The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-02-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the comment made in the 2014–15 annual report of the Chief Schools Adjudicator, that the complex [admissions] arrangements of some schools do not serve local children well”.”
Lord Nash
I refer the Baroness Lister to the answer to parliamentary question HL5707 submitted to parliament on 12 February 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-02-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they propose to take, if any, to reduce the complexity of the admission arrangements employed by religiously selective schools, as highlighted in the report An Unholy Mess published by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year, and the 2014–15 annual report of the Chief Schools Adjudicator, so that all parents are better able to understand what is required to gain admission to their local school.
Lord Nash
The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the School Admissions Code which will both respond to concerns from parents and to the findings in the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.
Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.
When constructing faith-based oversubscription criteria, including deciding how membership or practice of the faith will be determined, admission authorities must have regard to the guidance of their relevant religious authority, and their arrangements must comply with the statutory School Admissions Code. They must consult with their religious authority when proposing any changes to their admission arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-02-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice or guidance, if any, they propose to provide to schools, in particular to religiously selective schools, regarding compliance with the School Admissions Code, in the light of the findings of the report An Unholy Mess, published by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year, that a significant number of schools are failing to comply with the Code in various ways.
Lord Nash
The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the School Admissions Code which will both respond to concerns from parents and to the findings in the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.
Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.
When constructing faith-based oversubscription criteria, including deciding how membership or practice of the faith will be determined, admission authorities must have regard to the guidance of their relevant religious authority, and their arrangements must comply with the statutory School Admissions Code. They must consult with their religious authority when proposing any changes to their admission arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-02-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 January (HL4665) about access to hepatitis C treatment, how frequently NHS England will publish reports on the minimum data set and when the first set of data on patients being treated will be published.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Public Health England (PHE) is working with NHS England and the Clinical Leads of the Operational Delivery Networks to ensure that a minimum data set is collected to allow monitoring of patients being treated. This will be used to support commissioning and planning of these services. PHE plans to publish summary data on people being treated in the annual report on hepatitis C. No timetable for publication has been agreed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-02-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to develop prison health workers’ understanding of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C.
Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England, Public Heath England, the National Offender Management Service and other organisations including the Royal College of General Practitioners have developed resources to support prison healthcare teams in delivering a blood-borne virus (BBV) opt-out testing programme. This covers all aspects of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) and other BBVs including testing, managing positive and negative test results, providing advice on harm minimisation and supporting prisoners into treatment.
Specialised HCV Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) ensure specialist oversight of HCV services in order maximise uptake and completion of HCV treatment. NHS England has linked every prison to the relevant ODN and a service specification for ODNs directs specialist service providers to accept patients from prisons.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-02-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress Operational Delivery Networks have made in establishing services for prisoners diagnosed with hepatitis C.
Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England, Public Heath England, the National Offender Management Service and other organisations including the Royal College of General Practitioners have developed resources to support prison healthcare teams in delivering a blood-borne virus (BBV) opt-out testing programme. This covers all aspects of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) and other BBVs including testing, managing positive and negative test results, providing advice on harm minimisation and supporting prisoners into treatment.
Specialised HCV Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) ensure specialist oversight of HCV services in order maximise uptake and completion of HCV treatment. NHS England has linked every prison to the relevant ODN and a service specification for ODNs directs specialist service providers to accept patients from prisons.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-02-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Registered Intermediary Scheme will be extended to defendants in accordance with section 104 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
Lord Faulks
We are currently considering the provision of intermediaries for vulnerable defendants as part of our on-going work around the communication needs of all vulnerable court users.
The Judiciary can grant the use of an intermediary, to meet the needs of vulnerable defendants, to ensure a fair trial.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-02-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the terms of reference for the Ministry of Justice’s internal review of the Registered Intermediary Scheme.
Lord Faulks
We are not currently undertaking a review of the Witness Intermediary Scheme. The provision of intermediaries forms part of our wider on-going work on the communication needs of all vulnerable court users.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Scott of Needham Market on 2016-02-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to publish the new rules governing the conduct of parish polls.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Last summer, the Government sought the views of the National Association of Local Councils on new regulations governing the conduct of parish polls. We are now considering how best to take this matter forward with the view to having new regulations for parish polls in place as soon as practicable and in any event by summer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk that issues around financing the provision of the Hinkley Point C power station will delay the commencement of that project.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Good progress continues to be made so that Hinkley can provide clean, affordable and secure energy that families and businesses can rely on into the future. The financing of Hinkley Point C is a commercial matter for the parties involved.