Tag: Steve McCabe

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the length of time between the publication of his Department’s planned consultation on a proposed secondary market for annuities and the planned introduction of that market for the pensions industry to prepare for that introduction; and if he will make an assessment of the effect of that period on the effective introduction of that market.

Simon Kirby

To date, the Government has published the following consultation documents in relation to the secondary market in annuities policy:

Creating a secondary annuity market – March 2015

Creating a secondary annuity market: response to the call for evidence – December 2015

Creating a secondary annuity market: tax framework – April 2016

Creating a secondary market for annuities – secondary legislation – April 2016

These consultations have now closed. The Government will respond shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans she has to allow commercial companies access to sensitive information held by other government departments and agencies on the proposed enforcement purposes of those companies.

Sir Oliver Heald

Ministers have outlined their programme of work to improve the courts in the ‘Transforming our Justice System’ document and consultation published on 15 September. As part of this work we will be considering how we can improve the civil enforcement process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will undertake an Equality Impact Assessment of the proposed changes to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

Ben Gummer

The Government consulted on its reforms to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme and considered the responses it received from civil servants and others carefully. It held several meetings with unions during the consultation and then further meetings with unions that agreed to participate. An equalities impact assessment was published on 26 September alongside the Government’s consultation response.

The Government believes its proposed reforms will provide a firm foundation for the management of the Civil Service and its people for a generation. The new terms compare favourably with exit terms in the wider economy and will align the Civil Service Compensation Scheme with reforms across the public sector. It will support employers in managing their workforce and simplify the exit process while treating employees respectfully and fairly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 44304, what information her Department holds on the number of language graduates who have entered the teaching profession in each of the last six years.

Nick Gibb

The information is not held in the format requested.

Table 6a of the Initial Teacher Training Performance Profiles details the employment outcomes within six months of being awarded Qualified Teacher Status of those who were trained to teach modern and ancient foreign languages. This includes employment in all sectors: state, independent and sector not known.

The data is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-performance-profiles-2014-to-2015

“

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2016 to Question 46555, if he will provide local authorities with an increased level of ring-fenced funding for social care in excess of that provided by the Better Care Fund.

David Mowat

Social care continues to be a key priority for the Government. This is why against the context of tough public sector finances the Government has taken steps to protect social care services. However, it is for local authorities to decide how to prioritise their spending based on local priorities and need.

The Autumn 2015 Spending Review settlement announced that local authorities who are responsible for social care would have the ability to raise additional funding to spend exclusively on adult social care through an annual council tax raise of up to 2% above the existing threshold. This new funding for adult social care will be pooled with additional funding from the Better Care Fund. The Government will be making further funding available to councils for adult social care through an improved Better Care Fund, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019-20.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-compliant cases the Child Support Agency has closed under its 1993 and 2003 statutory schemes’ closing process.

Priti Patel

As at October 2015, 110 non-compliant cases have been closed as part of the CSA case closure programme.

Notes:

1. Figure rounded to the nearest 10.
2. The figure is the number of cases that have closed in Segment 2 (the designated segment for non-compliant cases) as a result of being proactively selected for case closure.
3. Individual cases can change circumstances over time. As it is the circumstances of the case that determine which segment it will be closed in, the volumes of cases in individual segments change over time, therefore figures may be subject to change.
4. Closures are cases which have been fully closed on the CSA 1993/2003 Systems having undergone any arrears cleanse activity after liability ending.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with UK airlines on passing reductions in fuel costs on to passengers.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government has regular discussions with the industry on a range of issues, and will continue to press for a fair deal for the travelling public.

The airline industry is intensely competitive and there is no evidence of any market failure that would prevent cost savings being passed onto customers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to prioritise therapeutic services for children who have suffered abuse.

Alistair Burt

The Government is committed to delivering the vision set out in the Future in mind report and is driving forward the transformation of children and young people’s mental health services to improve access to high quality support across the country. This transformation is being supported by £1.25 billion of additional Government investment, as well as an extra £150 million to help young people with eating disorders.

Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) will set out how local organisations will use the additional investment of £1.4 billion the Government is making available during the course of this Parliament to transform local Child and Adolescent Mental Health services. All clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), working closely with their partners in local government, Children’s Services and education, have developed plans to transform their local offer. These plans cover the full spectrum of mental health issues: from prevention and resilience building, to support and care for existing and emerging mental health problems, as well as transitions between services and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable. This includes those who have been exposed to sexual abuse or exploitation. Decisions on access to services are based on assessment of clinical need.

NHS England increased funding of sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) from £8.98 million in 2013/14 to £16.5 million in 2014/15, especially to improve the paediatric response to the needs of sexually abused children. NHS England continues to make the health services response to sexual abuse a priority, and in addition to producing a five year plan for commissioning SARCs, they are planning to engage with CCGs on the delivery of therapeutic care to support survivors.

The Government has set up the first ever cross-Government Ministerial Child Protection Taskforce to overhaul the way police, schools, social services and others work together in tackling abuse of children. The Taskforce’s work will build on the Government’s wide-ranging reforms to create a care system that puts children’s needs first.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of identified violations of the Schools Admissions Code since 2014 related to failure to properly prioritise looked-after and previously looked-after children.

Nick Gibb

Of the 271 admission objections determined since January 2014, 6% were found to have non-compliant elements relating to provisions in the School Admissions Code concerning looked after and previously looked after children.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of public-private partnerships delivering local authority services and representing good value for money.

Mr Marcus Jones

Local authority Private Finance Initiative Public Private Partnership projects, whether supported by this or other departments, were subject to extensive value for money assessments before authorities entered into their individual contracts. This Department does not undertake post-implementation value for money assessments of local authority Private Finance Initative contracts and services. However authorities are encouraged to continue to seek to improve the value for money of their projects wherever possible and the Department will provide advice and support upon request.