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Tag: 2015

  • David Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Jones on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Israeli authorities on the attempted murder of the Palestinian activist, Mustafa Barghouti.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Palestinian, rather than Israeli, security forces are responsible for security in Ramallah, and have opened an investigation into the attack. Our Consul-General to Jersualem spoke to Dr Barghouti following the attack to relay our concern. As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), said in a press statement on 9 October, "We condemn all acts of violence, including attacks by Palestinian and by Israeli settlers. We urge all sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the tensions and avoid actions that threaten to exacerbate the situation."

  • Rebecca Pow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Rebecca Pow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Pow on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the contribution of further investment in road and rail infrastructure to economic growth and resilience in the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership area.

    Anna Soubry

    My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport and I agree about the vital contribution of road and rail infrastructure to national and local economic growth and resilience. In the Spending Review, the government committed to £7.2 billion of transport investment in the South West, including projects with benefits for the Heart of the South West area such as the £2 billion investment to dual the A303. The government also confirmed that:

    • Projects such as the North Devon Link Road will be able to bid for the new £475 million Local Majors Fund.
    • It is investing £20 million in the New Stations Fund, which will look at bids including the proposal for a stop between Castle Cary to Taunton.
    • The new South Western rail franchise will incentivise bidders to increase capacity and improve passenger satisfaction.
    • Existing £195.5m Growth Deal commitments, including transport infrastructure, have been confirmed.
  • Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ring-fence the budget of the National Institute for Health Research in the forthcoming Spending Review.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government has protected the funding the National Health Service receives and increased the Department’s budget in real terms year on year. There is no plan to change this, fulfilling the Government’s manifesto commitment. By 2020-21, the Government will increase funding for the NHS by £10 billion a year in real terms compared to 2014-15 to support the implementation of the NHS’s own plan – the NHS Five Year Forward View – to transform services across the country.

    The Spending Review will conclude at the end of November and will set the Department’s overall budget for the remaining years of the parliament. Following this, funding for the National Institute for Health Research will be determined.

  • Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, who the special advisers to his Department are; what the salary is of each of those advisers; and which of those advisers are on the Council of Economic Advisers.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Information on Special Adviser numbers and remuneration across Government departments will be published in due course.

  • Lucy Powell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lucy Powell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of additional teachers needed in (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19, (d) 2019-20 and (e) 2020-21.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education uses the Teacher Supply Model (TSM) to estimate the demand for the number of qualified teachers within state-funded schools in England each year using a range of assumptions, including projections for the numbers of pupils in schools, the number of teachers expected to leave the sector and the number of returnees.

    The estimate of teacher demand is published in part 1 of the TSM here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-supply-model

    The TSM’s primary purpose is to estimate the number of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) places required in the 2016/17 academic year to yield the required number of Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) entering the profession in 2017/18. The TSM is updated annually to reflect the latest available data.

    “

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what investment the Church of England has in cinemas and buildings housing cinemas.

    Mrs Caroline Spelman

    The Church Commissioners’ UK investments include just over £300,000 of directly held cinema group shares. In addition the Commissioners have indirect investment exposure to cinemas via property holdings in the Metrocentre, Bluewater and Cheshire Oaks retail shopping centres, all of which contain cinemas. Finally, the Commissioners have identified a very small indirect exposure to a cinema in our UK private equity portfolio.

  • Oliver Heald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Oliver Heald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Heald on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether home educators are permitted under her Department’s guidance to receive help from education authorities (a) through the SEN budget and (b) for looked after children, through the pupil premium; and what financial help is available to guardians who wish to home educate children with SEN.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities can use the high needs block of the Dedicated Schools Grant to fund provision for home-educated children, where it is appropriate to do so. Guidance is available from the Department of Education on funding provision for home-educated children.

    As set out in the ‘Special educational needs and disability code of practice’[1], where local authorities and parents agree that home education is the right provision for a child or young person with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, then the local authority must arrange the special educational provision set out in the plan.

    In cases where the EHC plan gives the name of a school or type of school where the child will be educated and the parents decide to educate him or her at home, the local authority is not under a duty to make the special educational provision set out in the plan, provided it is satisfied that the arrangements made by the parents are suitable.

    Where parents choose to home educate children who have special educational needs but do not have EHC plans, local authorities should work with parents and consider whether to provide support in the home to help the parents make suitable provision.

    The presumption is that looked-after children should access full-time learning in an education setting that best meets their needs. In the exceptional circumstances where a decision is made to home educate a looked-after child it would be for a local authority’s Virtual School Head, who is responsible for promoting the educational achievement of looked-after children, to decide how pupil premium funding should be used to support the young person.

    Where a child’s carer has a special guardianship order, that person would have full parental rights over the child and would therefore be entitled to whatever home education support the local authority would normally provide to a parent, as described above.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education.

    “

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the projected savings for his Department arising from military pay restraint in the 2015-16 financial year and in each of the next five such years; and what proportion of those savings will arise from (a) pay rises limited to one per cent and (b) the ending of military commitment bonuses.

    Mark Lancaster

    The estimated military paybill saving in 2015-16 from pay restraint is £98 million.

    The Summer Budget confirmed that the Government would fund public sector pay awards at 1% for four years from 2016-17 onwards. The estimated military pay saving is £1.8 billion over the next five years as detailed below.

    Figures are all in £millions.

    2016-17

    2017-18

    2018-19

    2019-20

    2020-21

    80

    180

    366

    602

    625

    Commitment bonuses which have not proven effective are to be withdrawn in full with effect from 1 April 2021. The estimated saving from ending commitment bonuses is £118 million over the next five years as detailed below.

    Figures are all in £millions.

    2016-17

    2017-18

    2018-19

    2019-20

    2020-21

    5

    10

    20

    35

    48

    “

  • Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the names are of the in-patient mother and baby units specialising in caring for women during the perinatal period that were open in 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    Mother and Baby Units open in 2010:

    1. Newcastle Beadnell Ward, St George’s Park, Morpeth, Northumberland
    2. Leeds Mother and Baby Unit, Leeds Partnership Foundation Trust
    3. Manchester Anderson Ward, Wythenshawe Hospital
    4. Nottingham Perinatal Psychiatric Services, Perinatal Inpatient Unit
    5. Derby Mother and Baby Psychiatric Unit, Derby City General, Uttoxeter Rd, Derby
    6. Leicester Mother and Baby Unit, Brandon Unit, Leicester General Hospital (closed 2014)
    7. Stafford Brockington Mother and Baby Unit, St George’s Hospital Foundation
    8. Birmingham Mother and Baby Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
    9. Welwyn Garden Thumbswood, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Howlands, Welwyn
    10. Hackney Mother and Baby Unit, Mermaid Ward, City and Hackney Centre for Mental Health, Homerton Hospital, Homerton Row
    11. North Middlesex Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Coombe Wood Annexe, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health
    12. Beckenham Mother and Baby Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Rd, Beckenham, Kent
    13. Bristol New Horizon Mother and Baby Centre, Southmead Hospital
    14. Basingstoke Fairways House, Parklands Hospital (Moved to Winchester in 2013)
    15. The Eastbourne Clinic Mother and Baby Unit, Eastbourne, East Sussex (this unit was open in 2010 but not referenced in report closed 2014)
    16. Mother and Baby Unit, Godden Green Clinic, Godden Green, Sevenoaks, Kent (closed in 2010)
    17. York Mother and Baby Unit, Bootham Park Hospital (closed temporarily in 2010 and remained closed)

    Source: National Perinatal Mental Health Project Report 2010

    This information updates previous information submitted in relation to the number of mother and baby units open in 2010. Previous answers were drawn from the Specialised Mental Health Services (all ages) Definition No 22 (2009), which states that “there are 10 MBUs in England” but does not include a list of the 10 units.

    The updated answer is taken from the 2010 National Perinatal Mental Health Project Report. The Department recommends using the latter as the source of information on services in 2010 as this report provides more detail, specifying the name and location of the units.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what specialist skills and opportunities were available to trainees at (a) MOD Grantown-on-Spey, (b) MOD Llanwrst, (c) MOD Fairbourne, (d) MOD Crickhowell were in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    RAF personnel are set generic Leadership, Management, Air Power, Communication, Force Protection, Ethos, Military Skills and Organisational objectives. Training delivered at the Force Development Adventurous Training Centres helps deliver these objectives.