The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the appropriation of 234 hectares of Palestinian land near Jericho by Israel on 10 March.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a press statement on 16 March condemning the Israeli government’s decision to take over 585 acres of land in the West Bank as ‘state land’.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 12325, how many defence attachés at what rank were employed at each of those locations on 1 April 2016; and whether each of those attachés has civilian assistants.
Mr Julian Brazier
All Defence Attaches (except those for Bahrain and the UK Mission to the UN) have civilian employees working within the Defence Section. The Defence Attaches by rank as at 1 April 2016 are listed in the attached table.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide field surgical teams for the Peshmerga Regional Government.
Penny Mordaunt
The UK keeps its contribution to the Global Counter-Daesh Coalition in Iraq (including the Kurdish region) under review with wider Coalition partners, but has no plans to deploy a field hospital to the region. Any such deployment would need to be carefully balanced against medical commitments to current and future planned operations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department consulted local GPs and other health providers during the tendering process for musculoskeletal services in Greenwich; how his Department assessed the implications of the outcome of that process for the services provided by those people; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Philip Dunne
The procurement of local health services by means of competitive tendering is a matter for the local National Health Service.
We are advised that NHS Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) undertook a review of the provision of musculoskeletal (MSK) services in the area in 2014, involving local general practitioners (GPs), secondary care clinicians, other MSK clinicians and patient groups. The CCG took account of this exercise in confirming its commissioning intentions for an integrated MSK service pathway. The CCG subsequently held a GP clinical commissioner-led provider engagement event on 2 March 2016 to seek feedback on the clinical service specification and the proposed contractual model.
We understand that, as part of the procurement process, the MSK Programme Board was fully apprised of the Our Healthier South East London initiative, the predecessor to the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) in respect of elective orthopaedic centres.
We are advised that the Invitation to Tender (ITT) developed as part of the procurement exercise explicitly stated the aspirations of these two initiatives, in addition to the proposed implementation timeline. When submitting their bids, all prospective providers were required to confirm their understanding and acceptance of the planned new model of in-patient care. Patient choice continues to apply with regard to both this local procurement and the South East London STP proposals on elective care centres.
We understand that the ITT issued to potential service providers, was divided into sections, with each section allocated a weighting. The financial weighting was designed to ensure that the selection of the preferred provider was driven by clinical quality scores whilst remaining within the CCG’s published financial envelope. The detailed clinical service specification will be used to hold the provider to account within the format of the NHS national standard contract.
Health Ministers have not received any representations from local health practitioners in Greenwich with regard to the provision of MSK services in the area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will allow the completed High Speed 2 railway line to be open access as opposed to restricted by franchise.
Andrew Jones
The Government is considering how best HS2 services should be provided both when operating on the new High Speed and conventional rail networks. This includes consideration of franchising options but does not rule out alternative routes for service delivery, to ensure that services deliver the Government objectives for HS2, and optimum use is made of total capacity across the entire network to maximise the benefits for passengers and secure a return for taxpayers on the significant investment Government is making in HS2. No final decision has been taken.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many jobs in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.
Andrea Leadsom
Neither the Department, nor any of its accountable statutory bodies, have had jobs abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent in the specified time period.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with democratic opposition parties in Iran; and what his Department’s policy is on working with opposition parties to achieve greater political stability in that region.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
I have had no recent discussions with opposition parties in Iran. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office works across the region with a range of stakeholders in support of regional security.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what his Department’s wellness strategy is.
Alun Cairns
The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right and staff are subject to Ministry of Justice (MOJ) policies for issues such as wellness.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-03-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 15 March (HL6859), whether the number of Home Office officials seconded to the Interior Ministry’s Dublin Unit in Paris will increase.
Lord Keen of Elie
The case for seconding UK experts to the Interior Ministry’s Dublin Unit is under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 2.28 of the White Paper, Educational excellence everywhere, published in March 2016, by what criteria her Department will assess which higher education institutions are assessed as the best universities for education and teacher training.
Nick Gibb
Our recent White Paper made a commitment to raising the quality of initial teacher training so that teaching continues to be a profession that attracts the brightest and the best. We want to ensure that training places are allocated to providers – both schools and universities – with a proven track record of effectively recruiting high-quality trainees, delivering high-quality programmes of training, and securing the best possible outcomes for trainees.
We will be setting out further detail of our plans to implement these reforms shortly. This will include confirming details of the quality criteria that we intend to use to inform the allocation of places to universities and schools for the training year 2017/18. We are currently holding discussions with stakeholders, including ITT providers and their representative bodies, to inform the development of appropriate criteria.