The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he last met Simon Kirby, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd; and when he was made aware of Mr Kirby’s decision to resign as Chief Executive of that company.
Andrew Jones
The Secretary of State last met with Simon Kirby on 20 July 2016. He was made aware of Simon Kirby’s resignation as CEO of HS2 Ltd on the afternoon of Friday 9 September 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage companies to use digital funds from the proposed Apprenticeship Levy to pay for apprentice training for (a) ex-offenders, (b) children leaving care and (c) other vulnerable groups.
Robert Halfon
Our proposed funding policy is designed to put employers of all sizes in more control, and support individuals from all backgrounds and regions.
We are giving employers more control of the funding for apprenticeships training in return for them investing more in apprenticeships; this includes simplifying the funding system to encourage employers to recruit more apprentices of all ages and from all backgrounds.
The Government provides additional support to employers for some groups. Under the funding proposals we sought feedback on by 5 September, the Government will provide extra support for 19-24 year old care leavers and 19-24 year olds with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC). Apprentices aged 19 to 24 without an EHC Plan, who have a learning difficulty and/or disability, can benefit from additional funding through Learning Support.
Apprentices can also apply for Access to Work funding for adjustments to the workplace and training providers can use funding to support the apprentice’s learning. Reasonable adjustments are available for any qualifications within apprenticeships to ensure the apprentice has the chance to demonstrate their skills and knowledge.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 44621, how investments made from the public purse for mental health services in the community are monitored for their effectiveness.
Nicola Blackwood
Information on investment in community mental health services is not held centrally. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning community mental health services for their local population. CCGs are required to increase their spending on mental health each year, at least in line with the growth in their overall funding allocations. From this year, NHS England’s financial reporting will be aligned to mental health priorities, increasing transparency and allowing resources to be tracked at CCG level.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what account his Department took of the case of Andargachew Tsege in its decision to fund the executive MSc programme in security sector management in Ethiopia.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
In line with standard government policy, we conducted an Overseas Security and Justice Assessment before funding for the executive MSc programme in security sector management was approved. The consular case of Mr Andargachew Tsege was not a factor in the process. The programme focuses on building an understanding of the rule of law, human rights and international humanitarian law, and the assessment evaluated the programme to be supporting the reduction of human rights violations. The Government takes the detention and welfare of Mr Andargachew Tsege very seriously and continues to raise his case with the Ethiopian government at the highest levels.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to exempt sheltered housing tenants from the housing benefit cap.
Caroline Nokes
The Secretary of State announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 15 September 2016 that we would be deferring the application of Local Housing Allowance Rates in the social sector for supported housing which includes sheltered housing until 2019/20.
At this point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents.
The Secretary of State also announced that a formal consultation would be published shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the government of Sri Lanka on the persecution of Tamil people in that country; and if he will call for an international investigation into that persecution.
Alok Sharma
The Sri Lankan government has taken a number of positive steps to improve the human rights situation in that country, but we recognise that there remains much to be done. In our statement to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in June we set out the areas we felt were important for Sri Lanka to focus on. These included further land returns in the north of the island, the repealing of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the devolution of political authority through constitutional reform and the creation of credible justice mechanisms. I most recently raised Tamil issues with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister in September. We will continue to work with the UN, Sri Lanka and our other international partners to ensure full implementation of UNHRC resolution 30/1, co-sponsored by the UK in October 2015, while recognising the scale of the challenge this represents and allowing time for credible, well thought out transitional justice mechanisms to be developed and implemented.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons Dr Nahida Al Arja and four of her colleagues were denied permission to enter the UK to attend a recent academic conference on trauma.
James Brokenshire
In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide the information requested.
All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people took part in the Access to Work programme in each year from 2010 to 2013.
Justin Tomlinson
The number of people helped by Access to Work in each year from 2010 to 2013 is published in the Access to Work Official Statistics which can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-to-work-statistics-on-recipients–2
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to review plans to introduce a click and collect service as a result of P2U service failings over the 2015 Christmas period.
Alistair Burt
All pharmacies should have a business continuity plan in place which covers not being able to provide a full or any service.
NHS England, in conjunction with the General Pharmaceutical Council, worked urgently with Pharmacy 2 U once it became apparent that this pharmacy was failing to deliver its normal service over the Christmas period. They ensured that Pharmacy 2 U instigated several actions in addition to the business continuity plan that the pharmacy already had in place. The ability to ensure that, where necessary or as requested by the patient, prescriptions were diverted to another pharmacy of the patient’s choice was made significantly easier by the fact that the majority of the prescriptions dispensed by Pharmacy 2 U are sent to them via the Electronic Prescription Service.
Patient safety was the number one priority at the immediate time. Pharmacy 2 U resumed its normal service, as publicised, on 11 January 2016, and there now continues to be a review of the events that led to this situation to ensure that the review of community pharmacy in England is fully informed and national lessons can be learnt from this unexpected and unfortunate event.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24142, how many closed CSA cases with child maintenance arrears have been referred for arrears cleansing or validation in each month since 1 April 2015.
Priti Patel
The table below shows the number of cases referred for arrears cleansing in each month since April 2015.
|
Month |
Apr-2015 |
May-2015 |
Jun-2015 |
Jul-2015 |
Aug-2015 |
Sep-2015 |
Oct-2015 |
Nov-2015 |
Dec-2015 |
|
Number of cases referred for arrears cleansing |
32,640 |
33,740 |
27,320 |
33,450 |
33,450 |
31,890 |
33,600 |
7,630 |
21,660 |
Notes: