Tag: Steve McCabe

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints his Department has received about the assessment assistance offered by CAPITA.

Justin Tomlinson

Complaints about the assessment service offered by Capita are processed by Capita and not the Department for Work and Pensions.

Capita has received a total of 1,288 complaints for 2015 in relation to their contractual delivery of the Personal Independence Payment Assessment process. This represents 1% of their total assessment referral volume.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to change its policy on free school meal provision for infant school pupils.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The continuation of universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) was a commitment in the Conservative Party’s election manifesto. The government is currently conducting a Spending Review across all its programmes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the report Comparing Motor-Vehicle Crash Risk of EU and US Vehicles, published in May 2015; and what the implications of that report are for the TTIP negotiations.

Anna Soubry

More closely aligning the regulations for the EU and US through the EU-US Free Trade Agreement could lead to an increase in UK automotive exports to the US by up to 25%. EU and US regulators, including representatives from the UK, are assessing the report as part of the broader analysis to identify which regulations have similar overall outcomes on safety. Negotiators will seek to agree areas for mutual recognition, without compromising EU safety standards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS hospital trusts are not placed in special measures.

Ben Gummer

The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) rigorous inspection regime means that the full picture of services at a particular provider is known and published, and if required, the provider knows what it must do to improve.

Importantly, if the Chief Inspector finds serious failures in quality of care and where there are concerns that existing leadership cannot make the necessary improvements without support, he can recommend that the trust be placed into Special Measures.

Poor care should not be tolerated and Special Measures ensures trusts receive a tailored package of support to enable them to improve.

The CQC uses a risk-assessment approach to inform the order in which providers are inspected. This means where there are concerns about a particular provider they are inspected as a priority, allowing action to be taken earlier.

Early intervention is important and these inspections allow the CQC to get a much more detailed picture in hospitals. If the Chief Inspector concludes that the care needs to improve, he can recommend Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority take action.

The NHS Trust Development Authority and Monitor oversee, manage performance and, in Monitor’s case for foundation trusts, regulate hospital trusts. Both organisations have a number of options at their disposal to support trusts if they have concerns about their performance before they reach the stage where Special Measures may be required.

In establishing NHS Improvement, we are bringing these two organisations together meaning all NHS providers will be able to access the same support and be subject to the same types of intervention. NHS Improvement will foster, nurture and share best practice. It will help to drive and support both urgent operational improvement at the frontline and the long term sustainability of the healthcare system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of the desirability of including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease on the long-term prescription list.

George Freeman

We have not made an assessment of the desirability of including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease on the list of medical exemptions which provide exemption from prescription charges.

Other exemption arrangements are in place, in England, based on age and income, to support those who cannot afford to pay for their prescriptions. Additionally, for those who need multiple prescriptions and do not qualify for exemption, Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPC) can be purchased, which allow someone to claim as many prescriptions as needed. A 12 month PPC costs £104 and benefits anyone who needs 13 or more prescriptions a year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 12065, which EU and US regulators and which representatives from the UK are assessing the Comparing Motor-Vehicle Crash Risk of EU and US Vehicles report; and whether that assessment will take account of the report’s finding that there is 33 per cent greater risk in front-end collisions of US vehicles compared to EU vehicles.

Anna Soubry

The report is being assessed by the European Commission’s Directorate General for GROWTH, and the US regulator National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The report will help inform negotiations, but is the first side-by-side comparison of predicted risk for EU-regulated and US-regulated vehicles. It recommends further work to replicate results, identify patterns, and establish links between results, design and regulatory differences.

The European Commission has commissioned its own research into vehicle safety and has published the findings so far on its website. Negotiators will look to use all of the evidence available to ensure we capture the trade benefits without compromising EU safety standards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children with autism spectrum disorders are excluded from secondary school in Year 10; and what comparative assessment she has made of the level of such exclusions in Year 10 and in other years.

Edward Timpson

In the academic year 2013/14, there were 700 fixed period exclusions and 10 permanent exclusions for Year 10 pupils with an autistic spectrum disorder primary need. In percentage terms, 15.33% of such pupils were excluded for a fixed period, while 0.23% were permanently excluded.

A table showing the number of exclusions for these pupils is attached. The rate of exclusions for these Year 10 pupils is consistent with the rate in Years 7 through 11.

We recognise that pupils with an autism spectrum disorder can be vulnerable to exclusion. The department is working with the National Autistic Society and is funding their project to help reduce exclusions. The project includes advice to professionals on early intervention, information for parents and guidance on good practice in alternative provision.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make identity theft a criminal offence.

Mike Penning

Where a person steals somebody’s identity documents and/or uses somebody else’s identity to access a bank account or to make some other kind of financial gain, he or she can already be prosecuted under existing theft and fraud offences. We have no plans to create additional offences.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what options are available to parents who cannot send their children to a co-educated secondary school because of a lack of local availability and do not wish to set up a free school themselves.

Edward Timpson

Local authorities are under a statutory duty to provide a sufficient supply of schools and school places that meet the needs of the communities they serve.

When a parent is refused a school place they have an unqualified right of appeal to an independent appeal panel. The decision of the appeal panel is binding – if the appeal is upheld, the admission authority must offer the child a place at the school.

If a local authority decides that there is a need for additional co-educational places in its area, it could either expand an existing co-educational school or set up a new Free School, via the free school presumption route.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assistance her Department provides to children with special educational needs (SEN) in cases where there are no available places at SEN specialist schools.

Edward Timpson

The Department has put in place a statutory framework which provides assistance to children with special educational needs (SEN).

This framework requires local authorities to assess children’s needs and to keep provision under review in their area so that they provide appropriate placements for children with SEN. Local authorities must also publicise the support they provide through a local offer of services and they must review their local offer regularly, involving parents and children.

Since September 2014, when a child has more complex needs, an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan may be issued. Local authorities have a statutory duty to make the special educational provision set out in EHC plans. Where parents ask for a preferred educational setting to be named within a plan, that setting is under a duty to admit the child unless it is unsuitable for the child’s age, aptitude, ability and special educational needs, or placing the child at the school would be incompatible with the efficient education of others or the efficient use of resources.

The Department has made it possible for local authorities to commission a range of specialist SEN provision including special units and resourced provision in mainstream schools and special schools (including special academies). Local authorities may also use placements in non-maintained and independent special schools.

The Department has created the opportunity for applicants to apply to open Special Free Schools under the Free Schools programme, where there is real, local demand from parents for a new or different type of education to benefit local children and their families. There are currently 19 Special Free Schools open.