Tag: Wayne David

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria his Department has set to ensure that people who carry out personal independence payment assessments for Capita are fully qualified medically.

Justin Tomlinson

All Health Professionals (HPs) undertaking assessments on behalf of DWP must be registered practitioners who have also met requirements around training, experience and competence.

Approval to work as an HP must be conferred by the DWP Chief Medical Adviser on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

For the delivery of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments, they must be an occupational therapist, level 1 nurse, physiotherapist, paramedic or doctor. They must also be fully registered and have at least two years’ post full-registration experience.

In addition to their profession, the Department recognises the importance of ensuring that individuals also have sufficient experience, skills and training to carry out their duties and PIP providers are required to ensure that the HPs carrying out assessments have knowledge of the clinical aspects and likely functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments. This means that all HPs receive comprehensive training in disability analysis which includes a functional evaluation as to how medical conditions and the long-term medical treatment of those conditions affect an individual’s ability to perform day-to-day activities. Prior to carrying out an assessment the HP routinely refreshes their knowledge of any condition with which they are not fully familiar.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 2.149 of the Spending Review, where he expects job cuts in his Department; and how many such jobs he expects to be cut.

Dominic Raab

The Secretary of State for Justice has set out his vision for a one nation justice system, with swift and certain justice in a reformed courts system and transformed prisons that become places of rehabilitation, not just incarceration. Those on the frontline will be empowered to make the right decisions for those who use their services.

This means a smaller and smarter Whitehall department with less bureaucracy, including savings which do not impact on staff numbers, such as changes to our estate, our major contracts and better use of technology.

We also expect to reduce headquarters and administrative headcount and costs over the course of the parliament. This will include reduced reliance on contractors and contingent labour and fewer staff based in expensive London premises.

Final decisions on the scale of staff reductions have not yet been reached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 1.143 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what the evidential basis is for the statement that whiplash claims cost the country £2 billion per year.

Dominic Raab

The government received and analysed data from numerous sources when formulating the announcement in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. The quoted figures were arrived at by combining published industry estimates along with data from government and other sources.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many whiplash claims there have been in each of the last five years.

Dominic Raab

Government data is compiled by the Compensation Recovery Unit at the Department for Work and Pensions. The figures for the number of whiplash claims are shown in the table below:

Year	Total Motor PI Claims	Total Whiplash (including claims for neck and back)
2010/11	790,000	740,000
2011/12	830,000	760,000
2012/13	820,000	750,000
2013/14	770,000	700,000
2014/15	760,000	690,000

The Government remains concerned about the number of claims and the impact they have on motor insurance premiums. Despite an overall decrease since 2011/12, claims volumes are still at historically high levels, being some 50% higher than in 2006. In his Autumn Statement the Chancellor therefore announced tough new measures to control costs and reduce the number of unnecessary whiplash claims made.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on families of prisoners of the sale of inner-city prisons and their replacement with out of town buildings.

Andrew Selous

In looking at our strategy for the future configuration of the prison estate, we will consider a range of factors including the ability of families to access visits. Beyond the closure of HMP Holloway, no decision on further closures, or where any new prisons will be sited, has been made.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prisoners are taking part in drug and alcohol treatment programmes (a) in total and (b) in each prison in England and Wales.

Jane Ellison

Public Health England provides local information for performance monitoring in the restricted access section of the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System website, but does not publish national data centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children in England and Wales who have a parent in custody.

Andrew Selous

The information requested is not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many visits have been made by one or more children to a parent in custody in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous

This information is not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent from the public purse on Christmas parties across the prison estate in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous

This information is not held centrally.

There are no centralised funds available for Christmas parties within the prison estate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much will be spent from the public purse on Christmas parties (a) in each prison and (b) across the prison estate in 2015.

Andrew Selous

There will be no Christmas parties held in any prison across the prison estate in 2015.

There are no public funds or opportunities provided to facilitate Christmas parties for prisoners.