The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Royal Navy is taking to maintain its warship repair capability after the sale of RFA Diligence.
Harriett Baldwin
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 September 2016 to Question 45203 to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Flick Drummond).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects a new Chair for the Environment Agency to be appointed.
George Eustice
Defra has appointed Emma Howard Boyd as Acting Chairman. She will lead the Board until a permanent Chairman is recruited in due course following an open competition.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will estimate the change in that part of her Department’s budget which is allocated to free school meals that will result from discontinuation of universal infant free school meals; and whether such a change would trigger a consequential change in the payment to devolved administrations under the Barnett formula.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Universal infant free school meals have been a great success, with over 1.3 million additional infants enjoying a nutritious, free meal at lunchtime and parents saving hundreds of pounds a year. The Chancellor made it clear at the spending review in the autumn that, in line with the Conservative Party’s manifesto commitment, this policy will be protected for the duration of the Parliament. It costs around £600 million a year in England, with proportionate funding going to the devolved administrations under the Barnett formula.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to increase the number of looked-after children who apply to attend university.
Edward Timpson
The Government wants all children to reach their full potential. Looked-after children have priority in admission arrangements so they have the chance to go to schools that best meet their needs. In 2014 we increased the pupil premium rate for looked-after children from £900 to £1900, and the role of Virtual School Heads (VSHs) became statutory.
Local authorities have a duty under the Children Act 1989 to promote the educational achievement of children they look after wherever they are placed and VSHs are responsible for ensuring that duty is discharged. Statutory guidance makes clear that local authorities should have the same high aspirations for the children they look after as any good parent. That includes choosing schools for them that are judged by Ofsted as good or outstanding and supporting them to make maximum progress.
In addition:
The Department for Education is currently working with other government departments, including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, to explore what more can be done to support looked-after children and young people to progress in education and training and make a successful transition to adulthood.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the Members Estimate Committee, how much Short money the UK Independence Party has claimed since May 2015; and on what dates those payments were made to that party.
Tom Brake
The amount of Short money available to UKIP for 2015/16 since the May general election was £605,871. The amounts claimed and paid were as follows:
|
Date Paid |
Amount |
|
24 August 2015 |
£14,833.00 |
|
28 September 2015 |
£16,434.68 |
|
14 October 2015 |
£128,034.16 |
|
28 October 2015 |
£31,870.36 |
|
25 November 2015 |
£31,870.36 |
|
21 December 2015 |
£31,870.36 |
|
27 January 2016 |
£31,870.36 |
|
24 February 2016 |
£31,870.36 |
|
28 March 2016 |
£31,870.36 |
|
Total |
£350,574.00 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the implications are of the findings of the report from the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, entitled DFID’s efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls, published on 17 May 2016, for her Department’s work on strengthening women’s rights organisations and networks in the developing world.
Justine Greening
I welcome ICAI’s recent review, which awarded my Department their highest rating, a green review score, for our work on tackling violence against women and girls. The review highlights the important contribution UK Aid makes to the lives of women and girls around the world and recognises the significant achievements of DFID to date on this vtial issue. My Department will provide a formal response to the ICAI findings in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-07-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding (1) the National Youth Theatre, (2) the National Youth Orchestra, (3) the National Youth Dance Company, and (4) the Youth Music Theatre UK, receive from (a) the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and (b) the Department for Education.
Lord Ashton of Hyde
Government funding between 2014/15 and 2015/16 to the National Youth Theatre Great Britain, the National Youth Orchestra, the National Youth Dance Company, and the Youth Music Theatre UK is set out in the table. Youth Music Theatre UK and the National Youth Orchestra receive funding as National Youth Music Organisations, which is jointly funded through the Department for Education and Arts Council England lottery money.
These figures include total funding provided through Grant in Aid and Lottery funding.
|
|
DFE |
DCMS |
|
|
|
Organisation |
Grant in Aid 2014/15 – 2015/16 |
Grant in Aid 2014/15 – 2015/16 |
Lottery Funding 2014/15 – 2015/16 |
*Grants for the Arts 2014/15 – 2015/16 |
|
National Youth Theatre of Great Britain |
£611,538 |
|||
|
National Youth Orchestra** |
£500,000 |
£44,441 |
||
|
Sadler’s Wells Trust Ltd. (National Youth Dance Company specific)*** |
£650,000 |
£200,000 |
||
|
Youth Music Theatre UK** |
£300,000 |
£37,250 |
* Grants for the arts is the Arts Council’s Lottery-funded grant programme for individuals, arts organisations and other people who use the arts in their work. Grants are available for activities carried out over a set period and which engage people in England in arts activities and help artists and arts organisations in England carry out their work
**National Youth Music Organisation funding
*** The funding is paid to Sadler’s Wells as the grant recipient for use specifically for National Youth Dance Company activities
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were absent from school due to having a mental health condition in each year since 2010.
Edward Timpson
The Department does not hold information on absence due to a mental health condition.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures and regulations are in place to ensure that clinical drug tests are low-risk and safe.
George Freeman
Clinical trials of medicinal products in the United Kingdom are strictly regulated by European Union and UK legislation in order to ensure that the studies achieve their scientific targets while safeguarding the trial participants. Before any trial of a new medicine is initiated in humans, the medicinal product will have undergone extensive non-clinical testing, both in the laboratory and in animals as appropriate. The organisation responsible for proposing the trial (the Sponsor) will submit a Clinical Trial Authorisation application that will be reviewed by both the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and a research ethics committee.
The MHRA assesses the safety and scientific value of the trial. A team of assessors will review the pharmaceutical quality of the medicinal product, the supporting data from pre-clinical testing and the details of the trial design and methodology, along with all available clinical data. The research ethics committee will ensure that the participant has been fully informed of all the necessary information about the trial, including information on potential risks and side effects.
All Phase I trials in healthy volunteers are assessed taking into account European guidelines on strategies to identify and mitigate risks for first in human (FIH) trials. In the UK, trials that are identified as being higher risk are referred by the MHRA to an Expert Advisory Group of the Commission on Human Medicines for advice.
The MHRA has instituted a Phase I accreditation scheme for organisations conducting phase I trials, in particular for those conducting FIH trials. MHRA Inspectors will grant Phase I accreditation only to those research units that exceed the basic regulatory Good Clinical Practice standards by having additional procedures that include the highest standards for avoiding harm to trial subjects and for handling any medical emergencies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the finding in the Chief Schools Adjudicator for England’s Annual Report, published in December 2015, that parents are often unable to understand the complicated admissions criteria employed by religiously selective schools.
Nick Gibb
Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious character, are required to comply with the School Admissions Code. This includes a requirement that ‘parents should be able to look at a set of arrangements and understand easily how places for that school will be allocated’.
We support the right of schools with a religious designation to prioritise children of their faith. The code requires such schools, as a minimum, to prioritise looked after and previously looked after children of their faith ahead of other children. We have no plans to change this requirement.
The code can only be applied to bodies within the education sector. It cannot place requirements upon religious bodies. It does, however, require that when schools with a religious designation adopt admission criteria which prioritise children based on their faith, the schools must take account of religious activities as laid out by their religious authority.
Compliance with the code is enforced by the Schools Adjudicator. Where an objection is made and the adjudicator finds that the arrangements are unclear, unfair, or that they otherwise fail to comply with the code, the admission authority is required by law to change the policy.
The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the code which will both respond to the findings within the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Reports and concerns raised by parents. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.