The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on treating patients with diabetic retinopathy in each of the last three years.
Jane Ellison
We do not hold this information in the format requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 25 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what projects he plans to fund from the £300 million investment in operational communications.
Mr Philip Dunne
Up to £300 million will be spread across Front Line Commands and a number of capabilities. It will not only be invested to enhance operational communications, but also to renew the existing air defence system and upgrade infrastructure, all in the context of the Falkland Islands.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2015-10-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the reasons are for the time taken to inform families involved in Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy procedures that funding for those procedures will cease.
Jane Ellison
NHS England has commissioned Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) procedures as part of its Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE) programme.
CtE schemes run in areas where the current evidence base on clinical and cost effectiveness of a particular treatment is insufficient to support routine funding, and where further research is unlikely to be forthcoming. In these circumstances, NHS England identifies funding for a CtE scheme to gather and support a review of the national clinical commissioning policy position. Each CtE scheme is funded on a time-limited basis, in just a small number of selected participating centres across England, with strict patient selection criteria.
The CtE programme is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which supports NHS England to identify the total number of patients that need to be treated under the scheme to answer the evaluation questions agreed. Schemes stop once the total planned number of patients has been treated and the data analysis can be concluded. In the case of the SDR scheme it is likely that the last patients will be treated by spring 2016.
The information provided directly by NHS England to stakeholders and participating centres in the SDR scheme has been consistently clear about the time limited nature of CtE and that the funding did not present a change to the current commissioning position of the treatment not being routinely funded by the NHS.
NHS England will continue to work closely with participating centres to ensure that messages are as clear as possible to families who may have wished to consider this treatment option.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of how many serving members of each branch of the armed forces are likely to be affected by the phasing out of the commitment bonus for armed forces personnel.
Mark Lancaster
Commitment Bonuses are being phased out over the next five years as there is insufficient evidence they significantly influence retention in the Armed Forces.
In Financial Year 2014-15 approximately 14,000 Service personnel claimed a Commitment Bonus payment. Eligibility for Commitment Bonuses ceases with effect from 1April 2021, providing eligible Other Ranks with the opportunity to claim any payments they might have already included in their financial plans.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to answer Question 12150, on HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Procurement, tabled by the hon. Member for Hammersmith on 15 October 2015.
Mr Shailesh Vara
I refer the Honourable member to the answer given to question 12150 on 06 November 2015.
This can be found at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-10-15/12150/
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the target strength is for the Royal Air Force Reserve.
Mr Julian Brazier
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by my right hon. Friend the previous Secretary of State for Defence (Philip Hammond) on 19 December 2013, (Official Report, column 124WS) on Future Reserves 2020, and the accompanying document that was placed in the Library of the House which sets out the planned growth of the trained strength of the Reserve Forces, together with the enlistment targets for the next five years.
I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2015 to the hon. Member for Strangford (Mr Shannon) to Question 11812 which explained the improvements we have made to ensure we reach our target strength of 35,000 trained volunteer Reservists by 31 March 2019.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the size of the present stockpile of plutonium held in the United Kingdom.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Data on the amount of civil plutonium in the UK are published each year by the Office for Nuclear Regulation. As of 31 December 2014 there was 126.3 tonnes. Detailed information can be found at http://www.onr.org.uk/safeguards/civilplut14.htm.
Data on the amount of civilian plutonium as of 31 December 2015 will be published in the spring 2016.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that schools address sexual harassment and bullying.
Edward Timpson
All forms of bullying and harassment are unacceptable and every school is required to have in place a behaviour policy with 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.
The Longitudinal Study of Young Peoplein England(LSYPE), which was published by the Department in November 2015, compared 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 said they had been bullied in the last twelve months. This represents a drop from 41 per cent in 2004 to 36 per cent in 2014.
Good schools have a whole school approach to behaviour management that fosters tolerance and respect. Schools can also choose to teach about internet safety and the safe use of social media through their PSHE and sex and relationships provision. Under the computing curriculum, children from the age of five are taught how to stay safe online and how to communicate safely and respectfully.
All schools must have regard to the statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’. This highlights the specific safeguarding issues that staff should be aware of including bullying, child sexual exploitation, gender based violence against girls, sexting and teenage relationship issues, and signposts staff to additional information and support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for the introduction of a 50 mile per hour speed limit on single-carriageway rural roads, and whether they plan to consult on such a proposal.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
There are no plans to decrease the speed limit to 50 mph on single carriageway rural roads.
The Department for Transport has provided guidance to traffic authorities in the Speed Limit Circular 01/2013 – Setting Local Speed Limits. This encourages traffic authorities to keep speed limits under review, and to consider lower speed limits than the default, especially where there may be a relatively high number of bends, junctions or accesses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department plans to spend on specialist kidnap negotiation and hostage rescue capabilities in British consulates in the next 12 months.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Government’s response to overseas hostage taking brings together skills and capabilities across a range of Departments. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the lead Department where British nationals are kidnapped by a terrorist group. Expenditure can be dependent on factors including the number of incidents. In the current Financial Year the FCO will spend around £253,000 on specialist hostage negotiation capability, and on training for the staff in the FCO and our global network who coordinate the Government’s response to the kidnap of British nationals overseas. This training programme ensures our overseas network is prepared to respond effectively when British nationals are taken hostage by terrorists. The FCO’s exact expenditure on kidnap response in the year ahead will depend in part on the number of live cases, but is likely to be of a similar magnitude.