Category: Speeches

Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many deaf children attended mainstream schools in England in each of the last 10 years; and how many such children were taught British Sign Language in each of those years.

Edward Timpson

The number of children with special educational needs (SEN) who have ‘hearing impairment’ listed as their primary need can be found in the annual statistical first release ‘Special Educational Needs in England’ on GOV.UK. Table 1, below, provides collated figures for the last ten years, for pupils attending state-funded primary and secondary schools. These figures include children in resourced provision or SEN units but not children in special schools. There will be children whose primary need is not ‘hearing impairment’ but who, nevertheless, have a hearing impairment. These children are not covered by this information.

From September 2014 the ’SEN support’ category replaced the ’school action’ and ‘school action plus’ categories. Those recoded, in 2015, as having ‘SEN support’ but who were formerly included in the ‘school action’ category will not previously have had a primary type of need recorded. This is likely to have contributed to the large increase – between 2014 and 2015 – in the numbers of children recorded as having a hearing impairment.

The Department does not collect statistics on the number of deaf children in mainstream schools who are being taught British Sign Language.

Table 1:

Year	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
State funded primary schools	6,390	6,570	6,650	6,860	7,230	7,370	7,510	7,610	7,915	9,275
State funded secondary schools	5,510	5,670	5,980	6,350	6,730	7,080	7,125	7,225	7,125	8,705
Total	11,900	12,240	12,630	13,210	13,960	14,450	14,635	14,835	15,040	17,980

The links to published data can be found here:

2015	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2015
2014	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2014
2013	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2013
2012	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2012
2011	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2011
2010	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2010
2009	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151655/http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00196058/special-educational-needs
2008	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151655/http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00195802/pupils-with-special-educational-needs
2007	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151655/http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00195520/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2007
2006	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151655/http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00195201/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2006

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01/01/2023

Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether plans to introduce a hepatitis C improvement framework have been abandoned and, if so, why.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has been rapidly working on their plans for access to treatment during 2016/17 following enactment of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technical appraisal guidance and has committed to produce an operational framework for the treatment of hepatitis C during 2016/17. This will set out NHS England’s commitment to improving outcomes in hepatitis C across England.

01/01/2023
David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will establish an office within his Department with a focus on assisting UK military veterans in terms of housing, health, employment, pensions and other needs.

Mark Lancaster

As I stated on 24 March 2016 during a debate in the House (Official Report, columns 1865-74) the concept of such an office, while well-intentioned, would duplicate existing provision. We already have strong cross-Government support for veterans from the Department of Health, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Department for Communities and Local Government as well as other Departments. In addition, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) operates Veterans UK which focuses on the provision of pensions, compensation and welfare support for veterans.

The Armed Forces Covenant is designed to stop the Armed Forces community facing disadvantage and provides an effective mechanism to connect the various stakeholders who have an interest in supporting our community. The Covenant Reference Group brings together all relevant Departments and Devolved Administrations in a way that a single agency or Ministry could not. In addition, the Defence Secretary ensures that the MOD publishes an annual report to Parliament to communicate the delivery of our Covenant commitments.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Air Force are deployed to the 77th Brigade.

Penny Mordaunt

77th Brigade includes 10 members of the Naval Service (Royal Navy and Royal Marines) and 11 Royal Air Force personnel.

01/01/2023
Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to prepare for the UK to leave the EU since 23 June 2016; and what further such steps her Department plans to take in the remainder of 2016.

Caroline Dinenage

The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. In doing this it is working very closely with other government departments, including the Department for Education, and a wide range of other interested parties.

01/01/2023
James Cleverly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cleverly on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had on the renovation of the official residence and offices of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Secretary-General’s official residence is fully maintained and allowance is made in the existing Secretariat budget to provide ongoing general maintenance. It is custom to refurbish the premises on the appointment of a new Secretary General thus giving a cycle of approximately eight years. The budget for the renovation of the official residence was agreed by the Board of Governors at its meeting in June 2015, before the appointment of Patricia Scotland. Nevertheless, we welcome the Secretary-General’s statement that "any work on Hill Street must represent value for money and no extravagance."

We also welcome steps by the Secretary-General to create a Commonwealth Hub through the shared use of existing premises at Quadrant House. Incorporating the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Royal Commonwealth Society and the Commonwealth Local Government Foundation will help bring these organisations together alongside the Secretariat. It will also help the Secretariat to reduce overheads while obtaining value from existing resources and developing new partnerships to better deliver outcomes.

01/01/2023
Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 12901, on mental health services, whether the figures in that Answer include children and young people.

Alistair Burt

The figures set out in the answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 12901 include children and young people. The number of times people aged under 18 were taken to police custody as a place of safety under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act fell from 256 in 2013/14 to 161 in 2014/15 (37% reduction)^{^[1]}.

[1] National Police Chief’s Council: http://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/fall-in-use-of-police-custody-for-those-in-mental-health-crisis

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01/01/2023
Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what conditionality is attached to disbursements from the Joint Security Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands

The Spending Review set out the allocation of the Joint Security Fund for the Ministry of Defence and the Intelligence Agencies totalling £3.5bn over 5 years.

The Joint Security Fund will be used to deliver the investments set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review. The allocation of funding is conditional on annual spending limits that were agreed at the Spending Review. As with all public expenditure, Managing Public Money sets out how public funds must be spent, including the principles of regularity and propriety.

01/01/2023
Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been undertaken of the effect on sexual and reproductive health services of reductions in the Public Health Grant to local authorities for 2015-16 and the measures in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 relating to the public health system.

Jane Ellison

The Department’s Framework for Sexual Health Promotion in England (2013) sets out our ambitions and objectives to improve sexual health for all people. It takes account of the commissioning arrangements from 2013 including the new role for local authorities (LAs) as commissioners of most sexual health services. Later this month Public Health England (PHE) will undertake a survey of local commissioning arrangements for sexual health. It has also produced sexual health and reproductive health profiles to help LAs and others monitor the sexual and reproductive health of their populations and the performance of local public health related systems.

It is for LAs to decide on what research and evidence they need to inform their tenders for sexual health and reproductive health services in line with procurement requirements and good practice. In 2014 PHE published Making it Work, a guide to commissioning for sexual health across the whole system, to improve the sexual health of both individuals and the wider public.

We have made no formal assessment of the effect on sexual health services of reductions in the Public Health Grant to LAs for 2015/16, although PHE continues to monitor relevant outcomes data for every LA in England. Decisions on local public health spending are a matter for LAs. They are mandated by legislation to commission open access sexual health services that meet the needs of their local population. Officials meet regularly with sexual health organisations who would raise any concerns if LAs were not meeting their mandatory requirements for sexual health services.

The Framework for Sexual Health Improvement includes as a priority reducing unwanted pregnancies and highlights the need to increase access to long acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods and emergency contraception for women of all ages. We have no plans to evaluate the effect on general practitioner surgeries of LA commissioning of LARCs.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the government of Egypt on the convictions of Islam al-Beheiry and Fatima Naaot in that country for contempt of religion.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are aware of the cases of Islam al-Beheiry and Fatima Naaot and are following both cases closely. We have raised the importance of freedom of religious belief and freedom of expression with the Egyptian authorities on a number of occasions and will continue to do so.

We deplore all discrimination against religious minorities and constraints on their freedom to practise their faith. The Government of Egypt has clearly stated its commitment to protecting the rights of minorities and of the need for religious tolerance; it is important that these rights are respected.

In November 2015, My Rt Hon and noble Friend, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Baroness Anelay and I met Non-Governmental Organisations to consider what more could be done to help Christians and other persecuted minorities in the Middle East. I also met with the Secretary for Relations with States within the Holy See’s Secretariat of State to discuss this. In December the UK, in partnership with the Egyptian Grand Imam, launched a new scholarship for Al-Azhar graduates to pursue doctoral studies at British universities. The scholarship aims to promote mutual understanding among a new generation of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars.

01/01/2023