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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions monitors have investigated and reported to him on allegations made against custody officers performing custodial duties at (a) Hassockfield, (b) Medway, (c) Oakhill and (d) Rainsbrook secure training centre since each centre opened.

    Andrew Selous

    If an allegation is made against a staff member in a Secure Training Centre (STC), a child protection referral will be made to the independent Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) for investigation.

    Where disciplinary action is recommended, the YJB which is statutorily responsible for the youth estate will oversee the disciplinary process which will be conducted by the STC provider.

    The YJB will only refer an investigation to the Secretary of State if an STC provider conducts an insufficiently comprehensive or robust disciplinary process, and does not correct this when required to by the YJB. The YJB would then refer the case to the Secretary of State and recommend that the member of staff has their custody certification revoked.

    The YJB have the ability to suspend custody certificates, but cannot revoke them. The power to revoke a custody certificate lies with the Secretary of State. There have been no referrals to the Secretary of State to revoke a custody certificate as of yet, as the only circumstances where the YJB would be required to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, would be where the YJB have suspended a certificate but the contractor has refused to dismiss the employee.

    The member of staff would then no longer be certified to work in any secure setting for young people

    No monitor has reported to the Secretary of State for revocation of custody officer certification since each centre opened.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what circumstances embryonic stem cell lines that have been derived from human embryos subjected to genome editing by means of CRISPR-Cas9 would be considered to conform to good manufacturing practice and classed as clinical grade by either the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority or the UK Stem Cell Bank.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it has licensed one human embryo research project involving the use of genome editing CRISPR-Cas9. One objective of this project is to derive human embryonic stem cells. As outlined in the HFEA Inspection Report, there is no intention for these stem cells to be used in human application. In these circumstances, there is no need to assess whether they conform to good manufacturing practice and are classed as clinical grade.

  • Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord MacKenzie of Culkein on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which institutions and authorities have been served with improvement notices since the introduction of the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.

    Baroness Altmann

    Since the introduction of the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013, twenty-six institutions across England, Scotland and Wales have received improvement notices up to December 2015. Before an improvement notice is served the inspector will discuss the breaches of law with the duty holder and explain why a notice is being served. The inspector will also ensure that the duty holder understands what they need to do to comply, and has the opportunity to explore alternatives. A timescale for compliance will also be agreed. The institutions are:

    1

    Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board

    2

    Akari Care Limited

    3

    Birmingham Women’s NHS Foundation Trust

    4

    BUPA Care Homes (CFG) PLC

    5

    Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    6

    Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

    7

    Cwm Taf Health Board (2 notices served)

    8

    HC-One Limited (2 notices served)

    9

    Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust

    10

    Luton & Dunstable University Hospital

    11

    Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

    12

    Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    13

    North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust

    14

    North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust

    15

    North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust

    16

    Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust

    17

    Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    18

    Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

    19

    Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

    20

    South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust

    21

    Tayside Health Board (3 notices served)

    22

    The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust

    23

    University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

    24

    University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

    25

    University Hospitals Of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust ( 2 notices served)

    26

    Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (2 notices served)

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of electrifying the railway line from (a) Crewe to Chester and (b) Chester to Holyhead.

    Claire Perry

    We await the industry’s advice on future investment priorities for the England and Wales network in the next Control Period, building on the Wales and other Route Studies. We continue to work with the industry, the Welsh Government and local groups, including the recently announced North Wales and Mersey Dee Region Task Force, to see what more can be accomplished to deliver better journeys for passengers and freight customers in this corridor. We welcome the recent submission by the Welsh Government of their Strategic Outline Business Case for electrification from Crewe/Warrington to Holyhead as a contribution to this work.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations he has made to the Electoral Commission on resolving recent problems with registration on aboutmyvote.co.uk related to the EU referendum.

    John Penrose

    Cabinet Office officials have worked closely with colleagues at the Electoral Commission to ensure the messaging on aboutmyvote.co.uk informs electors that they do not need to re-register for the EU referendum.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time is for a driving test appointment (a) in England, (b) at the Halifax test centre and (c) at the Huddersfield test centre.

    Andrew Jones

    The average waits for a practical car driving test appointment in (a) England and (b) at Halifax test centre and (c) at Huddersfield test centre are as follows:

    England – 12 weeks

    Halifax driving test centre – 18 weeks

    Huddersfield driving test centre – 17 weeks

    The main cause of current high practical driving test waiting times across the country is a significant and sustained surge in demand for driving tests. The last time there was demand at such high levels was in 2005/6.

    To help address the demand, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) 2015/16 recruitment campaigns resulted in 193 new examiners starting work at test centres across Britain. A further 48 examiners have started testing since April 2016, and DVSA has made employment offers to an additional 110 people, who are currently either attending the new entrant training course, or waiting to attend one.

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) also deploys driving examiners between test centres accordingly to help balance variations in demand for tests. Resources have been pooled between Huddersfield, Halifax, Steeton and Skipton, and the DVSA is currently using resource from Huddersfield and Halifax to help service demand at Steeton and Skipton.. There are five new entrant examiners currently attending training who, if successful, will be deployed into Steeton and Skipton. This will have the knock on effect of helping to reduce waiting times at both the Halifax and Huddersfield test centres.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what UK representation there is at the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The UK is represented at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress by various members of the IUCN UK National Committee (IUCN NCUK). The IUCN NCUK is comprised of IUCN members in the United Kingdom and its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, and also represents the interests of its Members in the IUCN Pan European region. The Chair and Chief Executive from NCUK are both in attendance at the Congress.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what consumer protection is available for people who book and pay for accommodation through Airbnb and then find that the accommodation does not exist.

    Margot James

    Consumer protection is a cornerstone of a well-functioning economy that works for everyone. As such, all UK consumers, including those in the sharing economy, are covered by consumer protection regulations against unfair commercial practices.

    As the sharing economy continues to grow and diversify an important part of the success of companies, such as AirBnB, will be ensuring the safety and confidence of consumers is paramount. The Government has worked closely with sharing economy businesses and recognises that a number of companies are taking welcome steps to achieve this. Alongside this, the trade body SEUK, has recently developed a Kitemark to give consumers increased trust and confidence.

    The Government will continue to work with industry to consider what further steps may be necessary to ensure consumers are adequately protected as part of a sharing economy that works for all.

  • Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if her Department will bring forward plans to invest in energy storage, including pump storage hydro, to increase security of electricity supply.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department recognises the potential for storage to help us use energy more flexibly and decarbonise our energy system cost effectively, alongside interconnection and demand-side response (DSR). In light of this, more than £80m public sector controlled support has been committed to energy storage research, development and demonstration activities since 2012.

    Storage is also eligible to participate in the Capacity Market (CM). One pump hydro company has conditionally prequalified with a new project for the next round of auctions this year.

    The Department is investigating the potential barriers to the deployment of energy storage. We are carefully considering possible mitigating actions, focussing in the first instance on removing regulatory barriers to energy storage. We plan to conduct a consultation and call for evidence in the spring.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18873, which companies provided the agency workers to cover operational uniformed staff in each month; and how much was paid to those companies.

    Andrew Selous

    We only use temporary staff to fill business critical posts and essential frontline services where they can provide a fast, flexible and efficient way to obtain necessary skills that are not currently available in-house. We continue to examine our use of consultants and agency staff to find savings where possible. We have committed to reducing our back office and administrative budget by 50% by 2020.

    The company which provided the agency workers to cover operational uniformed costs in each month was Hays. £46,424,119 was paid to thembetween January 2014 and October 2015.