The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the transition arrangements for women who have seen their pensionable age increase with limited transition.
Justin Tomlinson
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 November 2015 to Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen), Question UIN 16901.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of women murdered as a result of domestic violence.
Karen Bradley
Tackling domestic violence is a key priority for this Government. We put Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing in 2011 so that local areas and agencies identify lessons learned to help to prevent future homicides and violence. We have commenced a new domestic abuse offence to tackle controlling and coercive behaviour, and have rolled out Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme across the country. We have already committed £40 million between 2016 and 2020 to support domestic abuse victims, and provided £2 million to Safelives and Women’s Aid to support early intervention. We will shortly publish a refreshed cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy setting out how we will do more still to secure long-term funding for domestic violence services and support for all victims.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-02-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether, were the UK to leave the EU, they would be obliged to consider the case of an applicant for asylum who was known to have arrived directly from a safe country; and if so, as a result of which treaty or instrument.
Lord Bates
EU negotiations are ongoing and the UK is engaging with European partners to reach a positive outcome.
The Government firmly supports the well-established principle that those seeking international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach, a principle reflected within the Dublin Regulation.
We are cooperating fully with the EU Commission’s review of the Dublin Regulation and will continue to make the case that its long – established principles should continue to be the basis for any future regulation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-03-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Faulks on 2 March (HL Deb, col 928), whether they now plan to make an estimate of the likely impact on migration from the rest of the EU of the restrictions to in-work benefits that were agreed in the decision of the European Council concerning a new settlement for the UK within the EU.
Lord Bates
The Decision of the European Council concerning a new settlement for the UK recognises, for the first time, that different social security systems across Member States can attract EU workers. Government figures show that around 40 per cent of recent EEA migrants are in households supported by the benefit system. On average, families with a recent EEA migrant claim almost £6,000 per year in tax credits, and of these, around 8,000 families receive more than £10,000.
We remain committed to reforms across the whole of Government to reduce net migration to sustainable levels and to reform the immigration system so that it works in the best interests of our country. We will continue to restore a sense of fairness and to reduce the current very high level of population flows into the UK – now and in the future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the availability of category C prison spaces in the South East.
Andrew Selous
This Government will always ensure that we have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts. We are investing £1.3 billion to reform and modernise the prison estate to make it even more efficient and focused on supporting prisoner rehabilitation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many specially adapted homes for (a) disabled and (b) elderly people there were in (i) Sunderland, (ii) the North East and (iii) England in 2014-15.
Brandon Lewis
The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect data on the number of specially adapted homes. However, the Department does collect data on the number of Disabled Facilities Grants completed annually in England. The latest data available from 2013-14 indicates 42,586 adaptations were provided.
The Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently and safely in their own homes for as a long as possible. Since 2010 we have invested over one billion pounds (£1,005,000,000) into the Disabled Facilities Grant, providing around 250,000 adaptations for older and disabled people’s homes in England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-06-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will be on the NHS England’s Maternity Transformation Board, and whether they plan to introduce a national maternity dashboard to provide analysis relating to both single and multiple pregnancies.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Saving Babies Lives care bundle covers all types of pregnancy, including multiple pregnancies. The care bundle will be evaluated so that it can be developed and refined to ensure that it continues to reflect best practice.
The Maternity Transformation Programme Board will drive forward the implementation of the National Maternity Review, Better Births, published in February this year. It will also include work to reduce the rate of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths in England. The formation of the Board marks a clear step forward towards delivering the vision laid out in the National Maternity Review, ensuring that key organisations work together to improve maternity services. Better Births makes recommendations on the use of data including the development of a set of national indicators to aid data comparison. NHS England and its delivery partners are developing plans to implement this and the report’s other recommendations, and as part of this are considering the case for a national dashboard. A copy of both Better Births and the Saving Babies Lives care bundle are attached.
The Board held its first meeting on 8 June 2016 and is chaired by Sarah-Jane Marsh, Chief Executive of Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Birmingham Women’s Hospital. The Board members and the organisations they represent are detailed in the following table.
NHS England and its delivery partners are developing plans to implement the vision set out in Better Births, the report of the National Maternity Review. These plans are likely to include commissioning guidance.
|
Person |
Organisation |
|
Sarah-Jane Marsh |
Chair |
|
Jane Cummings |
Senior Responsible Officer, Chief Nursing Officer |
|
Keith Willett |
Deputy Chair, Medical Director for Acute Care, NHS England |
|
Matthew Jolly |
Clinical lead (obstetrics) / workstream lead (data) |
|
Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent |
Clinical lead (midwifery) |
|
Dame Julia Cumberlege |
Stakeholder Reference Group Chair / Clinical Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework Panel Chair |
|
Flora Goldhill |
Department of Health / workstream lead (best practice for safer care) |
|
Wendy Reid / Bill Irish |
Health Education England / workstream lead (workforce) |
|
Viv Bennett |
Public Health England / workstream lead (public health) |
|
Ruth May |
NHS Improvement (Director of Nursing) |
|
Mike Durkin |
NHS Improvement (Director of Patient Safety) |
|
Jimmy Walker |
Care Quality Commission |
|
Lauren Hughes |
NHS England /workstream lead (local transformation) |
|
James Sanderson |
NHS England / workstream lead (choice and personalisation) |
|
Simon Medcalf |
NHS England / workstream lead (perinatal mental health) |
|
Tom Denwood |
NHS Digital / workstream lead (technology) |
|
Martin Campbell |
NHS England / workstream lead (pricing) |
|
David Richmond |
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists |
|
Cathy Warwick |
Royal College of Midwives |
|
Nigel Acheson |
Regional delivery lead / Regional Medical Director, South |
|
Roz Lindridge |
Clinical Networks maternity lead / East Midlands Associate Director, Clinical Networks and Senate |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the practicability of prosecuting potential acts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Syria and Iraq by radicalised UK citizens in British courts.
Alok Sharma
As the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), said to the UN Security Council on 21 September, we are very concerned about the appalling crimes committed in Iraq and Syria and are committed to bringing to justice those responsible for alleged acts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. There have not been any prosecutions to date for such crimes in British courts. Most of the prosecutions of those returning to the UK from Iraq or Syria have been for terrorism-related offences. UK nationals can be prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in domestic courts; but the practical difficulties involved in investigating crimes that have taken place abroad and apprehending suspects outside the jurisdiction will need to be considered by police and prosecutors on a case-by-case basis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the property and mortgage industries and (b) local authorities on the effect of Japanese knotweed on property values.
Rory Stewart
As it is not for the Government to intervene in the lending decisions of mortgage lenders or the type or degree of risks they are prepared to take, there have been no recent discussions between the Department and the property and mortgage industries.
There have been no discussions with local authorities on the effect of Japanese knotweed on property values. However, Cornwall Council has produced information on Japanese knotweed to help mortgage lenders make loan decisions when a property may have a Japanese knotweed problem.
Nevertheless, the Department takes the problems caused by Japanese Knotweed seriously and for a number of years has provided funding for local action groups to reduce or eradicate Japanese knotweed, and for research into a suitable biocontrol agent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by FALSE on 2015-12-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 9 March (HL5261), whether they have identified a threshold level of private-sector or financial corporation debt that might threaten financial stability”
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
As mentioned in the answer of 9 March, the Government does not set a specific target for private sector debt. However, the Financial Policy Committee (FPC), established as a policy committee of the Bank of England, is empowered to identify, assess, monitor and take action in relation to risks across the UK financial system. This includes risks which arise from beyond the core banking sector (such as private sector debt). The FPC actively monitors developments in the aggregate level of credit extended to UK households and private non-financial corporations, and has the macroprudential policy tools required to address any risk it identifies.
For example, the countercyclical buffer is a macroprudential instrument which is designed to protect the banking sector from periods of excess aggregate credit growth that can contribute to system-wide risk. The countercyclical buffer rate in the UK is currently set at 0%, and is reviewed on a quarterly basis.