The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barbara Keeley on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many readmissions within 28 days of discharge from hospital there were for patients over the age of (a) 65, (b) 80 and (c) 90 in (i) England and (ii) each clinical commissioning group and primary care trust area in each of the last six years.
George Freeman
The information is not held in the format requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the culling of chicks in the poultry industry.
George Eustice
The alternatives to culling chicks at one-day old are currently being explored. Research is well underway at the University of Leipzig in Germany, who are developing a new method for in-ovo gender identification, so that eggs identified as male can be sorted and used for purposes other than hatching. I also raised this issue at the G7 in Japan in April, and gave my support to the development of this new technology. We will look carefully at the results of this work and how it can be applied.
In the UK, all four of the laying hen hatcheries use argon and CO2 gas techniques as a method of euthanising chicks and not maceration.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what equality impact assessment has been carried out on the consequences of selective education, as outlined in the Schools that work for everyone consultation document on the right for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities pupils to be in mainstream education.
Nick Gibb
This Government is committed to ensuring all children, including those with SEND, have the opportunity to achieve their potential and make a successful transition to adult life.
The Admissions Code and the Equality Act 2010 apply to all schools – both selective and non-selective – meaning they must make admission decisions over those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) fairly.
The Department is having, and will continue to have, due regard to equalities impact, both in the study of responses to the consultation document and throughout any development of policy areas, following the consultation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, why the Weald of Kent Grammar School was not able to expand on its existing site.
Edward Timpson
The Weald of Kent School has set out its plans in expansion proposals. Pupils at the Sevenoaks annexe will attend the Tonbridge site at least once a week to attend a whole school assembly and additional lessons. The school will also operate a house system across the expanded school, regularly bringing students together on a range of curriculum projects. The length of the school day is a matter for the academy trust.
The newly expanded school will better meet the needs of parents in the community that the school currently serves. Over 41% of pupils at the Tonbridge site already travel from the Sevenoaks area. The travel arrangements between the sites will use existing bus companies to transport pupils who live in Sevenoaks to the Tonbridge site. The proposal indicates that the journey time is approximately 17 minutes and no additional funding is being provided to the academy to cover the costs.
The decision issued on 15 October 2015 was in respect of a proposal received on 14 September 2015. The Department can comment on the costs of external legal advice once we have the final costs bill.
The school would not have the required capital funding to expand on this scale at the existing site.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what part of the defence budget is allocated for military action in Syria.
Earl Howe
In agreement with Her Majesty’s Treasury, the Ministry of Defence draws upon the Special Reserve to meet the net additional costs for operations. As such, no part of the Defence budget is specifically allocated for military action in Syria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 2.50 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, to which claimants the announcement of an extension of job search conditionality relates.
Priti Patel
By 2020 Universal Credit (UC) will extend support to over a million more claimants than under Jobseeker’s Allowance. The majority of people in this group are not in work and currently have no employment support available. A small proportion of the group may be earning very small amounts – less than the Administrative Earnings Threshold – and will benefit from the out of work support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Greater Manchester Combined Authority is legally required to consult all councillors in the 10 metropolitan district councils on the sites identified in the draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework Development Plan.
James Wharton
The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities is currently involved in the preparation of a Greater Manchester Spatial Framework Development Plan working with the 10 metropolitan councils in the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s area. We understand that this is intended to become a joint development plan document.
A local authority may arrange for the discharge of any of its functions by a committee, sub-committee, an officer or by any other local authority. The ten local authorities have delegated responsibility for the “coordination” of the Greater Manchester Strategic Framework to Association of Greater Manchester Authorities Executive Board, a committee of the Combined Authority. Under these current arrangements, it is for each individual authority to decide how to engage its members in the production of the document.
Each local planning authority must also comply with section 18 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, which requires them to prepare a Statement of Community Involvement which should explain how they will engage local communities and other interested parties in producing development plan documents and determining planning applications. This should be published on the local planning authority’s website and it is the authority’s responsibility to ensure that any Development Plan Document is prepared in accordance with it.
It would not be appropriate for me to meet to discuss the detail of a plan in preparation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) senior officials of her Department have had with representatives from the National Baccalaureate Trust since May 2015.
Nick Gibb
I am not aware of any discussions that have taken place with representatives from the National Baccalaureate Trust.
The Department recently consulted on the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) asking for views on how schools will manage the challenges associated with implementing the commitment that the EBacc becomes the default position for all mainstream secondary pupils. The consultation closed on 29 January and we received 2,755 responses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on hosting ministerial receptions in each of the last five years.
Matthew Hancock
Information relating to official and charity receptions held at Downing Street are published on a quarterly basis and are available on the gov.uk website.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the fact that the new Royal Research Ship being built for the British Antarctic Survey is a ship and not a boat, what is their assessment of the suitability of the name Boaty McBoatface for that vessel.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The feedback from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)’s call-for-ideas for the new Royal Research Ship is being considered by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and NERC. The final decision on the ship’s name will be taken by Government. The name will be submitted for registration to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in line with Regulation 30(1) of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1993.