The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many teachers working in young offender institutions are qualified to work with young people with (a) special educational needs, (b) autism and (c) mental health issues.
Andrew Selous
The information requested is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many teachers currently work in young offender institutions; and how many of those teachers lack teaching qualifications.
Andrew Selous
The information requested is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the memorandum from the Director of the US Office of the Secretary of Defense on Observations on the Marine Corps F-35B Demonstration on USS Wasp, published by Project on Government Oversight on 14 September 2015, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy on procurement of the F-35 of that memorandum’s finding on that aircraft’s reliability and combat readiness.
Mr Philip Dunne
The trial aboard the USS Wasp was an operational test for the United States Marine Corps (USMC) F-35B, with much of the data produced being used to inform the USMC’s declaration of initial operating capability. This achievement was a significant milestone for the USMC and for the wider Joint Strike Fighter programme, particularly for the UK which operates the same Short Take-Off Vertical Landing variant.
UK personnel were fully embedded in the USS Wasp trial and we will use the data gathered from this event, future trials and operational deployments to support our own flying trials aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2018 as we re-generate the UK’s Carrier Strike capability.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-10-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have qualified for a war pension as a result of contracting Hepatitis C or HIV from an infected blood transfusion while serving in the armed forces.
Mark Lancaster
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-10-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of soldiers have been awarded the Public Services apprenticeship without having attained Level 2 in English and mathematics or having sat a test at Level 2 in English and mathematics as part of their apprenticeship course.
Mark Lancaster
The Army is compliant with the Government policy requiring apprenticeships to offer learners training to Level 2 English and Mathematics where that level has not already been achieved; however apprentices are only required to pass Level 1 to complete their apprenticeship. In 2014-15, around 20% of those soldiers who achieved a Public Service Apprenticeship also achieved a qualification at Level 2 in English or Maths, or both, during the course of their apprenticeship. Information is not held centrally for those learners who had already achieved that level of qualification (or equivalent) prior to enrolment and are therefore not required to take further qualifications at that stage, or for those who have studied at Level 2, but did not achieve the qualification.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the economic benefit of investment in the arts over the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government recognises the important contribution the arts makes to the economy, For every £1 of gross value added generated by the arts and culture industry, an additional £1.43 of gross added value is generated in the wider UK economy (The Contribution of the Arts and Culture to the National Economy,Centre for Economics and Business Research). Activities within arts and culture can provide direct employment to commercial creative industries organisations – the number of jobs in the creative industries sector is now 1.8 million.
It is important to note that the contribution of arts is not just about the economic benefits, and there is also considerable evidence that culture has the capacity to improve health and wellbeing, educational attainment, and community cohesion.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2015-10-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of steps taken by local authorities to tackle loneliness; and what support the Government has provided to local authorities for such work.
Alistair Burt
The Department has not carried out an assessment of the impact of loneliness in England or in Basildon and Billericay. The Campaign to End Loneliness report Loneliness: the State We’re In (2012) demonstrated that loneliness has a very negative impact on health. Research identified by the Campaign to End Loneliness has shown it has an effect on mortality that is similar in size to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and is worse for us than obesity. Loneliness and social isolation is also associated with conditions such as cardiovascular disease, dementia, poor sleep and depression.
The Government has not made an assessment of the steps the National Health Service and local authorities have taken to tackle loneliness. Given the complexity of loneliness and the different ways that people are affected there is no single solution that can tackle loneliness and having a range of interventions and solutions is helpful. The Department has funded the Social Care Institute for Excellence to develop and run the Prevention Library which includes examples of emerging practice to prevent, reduce or delay peoples care and support needs from deteriorating. This includes examples of what NHS bodies and local authorities have done to tackle loneliness such as the NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group Living Well programme and LinkAge supported by Bristol City Council.
Prevention is core to the Government’s approach to people managing their health and care needs. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health set out in his speech to the Local Government Association on 1 July that we all have a responsibility at an individual, family, and community level to identify people with care needs such as loneliness and provide support and improve their wellbeing.
Through the Care Act 2014 the Government has placed a duty on local authorities to have measures in place to identify people in their area who would benefit from universal services to help reduce, delay or prevent needs for care and support. This includes needs that may arise from loneliness and social isolation.
The Department has supported a ‘digital toolkit’ for local commissioners, which was developed by the Campaign to End Loneliness, and is now incorporated in their guidance Loneliness and Isolation: Guidance for Local Authorities and Commissioners. This supports commissioners in understanding, mapping and commissioning for loneliness and social isolation in their communities, and includes promising approaches to tackling loneliness.
We are building a better understanding of how prevention can maintain people’s wellbeing and the evidence base on the effectiveness of interventions is expanding. Through the Prevention Library local authorities can learn from emerging practice, and exchange ideas and experience of the impact of information, advice and befriending services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-16.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to increase voter registration among students.
John Penrose
The move to Individual Electoral Registration has made registration more convenient for students, who can now register online in as little as three minutes on a tablet, smart-phone or PC. Ahead of the elections on 7 May, £530,000 was allocated to organisations that work to encourage student electoral registration, including £380,000 to the National Union of Students. In 2013, the Cabinet Office established the Student Forum, bringing together key organisations representing students and universities, as well as Electoral Registration Officers with significant student populations to foster closer working relationships. We have also worked with Sheffield University and the local Electoral Registration Officer to pilot digital integration of student enrolment with electoral registration and I am keen that we learn from this work.
I am engaged in detailed discussions with a range of Electoral Registration Officers on how to increase registration rates for hard-to-reach groups, including students, and look forward to announcing further details on this soon.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-16.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Department has responsibility for policy on supporting the children of people with alcoholism.
Mr Oliver Letwin
Department for Education have the overarching responsibility for children in terms of support, including children’s social care and schools.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-10-16.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2015 to Question 10532, on electoral register: finance, with which local authorities his Department is agreeing funding.
John Penrose
In total, 116 local authorities are receiving additional funding to help target their remaining carry forward entries. They have all now been informed. Almost £700k was allocated to 60 authorities where carry forwards made up over 5% of their register in May. Furthermore, 70 local authorities successfully submitted bids for additional funding and will share £500,000. Of the 70, 14 authorities that are receiving direct funding successfully bid for more. In addition to the 70 successful bids, 2 further bids were received but were later withdrawn by both authorities.
The table sets out all 116 authorities who are receiving additional funding directly and those who submitted a successful bid along with the total amount they are receiving.