The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP surgeries (a) closed, (b) opened and (c) merged in (i) London, (ii) each London borough and (iii) each Trust area in London in each year since 2010.
Alistair Burt
The information is not held in the format requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maggie Throup on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support NHS England plans to provide clinical commissioning groups relating to the transfer of obesity surgery commissioning responsibilities from NHS England after that transfer.
George Freeman
Although the transfer is effective from April 2016, the handover process will be agreed between specialised commissioning and individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), in line with their preparedness.
Specialised commissioning teams will continue to provide advice and support CCGs post-handover in line with the CCG’s need. CCGs already have mechanisms in place to monitor provider performance and quality through the existing quality assurance processes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what regulations govern parental consent for the recording of interviews with lone children in cases involving Cafcass.
Caroline Dinenage
There are no regulations governing parental consent for the recording of interviews with lone children in cases involving the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass). The extent of the role and responsibilities of Cafcass officers is set out in the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and Practice Direction 16a, and this refers to the duty to “make such investigations as may be necessary”. Cafcass practitioners are aware that they must consider the best interests of the child in all aspects of their casework, including dealing with a request from a parent to record an interview.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34792, how the £4 million allocation from LIBOR fines that have been allocated for mental health support is being divided between emergency services; and what proportion of that funding will be allocated to (a) firefighters, (b) police officers and staff and (c) paramedics and ambulance staff.
Mike Penning
The LIBOR funding allocated to support emergency services staff and volunteers was allocated to a variety of charities covering all the emergency services. The Police and Fire Service treatment and rehabilitation centres and the Air Ambulance Services Charity are among the charities in receipt of LIBOR funding and they support retired as well as serving personnel. Information is not held centrally on proportions of funding allocated to each emergency service or to retired emergency services workers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Pensions Regulator will now update its rules on defined benefit (DB) schemes to clarify the legal responsibilities of DB trustees.
Justin Tomlinson
Parliament has given the Pensions Regulator operational independence from the Government. It would not, therefore, be appropriate for the Government to comment on such matters. However, we can confirm that the Regulator provides clear guidelines for pension scheme trustees on the requirements for a well-run and well-funded defined benefit scheme, to enable them to meet their legal obligations. These guidelines include a detailed online learning programme for trustees. Trustees must also appoint the right people, including actuaries, auditors, and other appropriate advisers, to help them run their scheme. The Government keeps the Regulator’s role and remit under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on opening up school facilities to the local community for use outside the school day.
Nick Gibb
Schools play an important role in supporting their local communities and often make land available in various ways for a variety of community uses alongside their core education purpose.
We support these efforts and the academy funding agreement contains a specific provision stating that “the Academy Trust must ensure that the academy is at the heart of its community, promoting community cohesion and sharing facilities with other schools and the wider community”.
Decisions on making specific facilities available are for the individual school.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to publish the Local Government Settlement; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government published an historic four year local government finance settlement on 8 February 2016 which was debated by Members of the House on 10 February. We published a technical consultation which confirmed the approach for 2017-18 on 15 September. Councils across England applied for the four year offer by 14 October and the Government will respond as soon as practicable. We intend to publish in the normal way a statutory provisional settlement for 2017-18 that honours the Government’s commitment to the four year offer later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department has taken to promote Energy Efficiency Week; how her Department has worked with non-governmental organisations on such initiatives; and what the cost to the public purse was of those initiatives.
Andrea Leadsom
Big Energy Saving Week is a Great Britain wide consumer awareness raising campaign run ahead of winter in partnership with respected partner organisations Citizens Advice and the Energy Saving Trust (EST), with around £300,000 funding provided by DECC.
The campaign was delivered 26-30 October 2015 and focussed on supporting consumers to understand how they can save money by switching tariff, supplier and payment method and improving energy efficiency, through hundreds of face to face outreach events run by Citizens Advice offices and a national, regional and social media campaign delivered by EST.
The last campaign in October 2014 was a big success with over 500 events nationwide reaching an estimated 100,000 consumers face to face or through dedicated helplines with many millions more reached through a complementary media campaign.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons the portrait of Oliver Porter by Sir Anthony van Dyck donated to the nation by the Duke of Northumberland is hung in Bowes Museum; and what discussions were held on hanging that portrait in a museum which is free to the public.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Individuals donating work to the nation through the Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) Scheme, administered by the Arts Council, can specify which institution will receive it. In the case of the Portrait of Oliver Porter by Sir Anthony van Dyck, it was made a condition of the offer that the painting be allocated to the Bowes Museum. The painting is a significant acquisition for the North-East and will feature in the Bowes Museum’s forthcoming major exhibition, The English Rose – Feminine Beauty from Van Dyck to Sargent, which opens in May 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Woodcock on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department conducted its most recent review of the procurement process for the Successor submarines.
Mr Philip Dunne
All Ministry of Defence programmes are routinely subject to regular review as part of the standard approvals and scrutiny process. The most recent review of the Successor programme was produced in December 2015.