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  • Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether British expatriates who pay income tax in the UK will be charged for medical treatment in the UK.

    Alistair Burt

    Since the United Kingdom has a residence based healthcare system, a person who is not ordinarily resident in the UK, including a British national expatriate, is chargeable for any National Health Service hospital services they receive during visits to the UK, unless an exemption category applies, as set out in Regulations. Therefore, entitlement to free NHS care is not linked to the payment of UK taxes.

    Being ordinarily resident in the UK means, in relation to British citizens, living here on a lawful, properly settled basis for the time being. A person can be ordinarily resident in more than one country at a time, depending on their individual circumstances.

  • Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the agreement signed with China to fund Hinckley Point C nuclear reactor includes funding from China for (a) decommissioning costs and (b) emergency clean-up costs.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The basis on which Chinese companies will invest in the Hinkley Point C project is set out in the strategic investor agreement agreed between EDF and CGN in October. The terms of this agreement are a matter for EDF.

    Operators of new nuclear power stations are required to have a Funded Decommissioning Programme (FDP) approved by the Secretary of State before nuclear related construction can begin. The FDP sets out how a new nuclear operator will make secure financial provision for decommissioning their power station and managing and disposing of its waste without recourse to the taxpayer.

    Operators of nuclear power stations are also required to put in place insurance or other financial security to meet their nuclear third party liabilities.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November to Question 14860, whether all of the providers approved by her Department to provide baseline assessment for primary schools reached the qualifying 10 per cent threshold for providers by the 30 April 2015 deadline.

    Nick Gibb

    The contractual acceptance criteria for reception baseline suppliers had two levels related to the volume of schools recruited. If fewer than four suppliers met the 10% threshold, suppliers were still accepted if they had recruited more than 1,000 schools. All approved suppliers met the minimum volume criteria.

    The reception baseline contract is published online at: https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive/contract/1656259/

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2015 to Question 15281, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of teachers trained in the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    There are now more, better-qualified teachers in England’s classrooms than ever before. In November 2014 there were 454,900 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers, up 5,200 from the previous year and up 13,100 from 2010. A record 96.6 per cent of all teachers now hold a degree or higher qualification.

    Teacher vacancy rates have remained stable at around 1 per cent of all posts for over a decade, and retention rates have also remained stable over the same period. Approximately 90 per cent of teachers are in service in the year after they qualify, and 72 per cent of those who qualified in 2009 were still teaching 5 years later. Over the longer term, over 60 per cent of teachers remain in service 10 years after qualifying.

    Nevertheless, we recognise that teacher recruitment is a challenge as the economy continues to strengthen and competition for new graduates intensifies; this is particularly true in certain areas of the country. We are taking steps to attract more top graduates and career changers into the profession, particularly in those core academic subjects that help children reach their potential. This includes offering generous financial incentives, such as tax-free bursaries of up to £30,000 for top graduates in priority subjects such as physics.

  • Suella Fernandes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Suella Fernandes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Suella Fernandes on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils eligible for free school meals took up a place at each university in each year since 2005-06.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Data showing the numbers of students eligible for free school meals, going to individual universities, are not published by the department.

    Destination measures data are published and show the overall percentage of key stage 5 students[1] eligible for free school meals[2] going into sustained[3] destinations at higher education institutions. The data also include the percentage going into sustained destinations at Russell group universities and Oxford and Cambridge.

    Destination measures data for students eligible for free school meals are published for the years 2010/11 to 2013/14 and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations

    [1] Key stage 5 students are those entered for A level or other equivalent level 3 qualifications

    [2] Eligible for free school meals at any time in year 11

    [3] Sustained for 6 months (October to March)

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  • Yasmin Qureshi – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Yasmin Qureshi – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK Reapers have been made available for use by the US or other coalition partners in Syria for operations since January 2015.

    Penny Mordaunt

    No UK Reapers have been flown on missions by US personnel or those of any other Coalition nation in Syria since January 2015. US personnel have operated UK Reaper aircraft a small number of times to aid with the launch and recovery of the aircraft only, not the mission itself. A Memorandum of Understanding has been agreed between the UK and US Air Forces which allows the US to request the use of UK Reaper aircraft to conduct missions and vice versa, though to date this has not occurred. Such use by the US would be subject to UK permissions.

  • Yasmin Qureshi – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Yasmin Qureshi – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans for UK personnel to train at or otherwise attend the new General Atomics unmanned aircraft business park being built in North Dakota.

    Penny Mordaunt

    A number of options are being developed to meet the training demand for UK Reaper aircrew in the coming years. It is anticipated that initial training for some UK student aircrew will be conducted under contract by General Atomics at their North Dakota facility.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department expects to know how much of the Joint Security Fund announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in July 2015 will be allocated to his Department.

    Michael Fallon

    The Chancellor of the Exchequer will set out further details of the Joint Security Fund at the Spending Review on Wednesday 25 November.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Valerie Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of redundancies in the UK steel industry on the proportion of defence procurement that arises from UK businesses.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Steel is sourced by our contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers, reflecting the need to ensure competitive cost, time and quality. The Ministry of Defence has not directly made an assessment of the likely effect of redundancies in the UK steel industry but, is represented on the cross-Government steel procurement working group led by the Cabinet Office, and new Government guidelines, which include the need for effective pre-procurement engagement, will help UK suppliers compete for contracts and continue to support future defence requirements for steel.

  • Owen Thompson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Owen Thompson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many community projects have benefited from monies allocated by Scotland’s Big Lottery Fund in the last five years.

    Tracey Crouch

    From 1 November 2010 to 31 October 2015, the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland has allocated monies to over 11,500 projects.