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  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to implement health education as a compulsory part of the PSHE curriculum, inspected by Ofsted, from age five to 18, in the light of the recommendation from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Primary Care and Public Health’s Inquiry Report into NHS England’s Five Year Forward View: Behaviour Change, Information and Signposting published in March 2016.

    Lord Nash

    All schools are required to teach a balanced and broadly based curriculum that promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, and prepares them for adult life.

    The national curriculum focuses on the essential knowledge children need so that teachers can design a wider school curriculum that is responsive to the needs of their pupils. This teaching can include a range of topics that fall under PSHE, such as health education and health awareness.

    To help schools plan their provision, the PSHE Association has produced a suggested programme of study for schools to follow, which includes content about ‘Health and Wellbeing’.

    Ofsted do not inspect individual curriculum subjects. Instead, the framework enables important aspects of PSHE to be considered in a proportionate and integrated way, linked to the core inspection areas.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that the Israeli water supplier, Mekorot, reduced water supply to the West Bank during Ramadan.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK regularly raises the issue of water in the OPTs with the Israeli authorities, most recently on 27 June. We continue to stress the urgent need for Israel to take immediate and practical measures to improve the current situation and ensure fair distribution of water in the West Bank and Gaza. We encourage both parties to find a swift resolution to this issue and to reconvene the Joint Water Committee to facilitate approval of projects that will improve Palestinian access to water. We see continuity of supply to the West Bank as essential for both the basic needs of Palestinians and for stability and security more widely.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Secretary of State for Energy will respond to the Committee on Climate Change’s report on the environmental impact of shale gas fracking submitted to the Department of Energy and Climate Change on 30 March.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Government has received the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) report. We are carefully considering the report to ensure it is given the proper consideration it is due.

    Under the Infrastructure Act 2015, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change is required to lay the CCC report and our response before Parliament together. They will be published as soon as practicable once our response is complete.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current state of bilateral relations with Iran a year after the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in Vienna on 14 July 2015.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was agreed in July 2015 which, along with the subsequent lifting of international sanctions, represents a new era in Iran’s relationship with the wider world. Since my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) reopened our Embassy in August 2015, significant progress has been made in developing the bilateral relationship between the UK and Iran. We welcomed Foreign Minister Zarif to London on 4 February 2016, in what was the first bilateral visit of an Iranian Foreign Minister since 2003. We hope to be able to upgrade to the level of Ambassadors in the near future.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, further to the review of clinical trial evidence Comparative efficacy and tolerability of antidepressants for major depressive disorder in children and adolescents: a network meta-analysis published in the Lancet on 8 June, they intend to review clinical guidelines for the prescription of anti-depressant medication for the treatment of major depression in young people.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that it regularly reviews published guidelines as a matter of good practice to check whether an update is warranted.

    NICE is tracking a clinical trial that is anticipated may have significant impact on the recommendations in its guideline on depression in children and young people: identification and management (CG28). A copy of this guideline is attached. NICE is co-ordinating the next review of this guideline to coincide with the publication of the outcomes of the trial, which is expected in February 2017. The Lancet paper will be considered as part of that review.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have a strategy to combat the use of social media as a tool for radicalisation and the promotion of terrorism.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Prevent Strategy sets out the Government’s approach to combatting the use of social media as a tool for radicalisation and the promotion of terrorism, focussing on restricting access to terrorist and extremist content online; supporting those who are challenging them online and helping people resist poisonous ideologies.

    Through the Home Office’s Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU) the Government works with a range of civil society groups to counter extremist ideologies online by providing advice and support to deliver their own online campaigns. 26 RICU supported national campaigns have generated over 29.8 million online engagements since January 2014.

    The police Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) refers content that they assess as contravening UK terrorism legislation or company terms and conditions to Communication Service Providers (CSPs) for removal. Since February 2010, CTIRU has secured the removal of more than 190,000 pieces of online terrorist-related content.

  • Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward proposals to enable people who have previously undertaken university education to be eligible for funded apprenticeships.

    Nick Boles

    Currently the apprenticeship funding rules allow a university graduate to take an apprenticeship standard at a higher level than their current qualification. Further detail on the proposed funding rules that will apply from 2017-18 will be published shortly.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to (a) promote and (b) co-ordinate research into the (i) use and (ii) manufacture of (A) steel, (B) glass, (C) plastics, (D) aluminium, (E) titanium and (F) other alloys.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Innovate UK oversee coordination and promotion of research in these and other areas.

    The White Paper, ‘Success as a Knowledge Economy,’ set out the Government’s plans to create UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI will ensure our research and innovation system is sufficiently integrated, strategic and agile to meet current and future challenges and deliver national capability that drives discovery and growth.

    EPSRC has a portfolio of over £450m of materials-related research covering the breadth of materials (including the metals/alloys identified, glass and plastics), from fundamental physics to the re-use and remanufacture of advanced new alloys and other materials.

    Innovate UK’s Delivery Plan for 2016/17 sets out support through its Manufacturing and Materials Directorate which includes a twice-yearly £15m collaborative research and development fund aimed at both manufacturing and materials.

    Innovate UK has also provided over £70m funding to the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, which includes some materials manufacturing and development research, for example materials research at the National Composite Centre (composites and plastics), the Advanced Forming Research Centre (powder metallurgy), the Manufacturing Technology Centre (Additive Layer Manufacturing) and Centre For Process Innovation (polymer research).

    The Henry Royce Institute has a work stream in Advanced Materials Processing, and will seek to coordinate the infrastructure supporting UK-based advanced materials research providing national capability.

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department’s purchasing policies support the Government’s commitment to do all it can to ensure UK suppliers can compete effectively for public sector contracts, in line with our current international obligations and guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received from businesses expressing concern at the result of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

    Anna Soubry

    My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has been keeping in close contact with business since the referendum. My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State made a series of calls on Friday immediately following the result including to the major business representative bodies. On Tuesday, 28 June 2016, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State held a business roundtable with the UK’s largest business organisations, and representatives from our most important industries. Further such roundtables will be held over the coming weeks.