Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information her Department holds on the number of complaints that were submitted to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman about His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service in each year since 2015.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service does not hold the data requested.
The number of complaints submitted to the Parliamentary and Heath Service Ombudsman will be information held by them.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper, published 16 December 2024, whether it is her policy that mayors in Mayoral Strategic Authorities will be elected through proportional representation.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has no plans at this time to change the voting system for mayoral elections.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it her policy that the proposed UKADS will assess the (a) environmental and (b) health impacts of new flight paths.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The proposed UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS) will be focused on delivering holistic and modernised airspace design for the UK.
As is currently the case, the UKADS would still be required to follow the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA’s) CAP1616 Airspace Change Proposal (ACP) process. CAP1616 sets out how sponsors of airspace change must undertake full, comprehensive environmental assessments for airspace options which are under consideration.
All ACPs must also allow for sufficient consultation to take place with those potentially affected by the proposed changes.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of uncompleted Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard applications per year since 2009.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The annual Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessments consist of data collected from local authorities in England, who are the supervisory bodies for authorising deprivations of liberty for adults in care homes and hospitals. The aim of this publication is to inform users about aspects of DoLS activity.
Since the Cheshire West court ruling in 2014, the definition of a ‘deprivation of liberty’ under DoLS widened, and so did the number of cases local authorities had to assess. The increase in cases has led to a backlog. The following table shows the number of Deprivation of Liberty Protection Safeguard applications received, completed, and not completed, each year from 2013/14 to 2023/24:
Year | Total number of applications received | Total number of completed applications | Total number of applications not completed |
2013/14 | 13,715 | 13,040 | N/A |
2014/15 | 137,540 | 62,645 | N/A |
2015/16 | 195,840 | 105,055 | 101,740 |
2016/17 | 217,235 | 151,970 | 108,545 |
2017/18 | 227,400 | 181,785 | 125,630 |
2018/19 | 240,455 | 216,005 | 131,350 |
2019/20 | 263,940 | 243,300 | 129,780 |
2020/21 | 256,610 | 246,025 | 119,740 |
2021/22 | 270,650 | 254,215 | 124,145 |
2022/23 | 300,765 | 289,150 | 126,100 |
2023/24 | 332,455 | 323,870 | 123,790 |
Source: data is published by NHS Digital, and is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-capacity-act-2005-deprivation-of-liberty-safeguards-assessments
Data was not routinely collected on applications not completed prior to 2015/16.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was for a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard to be processed for standard authorisation per year since 2009.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The annual Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessments consist of data collected by NHS Digital from local authorities in England, who are the supervisory bodies for authorising deprivations of liberty for adults in care homes and hospitals. The aim of this publication is to inform users about the aspects of DoLS activity. NHS Digital collects data on the average length of time for all completed DoLS applications. The statutory deadline for a standard authorisation is 21 days, and seven days for an urgent authorisation. This data was not routinely collected prior to 2016/17.
The following table shows the number of granted authorisation of standard applications and the mean average number of days for standard authorisation of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards applications, each year from 2016/17 to 2023/24:
Year | Number of granted authorisations from standard applications | Mean duration of actual authorisation period in days for standard applications |
2016/17 | 30,865 | 226 |
2017/18 | 51,995 | 250 |
2018/19 | 63,020 | 264 |
2019/20 | 69,895 | 271 |
2020/21 | 75,995 | 270 |
2021/22 | 68,565 | 269 |
2022/23 | 75,065 | 270 |
2023/24 | 80,150 | 276 |
Source: data is published by NHS Digital, and is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-capacity-act-2005-deprivation-of-liberty-safeguards-assessments
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help tackle the practice of reselling driving test slots.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests.
DVSA deploys enhanced bot protection on its public facing booking system to stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing and DVSA continues to take steps to block cancellation services from accessing the booking system.
DVSA operates an online booking service (OBS) for Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) and trainers so that they can book and manage driving and riding tests for their pupils. DVSA has made changes to the OBS by stopping automatic online registrations to use the service, ensuring each company that registers employs an ADI and removing access for any companies not linked to driving instructors.
In January 2023, DVSA changed its booking service terms and conditions to help prevent anyone from selling tests at profit. Since then, the DVSA has issued 327 warnings, 779 suspensions, and closed 727 business accounts for misuse of its booking service.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has set a target for the impact of the Office for Value for Money on Government expenditure in each of the next three financial years.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Office for Value for Money has two primary roles. First, to provide targeted interventions, working with Treasury and departments, so that value for money governs every decision government makes. Second, to recommend system reforms to ensure any changes support the government’s missions and deliver value for money.
The Office for Value for Money will be a time-limited team. Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, the Office will evaluate the effectiveness of systems reforms, and its impact on the wider spending architecture.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of the Office for Value for Money on Government expenditure in each of the next three financial years.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Office for Value for Money has two primary roles. First, to provide targeted interventions, working with Treasury and departments, so that value for money governs every decision government makes. Second, to recommend system reforms to ensure any changes support the government’s missions and deliver value for money.
The Office for Value for Money will be a time-limited team. Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, the Office will evaluate the effectiveness of systems reforms, and its impact on the wider spending architecture.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in the Office for Value for Money have a salary over £100,000.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Office for Value for Money has one member of staff with a salary of over £100,000. This is within the pay range for Senior Civil Service Directors across government.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for pension credit there were from 28t October 2024 to 4 November 2024.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Data on how many Pension Credit applications made between 1 April 2024 and 22 September 2024 was recently published on gov.uk, Weekly Pension Credit claims received from 1 April 2024 to 22 September 2024 - GOV.UK.
On 28 October 2024, The Department announcedupdated Pension Credit applications and award statistics will be published on 28 November 2024. This publication will provide application volumes after 22 September 2024.