The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of private rented properties are priced above the local housing allowance in the (a) UK and (b) West Midlands.
Justin Tomlinson
The information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the objections received by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator in relation to the School Admissions Code by (a) all parties, (b) civil society organisations and (c) individuals in a school’s local area have not been upheld in each of the last five years.
Nick Gibb
Figures relating to all objections received by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator are published in the Chief Adjudicator’s annual report, which can be found on GOV.UK: www.gov.uk/government/publications/osa-annual-report
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2016 to Question 27312, what steps she has taken to reduce the proportion of children and young people entering the care system who have not had their Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire score submitted.
Edward Timpson
The Department for Education and Department of Health strengthened the statutory guidance Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked after children[1] in March 2015 to include information on how Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs) should be used. The Department wrote to local authorities in 2014 and 2015 to remind them about the purpose and importance of SDQs. Ahead of this year’s data collection (published in September 2016), the Department will also write to Virtual School Heads and Independent Reviewing Officers about the use of SDQs for looked-after children. In addition we are considering how to utilise best practice from local authorities that have had consistently good return rates for SDQ scores in their annual children looked after data returns to the Department.
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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 the procurement of public-private partnerships.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Department does not provide any 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 who claim disability living allowance in (a) England and (b) Wales have been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.
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 31790, what categories of information his Department holds on people that apply for employment and support allowance.
Priti Patel
No information other than overall volumes of claims and appeals are held centrally on applicants to Employment and Support Allowance.
However the information we have in respect of the number of people in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance by main disabling condition is published and can be found 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 Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 27141, what timetable he has set for the introduction of a 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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average change in the level of financial support given to a person over (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 30 years under his Department’s proposals to reform financial support for people affected by HIV or hepatitis C through treatment with NHS-supplied blood or blood products if compensation is not linked to inflation.
Jane Ellison
The proposal to uncouple the link between annual payments and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was contained in in the consultation document “Infected Blood: Reform of financial and other support”. The aim of this proposal was to provide certainty about the amount of the annual payment and no estimation of the average change in the payments made to an individual claimant was made. No decisions have yet been made and details of the shape and structure of a reformed scheme, including the link to the CPI, will be decided following the end of the public consultation, which closed on 15 April.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the range of prices charged by fertility units within the NHS in England is to provide (a) a cycle of IVF and (b) a cycle of intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
Jane Ellison
The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.
CCGs have a legal duty to have regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. As such, NHS England expects that all those involved in commissioning infertility treatment services to be fully aware of the importance of having regard to the NICE fertility guidelines.
Following a meeting with Fertility Fairness in December 2015, officials from the Department and NHS England are considering options for addressing variation in the prices that CCGs are currently paying for in vitro fertilisation treatment.
Information about the costs of individual treatments is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 34024, whether the matter of family ties to the UK being considered only after substantive interview is in compliance with the Dublin Regulations.
James Brokenshire
Following an application for asylum in the UK, the first stage in the asylum process is the Screening process, which includes collection of fingerprints and bio data, travel history, health, summary of claim, security checks and family background. If at this first stage evidence emerges that an applicant’s asylum application should be more correctly dealt with by another European state in accordance with the Dublin Regulation, then, we would seek to transfer the applicant to the member state responsible for deciding the application.
It is, however, possible that evidence concerning responsibility of another state emerges after the screening process, in which case a request to another state to take responsibility under the Dublin Regulation can be made, providing that the Regulation’s time limits for making requests are met. In cases involving family unity Article 17(2) of the Regulation make special provision for requests to take responsibility to be made at any time before a first decision is made on the substance of the asylum claim.
For individuals who claim asylum in another EU member stage and who seek to rely on family connections to the UK as part of their application, application and compliance with the Dublin Regulation would be a matter for the individual state concerned.