraceptive drugs or devices which act after fertilisation receive a diploma in sexual and reproductive health.

    Jane Ellison

    The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare are responsible for decisions on the syllabus of their Diploma, the requirements for entry to the Diploma course, and the award of a Diploma qualification.

    The Department understands that their guidelines on the syllabus and on possible conscientious objection have not changed.

  • Steve Baker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve Baker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Baker on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that the cases of the 67 doctors who were found to have pre-signed abortion referral forms following investigations by the Care Quality Commission in 2012 are referred to the police.

    Jane Ellison

    Allegations referred to the Department were passed on to the relevant police forces for them to investigate. Other allegations of pre-signing were investigated by the General Medical Council. Decisions about whether to prosecute rest with the Crown Prosecution Service.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Environment Agency is taking to reduce the time taken to update its flooding maps after the completion of flood defence projects.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Environment Agency produces and publishes maps showing areas at risk of flooding from rivers and sea, surface water and reservoirs in England. It reviews and updates these maps on a quarterly basis to ensure they are based on the most recent local mapping and modelling information.

    To ensure new flood risk management schemes are included in the map updates as soon as possible, the Environment Agency has put in place changes to speed up the update process, together with a new Key Performance Indicator (introduced in October 2013) specifying that maps showing the risk of flooding from rivers and sea should be updated within six months of completion of a scheme.

    Initial performance has been affected by the development and publication of new maps in December 2013 and by the winter floods, but significant efforts are being made to ensure that new defences will be taken into account more quickly in future.

  • Nic Dakin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to improve awareness of and early intervention for rheumatoid arthritis.

    Norman Lamb

    In 2009, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published clinical guidance on the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in adults, which set outs best practice on the diagnosis, care, treatment and support of patients. The guidance makes clear the importance of early diagnosis and is explicit that suspected cases should be referred as an urgent priority for specialist assessment and that early initiation of treatment can prevent irreversible damage to joints.

    In addition to this, information on the diagnosis and treatment of RA can also be accessed via the NICE Clinical Knowledge summaries website at:

    http://cks.nice.org.uk/rheumatoid-arthritis

    and more general information for the public can be found on the NHS Choices website at:

    www.nhs.uk/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis

    Through the mandate we have asked NHS England to make measurable progress towards making our health service among the best in Europe at supporting people with ongoing health problems, such as RA, to live healthily and independently, with much better control over the care they receive.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2014, Official Report, columns 594-5W, on official visits, whether the six received requests for special mission status were refused or granted, by country making the request.

    Mark Simmonds

    None of the six requests for special mission status to which I referred in my answer to the House of 28 April 2014, Official Report, columns 594-5W, were refused. After consenting to the visits as special missions, two of the visits were subsequently cancelled by the country making the request.
    As I noted in my previous answer, in view of the confidentiality of diplomatic exchanges, we have no plans to make public further details about requests that have been granted or refused. But if those applying for special mission status wish to announce the details of their visit to the UK, they are of course at liberty to do so.

  • Dan Byles – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Dan Byles – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Byles on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will recconsider the proposal to introduce Contract for Difference auctioning three years earlier than planned.

    Michael Fallon

    We have always been clear that auctions can be used to drive value for money, once the market is sufficiently developed. As set out in the Consultation on Competitive Allocation, published by the Department on 16 January 2014, we consider that market conditions are such that for some, more established, technologies this will be the case from the start of the allocation of Contracts for Difference (CfDs) under the enduring arrangements.