Tag: 2015

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to help raise awareness of diabetes in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) the UK.

    Jane Ellison

    The NHS Health Check programme is one of the mandatory public health functions of local authorities in England. It aims to prevent some of the biggest causes of premature death and disability in people aged 40-74.A routine part of NHS Health Check involves assessing a person’s risk of Type 2 diabetes and, for those at risk, a diagnostic test to confirm whether they have the condition. This then informs a discussion on, and agreement of, the lifestyle and medical approaches best suited to managing the person’s risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as Type 2 diabetes.

    As the National Diabetes Prevention Programme (NDPP) begins phased national roll out in 2016/17, the programme will be providing information that helps raise awareness of the risk factors associated with developing Type 2 Diabetes and the lifestyle changes that they can make to reduce their risk – including, if eligible attending the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme. This activity is already underway in our seven demonstrator sites that the programme is working with. Within Yorkshire and the Humber, Bradford is one of these demonstrator sites.

    Building on the NDPP, the Department is developing its plans to improve outcomes for those with and at risk of diabetes. These will be announced in due course.

  • Lord Fearn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Fearn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Fearn on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which British woods are grown for timber use, if any.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Forestry is a devolved issue, so the answer relates to England only.

    Many English woods are grown for timber amongst other uses, including oak and cherry. 2.6 million tonnes of English wood was delivered to primary wood processors and others in 2014. This is a 3% increase from the previous year. Active management of English woodlands at September 2015 was reported to be at 58%, up from 53% in 2013.

    This is why this Government strongly supports the work of the Grown in Britain initiative. Its work in support of the woodland economy has helped to grow a £2bn a year forestry and wood processing industry, which employs over 40,000 people.

  • 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 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the qualifying threshold for baseline assessment providers was set at 10 per cent of primary schools.

    Nick Gibb

    The reception baseline contracts contained a number of criteria for approving suppliers.

    The 10 per cent threshold was set to ensure a statistically reliable sample size for each supplier when determining the relative progress measure for each pupil.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many children move schools each month because of bullying, and what assessment they have made of the implications of such moves for the education system and the children affected.

    Lord Nash

    The Department does not collect information on the number of children who move school each month because of bullying.

    All bullying is unacceptable and every school is required to have a behaviour policy including measures to tackle all forms of bullying. They are held to account by Ofsted and inspectors will look at records and analysis of bullying, discriminatory and prejudicial behaviour.

    In 2015-16, the Government is providing £3.3m to charitable organisations to help tackle bullying and to provide support for those who are bullied. This is further to the £4m provided over the period 2013-15.

    Levels of bullying have reduced as a consequence of the efforts of schools and anti-bullying charities. The Longitudinal Study of Young Peoplein England published by the Department in November 2015 compared experiences of bullying among two cohorts of 14 year olds (year 10 students)from 2004 and 2014. It found that 30,000 fewer people in year 10 in 2014 said they had been bullied in the last twelve months. This represented a decrease from 41 per cent in 2004 to 36 per cent in 2014.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Oliver Colvile – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Sir Peter Hendy’s work to re-plan the Network Rail enhancements programme in Control Period 5, 2014-19, takes account of maximising the journey time benefit for the South West peninsula by use of the new high-speed AT300 trains which are due to be introduced in December 2018.

    Claire Perry

    Sir Peter Hendy has been asked to review Network Rail’s enhancement portfolio, so that works may be delivered over a more realistic timeframe. The terms of reference are clear that work is to be prioritised to take “particular account of interfaces with other infrastructure programmes and the need to deliver the required passenger and freight benefits, franchise or rolling stock commitments”. Sir Peter Hendy is due to report later in the Autumn.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 24 November (HL3723 and HL3752), whether the answer includes all security service personnel who served in Northern Ireland.

    Lord Dunlop

    I have nothing further to add to my earlier response of 27 November 2015 (HL3723 and HL3752).

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the planned increase in the national minimum wage on the level of provision of care homes.

    Alistair Burt

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 October 2015 to Question 11609.

    “

  • Louise Ellman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Ellman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of his plans for HM Revenue and Customs offices in Liverpool on jobs and services in that area; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the planned locations of its future Regional Centres based on a number of key principles. In addition to cost, HMRC has taken account of the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, and the need to retain the staff and skills they need to continue their transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025. HMRC intends to have extensive discussions with all our staff to keep them fully informed of their options as the programme continues.

    HMRC views Liverpool as a key site for customer service activity. The Department will be making a long term investment in the City and is planning to open a Regional Centre there from 2018/19 employing between 2,800 and 3,100 employees.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on the need for that Executive to help increase shared and integrated education.

    Nick Gibb

    At this time, no such discussions have taken place.

    The International Education Division leads the relationship with the devolved administrations and is currently developing a Devolution Plan that will outline the steps that we as a Department will take to improve our collaboration with the devolved administrations.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2015 to Question 15582, if he will define bus franchising in relation to the North East Devolution Deal and how it differs from a Quality Contact Scheme.

    Andrew Jones

    The Buses Bill will provide the powers for local transport authorities to franchise their local bus services subject to agreement from Government. It will allow local transport authorities to replace the current deregulated bus market with a system of contracting, whereby the authority specifies the services or outcomes they are looking to achieve and bus companies bid to provide those services.

    The final content of the Bill is still being developed, but the process through which the franchising powers are exercised is likely to differ from that set out in the Quality Contract Scheme process. The intended outcome of franchising is similar to that of a Quality Contract Scheme, although there are likely to be some differences. For example, the ten-year time limit that applies to Quality Contract Schemes is not expected to apply under franchising.