The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many homeowners and businesses have received a grant from the Repair and Renew Grant fund, and what is the average payment.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Over 6,000 home and business owners have benefitted from the Repair and Renew Grant scheme to help protect their property against future flooding events. The average payment was £3,918.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training his Department provides for women to enable them to serve in combat on the front line.
Penny Mordaunt
Women already serve in a variety of roles with front line units including pilots, submariners, medics, fire support team commanders, military intelligence operators, counter improvised explosive device operators and dog handlers. They have made and continue to make a valuable contribution to recent and current operations including Afghanistan.
Women are currently excluded from serving in Ground Close Combat roles; the Infantry and Royal Armoured Corps, the Royal Marines and the Royal Air Force Regiment. The Prime Minister stated on 20 December 2015 that he wants to see all roles in the Armed Forces opened up to women in 2016 and further physiological research currently under way will inform a final decision in mid-2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) completing and (b) implementing further education area reviews.
Nick Boles
Government will produce an evaluation of the area review programme and its potential to impact on groups protected by the Equality Act 2010. The reviews do not however, mandate action, and colleges are independent corporations, so it will be for each college’s governing body to assess the potential impact on groups protected by the Act, as part of its decision to accept or reject any recommendation requiring a change to their provision.
Each area review steering group will consider relevant data relating to current courses delivered within their area, assess the relevance of these courses to local learner and employer needs and determine how current and future demand can be best met through the recommendations of the area review.
Individual area reviews are expected to take about four months, the timescale being dependent on the number of colleges and complexity of the local issues involved in each area. The overall review process has been divided into five waves of area reviews and is scheduled to be completed by March 2017
We expect the costs of completing an area review to be met within existing budgets, with minimal additional costs to the colleges, local authorities or LEPs involved. The Departments and their agencies will undertake this work with no additional staffing. Additional costs will be minimal.
The costs arising from the recommendations of each review will be explored as part of the process. We expect the colleges, alongside local authorities and LEPs with devolved skills budgets, to consider how these costs can be met locally. Where there are costs that cannot be met, but which are essential to the successful implementation of the review, we have announced a facility for transitional funding to support this. We will provide more detail in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department spent on promotional material and publicity for (a) Community Clear Up Day in 2015 and (b) Clean for the Queen in 2016.
Mr Marcus Jones
In March 2015, communities across the country rolled up their sleeves and got behind a nationwide spring clean in order to spruce up our favourite public places. The Department for Communities and Local Government spearheaded this initiative and it was a success with several hundred clear-ups arranged by grassroots activists including community and faith groups, councils and parishes, and schools and sports teams.
The Department spent £5,000 on solid, consistent branding for Community Clear Up Day which was clearly government backed, making the campaign recognisable for key stakeholders and the public alike.
It also spent £5,000 on promoting Community Clear Up Day through Facebook. Having ownership of social media ensured the Department was able to engage with the public effectively, and be proactive and responsive when necessary in its social communications.
In March 2016, the Clean for the Queen campaign, spearheaded by Keep Britain Tidy and backed by organisations including the Women’s Institute, the National Trust and the Campaign to Protect Rural England, was the biggest community-led clean-up the country has ever seen. Following the success of utilising Facebook for Community Clear Up Day, the Department for Communities and Local Government, in order to support the initiative, again spent £5,000 on this method of engaging with stakeholders and local communities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support they plan to provide to air services to and from St Helena when the new airport opens there.
Baroness Verma
As part of Her Majesty’s Government’s commitment to provide for the Overseas Territories’ reasonable assistance needs DFID will fund over the first two years any shortfall between the costs of operating the weekly service from Johannesburg and revenue from ticket sales.
A revenue management strategy is being developed by the air service provider in collaboration with the St Helena Government. This will be regularly reviewed to ensure that self-sustainability is reached as soon as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish Alan Wood’s report on local safeguarding children’s boards’ roles and functions.
Edward Timpson
Alan Wood’s independent review of the role and functions of Local Safeguarding Children Boards has now been published. It can be found on GOV.UK at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wood-review-of-local-safeguarding-children-boards
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on investment in renewable energy of the UK withdrawing from the EU.
Jesse Norman
Since the EU referendum, the Government has been engaging with our key energy stakeholders, including investors in the renewable energy sector, to make it clear that we are open for business.
The UK remains an attractive environment for investors in energy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what permissions have been sought by (a) NATO, (b) the US and (c) any other country to fly remotely piloted aircraft systems in UK airspace in the last two years.
Mr John Hayes
The Secretary of State for Transport has not received any requests for such permissions in the last two years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many clinical commissioning groups implement in full the Infertility Network UK recommendations on access to IVF treatment.
Jane Ellison
The Department funded Infertility Network UK (INUK) to develop advice to NHS Commissioners on standardising eligibility criteria for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment. The Department has consistently encouraged NHS Commissioners to have regard to this advice. The INUK advice is listed as a resource for clinical commissioning groups (CCG) in the NHS England “Commissioning Fertility Services Factsheet”.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend that eligible couples should receive three full cycles of IVF treatment. The Government has made clear that blanket restrictions on treatment are unacceptable and all decisions on treatment should be made by doctors based on a patient’s individual clinical needs and in line with NICE Guidelines.
While we have not made an assessment of access to IVF treatment, we are aware of the annual survey by Fertility Fairness. I have written to stakeholders, including Fertility Fairness, and invited them to discuss what could be done to improve the provision of IVF services along with representatives of NHS England and Monitor.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2015-12-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many formal notices have been issued to the Academies Enterprise Trust or individual schools within that Trust; and what discussions they have had with the relevant Regional Schools Commissioner regarding that Trust.
Lord Nash
Pre-warning notices in relation to academies are subject to ongoing review and, where appropriate, intervention as part of the regular dialogue between the trust and Regional Schools Commissioners.
Details of all formal notices that have been issued are in the public domain and have been attached to this answer.