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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they maintain statistics relating to (1) autism referrals, (2) initial assessments of autism, and (3) diagnosis of autism; and if so, how many of each there were during each of the past five years.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No formal statistics are collected of autism referrals, initial assessments or diagnoses. The Department does however commission Public Health England each year to carry out a self-assessment exercise with local authority areas on progress they are making in implementing the Autism Strategy for Adults in England. Local authorities work with their local partners including clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to informally answer a range of questions.

    In the exercise based on 2013 data, all 152 local authority areas replied but some did not answer all the questions. Areas were asked how many adults have completed the diagnostic pathway in the preceding year and 111 reported a total of 4,677. They were also asked the length of the average wait for referral to diagnostic services and 117 answered this question. The average of these figures, weighted for the population in the responding areas, was 27.9 weeks.

    The exercise based on 2014 data saw 149 areas respond. They were asked how many adults had received a diagnosis of an autistic spectrum condition in the preceding year and 128 reported a total of 5,109. Areas were also asked the length of the average wait between referral and assessment for all adults and 135 answered this question. The average of these figures, similarly weighted, was 19.6 weeks. Information on the waiting time between autism referrals and initial assessments, and between initial assessments and diagnosis, was not collected during these exercises. The next exercise will be launched later in the spring.

    The number of children and young people diagnosed with autism by the National Health Service is not collected centrally. Latest figures from the School Census (2015) state that there were 90,775 pupils with an autistic spectrum condition at state funded schools and non-maintained special schools in England. This has increased from a total of 56,250 in 2010 who were recorded as having a primary need of autism, but it is not directly comparable to the 2015 figures because of a change in collection methodology.

    New statutory guidance was issued in England in March 2015 to support implementation of the Adult Autism Strategy. This set out what people seeking an autism diagnosis can expect from local authorities and NHS bodies. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published three clinical guidelines on autism and a quality standard to assist health managers and practitioners in developing services. This includes a recommendation that an assessment is started within three months of the referral. NHS England has commenced a programme to visit CCGs to identify and share good practice in accessing autism diagnosis, and look at possible barriers. NHS England will complete a report on this by the end of April 2016.

  • The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Leeds on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to establishing new consular premises in Iraqi Kurdistan.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government is committed to delivering a permanent, fit-for-purpose Consulate General platform in Erbil at the earliest opportunity.

    Significant changes to the security situation in Iraq have necessitated that we review our requirements and plans for the Consulate General platform in order to ensure that we are able to meet our political, security, prosperity and humanitarian objectives, both now and in the future. We continue to offer an uninterrupted service from our current Consulate General platform and continue to explore options for the acquisition of appropriate office accommodation for the future.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what role he plans that further education providers and colleges will have in the governance and delivery of the Institute of Apprenticeships.

    Nick Boles

    The Board of the Institute will be comprised primarily of employers, business leaders and their representatives to ensure that employers continue to drive apprenticeship quality at the highest level. The Institute will also be able to draw on the expertise of education providers, colleges and others in the exercise of its functions.

  • Baroness Manzoor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Manzoor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Manzoor on 2016-06-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many civil servants involved in the delivery of Universal Credit have left the Department for Works and Pensions in each of the last five years; how large is the team working on Universal Credit delivery; and how many people involved in the delivery team when it was originally created remain within the department.

    Lord Freud

    Universal Credit rollout started in April 2013. At the same time the Universal Credit Directorate was established within Operations, to deliver Universal Credit with 80 paid employees.

    AT 31st March 2016, the Universal Credit Directorate consisted of 4,295 paid employees.

    The numbers of Universal Credit Directorate employees who have left DWP since April 2013 are as follows:

    Leaving Period

    Number of Employees who left DWP

    April 2013 to March 2014

    5

    April 2014 to March 2015

    46

    April 2015 to March 2016

    357

    Of the original 80 employees who were part of Universal Credit Directorate in April 2013, 67 are still employed by DWP.

  • Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of retrospective planning applications to local councils in (a) Devon and (b) the UK in the last five years.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Department does not collect the data requested.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the incidence of cyber-fraud and to advise the public of the level of care they should take in transferring money online.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Government launched the Joint Fraud Taskforce earlier this year. This partnership between government, law enforcement and the financial sector is working in new innovative ways to deliver a more effective response to fraud. The Taskforce is looking at new ways to ensure individuals have the tools and knowledge to protect themselves from fraudsters, including when transferring money online.

    A Joint Fraud Taskforce partner, Financial Fraud Action UK, recently launched a nation-wide fraud prevention campaign ‘Take 5’ which advises that individuals take five minutes to consider what they are being asked to do, especially if being pressured to take an unusual course of action such as transferring funds to an unknown individual. The Taskforce is also working closely with the financial sector to look at how fraud can be designed out of systems such as internet banking, to stop individuals transferring money to a potential fraudster.

    The Government’s Cyber Aware campaign aims to help small business and individuals protect themselves from cyber criminals by adopting simple secure online behaviours such as having a strong password and always downloading the latest software updates. Cyber Aware works with a range of public and private sector partners to embed cyber security advice into a range of every day touch points, including Get Safe Online, whose remit is to help individuals and small businesses safeguard themselves against fraud and other online data threats.

    The Government is also encouraging all businesses which rely on the Internet to adopt the Cyber Essentials scheme to protect themselves against the most common Internet threats. We know the vast majority of cyber attacks exploit basic weaknesses in IT software and systems. Cyber Essentials shows organisations how to address those basics and get a good level of online security in place which all organisations operating online should aim for as a minimum.

  • Keir Starmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Keir Starmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how the extension of office to residential permitted development rights will be set out in legislative proposals.

    Brandon Lewis

    The extension of the office to residential permitted development rights will be brought forward as amendments to The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015.

  • Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance and advice his Department provides for pensioners who exhaust their pension pots.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Government has created the foundation for saving via automatic enrolment and the State Pension reforms. The new State pension is there to provide a good basic level of income in retirement. The Government is encouraging saving and allowing people to access their pensions in a way that suits them.

    DWP is committed to providing security for working people at every stage of their lives, and that includes giving people the chance to plan for a financially secure retirement.

    The Government recognises that people need support which is why it set up Pension wise. Pension Wise is the Government’s free, impartial retirement guidance service which helps members by giving guidance on different options available to them. Part of the Pension wise guidance is stressing the need to consider the need for lifetime income to minimise the risk of running out. This service is not intended to replicate or replace the need for professional financial advice which some people should take.

    People can also turn to Money Advisory Service (MAS) and Citizens Advice Bureau for support if they are struggling with debt and need help to manage their finances.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions his Department has had with its counterparts in Northern Ireland on the integration of minority communities.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Officials have regular contact with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive on issues of mutual interest, including integration, but we do not keep a central list of such contacts, many of which are informal.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have had any discussions with relevant bodies about National Museums Liverpool coming under the control of the combined authorities, and what assessment they have made, if any, of such a move.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    As part of the Liverpool City Region Devolution Agreement, the Department is engaging with Liverpool City Combined Authority and National Museums Liverpool to explore options around a sustainable and viable business model for National Museums Liverpool.