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  • Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Miss Anne McIntosh on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will commission a review of the 50 per cent rule whereby a GCSE grade may only be awarded for course assessment in the event of a student being severely incapacitated through illness; and if he will make a statement.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The Secretary of State for Education recently received a letter from the hon Member for Thirsk and Malton on this issue, raising the case of a student in her constituency, to which he has responded. From time to time Ministers receive representations from members of the public, and from hon Members on their behalf, on the same matter.

    Neither the Department nor the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation holds information on the number of pupils who have applied to be assessed for a GCSE grade on the basis of coursework. This information may be held by individual awarding bodies.

    The rules governing the circumstances in which a GCSE grade may be awarded to a student who has not completed all the elements of the assessment are a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey to write directly to the hon Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

  • Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Miss Anne McIntosh on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent representations he has received on the funding formula for flood defence; and if he will make a statement.

    Dan Rogerson

    Defra regularly receives representation from those seeking Government funding for flood and coastal risk management schemes to be more focussed on delivering a particular type of outcome such as improved protection for homes, agricultural areas or infrastructure at risk of flooding. These representations are not in a consistent direction.

    A recent external evaluation found that, on the whole, the current partnership funding approach is progressing well in meeting its policy objectives and that the funding formula should not be changed at present.

    Our focus is on working with Risk Management Authorities and local communities to put together a six-year investment programme on the basis of the current funding formula, for announcement this autumn. The programme will reduce flood risk for 300,000 households by March 2021.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paul Blomfield – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Oral Answer of 1 April 2014, Official Report, column 714, on physical and mental health (parity of esteem), in what ways he plans to achieve complete transparency in the availability of data on mental health spending.

    Norman Lamb

    NHS England currently collects and publishes information about mental health spending via its Programme Budgeting Dataset and published expenditure data for 2012-13 on 21 February 2014. This is available on its website at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/prog-budgeting/

    We are working with NHS England to support its plans to develop this dataset for 2013-14 to provide a more meaningful analysis of expenditure.

  • George Howarth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    George Howarth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support the Government is providing for community projects being conducted by UK zoos in collaboration with universities.

    Mr David Willetts

    Government funding to universities supports a range of collaborative activity. Information on specific work with zoos on community projects is not collected centrally.

  • George Howarth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    George Howarth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that the forthcoming single pot funding and new round of European Regional Development Funding encourages economic development potential through science discovery collaborations planned between research-intensive universities and zoos.

    Michael Fallon

    The Local Growth Fund will be awarded to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) on a competitive basis, on the strength of the Strategic Economic Plans they submitted to Government at the end of March. It is for LEPs and other local partners to put forward the proposals that, based on their local knowledge, they consider will have the greatest impact on economic growth. Discussions between Government and LEPs are continuing, with the aim of announcing Growth Deals in the summer.

    For the 2014-2020 EU funding period the Government has asked Local Enterprise Partnerships to work with local partners to determine the investment priorities in their areas. Support to strengthen research, technological development and innovation will be a key objective for the European Regional Development Fund. The next stage is for local partners to work together to help develop a pipeline of projects that will meet the local investment priorities. BIS will advise the national stakeholder group which oversees the European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund on whether these investments are meeting local, national and EU innovation objectives.

  • George Howarth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    George Howarth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on allegations that some Turkish Cypriots were denied the right to vote in the recent European elections in the Republic of Cyprus.

    Mr David Lidington

    We are aware of difficulties experienced by some eligible Turkish Cypriots in the recent European elections in the Republic of Cyprus.

    The enfranchisement of eligible Turkish Cypriots in those elections was a positive step towards building confidence between the two communities. It is unfortunate that some Turkish Cypriots then found that they could not vote on the day due to problems in the registration procedure.

    Although these problems led to understandable frustrations on polling day, we do not believe that they were due to a deliberate obstruction by the Republic of Cyprus authorities. Indeed, some 58,000 Turkish Cypriots were registered and able to vote.

    Ultimately, Turkish Cypriots’ access to the full rights of EU membership, including participation in European elections, will best be achieved through a comprehensive settlement. We continue to fully support the leaders of the Cypriot communities in their goal of achieving this.

  • George Howarth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    George Howarth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that reparations will be paid to HM Treasury as a result of damage caused by discharges in the Diego Garcia lagoon in the British Indian Overseas Territory by US vessels and those responsible for causing that damage are prosecuted.

    Mark Simmonds

    It is not clear what if any damage has been caused by the discharges by US vessels in the Diego Garcia lagoon, and the Government looks forward to the conclusions of a joint UK-US study of the lagoon water and its coral which will conclude this summer. The US have already committed to spending several million dollars over 2014-2016 to ensure that they comply with our no-discharge policy.

  • George Howarth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    George Howarth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress his Department is making on ensuring that a British-led team of experts carries out a scientific assessment of discharges by US vessels in the Diego Garcia lagoon in the British Indian Overseas Territory.

    Mark Simmonds

    The joint UK-US study of the lagoon water and its coral, which began in January 2014, is well underway and due to conclude this summer, as planned.

  • Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2014, Official Report, column 41W, on drinking water, whether his Department has conducted a study of levels of psychotropic drugs in UK rivers and seawater.

    Dan Rogerson

    Currently no psychotropic drugs have been identified as Priority Hazardous Substances, Priority Substances or UK Specific Pollutants under the Water Framework Directive. As such no routine monitoring is carried out for these substances in England.

    However, previous research by the Environment Agency on pharmaceuticals in surface waters included environmental monitoring for the psychotropic drug fluoxetine (an anti-depressant). In 2005, monitoring was undertaken in rivers downstream of a number of sewage works across England and Wales. Thirty-nine samples were taken with fluoxetine occurring in 85% of samples with a maximum concentration of 0.044 microgrammes/litre (µg/l), and norfluoxetine in 51% of samples with a maximum concentration of 0.083 µg/l.

    During 2011, a programme of monitoring for pesticides was undertaken in six catchments. The psychotropic drugs carbamazepine and gabapentin were detected in all six catchments with maximum levels of 0.7 µg/l and 1.2 µg/l respectively.

    The report published by the Drinking Water Inspectorate evaluated the risk from psychotropic drugs in river water used for abstraction for drinking water supplies.

  • Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in England in receipt of free social care are terminally ill.

    Norman Lamb

    Local authorities have a duty to assess the needs of any person for whom the authority may arrange social care and who may be in need of such care. They have a further duty to decide, having regard to the results of the assessment, what, if any, care and support they should provide to meet the individual’s needs. Where a local authority decides to arrange care and support it will carry out a financial assessment to decide what an individual can afford to contribute towards the cost. Appeals against decisions by local authorities are considered locally. Information about appeals is not collected centrally.

    In its 2011 report, the independent Palliative Care Funding Review recommended the provision of free social care at the end of life. A series of palliative care funding pilots were established to test the review’s recommendations, and these completed their work in March 2014. NHS England is currently analysing the financial data collected from the pilots. Once this analysis has been completed, a decision will be made on the issue of free social care at the end of life, taking into account this analysis and wider policy and financial considerations.