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  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the finding of the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year An Unholy Mess that a number of religiously selective schools have been breaking the Equality Act 2010 by directly discriminating on the basis of race or gender.

    Lord Nash

    Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.

    Where an objection is made to the Schools Adjudicator, if the arrangements are found to be unfair or fail to comply with the Code, the admission authority must make changes to ensure their arrangements are compliant without undue delay. Where an admission authority fails to implement decisions of the adjudicator, the Secretary of State may direct the admission authority to do so.

    We continue to keep the Code under review, and, where we consider any changes are necessary to make the admissions system work more effectively for parents, these will be subject to a full public consultation.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the objection submitted to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator that a state-funded school sought to prioritise the admission of children on the basis of whether or not their parents have sex during the period of a mother’s menstruation.

    Lord Nash

    Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.

    Where an objection is made to the Schools Adjudicator, if the arrangements are found to be unfair or fail to comply with the Code, the admission authority must make changes to ensure their arrangements are compliant without undue delay. Where an admission authority fails to implement decisions of the adjudicator, the Secretary of State may direct the admission authority to do so.

    We continue to keep the Code under review, and, where we consider any changes are necessary to make the admissions system work more effectively for parents, these will be subject to a full public consultation.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the finding of the report An Unholy Mess, published by the Fair Admissions Campaign last year, that a significant number of religiously selective schools are employing religious selection criteria that was not permitted by their relevant religious authority, contrary to the School Admissions Code.

    Lord Nash

    Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.

    Where an objection is made to the Schools Adjudicator, if the arrangements are found to be unfair or fail to comply with the Code, the admission authority must make changes to ensure their arrangements are compliant without undue delay. Where an admission authority fails to implement decisions of the adjudicator, the Secretary of State may direct the admission authority to do so.

    We continue to keep the Code under review, and, where we consider any changes are necessary to make the admissions system work more effectively for parents, these will be subject to a full public consultation.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to help to ensure that women have access to safe and legal abortion services throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in the light of the spread of the Zika virus and its potential link to birth defects.

    Baroness Verma

    As the main public health threat of Zika is to the unborn babies of infected pregnant women in affected countries it is important that responses to Zika include vector and infection control with a focus on pregnant women or women of child-bearing age and strengthened reproductive and sexual health services (for women who do not want to get pregnant). The importance of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for all women is brought home by the emergence of Zika. There may be increased demand for voluntary rights based family planning from women in affected countries seeking to avoid pregnancy, and there is a risk of a rise in unsafe abortion in some countries. DFID has a track record of promoting rights based family planning and in highlighting the contribution safe abortion makes to saving women’s lives. We are in close contact with DFID-funded partners, including in the UN system and civil society, active in affected regions although DFID has not been asked to provide specific sexual and reproductive health and rights assistance to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean affected by the Zika virus.

    New guidelines covering maternal surveillance and neonatal health are being rolled out across the region, developed by the Latin American Centre for Perinatology, Women and Reproductive Health.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will help to ensure that women have access to family planning throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in the light of the spread of the Zika virus and its potential link to birth defects.

    Baroness Verma

    The importance of comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for all women is brought home by the emergence of Zika. There may be increased demand for voluntary rightsbased Family Planning from women in affected countries seeking to avoid pregnancy, and there is a risk of a rise in unsafe abortion in some countries. DFID has a track record of promoting rights based family planning and in highlighting the contribution safe abortion makes to saving women’s lives.

    We are in close contact with DFID-funded partners, including in the UN system and civil society, active in affected regions and will continue to do all we can to support their efforts. The Government is determined to support the international community in responding to the Zika virus. The UK has been at the forefront of global efforts to ensure the World Health Organisation (WHO) has the funding, expertise and systems to respond to emerging disease threats like Zika. We are the second largest national funder of WHO and have also provided political and technical support to strengthening the organisation and its preparedness. As part of the UK effort to strengthen global health security DFID contributed £6.2 million to WHO’s contingency fund for emergencies which is available for the management of Zika.

    Affected countries are working closely with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) which serves as the Regional Office of the World Health Organisation. PAHO and governments across the region are issuing information on the emerging Zika infection. DFID will keep under review its support to countries affected by Zika viral infections and along with other Government Departments we welcome the WHO emergency committee statement issued on Monday 1st February.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to improve customer satisfaction with South Eastern, Southern, and Govia Thameslink train services, and whether they have plans to take over any of those franchises.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    It is for the operators of the relevant franchises to take steps to improve customer satisfaction and deliver the requirements set out in their respective Franchise Agreements.

    Gatwick Express and Southern are operated as part of the Thameslink Southern and Great Northern franchise operated by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR). The Franchise Agreement includes a Passenger Experience Metric which was developed for this franchise to measure, reward and incentivise good levels of customer satisfaction. GTR failed to meet its benchmark for cancellations set out in its Franchise Agreement. In order to address the poor performance, the Department issued GTR with a Remedial Plan Notice that requires them to set out the measures they will take to improve their performance. GTR submitted its Remedial Plan and discussions are on-going to ensure the plan is robust. Once the measures are agreed they will become contractually binding through a Remedial Agreement.

    This year GTR will introduce new trains on the Gatwick Express service, replacing the current 25-year-old trains with a fleet better suited to the needs of airport passengers.

    The Southeastern franchise includes a financial penalty regime if the operator does not achieve the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) benchmarks for stations, train services and customer service. We will review performance against these benchmarks in March 2016, and any penalties incurred must be re-invested into raising passenger satisfaction, with plans agreed by the Department.

    The Department has no plans to take over either of these franchises.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the latest National Rail Passenger Survey and the levels of satisfaction with the Gatwick Express service, what steps they plan to take to ensure that service improves.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    It is for the operators of the relevant franchises to take steps to improve customer satisfaction and deliver the requirements set out in their respective Franchise Agreements.

    Gatwick Express and Southern are operated as part of the Thameslink Southern and Great Northern franchise operated by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR). The Franchise Agreement includes a Passenger Experience Metric which was developed for this franchise to measure, reward and incentivise good levels of customer satisfaction. GTR failed to meet its benchmark for cancellations set out in its Franchise Agreement. In order to address the poor performance, the Department issued GTR with a Remedial Plan Notice that requires them to set out the measures they will take to improve their performance. GTR submitted its Remedial Plan and discussions are on-going to ensure the plan is robust. Once the measures are agreed they will become contractually binding through a Remedial Agreement.

    This year GTR will introduce new trains on the Gatwick Express service, replacing the current 25-year-old trains with a fleet better suited to the needs of airport passengers.

    The Southeastern franchise includes a financial penalty regime if the operator does not achieve the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) benchmarks for stations, train services and customer service. We will review performance against these benchmarks in March 2016, and any penalties incurred must be re-invested into raising passenger satisfaction, with plans agreed by the Department.

    The Department has no plans to take over either of these franchises.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether funding will be provided to NHS Trusts as part of the Operational Delivery Network model to fund hepatitis C treatment services through either (1) a block contract, or (2) a tariff.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) provide expert specialist oversight of prescribing decisions on hepatitis C. Funding has been provided via Commissioning and Quality Innovation Payment (CQUIN) and it is NHS England’s intention to continue with CQUIN funding in 2016/17 and 2017/18.

    When a patient attends NHS services for treatment of hepatitis C, their attendance is included in the national tariff.

    Depending on the specific nature of their healthcare need, their care may be paid for by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) or by NHS England’s specialised services hubs according to coding and whether the care they receive is defined as a prescribed specialised service.

    Some patients may have aspects of their hepatitis C treatment provided by other services (such as drugs and alcohol services) which are not funded by the NHS.

    NHS England is the responsible commissioner for hepatitis C drugs. These are high cost drugs and so are excluded from the national tariff.

    NHS England’s plan for future hepatitis C funding is being finalised at the moment. As NHS England are working with ODN clinical leads to plan to ensure that patients with unmet clinical need are treated via hepatitis C ODNs in a planned way over the coming years.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report by NHS England Improving Value for Patients from Specialised Care: Commissioning Intentions 2016/2017 for Prescribed Specialist Services, what progress has been made to establish collaborative commissioning arrangements for hepatitis C services and how many Clinical Commissioning Groups have come forward with proposals for the collaborative commissioning of hepatitis C services.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The report by NHS England Improving Value for Patients from Specialised Care: Commissioning Intentions 2016/17 set out the probable areas for specialised services work planned for 2016/17. Hepatitis C is one pathway which was identified as providing an opportunity for collaborative commissioning.

    Operational Delivery Networks now provide a local focus for discussions between providers and commissioners on the hepatitis C pathways. Local specialised commissioning teams will work with other local stakeholders where opportunities for a collaborative approach are agreed as a local priority.

    No formal requests for proposals have been requested, nor have any proposals yet been received.

  • Baroness Parminter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Parminter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Parminter on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the records of retailers concerning carrier bag charges will be made public after the first reporting period, 5 October 2015 to 6 April 2016, in the light of the fact that members of the public can obtain copies of retailer carrier bag records within 28 days.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Defra is required to publish every retailer record received on an annual basis. All records supplied by retailers will be published on the GOV.UK website by 31 July each year.