The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the cost of maintaining flood defences in each year of this Parliament.
Rory Stewart
The Environment Agency spent directly £171 million maintaining flood defences in 2014/15. Many more flood defences are maintained by Local Authorities and Internal Drainage Boards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UN assesses that the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) is a protracted protection crisis with humanitarian consequences. According to the UN, Palestinians in the OPTs face a range of serious threats including threats to life, liberty and security, destruction of homes and other property, forced displacement, and restrictions on freedom of movement and access to livelihoods.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to use the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to prioritise the strengthening of diplomatic and economic ties with Commonwealth countries.
Mr Hugo Swire
This Government has worked hard to strengthen the UK’s diplomatic and economic ties with the Commonwealth, including expanding our representation in Commonwealth countries. For example, the Foreign Secretary opened a new Deputy High Commission in Chandigarh, India, in March 2015. Strengthening of Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UK Trade and Investment commercial teams has taken place in Canada, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Cameroon, Papua New Guinea and Guyana. One result of this is the East Africa Oil & Gas High Value Opportunity (HVO), which will support UK businesses in gaining access to local markets.
However, we agree that the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta is a further opportunity to strengthen these ties, by renewing the Commonwealth and demonstrating unity and a shared sense of purpose around priority issues. The CHOGM non-governmental fora, including the Commonwealth Business Forum to be attended by both the Right Hon. Lord Maude of Horsham and I, will be an additional opportunity for the UK to enhance economic ties across the Commonwealth. The UK looks forward to a successful CHOGM 2015, which showcases the Commonwealth as a united, unique, vital and ambitious organisation that is capable of tackling modern global challenges.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-12-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the reasons for removing the study of feminism and gender equality from the A-level Politics curriculum.
Lord Nash
A public consultation on reformed content for politics AS and A level closed on 15 December. The proposed new content for politics A level will require all students to study core political theories. This is an improvement on the current system which does not require students to study any political ideologies, including feminism.
We are analysing the responses to the consultation and have started work with the exam boards to develop the content in light of the views expressed. We will listen carefully to the views of the sector and the wider public as part of this full consultation process.
Exam boards will continue to set the detailed content of qualifications.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information is recorded by the Cancer Registry on secondary breast cancer.
Jane Ellison
Public Health England (PHE) is responsible for collecting cancer data to support national cancer registration in England and recognises the importance of collecting data on recurrent breast cancer; however data on the number of people diagnosed with secondary breast cancer is not currently available. Pilot work undertaken in April 2012 in acute trusts has improved the reporting for breast cancer recurrence and metastasis to the National Cancer Registration Service (NCRS). In order to drive up data completeness for the submissions to the NCRS, monthly reports on data quality and completeness of the Cancer Outcomes and Services Dataset are made available to all acute providers.
Since the completion of the pilot project the NCRS in PHE has been working with all acute National Health Service providers in England to improve the reporting of breast cancer recurrence. The collection of this particular item of data remains challenging because relapsed patients may represent in many different ways and through many referral routes.
Further work is being scoped by NHS England and PHE based on the recommendation in the recent Independent Cancer Taskforce report to establish robust surveillance systems to collect this data on all cancers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the process of its devolution deal, Sheffield City Region asked for, or was offered, the same powers as Manchester, either for its governance arrangements or for the devolution of powers and monies.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Devolution is bottom-up and led by local areas; proposals are developed by local partners and constitute part of a formal negotiation with the Government. During negotiations, a number of options were discussed with Sheffield City Region, including the Greater Manchester model. The final agreement has been published on the gov.uk website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS staff can report patient safety incidents quickly and efficiently.
Ben Gummer
NHS England is responsible for the National Reporting and Learning System which collates information on patient safety incidents reported by staff working in NHS funded care.
There are plans to develop a new patient safety incident management system and one of the aims will be to make it quicker and easier for staff to report.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell-Savours on 2015-12-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, where an office property that qualified for a residential planning designation is demolished, whether any restrictions are placed on the building of a new property on that land according to the former office property’s footprint.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
We announced on 12 October that the permitted development right for the change of use from office to residential will be made permanent. We further announced that the rights will in future provide for an office to be demolished and replaced on a like-for-like basis as residential. The details of the rights including any requirements about the use, eligibility criteria and any matters for prior approval, including in relation to demolition and replacement, will be provided in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent research his Department has commissioned or conducted on the health effects of e-cigarettes.
Jane Ellison
The National Institute for Health Research is currently funding a randomised controlled trial to examine the efficacy of e-cigarettes compared with nicotine replacement therapy, when used within the United Kingdom stop smoking service. The report of the trial is expected to be published in 2018.
Public Health England commissioned a comprehensive independent review of the latest evidence on e-cigarettes from leading academics. Their report, published on 19 August 2015, included the latest evidence on the safety and health effects of e-cigarettes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015, paragraph 1.309, whether any reduction is planned in (a) Cranborne money and (b) Representative money.
Greg Hands
Government proposals regarding reducing the cost of politics were published in the Spending Review 2015.