Tag: Rosie Cooper

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Disclosure and Barring Service renewal applications were made prior to the renewal date and issued after the applicants’ certificate expired in the last 12 months.

Mike Penning

The Disclosure and Barring Service is responsible for issuing criminal record certificates and the maintenance of children’s and adults’ barred lists. The Disclosure and Barring Service has a target of processing 85% of all disclosure applications within 21 days. In the vast majority of cases (95%), disclosure certificates are issued within 8 weeks (2015/16).

Criminal record certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service do not expire after a specific period of time and do not include a renewal date. A certificate has no set period of validity. Information revealed through a Disclosure and Barring Service check reflects the information that was available at the time of its issue. Disclosure certificates are primarily designed to be used by an employer at the point of recruitment for a particular position.

Some roles and some employers require the person concerned to “renew” their Disclosure and Barring Service check at specific intervals. The person can do that either by applying for a new certificate or by using the Disclosure and Barring Service Update Service.

It would not be appropriate to comment on specific cases, but there are a number of factors which can affect the timely completion of checks. These include the length of time if can take for an employer to deal with the initial application, the accurate completion of the application form, the clarity of the information provided, the existence of conviction or non-conviction information, legal challenges and the operational effectiveness of the disclosure units of the police forces involved, if any, in the enhanced process. In some cases, forces will ask Disclosure and Barring Service to clarify some details provided by the applicant which requires further investigation and this can cause further delays.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how NHS England assesses bids for contracts where some of the bidding organisations have not provided a similar service previously or have not provided a similar service which has been subject to NHS quality measures or inspection.

David Mowat

As commissioners, clinical commissioning groups and NHS England use predetermined questions to establish the credentials and capabilities of potential providers. This includes the assessment of evidence of delivery that providers are required to submit as part of the tender exercise. If evidence of ability to provide such a service is not assessed as sufficient, then the potential provider may be disqualified from the process following further clarifications and lack of additional reassurance to meet the service specification requirements.

NHS England only assesses bids for contracts for services which NHS England itself commissions in accordance with its statutory functions and which are put out to tender.

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, if her Department will review the decision by the Environment Agency to turn off five satellite pumping stations in 2017 operating in the Alt Crossens catchment.

Rory Stewart

By serving a two-year notice period on the five pumping stations in Alt Crossens, the Environment Agency intends to provide time for all local parties to agree on an alternative solution for managing the pumps. I hope all the local parties will continue to work with the Environment Agency to agree a way forward.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the proposed timescales are for the completion of the business case work for the electrification of the Southport to Salford Crescent and Kirkby to Salford Crescent railway lines set out in the March 2015 report of the North of England Electrification Task Force.

Andrew Jones

The report of the independent North of England Electrification Task Force made recommendations on the prioritisation for a rolling programme of electrification of all currently unelectrified lines in the North, in three tiers. It recommended that full business case analysis of all Tier 1 schemes should be urgently progressed. Both Southport-Salford Crescent and Kirby-Salford Crescent were placed in Tier 1.

The Task Force’s recommendations are being taken into account by Network Rail as it prepares an updated national electrification strategy based on a comprehensive sifting and appraisal process. The strategy will be subject to public consultation this year and will inform the Government’s Rail Investment Strategy for 2019-2024.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training staff in (a) Lancashire and (b) the North West who handle NHS 111 calls receive other that the mandatory training covered by the NHS 111 Commissioning Standards.

Jane Ellison

This information is not held centrally and is a matter for the local providers and commissioners.

The NHS 111 commissioning standards issued in June 2014 state that all staff involved in handling NHS 111 calls must comply with the Licensing Requirements of the Clinical Decision Support Software used (NHS Pathways). Staff must also undertake training on: how to interact with urgent care services; the use of local Directories of Services; NHS Values; delivering excellent customer services; and safeguarding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Disclosure and Barring Service checks are yet to be processed which are (a) one, (b) three and (c) six months after the relevant renewal date.

Mike Penning

The Disclosure and Barring Service is responsible for issuing criminal record certificates and the maintenance of children’s and adults’ barred lists. The Disclosure and Barring Service has a target of processing 85% of all disclosure applications within 21 days. In the vast majority of cases (95%), disclosure certificates are issued within 8 weeks (2015/16).

Criminal record certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service do not expire after a specific period of time and do not include a renewal date. A certificate has no set period of validity. Information revealed through a Disclosure and Barring Service check reflects the information that was available at the time of its issue. Disclosure certificates are primarily designed to be used by an employer at the point of recruitment for a particular position.

Some roles and some employers require the person concerned to “renew” their Disclosure and Barring Service check at specific intervals. The person can do that either by applying for a new certificate or by using the Disclosure and Barring Service Update Service.

It would not be appropriate to comment on specific cases, but there are a number of factors which can affect the timely completion of checks. These include the length of time if can take for an employer to deal with the initial application, the accurate completion of the application form, the clarity of the information provided, the existence of conviction or non-conviction information, legal challenges and the operational effectiveness of the disclosure units of the police forces involved, if any, in the enhanced process. In some cases, forces will ask Disclosure and Barring Service to clarify some details provided by the applicant which requires further investigation and this can cause further delays.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average annual financial cost incurred by mental health trusts as a result of unavailability of beds on mental health wards requiring patients to be placed into care homes; and which body bears the costs of such cases.

Nicola Blackwood

The information is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, by what mechanism residents can challenge a local authority’s assessment of the adequacy of drainage systems for a new housing development where they believe it will contribute to additional flooding in an area which has recently flooded.

Brandon Lewis

There are strict tests in the National Planning Policy Framework to protect people and property from flooding, and we are very clear that where these tests are not met new development should not be allowed.

The Framework must be taken into account in the preparation of local plans, drawn up by local councils in consultation with local communities, which should steer inappropriate development away from areas at risk of flooding. Local Plans should be supported by Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and develop policies to manage flood risk from all sources, taking account of advice from the Environment Agency and other relevant flood risk management bodies. A Local Plan must be published for consultation before it can be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for examination. This provides a formal opportunity for the local community to consider the local plan which the local planning authority would like to adopt.

For planning applications, local planning authorities are also required to undertake a formal period of public consultation prior to making a decision. When determining planning applications in flood risk areas, the Framework is clear on the importance of demonstrating that the development will be safe, resilient and not increase flood risk elsewhere. The Framework also sets out when applications should be supported by a site-specific flood risk assessment. These assessments provide a source of information for local residents together with representations on proposed development from flood risk management bodies. Planning law requires that planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The Framework is a material consideration in planning decisions, as are the planning concerns of residents.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to ensure that borough councils in two-tier authority areas provide sandbags to all residents to protect their properties during incidents of flooding.

James Wharton

It is up to individual local authorities to set their policies for sandbag distribution and allocation to residents based on flood risk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether there is any mechanism by which the Lancashire justice area management team can seek to reverse the decision to allocate Skelmersdale criminal cases to Wigan Magistrates’ Court.

Caroline Dinenage

Listing is a judicial responsibility and function. Any final decisions as to the allocation of work between court houses will be for the Lancashire and Cumbria Judicial Business Group (subject to the supervision of the Presiding Judges of the circuit) to make in due course.