Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • 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 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many clinical commissioning groups collect (a) prevalence and (b) standardised mortality data on autistic people as part of their joint strategic needs assessments.

    Alistair Burt

    Information is not collected centrally on how many clinical commissioning groups collect prevalence and standardised mortality data on autistic people as part of their joint strategic needs assessments.

    The National Health Service is taking action to reduce premature death among people with autism and a learning disability, and with autism by increasing annual health checks for people with learning disabilities, including for those who also have autism. The NHS is working to reduce variation and improve care for physical health conditions that disproportionately impact on people with learning disabilities who also may have autism, including epilepsy and cancer. NHS England has commissioned the world’s first Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme to support local areas to review deaths of people with learning disabilities and to use the information to improve service provision. This review programme for people with learning disabilities includes those who also have autism.

    Think Autism set out a clear, cross Government programme of action, developed alongside people with autism, their families and carers to improve their lives and reduce premature mortality through better access to healthcare by making adjustments to services. This includes supporting the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGPs) Autism Initiative to improve understanding of autism amongst GPs.

  • Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gill Furniss on 2016-05-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of regulation of banking sector.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Since 2010 the government has:

    • legislated for the ring-fencing of large banks’ retail arms from their investment banking arms;

    • ensured that the senior managers of banks are held accountable for their decisions; and

    • put the Bank of England back in charge of bank prudential regulation.

    The IMF noted in its recent Article IV concluding statement that “owing to a large extent to a wave of welcome regulatory reforms since the crisis, the main parts of the UK financial system appear resilient”.

    The Government agrees with the IMF’s assessment.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much central government funding has been provided to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in each year since the combined authority was established.

    Andrew Percy

    The funding shown below has been provided directly by the government to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority since it was established on 1 st April 2014.

    Combined Authority

    Financial year

    Overall total (£m)

    West Yorkshire Combined Authority

    2014/15

    72.3

    2015/16

    120.0

    2016/17

    182.6

    “

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of the regulatory framework for the use of disabled toilets.

    Gavin Barwell

    Building Regulations apply where building work – typically the erection, alteration, or extension of a building – take place. Part M of the Building regulations requires that reasonable provision is made for people to access and use buildings and their facilities. Statutory guidance is given in Section 5 of Approved Document M (Access to and use of buildings) Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings on the provision and design of suitable toilet and sanitary accommodation in buildings other than dwellings. Statutory guidance is provided in Approved Document M (Access to and use of buildings) Volume 1 for dwellings, which includes guidance on provision and design of accessible toilets in new homes.

    The Deparment for Communities and Local Government has commissioned PRP Architects to undertake scoping research looking at the effectiveness of the existing statutory guidance in Approved Document M for buildings other than dwellings, which includes consideration of sanitary provision. This research will be published in due course.

    For existing public and commercial buildings, the Equality Act 2010 places duties on building owners, employers and business operators to put in place suitable management practices and to make reasonable adjustments to physical features of buildings in order to ensure that disabled people are not placed at a disadvantage when compared to a non-disabled person. This could include consideration of the nature and availability of toilet provision.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment he has made of the costs of HM Revenue and Customs locating its regional hub in (a) Leeds and (b) Bradford.

    Mr David Gauke

    On 12 November, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the next stage of its ten-year modernisation programme. As part of that, the department demonstrated its long-term commitment to Yorkshire and the Humber by setting out that it would establish a Regional Centre in Leeds.

    A number of factors were considered by HMRC when deciding where to locate its new Regional Centres. In addition to cost, it considered local and national transport links, the local labour market, supply of future workforce and the retention of current staff and skills.

    HMRC modelled the impact of locating the Regional Centre for Yorkshire and the Humber in both Bradford and Leeds. For both scenarios, it took into account the potential loss of jobs for staff expected to be outside of reasonable daily travel (defined as approximately 1 hour from home to work, though dependent on individual circumstances).

    HMRC first shared its transformation plans with its employees 18 months ago. Since then has held more than 2,000 events across the UK, setting out how and why it is changing. The department is committed to continuing to support all of its employees who are affected by these changes.

    Staff in Yorkshire attended a number of face-to-face events, providing feedback on the potential location of the regional centre. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their personal circumstances in one-to-one meetings with their manager.

    This transformation programme will ultimately enable HMRC to deliver better public services at lower cost to the taxpayer. It will generate estate savings of £100 million a year by 2025.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Health Education England to ensure that the number of chiropody and podiatry student commissions for 2016–17 is sufficient to meet demand.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Health Education England (HEE) has been established to ensure the National Health Service has access to the right numbers of staff, at the right time and with the right skills. In doing so, HEE works with key external stakeholders to develop its National Workforce Plan for England which sets out the number of training places it will commission in the year ahead.

    HEE will formally publish the 2016-17 National Workforce Plan for England in January 2016. In both 2014/15 and 2015/16, HEE commissioned 362 training places in Podiatry and Chiropody across England, maintaining the current supply.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the suitability of conditions at immigration detention units at airports in the UK.

    Lord Bates

    The regulation of safety arrangements in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) is through the Detention Centre Rules 2001, the Operating Standards for IRCs, Detention Services Orders relating to security arrangements and the relevant sections of the contracts and service level agreements relating to security. Each IRC has a Home Office Immigration Enforcement Manager to monitor ongoing service provision.

    Independent scrutiny is an important part of assurance that our removal centres are safe, secure and humane. Assessments of IRCs and holding rooms are published by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) and in the annual reports of Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB).

    Home Office service improvement plans contribute to delivering continuing improvement of services in response to independent recommendations. Service improvement plans in response to HMCIP inspection reports have been publicly available on the HMCIP website for all reports published after 1 April 2015.

    On 9 February 2015 my Right Honourable Friend, the Home Secretary, announced an independent review of the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons by Stephen Shaw, which included consideration of the conditions at IRCs and airport holding rooms. The Government’s position on the review was set out in the Written Ministerial Statement laid on 14 January 2016.

    Current policy is clear that a number of groups of individuals, including pregnant women, the elderly, victims of torture and the mentally ill, should be detained only in very exceptional circumstances. The Government accepts Stephen Shaw’s recommendations that there should be a wider definition of those at risk, and will introduce a new “adult at risk” concept into decision-making on immigration detention, with a clear presumption that people who are at risk should not be detained, building on the existing legal framework.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what the Commission’s policy is on the allocation of service charges paid by card to (a) permanent and (b) contracted canteen and hospitality staff working on the parliamentary estate.

    Tom Brake

    Service charges paid by debit and credit cards are passed on to catering staff employed by the House of Commons in addition to their wages through the House of Commons payroll system. They are shared equally amongst staff working on a particular day in a given venue.

    Agency (contracted) workers do not receive service charge amounts as there is no mechanism for these to be paid to the individual as the agencies are paid separately to the House of Commons payroll system.

  • 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 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) female HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) staff that work part-time and (b) other HCMTS staff with caring responsibilities will not be negatively affected by planned court and tribunal closures.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Following the closure announcement HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) began a period of staff consultation which includes discussions between all those affected and their management teams. Management teams will support staff in identifying suitable redeployment options taking into account their individual needs.

  • Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people undertake quality assurance in the NHS outside of clinical commissioning groups.

    Ben Gummer

    We do not hold information centrally on the number of people working in the National Health Service who have a quality assurance role.

    However, the fundamental standards set out the standards against which care should not fall and all providers are expected to have systems and processes in place to assure themselves that they are assessing, monitoring and improving the quality and safety of their services.

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is responsible for the inspection and regulation of quality of all healthcare providers and its findings are published together with a performance rating. Where a provider’s performance falls below the fundamental standards the CQC has specific powers to take appropriate action.