The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to continue funding the National Wildlife Crime Unit.
Rory Stewart
The Government remains committed to tackling wildlife crime.
We are currently allocating our Spending Review settlement. Future funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit will be decided as part of that process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will take steps to ensure that there is equality of educational achievement between girls and boys in schools.
Nick Gibb
Evidence shows that girls outperform boys on average at the end of primary and secondary school. The attainment of boys has been improving in primary school: in 2015, 77% of boys achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2, compared to 71% in 2012. Nonetheless, more remains to be done to raise levels of achievement amongst boys at all key stages.
While girls have higher attainment, they are still less likely than boys to pursue further study beyond the end of secondary school in subjects such as mathematics and physics – although the number of girls entered for A levels in these particular subjects has risen by 13 percent and 16 percent respectively since 2010.
In addressing these issues, we have placed high expectations at the heart of our school system through our new curriculum and reformed exams – and our new accountability system will reward those schools that encourage every child, boys and girls alike, to achieve their best. We are committed to delivering educational excellence everywhere so that every child, regardless of gender or background, can reach their potential.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding her Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.
George Eustice
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has not received any funding from the European Social Fund.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-04-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to match national and local capacity with demand for maternity services, and when they expect a balance to be achieved.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Maternity services are included in the key objectives set out in the Mandate between the Government and the NHS England. The Mandate states that women should receive better care during pregnancy and have a named midwife responsible for ensuring personalised, one-to-one care.
In its report Better Births: Improving Outcomes of maternity services in England, the National Maternity Review (which was sponsored by NHS England) set out a vision for future models of maternity services which provide safe, personalised, kind, professional and family friendly care. It recommends that providers and commissioners should come together as “local maternity systems” and develop a local vision for improved maternity services based on the principles contained within the report. A copy of Better Births is attached.
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will now be expected to consider the conclusions of Better Births and what changes they may need to make to local services in light of those conclusions. CCGs are expected to understand local demand for maternity services, including listening to what women in their communities want, and consider their health needs in designing services. This should also be reflected in the development of five year Sustainability and Transformation Plans which cover wider geographical ‘footprints’.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2016-06-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the total investment costs per tonne of CO2 equivalent abated by the Clean Technology Fund has increased from £21.40 to £26.40 according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s additional business case and intervention summary 2015; and what is being done to address rising costs.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Clean Technology Fund (CTF) approval decisions are based on six CTF Investment Criteria, of which cost-effectiveness is one. The total investment cost per tonne is estimated based on the portfolio of CTF projects that have been approved by the Trust Fund Committee. The original appraisal relied on the assessment of 30 individual projects approved by 2013, whereas the latest analysis is based on 57 projects approved by 2015. The total cost per tonne across the portfolio has changed as more projects have been approved, and will be expected to continue to change as the CTF portfolio increases, reflecting the range of projects included in the portfolio. As an example, sectors such as transport and energy efficiency typically have a higher cost per tonne than renewable energy projects. All projects deliver good value for money and wider benefits, such as private finance leveraged, jobs created, and increased numbers of people with access to energy.
In order to guarantee the continued value for money of the CTF, there is a robust project approval process ensuring compliance with the standards set out in the CTF investment criteria. As a contributor country the UK approves the allocation of CTF resources for programmes, projects, and administrative budgets; assessing new proposals to ensure continued the value for money (see attachment with further detail on the CTF governance structure).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the average accident rate is higher on dual carriageways than on three lane roads.
Andrew Jones
The Department does not hold any information on the number of lanes in either the road accident data supplied by police forces or road traffic estimates. Therefore it is not possible to provide a comparison between dual carriageway roads and single carriage roads with three lanes.
However, the Department does record the number of carriageways at the scene of accidents as well as the length of ‘A’ roads by number of carriageways. As a guide, in 2015 for Great Britain there were 380 reported personal-injury accidents per billion vehicle miles on single carriageway ‘A’ roads and 140 accidents per billion vehicle miles on dual carriageway ‘A’ roads.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England is looking at treatments for Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.
David Mowat
Treatments for Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy are not currently within the Specialised Ear and Ophthalmology Clinical Reference Group work programme and there is no current work in the policy pipeline. Any new proposals are able to be submitted to NHS England who would consider in line with their agreed processes for specialised services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her Department’s policy is on aid graduation when a country transitions from low to middle income status.
Justine Greening
DFID’s allocation of aid to countries is based on a range of criteria, including for example whether a country is classified as low income by the World Bank, current and future poverty levels, the opportunities available to us to reduce these levels through aid spending, and the country’s ability to finance its own development needs. Ministers regularly review which countries receive DFID funding.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Green on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his policy is on ensuring that all government departments have access to a chief scientific advisor.
Joseph Johnson
The Chief Scientific Advisers work across departments in partnership with policy makers to ensure the very best in scientific evidence is used in the policy process. Where posts are unfilled, the Government Office for Science works with departments to ensure they have access to relevant expertise and evidence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many ambulances were diverted from hospitals in West Yorkshire to the A&E department at Dewsbury and District Hospital in 2015; and what the reason was for each such diversion.
Jane Ellison
This information is not collected centrally.