Tag: 2016

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 26826, what the job titles are of those people in receipt of travel expenses, car allowance or subsidised health insurance.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department cannot provide the job titles of those people in receipt of travel expenses, car allowances or subsidised health insurance as this would lead to the individuals being identified.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the publication of the Home Office Guidance on the use of Human Materials in Animals Advice Note 01/16, what the process will be for receiving comments from the public on applications to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for a licence to carry out research using human admixed embryos before a decision on awarding such licences is made.

    Jane Ellison

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the Home Office guidance on the use of Human Materials in Animals was published in January 2016. The guidance provides information on the steps necessary to obtain a research licence from the HFEA. There is no requirement in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended, for the HFEA to seek the views of the public when considering applications for a research licence. Currently, the HFEA does not invite comments from the public on applications for a research licence. This will be reviewed in the 2016/17 business year.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what impact assessment was conducted to identify the consequences of not including arts in the English Baccalaureate.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government’s ambition is that at least 90% of pupils in mainstream secondary schools will enter GCSEs in the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects of English, maths, science, history or geography, and a language.

    The EBacc has been designed to be limited in size to provide a rigorous academic core whilst leaving space in the curriculum for other subjects. On average, pupils in state-funded schools enter nine GCSEs and equivalent qualifications, rising to more than ten for more able pupils.[1] For many pupils, taking the EBacc will mean taking seven GCSEs; and for those taking triple science, it will mean taking eight. This means that there will continue to be room to study other subjects, including arts subjects. A good foundation in the EBacc subjects helps to keep options open for work and further study.

    Since the EBacc was first introduced the proportion of pupils in state-funded schools taking at least one GCSE in an arts subject has increased, rising from 46 per cent in 2011 to 50 per cent in 2015.

    On 3 November 2015 the Secretary of State for Education launched a public consultation seeking views on the government’s proposals for the implementation of the English Baccalaureate.[2] The consultation closed on 29 January 2016 and the government’s response will be published in due course.

    [1] https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&geographic=all&region=0&phase=secondary&for=Key%20stage%204%20performance&basedon=Exam%20entries&show=All%20pupils&&schoolTypeFilter=allSchools

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementing-the-english-baccalaureate

    “

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times staff of his Department and Transport for London met to further their joint work on better integrating the specification of rail passenger services across London and the South East since those proposals were announced on 21 January 2016.

    Claire Perry

    Staff of my department have been meeting with TfL staff several times a month to discuss the next steps on the Prospectus following its publication on 21st January. Most of this was to follow-up aspects of the Prospectus, including the stakeholder briefing for local authorities that the Department and TfL jointly organised in March, but some of these meetings have been about to consider options for the transfer of inner suburban services at franchise end dates.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the practice of breast ironing.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    This Government is clear that political or cultural sensitivities must not get in the way of preventing and uncovering so-called ‘honour-based’ violence (HBV) in all its forms, including ‘breast ironing’. No one should suffer because of who they are or which community they are born into.

    As set out in the Government’s new Violence against Women and Girls Strategy, we will continue to challenge the cultural attitudes that may underpin harmful practices, and ensure that professionals have the confidence to confront these issues to safeguard victims and bring perpetrators to justice.

    Figures on ‘breast ironing’ are not collated centrally. Where ‘breast ironing’ is practised on girls it is child abuse and a crime, and should be treated as such by all frontline professionals. Statutory guidance for local authorities and others on how to safeguard children can be found in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419595/Working_Together_to_Safeguard_Children.pdf

  • Lord Wallace of Saltaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many accredited diplomats from (1) Saudi Arabia, (2) the United Arab Emirates, (3) Kuwait, (4) Bahrain, (5) Qatar, (6) France, (7) Germany, (8) the Netherlands, and (9) the US, were resident in the UK on 1 January.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s records, the number of individuals resident in the UK on 1 January 2016 who were notified, with some form of diplomatic or consular status, to represent the following countries are:

    Saudi Arabia

    209

    The United Arab Emirates

    46

    Kuwait

    54

    Bahrain

    8

    Qatar

    15

    France

    196

    Germany

    138

    The Netherlands

    32

    The USA

    478

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what methodology his Department used to determine that the proposed Sheffield station should be at Meadowhall and not Victoria; and whether that methodology has been independently verified.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Analysis of the Sheffield City Region station options was published in the ‘Engineering options report; West Midlands to Leeds’ dated March 2012. This included analysis of several station sites around the city centre.

    The current estimated difference in cost between locating a High Speed station at Victoria and Meadowhall is £680m. Previous work on the cost of options at Victoria and other city centre sites are not comparable to the current estimate given above. With regards to the Meadowhall station, following the 2013 public consultation, no significant changes have been made to the original station design therefore there have not been any changes in cost.

    When recommending a station location HS2 Ltd. uses a number of criteria, including;

    1. engineering and construction feasibility;
    2. sustainability;
    3. demand considerations, including journey times;
    4. cost; and
    5. wider impacts

    Potential options were sifted by HS2 Ltd. according to these criteria. To support and challenge this approach, external stakeholders and advisors from the Department’s Project Representative Team were involved in reviewing the process and outcomes where appropriate. Further information about the appraisal process can be found in the 2012 ‘Options for phase two of the high speed rail network’ report and 2013 ‘Appraisal of Sustainability’ report. Both of these documents are available on the government website.

    Analysis undertaken by HS2 shows that the introduction of the Sheffield Meadowhall HS2 station could support up to 5,400 jobs and up to 300 residential units, while a HS2 station at Victoria could support an estimated 9,000 jobs and 900 housing units.

    Finally, I can confirm that Department for Transport officials have received a copy of Sheffield City Region’s study into connectivity for a city centre High Speed 2 station at Victoria which Network Rail was involved in.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2016 to Question 26829, what the job titles are of those people in receipt of travel expenses, paid car allowances or subsidised health insurance.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information about job titles is not held.

    DWP expenses are paid in line with the Civil Service Management Code.

  • Chris Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chris Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the future of the Corsellis Brain Collection at the West London Mental Health NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    The excess costs of maintaining the collection compared with the income from specimen preparation over a number of years have rendered the collection unsustainable as a research resource. West London Mental Health Trust has therefore decided – once it has responded to current requests for samples – to respectfully dispose of those tissue samples for which no scientific purpose can be envisaged. Some tissue has also been requested by the University of Hong Kong for training purposes for their neuropathology students, which the Trust is providing as a more appropriate use of such clinical material than respectful disposal. The Trust has obtained the appropriate Human Tissue Authority licenses for this work. We understand that the collection will close by the end of June 2016.

    The Trust has provided figures for each of the three years to 2014/15. In each case the cost has been borne by the Trust, offset (to a relatively small extent) by fees received for tissue sample requests and – in 2014/15 – by a donation. The figures are shown in the following table.

    Financial Year

    Cost

    Income

    Donation

    2012/13

    £101,126

    Nil

    Nil

    2013/14

    £84,561

    £7,016

    Nil

    2014/15

    £80,684

    £1,003

    £69,316

    The Medical Research Council supports a range of brain tissue banks which have been set-up around specific disorders and diseases generally to collect post-mortem brain tissue from consented donors.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total size was of the core defence capability training budget in each of the last six years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministry of Defence undertakes a wide range of training activity, from phase 1 and phase 2 training for new recruits to complex joint exercises with other nations and specialist training for specific trades and skills, such as nuclear engineering. The costs for these activities encompass nearly all of the Defence Lines of Development and cannot be broken out without incurring disproportionate cost.