The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-07-06.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Government will bring forward proposals to limit the duration of public inquiries.
Matthew Hancock
The running of a public inquiry is normally a matter for the independent Chair. However, good practice is that when establishing a public inquiry, Departments should seek to include in the terms of reference an estimate of the likely duration of the Inquiry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the future sales projections for the F35 Joint Strike Fighter in the last two years.
Harriett Baldwin
Initial Operating Capability for the UK’s F-35B Lightning aircraft is scheduled for December 2018.
The most recent US Selected Acquisition Report (SAR 2015) estimates that the production, sustainment and support revenue generated by the global F-35 fleet through the life of the programme will be over one trillion US dollars. The UK manufactures approximately 15% of each F-35 aircraft, however as the F-35 programme is still determining its Global Support Solution footprint, we are not yet in a position to determine the potential revenue for UK industry.
The programme is expecting to procure over 3,000 aircraft across the F-35 Partner Nations. This will be further supplemented by Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. FMS engagement and future sales projections are managed by, and are a matter for, the US Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the viability of (1) the care home sector, and (2) the private home care provider sector, in the light of local government expenditure restraint and the implementation of the National Living Wage.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government has engaged with the care sector, including care providers, to understand the impact on the market arising from amongst other things, local authority commissioning behaviour and the introduction of the National Living Wage. This has included a number of deep dive sessions held with both care home businesses and providers of home care services.
As part of its spending plans for the next four years the Government is giving local authorities access to £3.5 billion of new support for adult social care by 2019/20. Local authorities will be able to introduce a new Social Care Precept, allowing them to increase council tax by 2% above the existing threshold. The Government estimates this could raise nearly £2 billion a year for adult social care by 2019/20.
Councils will need to increase the price they pay for care to cover costs for care providers such as the National Living Wage. To support this, the Social Care Precept puts money raising powers into the hands of local authorities which are best placed to target resources based on their understanding of their local care market.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by and (4) more than 30 on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, on the current definition of coasting”
Lord Nash
No school can be defined as coasting under the government’s proposed coasting definition until after the 2016 results are available. The definition of coasting is determined by performance over a three year period.
Progress 8 results for 2015 will be published as part of the key stage 4 performance tables in January 2016 for schools which chose to opt-in early. Progress 8 was not used as an accountability measure in 2014, and does not form part of the government’s proposed definition for coasting in that year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects a new Chair for the Environment Agency to be appointed.
George Eustice
Defra has appointed Emma Howard Boyd as Acting Chairman. She will lead the Board until a permanent Chairman is recruited in due course following an open competition.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of (a) the school a pupil attends and (b) access to transport on participation in after-school sport.
Nick Gibb
Local authorities are responsible for making sure that local travel arrangements enable children to attend school. The responsibility covers transport from home to school at the start and finish of the school day. Local authorities can use their discretionary powers to provide transport to meet local needs. They should engage both with parents and schools in deciding what support can be expected from the local authority.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make it her Department’s policy to replace the Green Deal with a scheme to improve energy efficiency in able-to-pay households, in addition to the post-2017 Energy Company Obligation and extension to the Warm Home Discount announced as part of the Spending Review.
Andrea Leadsom
We intend to focus our efforts through ECO and the Warm Home Discount more effectively on the fuel poor and continue to deliver on our commitment to insulate 1 million more homes this Parliament.
We are also looking at a range of policy levers for driving take up of low carbon heat and energy efficiency in non-fuel poor households.
We have commissioned The Bonfield Review to ensure that the current quality and standards framework properly supports and protects consumers; a report will be published in Spring 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Care Quality Commission report, British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS-Richmond, Quality Report, published in November 2015, whether his Department plans to issue guidance to abortion clinics on the administration of drugs.
Jane Ellison
The termination of pregnancies is a regulated activity. All providers of regulated activities must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and must meet all of the relevant Regulations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, including meeting the fundamental standards of quality and safety, which includes independent sector termination of pregnancy providers and managers. The CQC is responsible for monitoring and, where appropriate, inspecting providers in relation to their ongoing compliance with meeting those requirements. Independent sector providers are also required to comply with the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures which the CQC inspect against.
The CQC has made a public commitment to undertake inspection of all independent providers of termination of pregnancy services using their new inspection approach and will continue to respond to risk as appropriate and take regulatory action as required.
On the issue of whether the Department plans to issue guidance to abortion clinics on consultation on disposal arrangements following termination, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 April 2016 to Question 32357.
We have no plans to issue guidance to abortion clinics on the administration of drugs. The administration of drugs is managed through the CQC’s fundamental standards and through inspection visits.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of planned budget reductions for community pharmacy on patient and health services in (a) Sheffield and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber.
Alistair Burt
We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, other pharmacy bodies and patient and public representatives on our proposals. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.
NHS England has a statutory duty to ensure the adequate provision of National Health Service pharmaceutical services across England and will ensure that duty continues to be met in Sheffield.
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the NHS and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020-21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-07-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to preserve and enhance the international character and international standing of British universities and their research.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government is determined to ensure that the UK continues to play a leading role in European and international research and innovation. It is promoting the international success of UK universities through bilateral engagement with overseas partners, the Britain is GREAT marketing campaign which has education and science pillars, and through the Chevening and Commonwealth scholarship schemes.
For example, in November 2015, the Indian and UK Prime Ministers jointly announced the ‘2016 UK-India Year of Education, Research and Innovation’. This was immediately followed by a major education visit to India, including 28 vice-chancellors to increase higher education partnerships.
Programmes such as the UK China Partners in Education programme and the UK India Education Research Initiative bring long term international collaboration.
Our international research is being enhanced through the Government’s Newton Fund, a £735 million UK investment matched by partner countries, linking our universities with researchers in 16 major emerging economies. Our Global Challenge Research Fund, £1.5 billion and Ross Fund, £1bn., support universities engaging in global challenges including health, agritech and water research.
British universities have a world-class reputation for both education and research. Globally the UK has four universities in the top ten and ten in the top fifty in the QS rankings, a 10% share of the international student recruitment market, and 15.9% per cent of the world’s most highly-cited research articles.