Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visas for refugee family reunion were granted outside the rules in 2017.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Statistics on refugee family reunion can be found in Home Office Asylum tables volume 5, table as_21_q – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/734178/asylum5-jun-2018-tables.ods
Information can also be found in the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration re-inspection of the family reunion process, focusing on applications received at the Amman Entry Clearance Decision Making Centre: :https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/737724/Final_Artwork_Reinspection_Family_Reunion_Amman.pdf
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on the incineration of waste.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Government’s policy is that incineration should not compete with greater waste prevention, re-use and recycling. As part of the Government’s overall waste policy energy from waste plays a role in meeting the UK’s landfill diversion targets.
The Government is committed to recovering the maximum amount of energy from incinerated waste. It also encourages and supports the utilisation of heat and/or the production of other outputs beyond electricity.
The Resource and Waste Strategy will be published later this year and will set out how we will maximise the value we get from resources and minimise waste. It will set out how we will achieve zero avoidable plastic waste, double the UK’s resource productivity by 2042, and achieve zero avoidable waste of all kinds by 2050.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria the Care Quality Commission uses to determine the closure timeframe for a care home subsequent to a below standard rating and inadequate remedial action since that rating was given.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has provided the following response.
For urgent closures, the CQC’s enforcement policy is in line with the thresholds set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008, Section 30 where there is a serious risk to a person’s life, health or well-being. The CQC must apply to a Justice of the Peace for an order cancelling the registration of a person as a service provider or manager in respect of a regulated activity.
Closures may also take place on a non-urgent basis. This may be related to the poor quality of a service and/or its lack of capacity or capability to improve. Where a service is rated Requires Improvement overall, but one of the CQC’s five key inspection domains (is the service Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-Led?) is rated Inadequate, the CQC will re-inspect the service within six months. If the service remains rated as Inadequate in any of the five key inspection domains, the service will enter Special Measures. This is the same process for a service rated overall as Inadequate, which enters Special Measures straight away.
For services in Special Measures, the CQC expects the provider to seek appropriate support to improve the quality of the service. The CQC may signpost the provider to improvement support agencies. The CQC will inspect the service again within six months of the date of publication of the inspection report placing it in Special Measures. The CQC will always prioritise and respond to risk, so may re-inspect at any time.
The maximum time for a service to be in Special Measures is usually no more than 12 months. If, at the end of that period, the service still has a rating of Inadequate in any of the five key inspection domains or overall, the CQC will decide whether to cancel or suspend its registration, or vary or impose conditions on its registration.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will publish the outcome of the joint mapping exercise on border arrangements between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland carried out by those negotiating on behalf of the Government and the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, David Davis, has written to the Chair of the Exiting the EU Committee, Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, committing to publishing the results of the North-South cooperation mapping exercise as soon as they are available.
Currently, the joint mapping exercise remains part of ongoing negotiations with the EU and further work has been agreed to finalise it.
We are hopeful that we can conclude this soon. We would, of course, seek to coordinate any release of information with the European Commission.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received on introducing a part-time season ticket for rail.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department has received Parliamentary questions and correspondence from public and Parliamentarians about the introduction of part-time season tickets. We, of course, continue to challenge the rail industry to develop proposals for pricing and delivering more flexible ticketing options for those who work or commute part-time and progress is being made by the industry. c2c have a Flexi-Season on a smart card. Arriva Trains Wales have introduced a Mobile Multi-Flex product for customers in Cardiff and the surrounding areas. In addition both the recently announced South Western and West Midlands franchises include the announcement of a new flexible season ticket which will benefit people working fewer than 5 days a week.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received on introducing a part-time season ticket for rail.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department has received Parliamentary questions and correspondence from public and Parliamentarians about the introduction of part-time season tickets. We, of course, continue to challenge the rail industry to develop proposals for pricing and delivering more flexible ticketing options for those who work or commute part-time and progress is being made by the industry. c2c have a Flexi-Season on a smart card. Arriva Trains Wales have introduced a Mobile Multi-Flex product for customers in Cardiff and the surrounding areas. In addition both the recently announced South Western and West Midlands franchises include the announcement of a new flexible season ticket which will benefit people working fewer than 5 days a week.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on the provision in the NHS of interpretation services for refugees.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The National Health Service should provide appropriate interpreting services to all patients requiring them. Individuals who experience a communications barrier, such as people whose first language is not English and who may need to communicate in another language, may require the provision of interpreting and translation services. This complies with the Equality Act 2010, the Human Rights Act 1998 and / or other legislative present provisions. In the case of those with a sensory impairment (such as British Sign Language speakers or braille readers), there are explicit obligations to make reasonable adjustments, provided by the Equality Act 2010 and the Accessible Information Standard.
This makes it imperative for organisations to provide appropriate language and communication support to ensure that patients are able to communicate effectively and appropriately with clinicians and other health service professionals.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timescale is for his Department’s review of Companies House.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
In line with Cabinet Office guidance*, the Department will undertake a tailored review of Companies House within this Parliament.
*https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tailored-reviews-of-public-bodies-guidance
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has received from (a) the Burial and Cremation Advisory Group and (b) other stakeholders on the reuse of graves; and whether his Department plans to continue to review the matter of such reuse.
Answered by Phillip Lee
We continue to keep the issue of burial space under review and to maintain a dialogue about it with the Burial and Cremation Advisory Group - an expert group which meets twice yearly and is chaired by the Ministry of Justice - and other stakeholders.
In addition, as part of its 13th Programme of Law Reform, the Law Commission will be undertaking a project to consider the modernisation and streamlining of burial and cremation law, with a view to putting forward a legal framework for the future.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, for what reason the Answer of 16 November 2017 to Question 113491 did not indicate when he plans to publish a future partnership or position paper on (a) services and (b) financial services.
Answered by Robin Walker
On 15 December the European Council confirmed that we will move onto the second phase of negotiations, including discussions on the future relationship. Decisions on the publication of any future UK papers are a matter for the UK Government. We have published 14 detailed papers on the negotiations to date and will continue to set out our positions at the appropriate time. We are seeking a deal that should allow for the freest possible trade in goods and services, including financial services, between Britain and the EU’s member states.