Tag: Rosie Cooper

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changing eligibility criteria for personal independence payment on people with long-term medical conditions; what estimate he has made of how many people will be affected by those changes; what type of work he expects people with long-term medical conditions to undertake; and what steps he has taken to (a) ensure that employers employ people with such conditions and (b) tackle any discriminatory practices against people with such conditions.

Justin Tomlinson

DWP has conducted a consultation to seek views on how support can best be provided, through Personal Independence Payment (PIP), to help meet the costs of disability faced by people who are currently awarded points due to aids and appliances. No decision has yet been made as to whether any change should be made to the current system and the department does not have any preference between the five options presented in the consultation. We have also invited additional suggestions for change.

If the Department decides that change is required, a full equality analysis will be conducted and considered prior to a final decision being made, in line with the Department’s obligations under the Equality Act 2010. This will include an estimate of the number who would be affected.

PIP is payable both in and out of work. The Government is committed to giving all disabled people the opportunity to fulfil their potential and achieve their ambitions. Work is an important part of this, which is why the Government has committed to halving the disability employment gap, requiring us to transform policy, practice and public attitudes. The government’s award winning Disability Confident was launched by the Prime Minister in 2013 and works to improve employer awareness and confidence in employing, retaining and unlocking disabled people’s talents.

Employment programmes like Work Choice continue to help thousands of disabled people find, start and remain in work. Since 2010, Work Choice has achieved over 39,490 job outcomes for disabled people. The Equality Act 2010 also provides statutory protection against discrimination and applies to every stage of the recruitment process. Access to Work offers additional support beyond an employer’s statutory duty to provide reasonable adjustments and last year the scheme supported 36,800 disabled people in work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many regulatory bodies there are in the health sector; and what the direct annual cost to his Department is of running each such body.

Ben Gummer

The regulatory bodies in the health sector are listed in the table below.

Arm’s Length Body (ALB) /Executive Agency (EA) Regulatory Bodies [1]

Care Quality Commission

Health Research Authority

Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority

Human Tissue Authority

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

NHS Improvement [2]

Other Bodies

Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care

Professional Regulatory Bodies

General Chiropractic Council

General Dental Council

General Medical Council

General Optical Council

General Osteopathic Council

General Pharmaceutical Council

Health & Care Professions Council

Nursing & Midwifery Councils

Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland

The funding provided via Parliamentary funding or Grant in Aid for 2013/14 and 2014/15 for the ALB/EA regulatory bodies and the Professional Standards Authority is attached. Data for 2015/16 is not yet available.

The professional regulatory bodies are independent of government and there is no direct cost to the Government because they are funded through the registrants’ fees.

[1] As defined in the Cabinet Office’s Categories of Public bodies: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/80075/Categories_of_public_bodies_Dec12.pdf

[2] From 1 April 2016, NHS Improvement is the operational name for an organisation that brings together Monitor and NHS Trust Development Authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the NHS requires organisations bidding for out of area contracts to have been inspected and rated by the Care Quality Commission before bidding.

David Mowat

Non-primary care services must be commissioned by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) or NHS England using the NHS Standard Contract. The NHS Standard Contract requires any provider to comply with the registration requirements of Care Quality Commission (CQC) where applicable. When this is the case the production of evidence of registration with the CQC will be a precondition of the commencement of service delivery.

We would expect commissioners to require evidence of registration (if legally required) with the CQC as part of the tendering process for a new contract. In the case of delivery of services from a new premises or a newly-established provider, registration may not be in place at time the provider submits its bid, but should be before services commence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has for the management and future use of the former Glenburn Sports College site in Skelmersdale.

Edward Timpson

Ownership of the site of the former Glenburn Sports College is currently under review in the Department. The site was originally owned by Lancashire County Council, and was then transferred to the Glenburn Education Trust when the school became a foundation school.

However, when the school closed earlier this year, the governing body was required under the law to apply for a Secretary of State determination as to the future of the site. No application was made, and in the absence of a determination, the Department is considering a representation from the local authority that the land should revert to them.

Any parties wishing to express an interest in facilities on the site should approach Lancashire County Council in the first instance, though any plans for future use will be for the eventual agreed holder of the site to take forward. The land will continue to be protected under legislation against disposal without the consent of the Secretary of State. As part of considering whether to grant consent, the Secretary of State will consider if the land can be redeployed for education.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many properties in (a) the UK and (b) England have received any funding grants of up to £5,000 from the Environment Agency for the purchase and installation of flood prevention measures in their homes since 2012.

Rory Stewart

Between 2011/12 and 2014/15, approximately 60 projects have been funded through Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid and Partnership scheme funding by the Environment Agency to provide individual property level protection to approximately 1,100 homes.

Over 6,000 properties benefitted from Defra funding up to £5,000 from the Repair & Renew Grant scheme launched following the winter floods 2013/14 to help protect their property against future flooding.

These figures are for England only. Flood Risk management is a devolved matter managed locally by the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has (a) guidelines issued and (b) imposed rules on police forces relating to the specific information required to be provided to the Disclosure and Barring Service to appear on an individual’s record; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

The Home Secretary issues guidance to chief officers of police under section 113B(4A) of the Police Act 1997, which they must have regard to in making decisions about providing information from police records for inclusion in enhanced criminal record certificates.

This guidance extends, for example, to information held by the police relating to someone being arrested and bailed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has plans to adjust the eligibility criteria for claiming free childcare so that it can be claimed from the child’s third birthday rather than from the next term date after the child turns three.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Three year old children become eligible for a government funded early education place from 1 September, 1 January or 1 April following their third birthday or the beginning of the autumn, spring or summer school term if this is later. These dates mirror those for compulsory school age, which is the beginning of the term following a child’s fifth birthday. This is intended to ensure that all three year old children can access two years of funded early education and/or maintained school reception provision before they reach compulsory school age.

The most disadvantaged two year olds are eligible for a government funded early education place from 1 September, 1 January or 1 April following their third birthday or the beginning of the autumn, spring or summer school term if this is later.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was paid by the NHS Trust Development Authority to meet the salary costs of the former Chief Executive of Liverpool Community Trust, Bernie Cuthell, during her (a) secondment to Manchester Mental Health Trust and (b) employment at the Betsi Cadwaladr NHS Trust.

Ben Gummer

This is a matter for NHS Improvement. We are informed by NHS Improvement that no payment was made by the NHS Trust Development Authority (NHS TDA) in connection with Bernie Cuthel’s secondment and employment at Manchester Mental Health and Social Care NHS Trust or her employment at the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board. The NHS TDA became part of NHS Improvement in April 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how (a) residents, (b) patients, (c) clinical commissioning groups and (d) NHS England can assess the standard and quality of care offered by an NHS body that has not yet received a Care Quality Commission inspection rating.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. All providers of regulated activities, including National Health Service and independent providers, have to register with the CQC and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall. The CQC monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards. This gives patients and the public a fair, balanced and easy to understand assessment of the performance of a provider.

During 2014, the CQC progressively introduced a new inspection regime for all providers. Since the CQC introduced its new inspection regime in 2014 it has issued ratings for the majority of providers. All remaining NHS hospitals and general practitioner providers will be inspected by March 2017.

Some of the providers that do not have ratings have already been inspected within the new inspection regime but at a time when ratings were not completed. For all providers that were inspected in this way, the CQC has published an assessment of care quality that has been designed to be helpful to patients and the public.

Other sources of information on care quality include the MyNHS website, NHS Choices, quality accounts, specialised services dashboards published by NHS England, and the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how householders can access funding for flood prevention measures for their properties directly and without the requirement to be part of a flood action group.

James Wharton

It is a matter for local authorities to determine how those householders not part of a flood action group will be able to access funding for flood prevention measures. Full details should be available from the relevant local authority.