The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of raising the state pension age on people paying into personal pension schemes.
Justin Tomlinson
No assessment has been made of the effect of raising the state pension age on people paying into personal pension schemes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to the funding formula for GP surgeries on surgeries in (a) Huddersfield and (b) Kirklees.
Alistair Burt
Approximately 55% of general practitioner (GP) practices operate under General Medical Service (GMS) contract arrangements. Typically, at least half of the money that a GMS practice receives is in the form of the ‘global sum’, derived through the Carr-Hill Formula.
The formula, as agreed with the British Medical Association (BMA) before the introduction of the 2004 GP contract, is used to allocate the global sum and related payments on the basis of the practice population, weighted for factors that influence relative needs and costs.
There are indications that the formula does not work as effectively in areas with demographically atypical populations, such as new towns or areas with high student populations. NHS England is working with the BMA’s General Practitioners Committee, NHS Employers, the Department and academic partners on the review to develop a formula that better reflects the factors that drive workload, such as age or deprivation. As part of this work, the effect of any changes on practice funding in specific areas such as Huddersfield and Kirklees will be considered. It is intended that the review of the Carr-Hill formula will inform the 2017-18 GP contract.
A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified one item of correspondence received since 1 May 2015 from university health centres. There has also been a Ministerial meeting related to areas with demographically atypical populations, in this case new towns. It was not possible to identify correspondence received from GP surgeries with atypical patient profiles. This represents correspondence received by the Department’s ministerial correspondence unit only.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2016 to Question 33944, whether the decision not to change statutory guidance on post-16 transport to education and training will be subject to review as area reviews of further education progress.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Area reviews of post-16 education are focused on meeting the needs of learners in each area, and because they are overseen by steering groups including Chairs and Principals of colleges as well as local authorities, they are well placed to do this. The steering group’s discussions and recommendations are based on the best available evidence, including an analysis of local economic and educational needs and the mapping of current curriculum provision and travel to learn patterns. Recommendations made by the steering group, including mergers, should improve access to better quality teaching delivered by sustainable institutions focused on meeting learner need.
Local authorities are members of area review steering groups and have statutory responsibility for transport to education and training for 16- to 19-year-olds. We expect local authorities to make reasonable decisions about the support they offer based on the needs of their young people, local transport infrastructure and the resources they have available. Authorities will need to take account of the recommendations arising from each area review and the impact on transport for learners. We will reflect this in the next version of the post-16 transport statutory guidance which we plan to update in the autumn.
Most young people already have access to some kind of discount or concession on bus or train travel, either from their local authority, local transport providers, or from their school or college, and we would expect this to continue following any changes to post-16 provision as a result of area reviews. The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund will continue to be available to support those young people who most need it, with the costs of attending post-16 education or training such as transport and meals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-06-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they estimate the Cardiff Rail Operating Centre will be commissioned.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Cardiff Regional Operating Centre opened in 2010 and has been signaling trains since that date.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will pay the outstanding payments to farmers affected by storms Eva and Desmond last December.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
More than 1,000 applications for funding under the Farming Recovery Fund have been approved by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).
Farmers have until the end of December 2016 to carry out the restoration work and then submit a claim for payment to us. RPA aims to process and made payments within a month of receiving a fully completed claim.
To date the RPA has received 358 claims for payment and 268 of these have been paid.
RPA is waiting for the remaining 750 claims to be submitted, the majority of which are expected in October and November.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has plans to encourage the planting of trees to enhance the visual amenity of farmland.
Rory Stewart
This Government is committed to planting 11 million trees over the course of this Parliament, creating 24,711 acres of new woodland. This will be delivered by £31m per year of new Rural Development Programme funding that will be spent on forestry. £13m will be spent on woodland management and £18m on new planting. Farmers and landowners will be eligible to apply for the scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to respond to Question 12142, tabled by the hon. Member for Coventry South on 15 October 2015.
Tracey Crouch
The Government believes that all-seater stadiums are the best means to ensure the safety and security of fans at football in England and Wales. All-seater stadiums have helped improve crowd management, crowd behaviour and policing. They also provide more comfortable facilities to enjoy football matches.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the UN Human Rights Council on the persecution of Christians.
Mr David Lidington
The UK has a strong record of supporting freedom of religion or belief, including christianity, at the Human Rights Council. We supported the resolution on freedom of religion or belief in both the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly in 2015, and will look to do so again in March 2016. The UK also supported the appointment of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, who is tasked with monitoring and reporting these issues worldwide.
In addition, we regularly support language in country specific resolutions about the importance of protecting religious minorities, as evidenced in the Syria resolution of September 2015. We also regularly work with EU partners to ensure a strong EU position on freedom of religion or belief at the Human Rights Council.
When raising persecution faced by one faith group, we endeavour to frame our remarks in the wider context of the rule of law and freedom – making the point that when one faith community is persecuted, the liberty of all is jeopardised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for freedom of speech in universities of recent reports of violent protests at an Israeli Society event at King’s College London.
Joseph Johnson
The Government strongly opposes any kind of violence or intimidation that curtails free speech in universities and leads to the closure of peaceful meetings.
King’s College London has undertaken its own review of the protests at the Israeli Society event on 19th January and concluded that a number of individuals “intentionally disrupted the rights of others to exercise freedom of speech within the law”.
Whilst the violent protests were deplorable, KCL has acted to reiterate its commitment to free speech and take disciplinary measures against individuals concerned.
The Prevent duty introduced in September 2015 requires institutions to have robust policies and procedures in place to manage events such as this in order to protect students and staff and safeguard freedom of speech. As the designated monitoring body, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will be making an assessment of compliance with the requirements of the duty.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2016 to Question 25356, whether the Traffic Collision Avoidance System fitted to 43 Tornado GR4 aircraft is the Honeywell TCAS II system.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) in use on Tornado GR4 is the Honeywell TCAS II system. We continue to make progess on fitting TCAS to Tornado and 48 aircraft are now fitted with the system. The project is planned to be completed by the end of 2016.