The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2015 to Question 18388, when he expects to publish the results of the Government’s evaluation of the effects of ending unsupervised stakes above £50 on fixed odds betting terminals in betting shops.
Tracey Crouch
I hope to publish the evaluation early in the new year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the results were of temperature tests to determine eligibility to receive winter fuel allowance of people living abroad in 2015.
Justin Tomlinson
The winter fuel payment eligibility criteria for people who normally live in the EEA, was changed for winter 2015-16. A temperature criterion was introduced by the DWP using information from a report it commissioned from the Met Office. This report showed the average winter temperature data for each EEA country and Switzerland and for the regions of the UK. The Met Office report was produced in 2012 and used information from a dataset for the reference period 1961-1990 available through the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia.
The average winter temperature in the warmest part of the UK, the South West, is 5.6oC. This point is the basis for the changes made to the winter fuel payment eligibility criteria. People living in countries with an average winter temperature of no more than 5.6oC, or a temperature that is close enough to that to be statistically equivalent, are eligible for a winter fuel payment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2016 to Question 23428, how many claimants of employment and support allowance who had a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease were removed from the work-related activity group because they had died.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has had discussions with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority after its authorisation of a licence for gene editing of human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9 on the process of ethical approval being granted for such a licence.
George Freeman
The Department has not had any discussions with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) after its authorisation of a licence for gene editing of human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9 about the process of ethical approval being granted for such a licence.
The Francis Crick Institute, which made the licence application to the HFEA, is intending to place copies of the information given to patients or donors explaining this research on its website, once the final draft has been agreed.
There is no statutory requirement for ethical approval to be in place before an HFEA research licence can be granted. However, the HFEA has developed guidance for its licensing committee that such approval should be in place before a licence is granted and research is allowed to proceed.
In 2012, none of the three licences granted had ethical approval in place and a condition was therefore placed on each licence that licensed research could not proceed until such approval was in place. In 2013, five research licences were granted, all of which had ethical approval in place. In 2014, seven licences were granted, all of which had ethical approval in place. In 2015, one of the 15 licences granted did not have ethical approval in place and a condition was therefore placed on the licence that licensed research could not proceed until such approval was in place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the year 7 catch-up premium in raising pupil attainment at GCSE level.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Since 2012 we have provided £500 per pupil funding to secondary schools for year 7 pupils who did not meet the expected standard in reading or mathematics at primary school. This funding enables schools to deliver additional support, such as individual tuition or intensive support in small groups, for those pupils that most need it.
It is not possible to make an assessment of the effectiveness of the year 7 catch-up premium in raising pupil attainment at GCSE level, as the first cohort of pupils to benefit from this funding in 2012 will now be in year 10 and have not yet entered GCSEs.
We provide advice and guidance to schools on how they should use their funding and have published guidance on literacy and numeracy catch-up strategies which schools can consult when making decisions on how to spend their funding. Schools must publish details of how they spend their year 7 catch-up premium funding on the school website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-05-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the possible impact on the local economy and the environment of hydraulic fracturing in Ryedale, and what were the results of the economic impact assessment carried out on that proposed development.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
A planning application for the extraction of shale gas in Ryedale is currently under consideration by North Yorkshire County Council. It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on the specifics of any proposal. It will be for the Council to take into account the impacts of the proposed development on the local economy and the environment as relevant in its determination of that application.
The Government continues to support the development of the shale industry in the UK. It has the potential to power economic growth, create tens of thousands of jobs and provide a new domestic energy source, making us less reliant on imports from abroad.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Wolf of Dulwich on 2016-06-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 9 May (HL7498), whether the recent inquiry and report by the Quality Assurance Agency on West London Vocational Training has led them to reconsider or amend current measures relating to alternative providers; and if not, why not.
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
The Government has revoked West London Vocational Training College’s designation for student support funding for Higher Education (HE) courses in England with effect from 3 June. Affected students will be supported so they can continue their studies with as limited disruption as possible. The cross-agency action in this case demonstrates the Government’s continuing strong focus on improving quality and value for money across the Alternative Provider (AP) sector.
Since the 2012-13 academic year the Government has progressively strengthened systems to oversee the specific course designation of APs to secure improved quality and standards, including the introduction of a more rigorous, risk-based approach to quality assurance and annual provider re-designation.
Further reforms announced in the May 2016 HE White Paper will create a level playing field for all HE providers, supporting greater diversity, innovation and choice for students, whilst preserving quality and value for money.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Queen’s Speech 2016, if her Department will publish detailed plans to create the right for every household to access high speed broadband.
Matt Hancock
Following the Queen’s Speech, the Digital Economy Bill has been introduced which includes measures to enable the Government to implement and review a new broadband Universal Service Obligation. We have asked Ofcom to undertake a detailed technical analysis on a range of factors that will impact on the design of the USO. Once we have considered Ofcom’s report, we will consult on the detailed specifications for the USO which will be set in secondary legislation once the Bill has received Royal Assent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to encourage students to become ambulance service paramedics upon graduating.
Mr Philip Dunne
The latest available data from NHS Digital NHS Hospital and Community Health Service monthly workforce statistics shows that there are now over 2,200 more paramedics in the National Health Service than in May 2010.
As set out in Health Education England’s (HEE) 2016/17 Workforce Plan for England, planned paramedic training places have increased by 60%, to over 1,600. The workforce plan estimates that by 2020 there is likely to be an 11% growth in the available paramedic workforce.
HEE is partnering with the East of England Ambulance Service Trust, the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) to give aspiring paramedics the chance to gain the experience, skills and knowledge required to support applications for the Paramedic Science degree programme (BSc) at UEA and ARU for entry in September 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Ministry of Defence expenditure her Department considered to be spending on international development in each year from 2006 to 2014.
Grant Shapps
The Ministry of Defence did not spend any Official Development Assistance during the years 2006-2010. Figures for 2011-2014 are shown in the table below.
|
MoD Spend on ODA (£m) |
|||
|
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
5 |
5 |
3 |
3* |
*2014 data is provisional. Final figures for 2014 will be published on the DFID website on Thursday 3rd December 2015.
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