Category: Speeches

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria her Department used to identify the 312 schools that had been classified as having fallen beneath the floor target in the school performance tables in England for 2014 to 2015, published in January 2016.

    Nick Gibb

    In 2014/15, 312 schools were below the 5+ A*-C including English and mathematics and expected progress floor standard. Schools were deemed to be below the floor standard if:

    • Fewer than 40% of pupils achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A*-C or equivalent, including both English and mathematics; and
    • The school had a below median score for the percentage of pupils making expected progress between key stage 2 and key stage 4 in English; and
    • The school had a below median score for the percentage of pupils making expected progress between key stage 2 and key stage 4 in mathematics.

    From 2016 Progress 8 will replace the existing 5 A*-C headline measure. Progress 8 will show pupils’ progress to a suite of 8 qualifications compared to other pupils with the same starting point at the end of key stage 2. The new measure will reward better teaching of all pupils and make the system of measuring performance fairer for schools.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government for those trusts carrying out radical prostate cancer treatments, what were the results for the following responses to the most recent National Prostate Cancer Audit: (1) the number of operations undertaken in the audit period, (2) the proportion of those operations with a hospital length of stay of over three days, and (3) the proportion of those operations requiring emergency readmission within 90 days.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The proportion of men diagnosed with locally advanced prostate cancer between 2010 and 2013 (the Audit period) who had radical treatment, and the proportion who had a hospital length of stay over three days and who required an emergency readmission within 90 days following an operation, are presented by health region in the attached headed Table 1.

    It should be noted that the results presented are based on an analysis of data from the English Cancer Registry linked to the Hospital Episode Statistics. These data were collected before the start of the National Prostate Cancer Audit (NPCA) in April 2013.

    The number of radical prostatectomies undertaken in men diagnosed between 2010 and 2013, and the proportion of men who had a hospital length of stay over three days and who had an emergency readmission within 90 days following an operation, are presented in the attached headed Table 2. The results of 56 men included in the data set used to generate Figure 8 in the NPCA Annual Report 2015 could not be included in Table 2. Of these men, 37 were treated in National Health Service trusts that treated fewer than five patients during the Audit period; and for 19 patients it was not possible to identify the NHS trust where they had undergone treatment without incurring disproportionate cost.

    The first results for the patient-reported outcomes of men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1 April 2014 and 30 September 2014, and who underwent radical treatment (prostatectomy, external beam radiation, brachytherapy, cryotherapy, and high-intensity focused ultrasound), will be included in the NPCA’s Annual Report 2016, which is due to be published in the last quarter of 2016. These results will include incontinence rates.

    Men who had radical prostate cancer treatment were invited to complete a questionnaire about their experiences of care as well as about treatment outcomes, 18 months after the date of diagnosis. It was decided that questionnaires should be sent out at this time after diagnosis because it can take more than one year for men who have radiotherapy, in combination with androgen deprivation therapy, to complete their treatment. Subsequently, it will take at least three months for men to fully recover from the transient side effects of the radiotherapy. In order to include all men and to measure the final treatment outcome – rather than outcomes still affected by the transient side effects – an 18-month period was chosen.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding the Government has allocated to cycling schemes in each year since 2010.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In the five financial years from 2010/11 to 2014/15, the Department for Transport has provided: £63m to Cycling England, £94m to the Cycle Ambition Cities and National Parks fund, £30m to the Linking Communities/Cycle Rail fund, £12m to Links to Schools, £44m to Bikeability cycle training and £35m to the Cycle Safety fund. Between 2011 and 2015, the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) also provided 28% of its budget, or £151m, to cycling projects. Overall between 2011 and 2015 funding was more than doubled compared to the previous administration.

    For 2015/16, a further £15m will be invested in Cycle Rail, £11m in Bikeability and £64.5m in LSTF projects; £15m was also invested in the second phase of the Cycle Ambition City programme. Looking forward, a further £99m will be invested in the Cycle Ambition Cities, £50m in Bikeability and £100m via the Road Investment Strategy.

    Long-term funding is also available for cycling from the Integrated Transport Block, Highways Maintenance Block, and the Local Growth Fund, where around £270m is already planned by Local Enterprise Partnerships for cycling infrastructure.

  • Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-04-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost and headcount implications of moving the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills office from Sheffield to London by 2018, as indicated in BIS2020 Finance and Headcount.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government does not comment on leaked documents.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 21 July 2015, to Question 7665, what average number of pilings per shift was achieved by Network Rail’s High Output Plant System train during (a) July to September 2015, (b) October to December 2015, (c) January to March 2016 and (d) April to May 2016.

    Claire Perry

    The following information has been provided by Network Rail:

    The average number of pilings per shift achieved by Network Rail’s High Output Plant System train during the following months was as follows:

    a) July to September 2015 – 4.9 piles per shift.

    b) October to December 2015 – 7.0 piles per shift.

    c) January to March 2016 – 4.7 piles per shift.

    d) April to May 2016 – 6.5 piles per shift.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance his Department has provided to Kurdish forces in Syria in their fight against Daesh in the last 12 months.

    Michael Fallon

    As part of the Global Coalition, the RAF has conducted airstrikes and surveillance in support of Syrian Democratic Forces offensives in the east of Syria and more recently around Manbij.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to maintain the use of the Dublin System in the event of the UK leaving the EU.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The British people have voted to leave the European Union and the Prime Minister has been clear that their will must be respected and delivered.

    The question of how the UK deals with asylum applicants arriving in the UK from EU Member States and shares information with the EU and international partners will be a key consideration as part of the process of leaving the EU and establishing a new relationship.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many of the streams of data collected by his Department are (a) used by the Department, (b) read by how many people and (c) unused or unread.

    Justin Tomlinson

    I have interpreted the question to be asking for the number of datasets compiled by the department. This information is not currently available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with (a) NHS England and (b) Health Education England on tackling workforce shortages within radiology and endoscopy to improve early diagnosis for cancer patients; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations in the independent Cancer Taskforce’s report, Achieving world-class cancer outcomes: a strategy for England 2015 to 2020, and has appointed Cally Palmer CBE as NHS National Cancer Director to lead on managing implementation. She is currently setting up a new Cancer Transformation Board to lead the roll-out of the recommendations of the new strategy, including on workforce, and a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Dr Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, will oversee and scrutinise their work.

    We announced in September that Health Education England (HEE) is developing a new national training programme for an additional 200 staff to get the skills and expertise to carry out endoscopies by 2018. The content of the next mandate from the Government to HEE is currently being determined.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department plans to use the criteria for identifying human rights countries of concern first published in the 2012 annual human rights and democracy report in the next edition of that report.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    For the 2015 Annual Human Rights Report, the FCO is applying the following criteria in identifying human rights priority countries:
    • the human rights situation in the country
    • evidence of a trajectory of change
    • the extent of the FCO’s work on human rights in that country.