The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to respond to Ofcom’s review of the Terms of Trade.
Mr Edward Vaizey
I am considering Ofcom’s report on the independent production sector regulations and will respond in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that all clinical commissioning groups increase investment in mental health services each year at a level which at least matches their overall expenditure increase.
Alistair Burt
The Government’s Mandate to NHS England sets out an expectation for NHS England to achieve measurable progress towards the parity of esteem for mental health enshrined in the NHS Constitution. Progress is being monitored as part of NHS England’s planning and financial reporting process.
Delivering the Forward View: NHS planning guidance for 2016-17 requires clinical commissioning groups (CCG) to increase investment in mental health services above their overall increase in allocation each year. This can include investment in primary or secondary mental health services, which should be aligned with delivery of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health: a report from the Independent Mental Health Taskforce published in February 2016.
Where a CCG is not investing in mental health services as planned and without providing adequate justification, NHS England will work with the CCG to bring their spending back in line with their plan.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-05-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 11 May 2016 to Question 36241, what assumptions were made about the number of people (a) taking up a Lifetime ISA and (b) subscribing the maximum annual amount to an ordinary ISA in calculating the estimated Exchequer impacts set out in that Answer.
Mr David Gauke
The Lifetime ISA is a voluntary product. For further information on the costing of this policy, please see page 9 of the Budget 2015 Policy Costings document: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508147/PU1912_Policy_Costings_FINAL3.pdf
ISA statistics are published on the GOV.UK website. Table 9.7 sets out the number of individuals subscribing to ISAs by income and amount subscribed: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/number-of-individuals-subscribing-to-an-individual-savings-account-isa-by-income.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of drug-related visits to accident and emergency units involved the use of legal highs in the last six months.
Nicola Blackwood
This information is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many coastguards were employed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in each year since 2010-11.
Mr John Hayes
The number of Coastguards employed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in each year since 2010/11 is as follows:
|
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
2015/16 |
2016/17 |
|
517 |
491 |
469 |
418 |
386 |
416 |
424 |
When interpreting the above numbers, it is important to note that the new HM Coastguard structure enables the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) and nine Coastguard Operation Centres (CGOC) to coordinate any incident around the UK coast. Workload and incidents continue to managed locally but all Coastguard Centres now have a national support network available to them during busy periods. These arrangements are most effectively deployed from a smaller national footprint.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2015 to Question 15281, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of teachers trained in the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
There are now more, better-qualified teachers in England’s classrooms than ever before. In November 2014 there were 454,900 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers, up 5,200 from the previous year and up 13,100 from 2010. A record 96.6 per cent of all teachers now hold a degree or higher qualification.
Teacher vacancy rates have remained stable at around 1 per cent of all posts for over a decade, and retention rates have also remained stable over the same period. Approximately 90 per cent of teachers are in service in the year after they qualify, and 72 per cent of those who qualified in 2009 were still teaching 5 years later. Over the longer term, over 60 per cent of teachers remain in service 10 years after qualifying.
Nevertheless, we recognise that teacher recruitment is a challenge as the economy continues to strengthen and competition for new graduates intensifies; this is particularly true in certain areas of the country. We are taking steps to attract more top graduates and career changers into the profession, particularly in those core academic subjects that help children reach their potential. This includes offering generous financial incentives, such as tax-free bursaries of up to £30,000 for top graduates in priority subjects such as physics.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will exempt (a) domestic violence refuges and (b) other supported accommodation where higher rates of housing benefit are paid from planned changes to the housing benefit cap.
Justin Tomlinson
The introduction of Local Housing Allowance limits to social sector tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit will only apply from April 2018 where new tenancies have been taken out or renewed after April 2016.
The Department is working on the exact policy design details for tenants in supported accommodation which includes domestic violence refuges.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any person or body has sought disclosure of his Department’s legal advice on the drone strike that killed Reyaad Khan for purposes related to the inquiry by the Intelligence and Security Committee on that matter.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) gave to the hon. Member for Blaydon (Mr. Anderson) on Monday 25 January 2016, UIN23433.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which government departments and agencies plan to participate in Exercise Joint Venture later this year.
Penny Mordaunt
Defence Exercises such as Joint Venture 16 require the assistance of Partners Across Government to replicate the interoperability and inputs which a deployed Joint Task Force would face on operations. The following Government Departments and agencies have been invited to participate in Exercise Joint Venture: the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development, the Stabilisation Unit, Dstl and various Intelligence Agencies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department’s expenditure was on Wi-Fi provision for public libraries in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15 and (f) 2015-16 to date.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Public libraries are funded and run by local authorities. However, the Government provided funding in 2015-16 which means that by March 2016, free WiFi will be available in 99% of public libraries in England. In total, 70 local authorities will have received funding of around £2.7 million to upgrade or install WiFi in 1017 public libraries. In addition, through the Government’s super connected cities programme, WiFi was previously installed in 288 libraries across 14 cities, UK-wide by the end of March 2015.