Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to introduce mandatory accreditation of audiology services in England.

    David Mowat

    Comprehensive data on the number of audiology services in England is not collected.

    NHS England has no current plans to introduce financial incentives for the achievement of Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) accreditation.

    As of 1 September, there are 39 organisations with IQIPS accreditation for audiology, covering 28 adult and 21 paediatric audiology services. If an organisation is accredited for both adult and paediatric audiology, United Kingdom Accreditation Service considers that one accreditation.

    In Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A framework for clinical commissioning groups, published in July, NHS England strongly encourages clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to expect providers to have completed the IQIPS self-assessment tool and applied for accreditation with UKAS, and achieve accreditation within the duration of their contract. This is reflected in the model service specification for adults.

    In the contract for Genomics Medicines Centres, Annex M requires National Health Service trusts nominated as Lead Organisations and Local Delivery Partners to be working towards diagnostic accreditation across all available schemes, including IQIPS.

    NHS England is also working with the Care Quality Commission to agree the use of scientific and diagnostic schemes as an information source for inspection purposes, as set out in their latest strategy.

    We currently have no plans to introduce mandatory accreditation of audiology services in England.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to extend the entitlement to their late spouse’s teacher’s pension to the surviving spouses of teachers who retired or died prior to January 2007 and lost their entitlement to their late spouse’s pension on remarrying.

    Nick Gibb

    It has been the policy of successive governments that changes or improvements to all public service pension schemes should not normally be applied retrospectively. This policy protects the current membership from having to meet the cost of potentially very expensive improvements. There are therefore no plans to extend the entitlement for those whose spouse was a member of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and who died or retired before January 2007.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what costs his Department has incurred as a result of delays to the TransPennine Midland Main Line, and Great Western Main Line electrification project.

    Claire Perry

    The department has not incurred any additional costs as a result of Sir Peter Hendy’s re-plan of the rail upgrade programme, which includes TransPennine, Midland Main Line, and Great Western Main Line electrification.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many rough sleepers have been helped by the No Second Night Out Across England programme; and what proportion of those people were successfully kept off the streets.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Rapid intervention is vital to identifying new rough sleepers and ensuring that the support is in place to help them off the streets quickly. The longer someone sleeps rough, the greater the risk that they will become entrenched on the streets. That is why we invested in rolling out No Second Night Out across England through the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund. Over two-thirds of rough sleepers in 20 key areas outside London did not spend a second night on the streets.

    The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. But one person without a home is one too many, which is why we will increase central investment over the next four years to £139 million for innovative programmes to prevent and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping. We have also protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, through the provisional local government finance settlement, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.

    Data on the number of people helped through the Fund is in an independent evaluation, published by Homeless Link: http://www.homeless.org.uk/sites/default/files/site-attachments/Three%20Years%20of%20Transition%20-%20summary%20evaluation%20report.pdf.

  • David Rutley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Rutley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Rutley on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect on national security of the continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent.

    Michael Fallon

    Successive UK Governments have concluded that for as long as nuclear weapons exist, a nuclear deterrent, based on a continuous at sea deterrence, has a vital role to play in our security and that of our NATO allies. It provides the ultimate guarantee of our national security and way of life.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the tendering process for masts for the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme’s Extended Areas Services project.

    Mike Penning

    There has been constant engagement between officials in the Home Office led Emergency Service Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport regarding the new Emergency Services Network (ESN), specifically the Programme’s Extended Areas Services (EAS) project, and DCMS’ Mobile Infrastructure Programme (MIP).

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the measures in place in each EU member state to tackle nationality-based pay discrimination against seafarers.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In 2015 my officials contacted all of the EU member states with a maritime sector to determine how they approached this issue. The responses we received suggested that the general approach harmonised closely with our own.

    To seek information from a broader base, as part of the Post Implementation Review of the Equality Act 2010 (currently being undertaken by my department) social partners have been surveyed about any evidence they may have which would indicate that nationality-based pay discrimination is prohibited in other member states. This review is due for publication in summer 2016.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which coal-fired power stations are either currently producing electricity or are on standby to do so if the need arises; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The following coal fired power stations currently retain Transmission Entry Capacity and are therefore capable of supplying electricity into the wholesale market when it is economic for them to do so: Aberthaw B, Cottam, Drax (units 1,4,5 & 6), Fiddler’s Ferry (units 1,2 & 3) Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Uskmouth, West Burton and Rugeley. The owner of Rugeley has announced its intention to close the station by the end of June 2016.

    Eggborough and Fiddler’s Ferry (unit 1) are currently part of National Grid’s Supplementary Balancing Reserve, and are capable of supplying electricity if the need arises.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the findings of the report entitled Quality, safety and management assurance review at Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust, published by Capsticks Solicitors LLP on 22 March 2016; and what discussions her Department has had with the National Offender Management Service on the findings of that report on prisoner health services.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    NHS Improvement is establishing an independent investigation into the failings reported by Capsticks at Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust. We await the investigation report and will consider its findings carefully. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is committed to learning from these investigations alongside NHS England. When it became evident that prison healthcare services at HMP Liverpool needed improvement, NOMS officials worked closely in risk summits with NHS England, and from January 2015 Merseycare NHS Foundation Trust with Lancashire Foundation NHS Trust replaced Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust as the health service provider at HMP Liverpool.

  • James Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    James Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Davies on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on increasing the ability of GP practices in North Wales to attract locums since the Government responded to the Third Report of the Welsh Affairs Committee of Session 2014-15, HC 404, on Cross-border health arrangements between England and Wales.

    David Mowat

    The ability of general practitioner practices in North Wales to attract locums is a matter for the Welsh Government, since health and health services are devolved subjects.