Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the reasons for activation of the full capacity protocol at Warrington Hospital’s A&E department in 2015-16; and what effect (a) inability to access GP appointments and (b) reductions in the availability of social care had on the decision to activate that protocol in each such case.

    Jane Ellison

    It is for the local National Health Service to manage accident and emergency services to ensure access to high quality, safe services for their local populations.

    We are making additional resources available to the NHS to deal with increased demand, by backing the NHS Five Year Forward View with £10 billion a year real terms additional funding by 2020-21, compared to 2014-15, with £3.8 billion real terms growth in 2016-17.

    Information on ambulance handovers delayed over 30 minutes was published by NHS England in winter daily situation reports each weekday during winter from 2010-11 to 2014-15. Such information is not being published by the NHS in winter daily situation reports for 2015-16. The data can be found using the following link:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/winter-daily-sitreps/

    “

  • Yvette Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Yvette Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yvette Cooper on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many take charge requests under the Dublin III Regulation the UK has received from other EU member states for family reunification in the (a) unaccompanied minors, (b) family members, (c) dependent persons and (d) discretionary categories in the last 12 months; and how many such requests have been (i) approved, (ii) refused and (iii) remain under consideration.

    James Brokenshire

    Data on cases progressed under the Dublin Convention is recorded on the main immigration database. However, this data is not held in a way that allows it to be reported on automatically and is therefore not currently available.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government who owns the RMS St Helena, and what financial support they have provided to operate the service between Cape Town and St Helena over the last three years.

    Baroness Verma

    The RMS St Helena is owned by St Helena Line, which is itself wholly owned by the St Helena Government. Her Majesty’s Government provided £3,199,382 of support to operate the service in 2013/14; £2,272,726 in 2014/15; and £619,751in 2015/16.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has received an application from Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to release the former Two Trees High School site in Denton for development.

    Edward Timpson

    The Education Act 2011 requires that the Secretary of State must give consent prior to the disposal of land which has been used for any school or academy in the last eight years. A key consideration for the government is whether the land proposed for disposal could be suitable for use by a new academy or free school.

    School playing fields are also protected by Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Schools and local authorities must obtain the Secretary of State’s approval before they can dispose of their land. Applications to dispose of school playing fields are first considered by the school playing fields advisory panel, who make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, before she then makes her final decision.

    At this time I am not aware of an application by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to seek approval to dispose of the former Two Trees Sports College, including the playing fields.

    Should an application be submitted, the Secretary of State would take into account any groups or organisations with permission to use the playing fields and what suitable alternative provision they may have been offered. Local schools, which are deficient in playing field land, should also be offered the opportunity to use the playing field before any application is presented. She will also take into account local school place needs and any academy requirement.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will provide a schedule of documents held by his Department that relate to the disappearance of Rebecca Coriam from the Disney Wonder cruise ship in March 2011 and the investigation into that disappearance.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Consular documents show that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provided assistance to the Coriam family at the time of their daughter’s disappearance in 2011, and provided updates on the progress of the Bahamian investigation through the Family Liaison Officer assigned by Cheshire Police. We also facilitated the handover of a copy of the Bahamian investigation report to Cheshire Police.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 43456; when he expects the objectives and approach of the UK to negotiations with the EU to be agreed.

    Mr David Jones

    The Prime Minister has been clear that we will trigger Article 50 b​efore the end of​ March 2017. The process for leaving the EU and determining our future relationship will clearly not be brief or straightforward, so we need to take time to think through our objectives and approach. We want to get the best deal for Britain, not the quickest one. We recognise the need to create certainty as soon as possible but also to get negotiations off to the right start.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has for the future of the Student Opportunity Fund.

    Joseph Johnson

    We are examining all elements of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spend as part of the Spending Review, which will be published on the 25th November.

    The Department will set out its priorities for higher education in the subsequent Grant Letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Final decisions will be for HEFCE, taking account of the Grant Letter.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to compare the transformation plans of clinical commissioning groups when appraising those plans.

    Alistair Burt

    As part of improving transparency, all Local Transformation Plans must be published locally and made widely available.

    NHS England’s guidance Local Transformation Plans for Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing – Guidance and support for local areas is explicit about the need to promote equality and address health inequalities, and states that plans should ‘address the full spectrum of need including children and young people who have particular vulnerability to mental health problems for e.g. those with learning disabilities, looked after children and care leavers, those at risk or in contact with the Youth Justice System, or who have been sexually abused and/or exploited’.

    The assurance process requires local areas to evidence how they are meeting the needs of vulnerable groups including looked after children and children who have experienced abuse.

    An analysis of Local Transformation Plans has been commissioned and will include a thematic review of how the mental health needs of children and young people in vulnerable groups have been addressed.

    As set out in the guidance for Local Transformation Plans an integral part of the locally developed Children and Young People’s Mental Health Transformation Plans includes a tracking template that sets out local progress milestones and financial spend. This tracker will be used as the basis for assurance assessment in 2015/16 and from 2016/17 onwards progress on local transformation will become part of the mainstream planning assurance process.

    Local Transformation Plansrequire all key partners in a local area to agree how best to meet the mental health needs of children and young people in their local populations. 122 Local Transformation Planshave been developed that cover all 209 clinical commissioning groups.

    The assurance process for Local Transformation Plans for Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing was undertaken by NHS England regional teams and included assurance against each plan of standard self-assessment and tracker templates to enable a comparison of plans against objective success criteria.

    NHS England have commissioned a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the Local Transformation Plans, in order to support policy makers, local commissioners and services to understand and use the data that is contained within the plans to drive further improvements. Local Transformation Plans will be reviewed from a narrative, analytical and financial perspective, with thematic reviews carried out in key focus areas that align with Future in mind principles.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his most recent estimate is of the cost of tunnel boring for the High Speed 2 Chiltern tunnel.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The estimated cost of the Chiltern tunnel, as extended via Additional Provision 4, is £940m (based on Q2 2011 Prices). This figure, which includes the costs relating to tunnel boring and the construction of the tunnel portals and vent shafts, excludes risk and contingency.

  • Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of measures intended to curtail consumption of high sugar drinks on levels of consumption of drinks that require significant levels of added sugar to counteract their high acidity.

    Jane Ellison

    In its 2015 Carbohydrates and Health report the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition recommended that the consumption of sugary soft drinks should be minimised by children and adults. Such drinks do not need to contain added sugar; there are many alternatives on the market which contain artificial sweeteners instead.

    Public Health England’s (PHE) report Sugar reduction: The evidence for action (October 2015), outlined its assessment of a range of measures that could be implemented to reduce sugar intakes and improve diets overall. As part of their assessment of the evidence, PHE conducted an analysis of the impact on sugar intakes in adults and children of reducing the sugar content of eight food categories, including sugary soft drinks.