Baroness McDonagh

Labour - Life peer

Became Member: 24th June 2004

Left House: 24th June 2023 (Death)


Baroness McDonagh is not a member of any APPGs
House Committee (Lords)
16th May 2013 - 31st Aug 2016


Division Voting information

Baroness McDonagh has voted in 880 divisions, and 6 times against the majority of their Party.

21 Jan 2021 - Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill - View Vote Context
Baroness McDonagh voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 11 Labour Aye votes vs 116 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 29 Noes - 440
12 Dec 2012 - Crime and Courts Bill [HL] - View Vote Context
Baroness McDonagh voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 17 Labour No votes vs 23 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 150 Noes - 54
9 Jul 2009 - Coroners and Justice Bill - View Vote Context
Baroness McDonagh voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 19 Labour No votes vs 85 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 133 Noes - 186
7 Jul 2009 - Coroners and Justice Bill - View Vote Context
Baroness McDonagh voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 39 Labour No votes vs 69 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 141 Noes - 194
15 Jun 2009 - Political Parties and Elections Bill - View Vote Context
Baroness McDonagh voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 41 Labour No votes vs 45 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 107 Noes - 85
11 May 2009 - Postal Services Bill [HL] - View Vote Context
Baroness McDonagh voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 14 Labour Aye votes vs 86 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 25 Noes - 228
View All Baroness McDonagh Division Votes

All Debates

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lord Strathclyde (Conservative)
(9 debate interactions)
Lord Callanan (Conservative)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
(5 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Leader of the House
(25 debate contributions)
Wales Office
(24 debate contributions)
Department for Work and Pensions
(8 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Baroness McDonagh's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Baroness McDonagh, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


1 Bill introduced by Baroness McDonagh


A bill to impose certain duties upon Her Majesty's Government to ensure the accuracy, completeness and utility of electoral registers; to make provision for the sharing of data for the purposes of electoral registration; and for connected purposes.

Lords - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Lords
Tuesday 9th June 2015

Baroness McDonagh has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 41 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
1 Other Department Questions
7th Jan 2019
To ask the Leader of the House why dates for the committee stage of the Trade Bill in the House of Lords were not scheduled more quickly after the bill's second reading.

The committee stage of the Trade bill has been arranged in the usual way, having been subject to ongoing discussions in the Usual Channels. So far the three of an anticipated four dates for Committee stage are 21, 23 and 30 January and they have been advertised in Forthcoming Business. The remaining day will be rescheduled as a day had to be set aside for for the House to have a further debate under section 13 of the EU (Withdrawal) Act, which is now scheduled for 28 January. The recommended intervals between Bill stages are minimums, and it is not unusual for there to be a longer pause between stages than the recommended minimum interval.

21st Nov 2018
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster at the Business Services Association Annual Chairman’s Dinner on 19 November, for how long the Cabinet Office anticipates that pilots of new outsourced services will last.

The nature of the pilots for new outsourced services will depend on the specific service provision. Individual departments will consider the most appropriate route and timeframe for piloting new outsourced services as part of the Business Case approval process which will include the appropriate governance and approval process in departments and central approvals through HM Treasury and Cabinet Office.

21st Nov 2018
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster at the Business Services Association Annual Chairman’s Dinner on 19 November, what criteria determined the selection of Serco, Capita, Sopra Steria, Engie and Interserve in producing the first set of "living wills".

Serco, Capita, Sopra Steria, Engie and Interserve all volunteered to pilot the use of “living wills”. We will reflect the results of this pilot as we deploy “living wills” across all suppliers providing critical services.

21st Nov 2018
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster at the Business Services Association Annual Chairman’s Dinner on 19 November, what are the Key Performance Indicators for critical government contracts; which contracts the Key Performance Indicators will apply to; and whether there will be a statutory duty on suppliers to publish Key Performance Indicators.

We will be publishing performance data on our most important contracts in the coming months and are currently working with departments and industry to finalise the details of publication. The published performance data will be contract specific and depend on the service provision.

21st Nov 2018
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster at the Business Services Association Annual Chairman’s Dinner on 19 November, how the Key Performance Indicators for critical government contracts were selected; which stakeholders were consulted; and whether the Key Performance Indicators will be reviewed.

We will be publishing performance data on our most important contracts in the coming months and are currently working with departments and industry to finalise the details of publication. The published performance data will be contract specific and depend on the service provision.

21st Nov 2018
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster at the Business Services Association Annual Chairman’s Dinner on 19 November, what "key information’ would have "smoothed the management of liquidation" following the collapse of Carillion.

The Government maintained the continuity of key public services after Carillion announced its decision to initiate insolvency proceedings in January 2018. The Official Receiver was appointed by the court as liquidator, along with PwC as Special Managers.

The Government took immediate action to minimise the impact on employees and employers by providing reassurance that those working on public sector contracts would continue to be paid and providing the necessary funding required to maintain public services while Carillion’s public sector contracts were transferred to alternative providers.

In future we will require, all providers of critical services to provide sufficient management information, for example, corporate structure, intra-group trading arrangements and dependencies (including details of shared services), key subcontractor and workforce information.

18th Oct 2018
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the letter by the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to Sir John Kingman, chairman of the Review of the audit regulator, on 8 October, what are the financial and non-financial costs associated with the request to extend the scope of the Independent Review of the Financial Reporting Council.

Sir John Kingman asked not to receive a fee for his role undertaking the independent Review of the Financial Reporting Council. Members of the Review’s Advisory Group are also not remunerated for their involvement.

The additional request to Sir John Kingman to provide his thoughts alongside the Review on whether there is any case for change in the way in which audits are procured and audit fees are set will be accommodated in existing costs and allocated resources.

18th Oct 2018
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the letter by the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to Sir John Kingman, chairman of the Review of the audit regulator, on 8 October asking for the scope of the Independent Review of the Financial Reporting Council to be extended, whether additional resources have been provided or requested to assist in the completion of that investigation.

Sir John Kingman asked not to receive a fee for his role undertaking the independent Review of the Financial Reporting Council. Members of the Review’s Advisory Group are also not remunerated for their involvement.

The additional request to Sir John Kingman to provide his thoughts alongside the Review on whether there is any case for change in the way in which audits are procured and audit fees are set will be accommodated in existing costs and allocated resources.

18th Oct 2018
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish the minutes of the September meeting of the Independent Review of the Financial Reporting Council; and if so, when.

In accordance with the Review’s terms of reference, a summary of the discussion held at the September 2018 meeting of the Review’s Advisory Group will be made available in due course.

12th Dec 2017
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they (1) received from HMRC, and (2) gave to local authorities, on sleeping-in payments over the last ten years.

All businesses – irrespective of their size or business sector – are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff.

It is not uncommon for employment law to be clarified in the courts and tribunals. Employment Tribunal judgments have, over time, clarified the position on what constitutes “work” in connection with sleeping time and therefore when the NMW is payable for sleep-in shifts. Government guidance issued in February 2015 included clarification from those judgments. Ministers from BEIS and the Department of Health most recently wrote to Local Authorities on 27 October 2017 regarding payment of NMW or NLW for sleep-in shifts to ensure clarity on those rules.

The Government recognises that the cumulative financial liability of penalties and arrears of wages associated with “sleep in” shifts could pose challenges to some providers in the social care sector. It is exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector and has opened discussions with the European Commission. It also introduced the interim Social Care Compliance Scheme (SCCS) on 1 November, which gives providers in the sector 12 months in which to conduct a self-review of any arrears and then up to three months in which to re-pay workers.

12th Dec 2017
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the impact on charities and other voluntary organisations providing social care of new advice on the statutory provision of sleeping-in payments.

All businesses – irrespective of their size or business sector – are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff.

It is not uncommon for employment law to be clarified in the courts and tribunals. Employment Tribunal judgments have, over time, clarified the position on what constitutes “work” in connection with sleeping time and therefore when the NMW is payable for sleep-in shifts. Government guidance issued in February 2015 included clarification from those judgments. Ministers from BEIS and the Department of Health most recently wrote to Local Authorities on 27 October 2017 regarding payment of NMW or NLW for sleep-in shifts to ensure clarity on those rules.

The Government recognises that the cumulative financial liability of penalties and arrears of wages associated with “sleep in” shifts could pose challenges to some providers in the social care sector. It is exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector and has opened discussions with the European Commission. It also introduced the interim Social Care Compliance Scheme (SCCS) on 1 November, which gives providers in the sector 12 months in which to conduct a self-review of any arrears and then up to three months in which to re-pay workers.

18th Jul 2019
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the closure of Sure Start centres.

Since 18 September 2017, data on Sure Start children’s centres has been supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools database portal, which can be found at the following link: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Based on information supplied by local authorities as at 30 June 2019, 587 Sure Start children’s centres had closed since April 2010[1]. However, councils are reconfiguring services to deliver them more efficiently. If a council decides to close a Sure Start children’s centre, statutory guidance requires them to demonstrate that local children and families will not be adversely affected. There were more children's centres open in spring 2019 than at any time under Tony Blair's premiership.

Since 2010, the government has extended the entitlement to free early years education so that more children than ever can benefit from this. We introduced an entitlement to 15 hours a week of free early education for the most disadvantaged 2-year-olds (a programme that was not available before 2010). More than 850,000 disadvantaged 2-year-olds have benefitted from free early education places since the introduction of the programme in 2013. There are now more than 22,000 providers delivering places for disadvantaged 2-year-olds.

The department is already starting to see progress. Take-up of places for disadvantaged 2-year-olds has risen from 58% in 2015 to 68% in 2019. The department remains committed to increasing take up. In addition, the 2017/18 Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results show that the proportion of all children achieving a ‘good level of development’ improved in 2018, with 71.5% of children achieving a good level of development, up from 51.7% in 2013.

[1] Based on information supplied by local authorities as at 1 July 2019. These figures may be different to previous answers, and could change again in the future, as local authorities may update the database at any time.

15th Jul 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech on a New Deal for Britain by the Prime Minister on 30 June, what are the 29 road network projects that they have committed to funding this year; and how much money they will allocate to each such project.

On 30 June the Department for Transport announced funding of £100.445 million for 29 local highway maintenance projects through the Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund, following a competition. All grant will be paid in summer 2020. The projects are listed in the attached table.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
2nd Mar 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how local and regional authorities will be consulted in the development of the Integrated Rail Plan for the Midlands and the north.

The Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands is being led by the Government, with inputs from the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure Projects Authority. The Government will engage on a formal basis with Northern and Midlands leaders.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
2nd Mar 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether an independent individual, or individuals, will be engaged to prepare the Integrated Rail Plan for the Midlands and the north.

The Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) will be led by Government and will be informed by independent assessments from the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA). The Integrated Rail Plan will be developed with input from Northern and Midlands leaders.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
18th Jul 2019
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been paid in housing benefit to those in private rented accommodation in each year since 2004.

The information you have requested can be found in the following table:

Housing Benefit Expenditure

Private Rented Sector tenants (£ million, nominal terms)

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

3,354

3,716

4,276

4,698

5,624

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

7,572

8,672

9,216

9,272

9,275

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

9,098

8,783

8,291

7,709

10th Jun 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many hospitalised COVID-19 patients also had cardiovascular disease; of these, what is the breakdown by (1) age, (2) sex, and (3) region; and how many of these patients had atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

The information requested is currently being validated and is due to be published in September 2021.

10th Jun 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise the management of cardiovascular diseases with (1) G7 countries, and (2) G20 countries; and whether any such plans include sharing the best practice set out in the Public Health England Strategy 2020–2025, published 10 September 2019.

NHS England and NHS Improvement promoted restoration of cardiovascular disease (CVD) services as a priority, including diagnostic and treatment services for patients with heart failure and heart valve disease, as the peak of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic began to decline.

The United Kingdom Global Better Health Programme contributes to managing the impact of non-communicable diseases, including CVD, in its partner countries through technical collaboration which contributes to the World Health Organization and UN Sustainable Development Goals. The management of CVD has not been recently raised by the UK with G7 countries. The Department has recently commented on a working paper on CVD presented by the Italian Presidency of the G20 major economies. There are currently no plans to share Public Health England’s best practice.

10th Jun 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what priority they are giving to managing cardiovascular diseases after the COVID-19 pandemic; what steps they intend to take (1) to better manage this disease, and (2) to work with international partners to reduce its incidence to meet (a) the WHO goal in 2025, and (b) the UN Sustainable Development Goal in 2030.

NHS England and NHS Improvement promoted restoration of cardiovascular disease (CVD) services as a priority, including diagnostic and treatment services for patients with heart failure and heart valve disease, as the peak of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic began to decline.

The United Kingdom Global Better Health Programme contributes to managing the impact of non-communicable diseases, including CVD, in its partner countries through technical collaboration which contributes to the World Health Organization and UN Sustainable Development Goals. The management of CVD has not been recently raised by the UK with G7 countries. The Department has recently commented on a working paper on CVD presented by the Italian Presidency of the G20 major economies. There are currently no plans to share Public Health England’s best practice.

14th Jul 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for their policies of the review by Professor Philip Calder of the University of Southampton Nutrition, immunity and COVID-19, published on 20 May in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health.

Public Health England (PHE) is aware of the paper by Professor Calder. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) considered the paper as part of a recent scoping exercise on nutrition and immunity. Interim conclusions of the committee were that there is currently a lack of robust evidence to suggest that specific nutrients or nutritional supplements can reduce the risk or severity of COVID-19. SACN and PHE will keep this topic under review.

14th Jul 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the review by François Trotten of the University of Lille and Harry Sokel of the Sorbonne Université Potential Causes and Consequences of Gastrointestinal Disorders during a SARS-CoV-2 Infection, published in Cell Report on 3 July.

Whilst there has not been a specific assessment of the review by François Trotten, we keep all evidence under review and note the work highlighted and the recommendation that more research is needed into gastrointestinal conditions in COVID-19 patients and welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health.

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is the largest public funder of health research in the United Kingdom and has been part of a rolling United Kingdom-wide call for proposals that could make a significant contribution to the understanding, prevention and/or management of the COVID-19 and to better understand and manage the health and social care consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic beyond the acute phase.

The NIHR has also published a number of highlight notices to seek research proposals on high-priority areas topics, including on COVID-19 and ethnicity, transmission, and seroprevalence.

18th Jul 2019
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many student nurses there have been in England in each year since 2004.

NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics for England. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.

The following table shows the number of nurses and health visitors and midwives who work in National Health Service trusts and CCGs in England, as at September each year since 2004 and March 2019 (latest available data), full time equivalent. Nurses and health visitors are recorded together so we are unable to provide data solely for nurses.

Nurses and health visitors in NHS Trusts and CCGs

Midwives in NHS Trusts and CCGS

September 2004

268,704

18,137

September 2005

276,086

18,326

September 2006

277,387

18,380

September 2007

275,211

18,751

September 2008

281,021

18,896

September 2009

278,470

18,959

September 2010

279,883

19,487

September 2011

277,047

19,878

September 2012

271,407

20,214

September 2013

274,627

20,537

September 2014

278,981

20,838

September 2015

281,474

20,934

September 2016

284,288

21,038

September 2017

283,853

21,206

September 2018

285,674

21,323

March 2019

290,010

21,870

Sources: Non-Medical Workforce Census, NHS Digital workforce statistics

The following table shows the number of nursing students commissioned by the Department/Health Education England (HEE) in each year since 2004 and the number of acceptances to nursing degree courses via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Following student finance reform, students starting courses after August 2017 were no longer directly commissioned by HEE.

Nursing students commissioned by the Department/HEE

Number of acceptances to nursing degree courses via UCAS

2004/05

22,933

N/A

2005/06

20,183

N/A

2006/07

20,917

N/A

2007/08

19,147

N/A

2008/09

20,323

N/A

2009/10

20,366

N/A

2010/11

19,908

N/A

2011/12

17,633

N/A

2012/13

17,115

N/A

2013/14

17,568

N/A

2014/15

19,147

N/A

2015/16

19,951

N/A

2016/17

20,888

N/A

2017/18

N/A

19,515

2018/19

N/A

19,035

Sources: HEE-Education Commissioning Dataset, UCAS end of cycle data 2018

18th Jul 2019
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many midwives were employed in England in each year since 2004.

NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics for England. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.

The following table shows the number of nurses and health visitors and midwives who work in National Health Service trusts and CCGs in England, as at September each year since 2004 and March 2019 (latest available data), full time equivalent. Nurses and health visitors are recorded together so we are unable to provide data solely for nurses.

Nurses and health visitors in NHS Trusts and CCGs

Midwives in NHS Trusts and CCGS

September 2004

268,704

18,137

September 2005

276,086

18,326

September 2006

277,387

18,380

September 2007

275,211

18,751

September 2008

281,021

18,896

September 2009

278,470

18,959

September 2010

279,883

19,487

September 2011

277,047

19,878

September 2012

271,407

20,214

September 2013

274,627

20,537

September 2014

278,981

20,838

September 2015

281,474

20,934

September 2016

284,288

21,038

September 2017

283,853

21,206

September 2018

285,674

21,323

March 2019

290,010

21,870

Sources: Non-Medical Workforce Census, NHS Digital workforce statistics

The following table shows the number of nursing students commissioned by the Department/Health Education England (HEE) in each year since 2004 and the number of acceptances to nursing degree courses via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Following student finance reform, students starting courses after August 2017 were no longer directly commissioned by HEE.

Nursing students commissioned by the Department/HEE

Number of acceptances to nursing degree courses via UCAS

2004/05

22,933

N/A

2005/06

20,183

N/A

2006/07

20,917

N/A

2007/08

19,147

N/A

2008/09

20,323

N/A

2009/10

20,366

N/A

2010/11

19,908

N/A

2011/12

17,633

N/A

2012/13

17,115

N/A

2013/14

17,568

N/A

2014/15

19,147

N/A

2015/16

19,951

N/A

2016/17

20,888

N/A

2017/18

N/A

19,515

2018/19

N/A

19,035

Sources: HEE-Education Commissioning Dataset, UCAS end of cycle data 2018

21st Nov 2018
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget announcement that a new Private Finance Initiative unit will be established within the Department of Health and Social Care, how many staff will work in that unit; whether additional resources are being made available for that unit; and how many contracts that unit will be responsible for monitoring.

The Chancellor announced in the 2018 Budget that the Department would be establishing a Centre of Best Practice to improve the management of existing Private Finance Initiative contracts in the National Health Service. The Department and Her Majesty’s Treasury are currently discussing the configuration and resourcing of the Centre of Best Practice.

12th Dec 2017
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much is owed to social care workers for sleeping-in payments for the provision of statutory care that was commissioned by (1) government agencies, and (2) local authorities; and from what funds it is anticipated that those payments will be paid.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Social care is usually commissioned by local authorities but it can also be commissioned by the National Health Service or paid for by self-funding individuals.

A piece of market analysis was commissioned over the summer to better understand the scale of the liabilities associated with sleep-in shifts.

The Government is in the process of further refining this work to provide more robust information. The interim enforcement approach announced by the Government on 1 November is designed to maximise the prospects of workers being paid arrears owed to them as soon as possible, while at the same time protecting existing jobs. The Government recognises the pressures these liabilities are placing on providers of social care, and we are exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector.

28th Nov 2016
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what communications they regard as necessary with carers, or future carers, before patients are discharged from hospital.

The involvement of patients and their carers is central to timely and appropriate discharge from hospital. Each hospital’s discharge policy should set out how patients and carers will be involved and discharge arrangements discussed.

Discussions should include providing full information about the options available and supplying patients and carers with a discharge plan.

28th Nov 2016
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether communication with carers before patients are discharged from hospital will be included in the forthcoming carers strategy.

The forthcoming carers strategy will reiterate the importance of ensuring that families and carers are involved in the planning of hospital discharge and the role of local partners in ensuring this works well in practice.

The strategy will also highlight the range of guidance and support available to local areas and to families.

30th Jun 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many nursing training places were available in each year since 2000.

The following table shows the number of pre-registration nursing places (degree and diploma courses) that were available for each year since 2000.

Year

Nurse training places

2000-01

19,460

2001-02

20,668

2002-03

21,949

2003-04

23,553

2004-05

24,956

2005-06

24,520

2006-07

22,964

2007-08

21,569

2008-09

21,732

2009-10

21,337

2010-11

20,327

2011-12

18,069

2012-13

17,546

2013-14

18,056

2014-15

19,206

2015-16

20,033

Source: Data provided to the Department of Health by the commissioners of pre-registration training

In December 2014, Health Education England published their Workforce Plan for England which includes their planned Education & Training Commissions for 2015-16.

21st Oct 2014
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the impact since 2009 of the closure of accident and emergency departments on neighbouring hospitals.

The reconfiguration of local health services is a matter for the local National Health Service. All service changes should be led by clinicians and be in the best interests of patients, not driven from the top down.

It is for NHS commissioners and providers to work together, with local authorities, patients and the public, in bringing forward proposals that will improve the quality, safety and sustainability of healthcare services.

Any changes must be supported by the Government’s four tests for service change, namely:

- support from general practitioner commissioners;

- clarity on the clinical evidence base;

- robust patient and public engagement; and

- support for patient choice.

Once a decision on a local case for change has been made, it is up to the NHS to ensure its local services meet the needs of its population.

More generally, we would expect any local plans for changes to acute services to take full account of the impact on neighbouring hospitals.

Earl Howe
Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
21st Oct 2014
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many general practitioners have been dismissed by primary care trusts, or by the Care Quality Commission, in each year since 2005.

The information requested is not centrally collected. Departmental officials are aware that the General Medical Council does collect some demographic data about doctors and this is published in its annual report ‘The state of medical education and practice in the UK’.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, has registered all general practitioner (GP) practices since April 2012. The CQC’s role is to inspect and regulate GP practices, including those practices run by single-handed GPs. The CQC regulates at a provider level and may remove a practice’s registration where care is not meeting the required standard. Actions taken against an individual GP would be the responsibility of NHS England for contractual issues and the General Medical Council for professional issues.

Earl Howe
Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
21st Oct 2014
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost to date of the reorganisation of the National Health Service as a result of the reforms in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

I announced in my Written Ministerial Statement of 23 July 2014, columns WS135-136, that the costs of implementing policies in the Health and Social Care Act incurred to 31 March 2014 were £1,316 million. This is the latest available figure.

These costs have been more than covered by the savings arising from the Health and Social Care Act, which up to 31 March 2014, were approximately £4.9 billion.

Earl Howe
Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
15th Jul 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech on a New Deal for Britain by the Prime Minister on 30 June, who are the members of the Infrastructure Delivery Taskforce named ‘Project Speed’; and when that taskforce will first meet.

The Infrastructure Delivery Taskforce is led by the Chancellor, and comprises ministers and officials from No.10, HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office and the IPA, with other departments invited as required.

The Taskforce meets regularly to ensure the objectives of Project Speed are implemented.

22nd Nov 2018
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement that HMRC will become a preferred creditor in UK insolvencies, what (1) calculations were used, and (2) issues were considered when they concluded that the policy would create an additional £605 million in tax revenue between 2019–20 and 2023–24.

The tax base for this measure consists of company insolvencies with gains resulting from tax avoidance, evasion and phoenixism, in addition to the amount HMRC currently writes off every year due to insolvencies.

This is estimated from HMRC operational and administrative data and is grown in line with the Budget 2018 OBR determinant for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at market prices deflator.

The costing is the tax recovered from insolvencies that HMRC would not otherwise have collected before the policy was implemented. Adjustments are made for tax and payment timing.

The costing accounts for a behavioural response whereby the measure has a deterrent effect on future insolvency as some taxpayers become compliant.

At Budget 2018, the Government published a full assessment of the exchequer impacts which is attached.

2nd Mar 2017
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to permit Irish citizens currently living in the UK to continue to do so following the UK’s exit from the EU.

The close historic, social and cultural ties between the UK and Ireland have led to the creation of additional rights above those associated with common membership of the EU. The special status afforded to Irish citizens within the UK is rooted in the Ireland Act 1949 and, for the people of Northern Ireland, in the 1998 Belfast Agreement. Leaders in the UK and Ireland have confirmed their commitment to protecting the rights enjoyed by UK and Irish nationals when in the other State.

We remain committed to preserving the rights of Irish citizens within the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
15th Jul 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech on a New Deal for Britain by the Prime Minister on 30 June, what are the individual local growth projects in England to which they have allocated £900m; how much funding has been granted to each project; what infrastructure projects will be undertaken in each; and when the funding will be given to each such project.

As part of the New Deal for Britain, we are investing £900 million in a wide range of infrastructure projects through the Getting Building Fund, which will stimulate job creation and support economic recovery. We wrote to all Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships to confirm their individual funding allocations and have requested that final agreed project lists be submitted to Government by Friday 17 July for consideration. Announcements of projects will be made in due course.

28th Nov 2016
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they are using to determine how funds for social care to which local authorities have access will be allocated over the remainder of this Parliament.

Local authorities receive general unringfenced revenue funding to support service delivery, including adult social care, through the local government finance settlement. The government has made a four year funding settlement offer for this Parliament that has been accepted by 97 per cent of councils.

We are also providing up to £3.5 billion additional funding for social care by 2019-20 through a new 2 per cent social care precept and the Improved Better Care Fund. The government consulted on the distribution of the improved Better Care Fund as a part of the local government finance settlement 2017 - 2018 technical consultation. The consultation closed on 28 October and we are currently analysing the responses.

28th Nov 2016
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities will receive resources from the Better Care Fund in order to provide social care.

Spanning the National Health Service and local government, the Better Care Fund creates a single local pooled budget to promote the integration of health and social care services. All upper tier authorities with responsibility for adult social care benefit from the Better Care Fund. In 2015-16, local areas pooled £5.3 billion under the Better Care Fund in 2015-16, including £1.5 billion above the mandated minimum.The government consulted on the distribution of the additional funding from the improved Better Care Fund which comes in from 2017-18 as a part of the local government finance settlement 2017 - 2018 technical consultation. The consultation closed on 28 October and we are currently analysing the responses.

21st Apr 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many sexual assaults have been carried out by trans prisoners against women prisoners and prison officers in prisons in each year since 2010; in which prisons any such assaults took place; and in each case, what action was taken against the perpetrator.

We have strict safeguards in place to care for and manage transgender individuals in custody while protecting our staff and others in custody.

There have been no reported incidents of any type of sexual assault against prison officers by transgender prisoners.

Since 2010, out of the 122 sexual assaults that occurred in the female estate a total of five of those were sexual assaults against females in custody perpetrated by transgender individuals. These occurred at HMP Low Newton, HMP Foston Hall, HMP Peterborough (Female) and HMP Bronzefield. However, we are not able to break this data down year by year, as it may then be used to identify individuals. Information on the action taken against each perpetrator is not held centrally.