Tag: Parliamentary Question

Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Prime Minister’s oral contribution of 26 November 2015, Official Report, column 1535, what country is responsible for the co-ordination of ground troops; and which coalition countries have agreed to the methodology referred to.

Michael Fallon

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 1 December 2015 to Question 17826 to the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion (Caroline Lucas).

01/01/2023
Ms Gisela Stuart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Gisela Stuart on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken, subsequent to its accepting recommendation 274 of the Francis report on the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Enquiry, published on 6 February 2013, to (a) issue guidance to NHS Trusts and their legal advisers and (b) monitor implementation of that guidance on disclosure of information to coroners, patients and families.

Ben Gummer

Recommendation 274 was in line with the government’s commitment to greater openness and transparency across the National Health Service, particularly when things go wrong.

The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 gives coroners powers to require a person or organisation in England and Wales to provide evidence and to require a witness in England and Wales to give evidence at an inquest. The 2009 Act makes it, “an offence for a person to do anything that is intended to have the effect of (a) distorting or otherwise altering any evidence, document or other things that is given, produced or provided for the purpose of an investigation…. (b) preventing any evidence, document or other thing from being given produced or provided for the purposes of such an investigation or to do anything that the person knows or believes is likely to have that effect.” This offence is limited to actions where there is “intention” to distort or alter evidence, and is punishable by a fine and / or imprisonment. The Ministry of Justice is currently conducting a post-implementation review of the 2013 coroner reforms in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which includes the reforms’ provisions on disclosure of information. The call for evidence and survey element of the review finished at the end of 2015, and the Ministry of Justice is now considering the responses received. The Department of Health understands that it hopes to publish a response document in the spring.

In response to the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry the Government introduced a statutory duty of candour which came into force on 27 November 2014 for NHS Trusts, Foundation Trusts and some special health authorities that provide care and treatment to people that is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and for all other providers registered with CQC on 1 April 2015. The statutory duty of candour applies to organisations, rather than to individual members of staff. However, it is designed to foster an open culture throughout the organisation, and providers are accountable to CQC for meeting the duty of candour. CQC are able to take enforcement action against the provider, and in certain circumstances its board and senior management, where breaches of the duty of candour have been found. Providers of care will therefore be expected to implement the new duty of candour through staff across their organisations – including educating, training and, if needs be, disciplining their staff appropriately.

In addition, The NHS Serious Incident Framework published in 2015 provides advice on provision of information regarding serious incidents to coroners, patients and their families. It is available at

https://www.england.nhs.uk/patientsafety/serious-incident/

CQC will look at how safe care is for patients as part of the inspection of NHS Trusts.

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01/01/2023
Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects A-level courses in (a) French, (b) German, (c) Spanish, (d) religious studies and (e) geography to be approved by awarding bodies for teaching from September 2016; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

01/01/2023
Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on the number of people employed by ambulance services who are from non-EU countries of the salary threshold increase for Tier 2 visa applications to £35,000.

Ben Gummer

Data from the Home Office shows that no visas were issued to people employed by ambulance services in the last five years for roles other than paramedics. Paramedics were placed on the United Kingdom’s shortage occupation list in April 2015 and are therefore exempt from the requirement to earn £35,000 whilst the role is on the shortage occupation list.

01/01/2023
Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34465, if his Department will take steps to allow web-users to include honours when completing government online forms.

Mr David Lidington

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a number of online forms to collect information from users for the delivery of a service.

In creating forms for British nationals we follow the Government Digital Service design pattern guidance, ‘How to structure web forms for GOV.UK services’ – https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/user-centred-design/resources/patterns/form-structure.html.

The guidance requires the FCO only to collect information necessary to deliver a service. Information on honours is therefore not collected.

We regularly analyse our online services to ensure they capture the necessary data, and our services are assessed to meet the Digital Service Standard before they go public.

01/01/2023
Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to page 23 of the final report of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, published in May 2016, what steps his Department is taking to address the low level of adherence to proper hand hygiene in hospitals and other care settings.

Ben Gummer

Auditing to improve hand hygiene and ensuring appropriate use of technology are important local responsibilities which contribute to improving the quality of care. However, tackling healthcare associated infections is complex and requires a strong patient safety system that integrates cleanliness, infection prevention and control and antibiotic use and addresses them all.

To help the National Health Service improve infection prevention and control we continuously review and enhance national measures, systems and guidance. For example, reducing infections is part of the Guidance for the NHS on Sustainability and Transformation Plans. Antimicrobial resistance was added to Public Health England’s (PHE) Fingertips data system in April to enable easier monitoring and benchmarking against other organisations. PHE’s Rapid Review Panel assesses new products and technologies aiming to reduce infections and in addition the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including hygiene.

The NIHR also supports research infrastructure in the NHS including Diagnostic Evidence Co-operatives which generate evidence on diagnostic medical devices that have the potential to lead to improvements in healthcare services and the quality of life of NHS patients. Two of these, based at Imperial and Newcastle, focus part of their work on clinical areas relevant to infection.

01/01/2023
Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timescale is for completion of Sir John Parker’s report on diversity on corporate boards.

Margot James

Sir John Parker is conducting an independent review. We expect he will report his findings by the end of the year.

01/01/2023
Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to ensure that (1) employers, and (2) employees earning under £11,000 a year, understand the consequences of using a net pay arrangement on entitlement to tax relief.

Lord Young of Cookham

The Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax.

The Government’s latest analysis of the eligibility of workers for automatic enrolment was published on 13 October 2016 in ‘Workplace Pensions: Update of analysis on Automatic Enrolment’. Information on age and earnings breakdowns for all workers can be found in table 3a on page 6, and is available in the report titled: Workplace pensions: Update of Analysis on Automatic Enrolment 2016, which is available on the gov.uk website.

The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not therefore hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the government of Somalia in preparations for elections in that country in 2016; and what assistance the UK has offered for those preparations.

James Duddridge

We are in regular discussions with the Federal Government of Somalia on the electoral process in 2016. The UK also co-chairs, with the Federal Government of Somalia, the elections working group set up under Somalia’s New Deal Compact, supporting preparations for the 2016 electoral process. At the UN General Assembly in September, My Right Honourable Friend the Member for Witney (David Cameron), the Prime Minister, discussed progress towards an inclusive electoral process with the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, as did My Right Honourable Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) Minister of State in the Department for International Development, with Prime Minister Omar Abdullah Sharmarke. Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Somalia attended the National Consultative Forum recently convened by the Federal Government of Somalia to discuss electoral preparations. In the UN Security Council, the UK is working to ensure that Somalia remains a high priority and that there is a coordinated international position in support of the electoral process in Somalia in 2016. The UK provides funding to the UN election support programme in Somalia through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund. This channels support to Somalia’s National Consultative Forum and National Independent Electoral Commission. The UK is also working in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support a nationwide civic education programme that would last for 5 years and would cover all elections in Somalia, both local and national, during that time. The UK provides funding to the UN election support programme in Somalia through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund. This channels support to Somalia’s National Consultative Forum and National Independent Electoral Commission. The UK is also working in partnership with USAID to support a nationwide civic education programme that would last for 5 years and would cover all elections in Somalia, both local and national, during that time.

01/01/2023

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many local housing allowance rates were set (a) at the 30th percentile, (b) within five per cent of the 30th percentile, (c) between five per cent and 10 per cent of the 30th percentile and (d) more than 10 per cent below the 30th percentile of market rents in the relevant broad market rental area in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13, (iii) 2013-14 and (iv) 2014-15.

Justin Tomlinson

In 2011-12, LHA rates were uprated on a monthly basis. Of the 960 LHA rates in Great Britain, in April 2011, 949 LHA rates were set at the 30^th percentile and by March 2012, 943 LHA rates were set at the 30^th percentile. The remaining LHA rates were set at the level of the caps.

From 2012-13 LHA rates were set annually. For the years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, the following table gives the number of LHA rates set (a) at the 30^th percentile, (b) within five per cent of the 30^th percentile, (c) between five per cent and 10 per cent below the 30^th percentile and (d) more than 10 per cent below the 30^th percentile of market rents in the relevant Broad Rental Market Area.

So for example, if the 30^th percentile for a Broad Rental Market Area and property size is £200 per week (pw), the corresponding LHA rate would be included in (b) if it is greater than £190pw and less than £200pw, in (c) if it is between £180pw and £190pw, and in (d) if it is less than £180pw.

	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
(a) 30^th percentile	943	695	475
(b) less than five per cent below the 30^th percentile	6	228	416
(c) between five per cent and 10 per cent below the 30^th percentile	2	26	42
(d) more than 10 per cent below the 30^th percentile	9	11	27

01/01/2023