Tag: Steve McCabe

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of (a) the scale of the recent changes on the cost of care homes for self-funding elderly people and (b) the effect of those changes on the number of care home closures in the UK.

David Mowat

The Department continues to monitor the market of care providers.

There has been no significant change in capacity in care homes in the last three years. The total number of beds for older people and those with dementia in England has remained stable at around 410,000.

Figures from Christie & Co show a differential between fee rises for self-funders & those paid by local authorities, but we are not aware of this driving changes in provision.

The Department continues to monitor the whole of the market of care providers and engage with the sector to better understand the challenges they face and support local authorities who purchase services.

The Department recognises that social care has a key role to play in reducing delayed transfers of care from hospital.

The National Health Service takes Delayed Transfer of Care seriously. As well as funding the NHS’ own plan for the future with £10 billion, we are giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion extra a year for adult social care.

The Department works closely with the NHS, local government and the independent care sector to help improve transfers out of hospital, share good practice and minimise delays.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of outstanding cases handled by the Child Support Agency were classed as non-compliant before the implementation of the 1993 and 2003 statutory schemes’ closure process.

Priti Patel

Proactive Case Closure of 1993 and 2003 Scheme cases began on 30 June 2014. As at June 2014, 14% of cases with a current liability were non-compliant i.e. paying nothing.

The Department records statistics on the compliance status of 1993/2003 Scheme cases and publishes these in the Quarterly Summary of Statistics. This information is set out on Page 51 of the statistics which can be accessed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-june-2015.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to provide additional funding for local authorities to provide school crossing patrols.

Nick Gibb

The Government has no plans to make additional funding available specifically for school crossing patrols. The Education and Inspection Act 2006 (section 508A) puts a duty on local authorities to promote and establish a strategy for developing a sustainable transport infrastructure that meets the needs of children and young people in their area. This strategy should address such issues as enhanced child safety and security. School Crossing Patrols are one option that can contribute to the fulfilment of this duty. It is for local authorities and schools to determine if and how school crossing patrols are funded from the resources made available by central government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what safeguards his Department plans to put in place to ensure that people who leave their council homes as a result of the proposed pay to stay scheme are able to afford private rented property in the same area.

Brandon Lewis

It is only fair that social tenants who can pay more should pay more. There are more than 40,000 tenants in social housing who benefit from subsidised rents but where the annual household income is over £50,000. We have however consulted on a proposal for a taper to ensure that work incentives are protected. If adopted, this would mean that households towards the lower end of the proposed income thresholds would see a low rise in their rent below market rental values in areas where market rent is higher than social rent. Of course, if tenants on incomes well above the proposed threshold wish to take up a rental opportunity in the private sector then this should be encouraged to free up social housing for those most in need.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will establish a regulatory body to enforce the School Admissions Code.

Nick Gibb

It is the role of the Schools Adjudicator to determine whether school admission arrangements comply with the School Admissions Code. Where they do not, the school’s admission authority is required to revise the arrangements.

Currently, anyone who believes a school’s admission arrangements may not comply with the Code may refer them to the Adjudicator. We propose that, in future, only local parents and local authorities should be able to do so. We want to ensure that the Adjudicator is able to focus on the concerns that parents may have about their local school’s admission arrangements. We will be conducting a full public consultation in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2016 to Question 26467, what recent estimate he has made of the average cost of private rented property in the West Midlands.

Brandon Lewis

Statistics on average rents by region and local authority are published by the Valuation Office Agency at

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/private-rental-market-summary-statistics-england-2014-15

These show the estimated mean monthly rent between 1 October 2014 and 30 September 2015 by type of property.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29830, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on improving coordination between support teams when some or all of those services are outsourced.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Department does not provide any formal guidance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease in (a) England and (b) Wales applied for disability living allowance in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department does not hold such information about the disabling condition of people who have applied for Disability Living Allowance. Information on DLA claimants’ disabling condition is only held for those who have entitlement to the benefit.

The information we have for the number of people claiming (i.e. entitled to) Disability Living Allowance, by main disabling condition and geography is published and available at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

Guidance for users can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2016 to Question 31791, on employment and support allowance: inflammatory bowel disease, how many of those claimants started receiving employment and support allowance before 2010.

Priti Patel

The number of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants in August 2015 with Inflammatory Bowel Disease recorded as their main disabling condition, with a claim start date prior to 2010, in England is 340 and in Wales is 30.

Source: DWP 100% data.

Notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. The data is at August 2015, which is the latest available information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 27141, by which criteria his Department plans to determine NHS support funding for community pharmacies under the Pharmacy Access Scheme.

Alistair Burt

We have been in discussions with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) since December 2015 regarding the Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. In parallel, we have sought views on our proposals from other pharmacy organisations and from patient groups. The details of the Pharmacy Access Scheme, including any criteria and a timetable for implementation, form part of this consultation.

We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.

Once we have carefully considered the outcomes from the consultation, we are looking to communicate final decisions as soon as possible, so that pharmacy contractors are fully informed some months before the funding reduction starts from October 2016.