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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prosecutions have been made as a result of information supplied by the Food Crime Unit since its creation.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) is initially focusing on establishing the scale and nature of food crime in the United Kingdom at a strategic level through developing intelligence sharing relationships across the law enforcement community and with the food industry. This will also enable the Unit to instigate investigative interventions by law enforcement partners and local authorities to identify and disrupt specific instances of food crime.

    At the end of this year, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) will review progress on food crime, in line with Professor Elliott’s recommendations following the horsemeat incident. This review will inform decision-making about the Unit’s future form and function including the need or otherwise for the unit to establish an in-house investigative capability.

    Intelligence analysts within the Unit have just completed the first ever Food Crime Annual Strategic Assessment (FCASA). The FCASA sets out the Unit’s developing understanding of food crime and will drive its work to ensure resources are focused where the threat to consumers and other interests is the greatest.

    The NFCU receives reports of suspicions of food fraud from a number of sources via many different routes. The FSA website directs users to a dedicated email address and telephone number for reporting these suspicions. Information is also received through local authority and law enforcement partners. Information received is analysed and, where appropriate, entered onto the Unit’s intelligence database. Between 1 January 2015 and 18 March 2016, 793 such records were created.

    Establishment costs for the NFCU were minimal as the Unit initially evolved from a small but similar capability within the FSA. Total running costs to date are in the region of £579,000. Estimated costs for the forthcoming year are £1.2 million, subject to final allocations being agreed.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with the Care Quality Commission on the findings of its mock inspection of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Slade House site in 2012.

    Ben Gummer

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not conduct mock-inspections. The CQC compliance report on Slade House, published in 2012, was conducted under its previous inspection methodology. The inspection found that the facility was meeting the essential standards of care it looked at. The Department did not discuss the report’s findings with the CQC.

    From 2014, the CQC started introducing a new inspection methodology to mental health services which makes use of a higher-skilled inspection team that includes specialist inspectors, clinical and other experts, and people with experience of care. The findings of these new inspections give patients and the public a more authoritative and comprehensive view of the quality of care provided by health and adult social care providers.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average fine is for people found guilty of breaking the law by not allowing the transport of blind people and their guide dogs in licensed taxis under the Equality Act 2010.

    Dominic Raab

    It is an offence under section 168 of the Equalities Act 2010 to refuse to take an assistance dog in a taxi or private hire vehicle. The maximum penalty is a level 3 fine (up to £1,000).

    The number of offenders sentenced at all courts (with fines and average fines specifically identified) for failure to comply with a section 168 duty in relation to an assistance dog for a disabled person, in England and Wales, from 2011 (earliest separately identifiable information available) to 2015 can be viewed in table 1.

    The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for failure to comply with a section 168 duty in relation to an assistance dog for a disabled person, listed by local authority prosecuting the case in England and Wales, from 2011 (earliest separately identifiable information available) to 2015 can be viewed in table 2.

    Centrally held data by the Ministry of Justice includes information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. Data on whether a guide dog for the blind or a different type of assistance dog was involved in such a case is not held centrally, or reliably recorded where there is no operational reason to do so.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his policy that existing money laundering regulations made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 should remain in force in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

    Simon Kirby

    Tackling money laundering and terrorist financing is a priority for the Government. The UK is a leading member of the international standard setter for anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing, the Financial Action Task Force, and supports full compliance with the standards which we implement domestically. The UK will continue to cooperate closely with our international partners to improve the effectiveness of the standards, and to ensure the global anti-money regime is robust and responsive to emerging threats.

  • Lord Vinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Vinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether high frequency trading has utility and is in the national interest.

    Lord Young of Cookham

    The Government sponsored the Foresight Project, which reported in 2012, to analyse the role, development, and impact of computer-based trading – including high frequency trading – in financial markets. The Future of Computer Trading in Financial Markets report highlighted the benefits of computer-based trading for the operation of markets, in particular relating to liquidity, transaction costs, and the efficiency of market prices, while also considering the implications for financial stability.

  • Lord Rooker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Rooker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rooker on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the Teratology Society recommendation regarding mandating folic acid fortification in Europe.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We have not formally reviewed the 2015 Obeid paper but officials are aware of its conclusions which are in line with information already considered by Ministers.

    The recommendation in the Teratology Society in essence repeats current advice on folic acid supplements. There are no plans to review this advice.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what safeguards his Department is putting in place to ensure the quality of university specialist mental health mentoring provision when the new single quote system is introduced.

    Joseph Johnson

    Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support students, including those with mental health conditions. It is for the HEI to determine what welfare and counselling services they need to provide to their students.

    In addition, Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) are available to meet the additional costs of study-related support needs, where the needs of the student cannot be met by the institution by way of a reasonable adjustment.

    A new quality assurance framework is being developed for support that is funded by DSAs, so as to provide assurance on both quality and financial matters. The quality assurance framework will be in place in 2016. All support workers will be required to meet quality standards in order to be funded through DSAs. Discussions with stakeholders regarding new mechanisms for the selection of non-medical help support providers are already underway.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many ambulances were diverted from hospitals in West Yorkshire to the A&E department at Dewsbury and District Hospital in 2015; and what the reason was for each such diversion.

    Jane Ellison

    This information is not collected centrally.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards are in place to prevent children either never going to school or going missing from school.

    Lord Nash

    The law provides a number of safeguards to ensure that all children receive a suitable full-time education. These are set out in Chapters I and II of Part VI of the Education Act 1996, and include:

    • a duty on local authorities to make arrangements to establish, as far as it is possible to do so, the identities of children of compulsory school age in their area who are not receiving suitable education (Section 436A);

    • a duty on local authorities to arrange suitable education for all children of compulsory school age who may not for any period receive it, unless such arrangements are made for them (Section 19);

    • a duty on parents to ensure that their child of compulsory school age is receiving suitable full-time education, either at school or otherwise (Section 7);

    • provision for a local authority to issue a School Attendance Order to a parent where it is not satisfied that a child of compulsory age is receiving a suitable education (Section 437); and

    • provision for the prosecution of a parent who has failed to secure their child’s regular attendance at school (Section 444).

    Statutory guidance requires local authorities to have robust procedures and policies in place to enable them to carry out their duty to identify children of compulsory school age in their area who are not receiving suitable education (Children Missing Education, 2015).

    Under the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, schools have a duty to inform their local authority, at agreed intervals, of the details of pupils who are regularly absent from school or have missed 10 school days or more without permission. Schools must also notify the authority if a pupil is to be deleted from the admission register in certain circumstances.

    We are taking steps to ensure the system is as robust as it can be when it comes to protecting young people, while at the same time safeguarding the rights of parents to determine how and where to educate their children. The Department for Education is currently consulting on proposals to strengthen further the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 in order to require schools to inform local authorities under all grounds when a child’s name is deleted from a school register.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to provide British pensioners living overseas with the same annual uprating of their state pension as British pensioners who are resident in the UK.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government has a clear position, which has remained consistent for around 70 years: UK state pensions are payable worldwide and uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so for example in the European Economic Area or countries where we have bilateral agreements. There are no plans to change this.

    Not uprating where there is no legal requirement to do so frees up about £0.5 billion a year which can be used to fund Government priorities in this country.