The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsty Blackman on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14925, what for reason his Department’s quarterly report of transparency information from July to September 2014 took four months longer to prepare than the report on that information from January to March 2015.
David Mundell
I refer the hon Member to my answer of 9 November 2015 (UIN 14925).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will meet (a) Surfers Against Sewage and (b) other charities and non-governmental organisations to discuss measures to keep the UK’s beaches clean for sport and recreational activities.
Rory Stewart
The vast majority of our beaches are high quality. We are determined to keep them that way and we are willing to work with all those who want to achieve this. Defra officials regularly meet Surfers Against Sewage and other environmental Non-Government Organisations to talk about the issues impacting our beaches. I would be pleased if they would contact my office to discuss a meeting.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many lone parent households that are in receipt of housing benefit will be affected by changes to universal credit work allowances in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not available.
The number of people on benefits is driven by a range of factors. Because of this, the programme measures progress by the successful achievement of its delivery plan rather than numbers of claimants.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5039), what specific recommendations the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has made in order to resolve any conflict between the demands of research and the best interests of patients, in particular regarding (1) a demand for sufficient numbers of human embryos at the single-celled zygote stage in order successfully to perform genome editing by means of CRISPR-Cas9, and (2) the usual practice of transferring embryos to the uterus after assessing their potential to develop further after either two to three days or five to six days.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it requires, through its Code of Practice, that embryo donors will be recruited in a manner compliant with standard licence conditions. These conditions prevent conflict between the demands of research and the best interests of patients.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many legacy continuing health care cases are more than two years old and have payments outstanding (a) in England, (b) in the West Midlands and (c) at Birmingham Cross City Clinical Commissioning Group.
Alistair Burt
At the end of March 2013, the National Health Service had received approximately 59,000 requests to assess previously unassessed periods of care for NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility.
NHS England collects information on the number of these cases which are awaiting a decision on eligibility.
As at 31 January 2016:
(a) There were 15,716 requests to assess previously unassessed periods of care in England;
(b) there were 848 requests to assess previously unassessed periods of care in the West Midlands; and
(c) there were 260 requests to assess previously unassessed periods of care in Birmingham Cross City Clinical Commissioning Group.
It is not possible to assess how many of these individuals may be entitled to redress payments until a full assessment of eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare is undertaken, in line with the principles and processes set out in the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care (November 2012) (revised).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what requirements or guidelines her Department issues on the reference or inclusion of digital and online resources in the curriculum (a) in general and (b) for students without access to broadband at home.
Nick Gibb
The National Curriculum, introduced from September 2014, focuses on the essential knowledge that teachers should teach, not on how they should teach it.
Schools are best placed to decide which resources meet their needs and to secure these accordingly. Wherever possible, the development of new resources and training should be sector-led, with schools prioritising their use of funding in their budgets in order to best exploit the opportunities offered by the new National Curriculum.
The Government is in favour of schools embracing digital technology in order to improve educational outcomes. We want to see schools making informed decisions about what and how technology will best meet their specific needs, keeping in mind that pedagogy should drive the use of technology.
Where teachers use digital resources in the curriculum, we would expect them to take into account the circumstances of all pupils and make appropriate provision for those without access to broadband at home.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the use of the roof of the Hebron Emergency Health Centre as a military base and the closure of its entrance to Palestinian patients.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Whilst we have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities, we are clear that medical staff should have the protection that allows them to do their jobs in safety. Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority on the urgent need to de-escalate the tensions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-06-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many soil research projects have been completed for which it has provided funding, and how the findings were translated into practical measures that could be applied at farm level, in each year since 1997.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Since 1997, Defra and its predecessors have funded 445 soil research projects, the findings of which are translated into practical measures that can be applied at farm level in a number of ways, including testing of measures as part of the research, reviews of the evidence base feeding into the development of farmer guidance or direct knowledge transfer as part of the research project.
The table below denotes the number of completed soil research projects funded by Defra and its predecessors in each year since 1997:
|
1997 |
40 |
|
1998 |
44 |
|
1999 |
26 |
|
2000 |
28 |
|
2001 |
34 |
|
2002 |
22 |
|
2003 |
26 |
|
2004 |
21 |
|
2005 |
18 |
|
2006 |
29 |
|
2007 |
15 |
|
2008 |
23 |
|
2009 |
24 |
|
2010 |
29 |
|
2011 |
17 |
|
2012 |
18 |
|
2013 |
12 |
|
2014 |
10 |
|
2015 |
9 |
In addition since 2005-6, the first year for which data is available, Research Councils have funded 614 soil research projects.
The table below denotes the number of soil research projects funded by the Research Councils that have completed, by financial year, going back to 2005-06. Data for before that year is not available as the information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
|
2005-6 |
59 |
|
2006-7 |
62 |
|
2007-8 |
92 |
|
2008-9 |
57 |
|
2009-10 |
68 |
|
2010-11 |
82 |
|
2011-12 |
70 |
|
2012-13 |
26 |
|
2013-14 |
45 |
|
2014-15 |
29 |
|
2015-16 |
24 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-09-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they plan to make to the Palestinian Authority to encourage local elections in Gaza and the West Bank as soon as possible, and whether they plan to give the Palestinian Authority assurances that they will accept the result of such elections.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Our Consulate-General in Jerusalem has regularly discussed the local elections with senior Palestinian officials over the past months. We have made clear our support for genuine and democratic elections as a way of improving accountability. Following the postponement of the elections, we will continue to urge all sides to make efforts to hold these elections in accordance with the law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his Department’s policy to ban internal combustion engines by 2030 to promote zero emission mobility.
Mr John Hayes
We are spending more than £600 million by 2020 to support the development, manufacture and use of ultra low emission vehicles. This programme includes incentives to encourage motorists to choose cleaner vehicles, and grants for essential recharging infrastructure. This is putting the UK on track to meet our goal of all new cars and vans being zero emission by 2040, making almost all cars and vans zero emission by 2050.