The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of (a) GPs and (b) clinical commissioning groups have plans in place to identify avoidable deaths.
Alistair Burt
Data on the proportion of general practitioners and clinical commissioning groups that have plans in place to identify avoidable deaths is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Leader of the House, what the order of precedence is for induction to the Privy Council.
Chris Grayling
By custom and convention, the Order of precedence for the induction of new members of the Privy Council is that those wishing to take an Oath are appointed first, followed by those wishing to make affirmation. Other than this distinction, the Order of induction is alphabetical. Privy Counsellor appointments are published after each Privy Council meeting and are available at http://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/privy-council/privy-council-meetings/.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what work his Department is undertaking to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in the construction industry to expand and create more jobs.
Nick Boles
The Government is working to help all construction companies to expand and create jobs. At the Spending Review the housing budget was doubled to over £2 billion per year, and the Chancellor also committed to £100 billion of spending in this Parliament for new roads, rail, flood defences and other vital projects.
We are making sure that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have access to government contract opportunities, making it easier for them to do business with us. We are requiring departments to publish details of future projects on the “contracts finder” website, giving businesses the confidence and time to invest in relevant skills, labour and capabilities.
Access to finance can be a barrier to growth. There is a range of support and assistance available through the Business Support Helpline. The British Business Bank is a government-owned business development bank dedicated to making finance markets work better for smaller businesses, through schemes such as the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG). The British Business Bank promotes the EFG to high street lenders to encourage them to lend to viable smaller businesses that would otherwise be declined for lacking adequate security.
More widely the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ red tape challenge programmes are targeting rules and regulations in the construction sector. Many of those red tape requirements fall disproportionately heavily on smaller construction employers.
In addition the Government is placing employers, including small businesses, in the lead in developing new apprenticeship standards and providing financial support. Specific grants are available for smaller businesses and for younger apprentices. In addition there is a range of support for all approved learning outcomes available from the Construction Industry Training Board.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to page 69 of the Budget 2016, when his Department plans to start the science and innovation audit in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
Joseph Johnson
The first wave of Science and Innovation Audits, including the Edinburgh and the Lothians audit, were announced at Budget on 16th March. Consortia going through Wave 1 have been selected to represent a cross section of approaches, geographical areas, and capacity to engage actively in developing the methodology. Initial planning meetings will commence shortly and we expect the project to be delivered by the Autumn.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the legal status of NHS Improvement is; how and to whom that body is accountable; and what functions he has in relation to that body.
Ben Gummer
NHS Improvement has brought together two distinct legal entities: Monitor, a non-departmental public body and the NHS Trust Development Authority, a special health authority, under a single leadership and operating model. It is a combination of the continuing statutory functions and legal powers vested in these organisations.
They will continue to maintain their current legal underpinnings as two separate bodies, although they will function as a single organisation to manage NHS trusts and foundation trusts more effectively in the interests of patients and taxpayers.
NHS Improvement will be accountable directly to Parliament, the Secretary of State and the Department’s Principal Accounting Officer for discharge of Monitor’s statutory and regulatory functions and to the Secretary of State and Principal Accounting Officer for the specific functions of the Trust Development Authority.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to his Department’s White Paper, Success as a knowledge economy: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice, published on 16 May 2016, what the minimum number of (a) students and (b) higher education students is which any new provider would have to have registered at their institution in order to be granted university teaching powers.
Joseph Johnson
The Government’s intention is that – as now – in order to be eligible for taught degree awarding powers a provider must have the majority of its higher education students enrolled on study programmes which are recognised as being at level 6 or above of the Framework of Higher Education Qualifications for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This requirement will be set out in detailed criteria and guidance on degree awarding powers on which there will be a consultation in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the statement in his article in The Telegraph of 27 March 2016, on his Department’s hesitation in using the term genocide, what his assessment is of whether Daesh has committed genocide.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Government maintains that genocide should be a matter for judicial authorities rather than a political decision. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), announced on 21 July that the UK will work with our international partners to drive a global campaign to hold Daesh to account for its crimes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the cycling and walking investment strategy will include investment for the proposed cycling and pedestrian bridge linking Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf.
Andrew Jones
The draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy sets out the Government’s plans for increasing cycling and walking in England. It is a high level document, with a long term ambition up to 2040, supported by a target and a number of objectives.
The Strategy outlines how Government will work with local bodies and business to develop expertise and support, the tools and policies Government will deliver to support them in increasing walking and cycling in local communities, and how this work will enable progress towards our national objectives and target. It does not set out details of individual schemes as that is a matter for local bodies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many health visitors there were in each month since May 2010.
Ben Gummer
The attached table shows how many health visitors there were in each month in England from May 2010 to September 2015, which is the latest available figure from the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s monthly workforce statistics. Data from April 2012 onwards is taken from the Health Visitor Minimum Data Set and also includes numbers of health visitors employed by organisations that do not use the Electronic Staff Record but do provide NHS-funded services, such as local authorities.
Full-time equivalent figures are used as this is the most accurate measure of service capacity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will set out a timetable for identifying a long-term secure funding model for the supported housing sector.
Brandon Lewis
The supported housing sector provides vital support for some of our country’s most vulnerable people. The Government is currently conducting a review of supported housing to ensure we have accurate and up to date information about services being provided. We are committed to ensuring the supported housing sector is on secure financail footing and will continue to keep this under review to provide certainity for the sector.