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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence they have, if any, to show that sponsored academies are more successful at improving in terms of Ofsted status, when compared to similar maintained schools.

    Earl of Courtown

    Ofsted inspection reports for sponsored academies are readily available, as is information on exam performance.

    Sponsored academies are transforming some of the worst underperforming schools under the guidance of an expert sponsor. Becoming an academy enables us to move quickly to replace poor leadership and governance in these failing schools, giving strong leaders the freedom to make decisions that will drive up standards balanced with tough accountability.

    The latest Ofsted Annual Report (December 2015) stated that: “Sponsor-led academies were initially created to raise attainment in schools with long-standing poor performance, often in very deprived areas. Attainment in these schools has increased over time, with the longest standing academies having the strongest performance.”

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of potential links between alcohol intake by middle-aged people and the incidence of dementia; and whether the Government plans to make a statement on its policy on this matter.

    Jane Ellison

    Reducing the incidence of dementia, improving the treatment and care of people with dementia and improving dementia research, is a key priority for the Government. That is why in February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his Challenge on Dementia 2020 as a successor to the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2012-2015.

    Under the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020, we want to see improved public awareness and understanding of the factors which increase the risk of developing dementia (including alcohol consumption), and how people can reduce their risk by living more healthily for example by increased identification of effective ways in which people can reduce their personal risk of developing dementia, including cardio-vascular and cognitive strategies, and ways of encouraging these approaches to improve public health.

    Public Health England’s strategy for the next five years identifies reducing the risk of dementia, its incidence and prevalence in 65-75 years, as one of seven key priorities. This includes action to support people to live healthier lives.

  • Lord Rana – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Rana – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rana on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the future after 2016 of existing projects currently funded by UK aid in India.

    Baroness Verma

    An exit and sustainability plan has been agreed between DFID and partners for every closing programme. In November 2012, we announced we would end our programme of financial aid grants to India by the end of 2015. That is exactly what we are doing. We set this three year transition period so that we could responsibly fulfil commitments to existing financial grant aid projects – all of which will be completed by end of 2015 – after which we will only provide support in the form of private sector expertise and technical assistance

  • Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he had with EMIS Health on data protection.

    George Freeman

    No discussions between My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State and EMIS about data protection have taken place.

  • Lord Young of Cookham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Young of Cookham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Young of Cookham on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to reduce smoking within the NHS as part of implementing the radical upgrade in prevention and public health” called for in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View.”

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Smoking continues to be the leading cause of premature death and health inequality in England, placing a significant burden on the National Health Service.

    The Department remains dedicated to the delivery of effective and robust tobacco control and has committed to developing a new tobacco control strategy to further reduce the prevalence of smoking, working with NHS England and Public Health England (PHE) to identify interventions that will make the best contributions to achieving this.

    Training material and guidance has been developed to support health professionals deliver effective interventions to pregnant women who smoke.

    PHE will continue to support local authorities by developing and distributing information and advice for the commissioning of effective smoking cessation services.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to expand the role of the National Crime Agency in (a) West Africa and (b) the Sahel region.

    Mike Penning

    The National Crime Agency (NCA) engages with a range of overseas partners in the both West Africa and the Sahel Region to tackle serious and organised crime threats to the UK, including drugs trafficking, money laundering, organised immigration crime and child sexual exploitation and abuse. This engagement is subject to continuous review by the NCA and is being expanded to enable the UK to respond to changing or emerging threats such as organised immigration crime. The Prime Minister announced the creation of a new multi-agency Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) Taskforce in June to tackle people smuggling in June and as part of this Taskforce the NCA has expanded its coverage in West Africa from where it also covers the Sahel.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions (a) RAF Reapers, (b) RAF Tornados and (c) other RAF aircraft have come into radar contact with Russian military aircraft inside Syria since 30 September 2015.

    Penny Mordaunt

    We do not routinely collect information on radar contacts. It is inevitable when operating in the same airspace as other nations that RAF aircraft will come into radar contact with those nations. This is one of the ways in which the RAF, as part of the US-led coalition, ensures safe-separation of aircraft in Syrian airspace and enables the UK to continue to fly missions to help degrade and destroy Daesh.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children under the age of (a) 13 and (b) 18 gave evidence from a (i) remote site and (ii) court building in 2014-15.

    Mike Penning

    The Ministry is committed to supporting all victims and witnesses, including children, when giving evidence in criminal trials. All victims and witnesses are eligible for special measures to relieve stress when giving evidence, including giving evidence by video remotely.

    We have secured over £700m of funding to invest in our courts and tribunals. We have worked closely with the senior judiciary to develop a plan for investing this in reforming the courts and tribunals so they can deliver swifter, fairer justice at a lower cost. This will include digitisation and modernisation of our IT infrastructure. This will mean court users can attend hearings remotely, and not be inconvenienced by having to take a day off work to come to court. It will also mean victims of crime can give evidence from somewhere they feel safe.

    Since March 2015 vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including child abuse victims, can give evidence from a remote site which is away from the court environment. There is at least one remote site in each of the seven Regions in England and Wales, and twelve sites in total.

    In addition, the court estate is video-enabled so that any victim or witness can give evidence from a court building other than the trial site to ensure they do not come into contact with the defendant, or their family and supporters.

    Whilst HMCTS collates data on the number of witnesses giving evidence by video, the ages of the victims and witnesses are not recorded.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with Solutions for Public Health on developing a draft commissioning policy for everolimus.

    George Freeman

    NHS England has a service level agreement in place with Solutions for Public Health (SPH), a NHS public health unit which forms part of the NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit.

    NHS England has commissioned SPH to provide impartial clinical evidence reviews. These clinical evidence reviews are undertaken independently in line with an agreed methodology and are a critical component in informing evidence based clinical commissioning policies for directly commissioned specialised services, based on the latest published research.

    However, SPH does not have any subsequent involvement in the development, drafting or consideration of NHS England’s clinical commissioning policies.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the traffic commissioners in enforcing bus service reliability and punctuality.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport has regular discussions with the Senior Traffic Commissioner and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (who provide evidence to the Traffic Commissioners on bus punctuality) on bus punctuality enforcement issues. I am pleased to note that in England 83% of non-frequent bus services ran on time in 2014/15 compared to 80% in 2009/10.