The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential efficacy of the Transmarche Metro proposal connecting Kent with the Nord-Pas-de-Calais; and if he will make a statement.
Claire Perry
The Government has made no assessment of a Transmanche Metro. The efficacy of a route would be for the market to determine.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-01-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the lack of creative subjects in the Ebac on the creative sector of the economy.
Nick Gibb
This Government’s aim is to have at least 90% of pupils taking GCSEs from the English Baccalaureate subjects of English, maths, science, humanities and languages.
These subjects are part of a broad and balanced curriculum. The EBacc has been designed to be limited in its size in order to provide a rigorous academic core whilst leaving space in the curriculum for pupils to study other subjects of their choice, including creative subjects. A good foundation in the EBacc subjects will help students keep their options open for work and further study.
On 3 November 2015 the Secretary of State for Education launched a public consultation seeking views on the government’s proposals for the implementation of the English Baccalaureate[1]. The consultation closed on 29 January 2016 and the government response will be published in the spring.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementing-the-english-baccalaureate
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26859, if she will update her Department’s response to e-petition 104867, on legalisation of medicinal cannabis, in respect of the information on availability of the drug Sativex.
Karen Bradley
The Government’s position is unchanged. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has issued a marketing authorisation and the Home Office has amended the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 to enable Sativex to be available to patients via health care practitioners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons have been selected to take part in the pilot scheme on increasing the autonomy of prison governors; and how long that pilot scheme is expected to last.
Andrew Selous
We will announce our plans for reform prisons in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Lopresti on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on supporting skills development to help deliver the Government’s transport infrastructure programmes.
Andrew Jones
The Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy published in January this year sets out our plans, among which our ambition to create thirty thousand apprenticeships in the roads and rail sectors by 2020. Earlier this month we launched the taskforce that will implement the strategy, chaired by Simon Kirby, CEO of HS2 Ltd. These steps have been carried out in consultation with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Her Majesty’s Treasury and other partners across Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Clinical Commissioning Groups’ midwifery workforce planning has taken into consideration the impact on the workload of midwives of the rise in non-communicable diseases.
Lord Prior of Brampton
At a national level, it is Health Education England’s (HEE) responsibility to ensure that there is sufficient future supply of staff, including midwives, to meet the workforce requirements of the English health system taking in to account issues such as demographic changes, for example, increases in older mothers.
The Workforce Plan is built upon the needs of local employers, providers, commissioners and other stakeholders who, as members of its Local Education Training Boards (LETBs), shape the 13 local plans.
The Workforce Plan is predominately an aggregate of the local LETB plans, but the final national plan is only agreed with the advice and input of its clinical advisory groups and Patients’ Advisory Forum, as well as the royal colleges and other stakeholders.
At a local level, it is ultimately the responsibility of National Health Service trusts, working with their clinical commissioning groups, to ensure they have sufficient staff on their wards with the right skills to treat patients in their care and this would include taking account of changes in patient condition profile, for example, any rise in non-communicable diseases, in their workforce planning.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-07-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 13 July (HL1006), whether they have any plans to monitor private access to (1) Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) from clinics within England, and (2) generic versions of Truvada for PrEP online from overseas.
Lord Prior of Brampton
It would not be possible or practical to monitor how individuals choose to access medicines or services outside of the National Health Service or to assess the impact on that individual. Registered pharmacies that operate online and that may supply drugs for use as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are the responsibility of the General Pharmaceutical Council. We are aware that some local authority commissioned sexual health services are offering monitoring of the pharmacological efficacy of generic PrEP however this is a matter for local decision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Victims’ Commissioner has the authority to investigate complaints about breaches of the Victims’ Code; and whether the Commissioner can make recommendations.
Dr Phillip Lee
The role of the Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses is defined in the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. It is to promote the interests of victims and witnesses, encourage good practice in their treatment, and regularly review the operation of the Code of Practice for Victims.
The Commissioner can make proposals to the Secretary of State for amending the Code, may report to the Secretary of State in connection with her duties, may provide advice in relation to victims or witnesses as requested, and may make recommendations to authorities which fall within her remit.
The Commissioner has no power to investigate individual cases or make recommendations on specific complaints. In line with the process set out in the Code, a victim is entitled to make a complaint to the service provider. If they remain dissatisfied they can refer their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman via their member of Parliament.
We know there is more to do to further increase the rights of victims. We will announce our plans in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-10-30.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish an update on the delivery of the National Infrastructure Plan.
Greg Hands
The Government continues to track the status of nationally significant infrastructure projects and programmes in the National Infrastructure Pipeline, which underpins the National Infrastructure Plan. In July 2015, the Government published a refresh of the National Infrastructure Pipeline containing details on the status of UK infrastructure projects.
Over 2,650 projects were completed in the last Parliament and a number of priority projects have been completed since the last National Infrastructure Plan was published, including Manchester Victoria station and Nottingham Express Transit Phase 2.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of UK-based jobs in each region likely to be sustained by his Department’s decision to procure the Boeing P8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft fleet.
Mr Philip Dunne
The UK is in negotiations with Boeing on the route to contract for P-8, which will determine how the programme will affect UK-based jobs. It is expected the P-8 will have a significant impact on the UK economy: P-8 is based on the Boeing 737, the supply chain for which already includes UK industry, and the UK also manufactures subsystems of the P-8. Purchase of the aircraft will also create opportunities for UK industry to bid for training and support contracts, and basing of this fleet at RAF Lossiemouth will bring significant economic benefits to Scotland. Boeing estimates that in total, its entire P-8 programme could generate over US$1 billion to the UK supply chain and economy.