The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals have been granted in a claimant’s favour following an assessment prior to a transfer from disability living allowance to personal independence payments.
Sir Oliver Heald
Between April 2013, when the Personal Independence Payment was introduced, and March 2016, there were 9,774 reassessment appeals which found in favour of the appellant.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many UK medical students entered undergraduate training in each year since 2000.
Mr Philip Dunne
Information on the number of United Kingdom medical students is not held centrally; this is collected by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions his Department has had with health bodies on ensuring timely treatment for people with alcohol-related illnesses.
Jane Ellison
Departmental officials have regular meetings with various stakeholders, including health bodies, in which a wide range of topics are discussed. Ministers are involved at appropriate points. There have been no recent discussions on timely treatment for people with alcohol-related illnesses.
Local communities, services and businesses are best placed to tackle alcohol-related issues in their area and enforce the behaviour and develop the cultures that they want.
Local authorities and the Health and Wellbeing Board partners have responsibility for planning the full range of alcohol services, from early intervention and prevention, through to commissioning alcohol treatment services to meet the need in their areas. They are supported to deliver their public health priorities by Public Health England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Scully on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on implementing the plan for community pharmacists to access Summary Care Records; and if he will make a statement.
George Freeman
NHS England is now working with stakeholders to develop guidance and the arrangements for deployment so that all community pharmacists in England have access to the Summary Care Record. As this continues to be rolled out, it will enable more pharmacies to provide increased clinical services, helping to reduce the burden on other health and social care providers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 22 January (HL4827), what assessment they have made of the capacity of the United Nations Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and on the Responsibility to Protect, to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for genocide against Yazidis and Christians.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The role of the UN Office of the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide is to raise awareness of the causes and dynamics of genocide, to alert relevant actors where there is a risk of genocide, and to advocate and mobilise for appropriate action. The role of the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect is to lead the conceptual, political, institutional and operational development of the Responsibility to Protect. They are not mandated to carry out criminal/judicial investigations, and therefore the British Government has made no assessment of their capacity to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to provide financial support to Jordan to tackle the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK has contributed £330 million to support stability in Jordan since the start of the Syria crisis, £193 million of which has gone towards support for refugees and host communities. We are committed to continuing our support. On 4 February the UK co-hosted the ‘Supporting Syria and the Region 2016’ conference which secured over $11bn in pledges for Syria’s neighbours from the international community, the largest sum raised for a cause on a single day. Jordan agreed a Compact at the conference which will see their receiving new funding, concessional finance, and support to increase investment in return for providing refugees with access to work and education. The UK will be at the forefront of work to deliver this plan.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the contribution of nurseries to improving literacy rates.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The early years are a critical stage for a child’s development. Nurseries have an important role in helping to ensure that all children start school with the knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.
All three- and four-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours a week of quality early education, free of charge, to prepare them for school and improve their life chances. This is extremely successful with 94% of three-year-olds and 99% of four-year-olds taking up the current free entitlement. From September 2017, we are introducing 15 hours of free childcare a week for the working parents of three- and four-year olds, on top of the existing early education entitlement.
The latest Early Years Foundation Stage Profile data reveal that an increasing proportion of children are achieving a good level of development at age five: 66% in 2015, compared to 52% in 2013.
In the specific area of literacy, 76% of children achieved at least the expected level in reading and 71% did so in writing in the academic year 2014/15.
Parents also have an essential role to play in their child’s development. In September 2015, we re-launched our popular guide for parents ‘What to expect, when?’ to include a strengthened focus on language, communication and literacy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what meetings he has initiated on steel in the last two years.
Anna Soubry
It is an established convention that Ministers of one Administration cannot see the documents of a previous Administration. I am therefore unable to provide the information requested by the hon Member for the entire period given in his Question.
I first met with Gareth Stace on 01 June 2015 and discussions with steel industry stakeholders continued thereafter to identify the policy priorities for dealing with the considerable challenges facing the sector. We convened a Steel Summit on 16 October 2015 which brought together all the major stakeholders, including key Government and industry participants as well as constituency MPs, recognising the significant part steel companies play in local communities. This led to the formation of three Ministerial Working Groups which took the lead on our efforts to deliver on the five key ‘Asks’ put to us by our partners in the steel industry.
To ensure a sustainable future we set up the Steel Council, co-chaired by my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, to build on the achievements of the three previous Ministerial working groups, by looking at the longer term future of the sector and how we can strengthen the capability and competiveness of the UK steel industry both at home and globally. The Council met for the first time on 2 March.
Since this Government took office, BIS Ministers have undertaken a number of visits to steel-producing sites across the UK, including: SSI Redcar; Tata Steel facilities at Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and Rotherham; Celsa in Cardiff and the former-Tata Steel site at Motherwell recently re-opened by Liberty Steel.
To date we have made significant progress in addressing the challenges faced by the industry, including:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many permanent EU officials were passed through the Civil/Diplomatic Service European Fast Stream programme in each year since 2010.
Mr David Lidington
The European Fast Stream was re-established in 2010 with the dual aim of increasing UK representation in the EU institutions, as well as building EU capability in Whitehall. As part of the scheme, each European Fast Streamer spends five months or longer in an EU institution as a national expert. Since 2010 there have been four successful candidates in the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) competitions from the European Fast Stream. Of these successful candidates, one took up a post in 2014 and another is starting in summer 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan (1) urgently to meet with the government of France and the UNHCR to set up systems for providing reliable information for refugees and migrants in Calais and Dunkirk; and (2) to take steps to ensure that the Dublin III Regulations work for family reunion.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
As stated in Written Answer HL649 on 27 June under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015 the UK and France have committed to ensur-ing that provisions of the Dublin III Regulation are used efficiently and effectively. To assist the handling of such cases, the two Governments have established a permanent official contact group, agreed single points of contact within respective Dublin Units and a UK asylum expert was seconded to the French administration earlier this year to facilitate the improvement of all stages of the process.
We continue to work closely so that both the UK and France can fulfil our re-spective obligations under the Dublin Regulation to family members, including unaccompanied children, who qualify for transfer to the UK under the Regula-tion’s family unity provisions.
The UK and France are running regular joint communication campaigns in northern France which inform unaccompanied children and others of their right to claim asylum in France and the family reunion process. Whilst the management of migrants in Calais is the responsibility of the French Govern-ment, the UK recognises that vulnerable people in the camps are at risk from exploitation and trafficking. This is why the UK Government funds a project, run by a French NGO, to identify and direct vulnerable people to protection, support and advice within France.