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Tag: 2015

  • Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent estimate her Department has made of the amount of carbon dioxide displaced in the UK by installed renewable heat technologies.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department has made projections of carbon dioxide savings (MtCO2) in the Updated Energy & Emissions Projections (EEP), last updated Sept 2014. In the absence of funding arrangements after 2015/16, these carbon savings assume an extrapolation of RHI deployment to 2020.

    The projections cover carbon dioxide displacement from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), the main scheme in its heat strategy. The Department has not made projections for renewable heat carbon savings from technologies not supported by the RHI scheme.

    The projected savings will be updated if required for any RHI scheme changes following the Spending Review outcome.

    The EEP, which include the relevant carbon saving projections from the RHI are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/406805/Copy_of_Annex_D__corrected_17-Feb-2015_.xls.

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  • Charlotte Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Charlotte Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2015 to Question 12813, what assessment he has made of the accessibility, clarity and ease of comparison of the care home ratings referred to; and if he will encourage the Care Quality Commission to develop a ratings table to increase transparency of that data.

    Alistair Burt

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social acre in England. The CQC publishes the results of its new inspections regime including ratings on its website to help people choose care.

    The CQC website provides a search facility for the services registered with it, including care homes. It is possible to search by name of provider or post code area. The results may be viewed as a list or on an interactive map and may also be downloaded on a spreadsheet. In this way, the CQC provides flexible access to the most up to date information of the sectors it inspects.

    The Department expects the CQC to consider how it presents information to the public to ensure it is provided in a transparent and meaningful way and to keep its presentation of information under review.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he had during his recent visit to the Gulf states to encourage those states to increase their involvement in the (a) war against ISIL and (b) resolution of the refugee situation in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign Secretary discussed the counter ISIL effort with all the countries that he visited during his recent trip to the Gulf, which included Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE. We will continue to work intensively with Gulf States to deal with ISIL, both bilaterally and multilaterally, including under the auspices of the Global Coalition to counter-ISIL.

    Our partners in the Gulf share our view that ISIL presents a threat to regional stability. Several of them have suffered from ISIL attacks in their homelands, and many host large numbers of refugees fleeing Assad’s and ISIL’s brutality. They are committed to defeating ISIL, and fully recognise that coordinated international action is the best way to achieve that. All the countries that the Foreign Secretary visited during his recent trip are working to defeat ISIL, including as part of the Global Coalition to counter-ISIL.

    As a result of the Syrian crisis, there are now over 4 million refugees from Syria in neighbouring countries. All of the countries that the Foreign Secretary visited are in agreement with us that a political solution is the only way to resolve the Syrian crisis.

  • Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Tyrie on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the Airports Commission used his Department’s National Air Passenger Demand Model and National Air Passenger Allocation model in its work; whether the assumption of homogenous capacity in those models affected the net present value figures in Table 7.1 of the Commission’s Final Report, published in July 2015, compared with a model that distinguished between long and short-haul, business and leisure, and domestic and international capacity; and what assessment he has made of whether the use of a model that distinguishes between such different types of capacity would increase or decrease the net present value of each of those shortlisted schemes.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

    The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including that on costs, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Ms Patricia Hart was employed on a full-time basis continuously from 2011 until her retirement.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not collected centrally.

    We have written to Deborah Jenkins, Chair of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, informing her of the hon. Member’s enquiry. She will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

  • Baroness Kramer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Kramer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kramer on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the amount of the Bus Service Operators Grant in (1) 2014–15, and (2) 2015–16.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The amount of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) paid out for services in England during 2014/15 was some £253 million. As BSOG is demand-led, it is too early to estimate accurately the amount likely to be paid out during 2015/16, although we would expect it to be broadly similar to that for 2014/15.

    The amount to be paid out in future years will depend upon the number of eligible claims submitted by the operators of bus services in each year.However, I can confirm that we were able to protect the grant as part of the 2015 Spending Review. Moreover, we will be publishing more details early next year of how we will be reforming the way BSOG is paid to make it even more effective in supporting bus services.

  • Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of doctors left foundation training and entered training posts in core or specialty training in each year between 2008 and 2015.

    Ben Gummer

    The UK Foundation Programme Office collects data and produces reports annually on behalf of Health Education England and the devolved nations which show next career destinations of second year foundation doctors who have successfully completed their foundation training across the United Kingdom.

    Data prior to 2011 was not routinely collected by the UK Foundation Programme Office. Data from the 2015 destination survey is not yet available.

    The numbers provided in the attached table are from responses to a survey of outgoing F2 doctors and not all doctors provide a response. The appointments to specialty /general practice (ST/GP) are self-declared by the doctors in response to the survey and are not verified against recruitment data.

    Whilst the survey is a fairly accurate predictor of the destination of doctors who have completed foundation training the figures are not intended to be an accurate employment record.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research they have conducted into the bacterial infection spread by the Agrilus biguttatus beetle.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Over the past five years Forest Research, in collaboration with Rothamsted Research, has conducted a systematic survey to model the distribution of acute oak decline (AOD) in England and Wales. The results show that the condition currently affects several thousand oak trees, mostly across East Anglia, the Midlands and southern England.

    The complex nature of the condition means it is often associated with other pathogens, as well as insect defoliators and the research has not yet concluded whether AOD kills trees or not. A large proportion of the infected trees monitored have entered remission suggesting some level of host resistance. We do not have information at the landscape level on the number of oak with AOD symptoms that die every year.

    Since 2013, Defra has invested £1.1 million in research to understand the causes, distribution and scale of AOD in the UK. This includes work to investigate the bacterial species associated with the condition and to understand whether the Agrilus biguttatus beetle plays a role in the dispersal of these bacterial species. Early findings from this research are still inconclusive. There is currently no firm evidence of transmission by the beetle.

    Earlier this year, Defra in collaboration with the Research Councils, Scottish Government and the Forestry Commission launched a further £2 million call for research proposals on ‘oak health’ and Phytophthora. The successful bids from this call are due to be announced shortly.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of potential savings to the NHS arising from an expansion of the availability of Take-Home Naloxone.

    Jane Ellison

    No estimate has been made of the potential savings to the National Health Service arising from expanding the availability of take-home naloxone.

    The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ ‘Consideration of naloxone’ (2012) reported that there is a lack of published research on the cost-effectiveness of naloxone provision and said that naloxone provision in local areas would be a local decision including an assessment of its cost-effectiveness.

    To help local areas introduce effective and efficient take-home services, Public Health England published advice on promoting wider availability of naloxone to reduce overdose deaths in February 2015.

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

    Lord Blunkett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blunkett on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on support services provided through the Education Services Grant to local authorities of the £600 million funding reduction announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 for (1) special needs provision, (2) psychological services, and (3) child and adolescent mental health provision.

    Lord Nash

    We are protecting the core schools budget in real terms, enabling a per pupil protection for the dedicated schools grant (DSG) and the pupil premium. The DSG protection includes funding for special needs provision and funding for the education of children and young people in child and adolescent mental health services units.

    The Education Services Grant is not intended to fund special needs provision, psychological services, or child and adolescent mental health provision. The £600 million reduction to the Education Services Grant, announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, should therefore have no direct impact on the provision of these support services.