The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many stroke survivors are in (a) receipt of employment and support allowance and (b) the work-related activity group.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will instruct exam boards to offer GCSE and A-Level examinations in Persian after 2018; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
Examination boards are independent organisations and the Secretary of State cannot instruct them to offer any particular qualifications. On 22 April we announced the successful preservation of community language qualifications following negotiation with the examination boards. This fulfilled the commitment made by the Government in 2015. The announcement can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/future-of-community-language-qualifications-secured.
It remains open to the exam boards to decide to offer qualifications in Persian in future.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding for children and young people with special educational needs was allocated to East Sussex local authority area through the dedicated schools grant in each of the last three years.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Funding for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) is allocated to local authorities through the dedicated schools grant (DSG), which includes both funding to be delegated to mainstream schools, and funding for the additional costs associated with educating children and young people with high needs.
The Department does not allocate specific amounts of funding for children and young people with SEN within the funding allocated to local authorities for their mainstream schools. Schools are funded through a formula set by their local authority, and local authorities are required to delegate funds to a level that enables schools to meet the additional costs of pupils with SEN, up to £6,000 per annum. For those pupils whose additional support costs more than £6,000 the local authority pays top-up funding to the schools from their high needs budget.
East Sussex County Council’s high needs allocation, within the dedicated schools grant, in each of the last three years was as follows:
2015-16: £44.06 million
2014-15: £42.82 million
2013-14: £40.94 million
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what activities have been undertaken by (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department at (i) Richmond House, London and (ii) Quarry House, Leeds to promote breastfeeding during World Breastfeeding Week 2016.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Government is committed to supporting breastfeeding through the Healthy Child Programme.
No specific activities were undertaken in either Richmond House or Quarry House by Ministers or officials in relation to World Breastfeeding Week.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hussain on 2016-10-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the government of India’s recent refusal to allow access to representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to investigate possible human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir, what representations they are making to the government of India to enable those investigations to be undertaken.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of reports of human rights abuses in Indian-administered Kashmir. Any allegation of human rights abuse in any country is a matter of concern and should be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2016 to Question 21922, how much of the £75 million allocated to CCGs to improve local services in 2015-16 has been spent.
Alistair Burt
Out of the £173 million, £105 million has gone to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) directly.
The remaining £68 million has been allocated to the below organisations to be spent centrally on workforce and system development. These are approximations to the nearest million:
– £58 million allocated to NHS England;
– £9 million allocated to Health Education England; and
– £1 million allocated to the Department of Health.
The Government are taking a targeted and phased approach to ensuring the funding allocated to workforce and system development is spent effectively and plans are in place for this money to be spent.
The figure of how much of the £75 million allocated to CCGs to improve local services has been spent is not available. NHS England is currently collecting monthly financial information regarding the amount of spend on child and adolescent mental health services. This is being validated during January and will be made available later in the year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-02-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how and when they intend to introduce and implement a comprehensive plan in relation to the Zika virus to (1) inform fully the British public about that virus, (2) advise on travel to Central and South America in the light of that virus’ prevalence in that region, and (3) clarify all known means of transmission of that virus.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Public Health England (PHE) and the National Travel Health Network and Centre have issued travel advice to people who may be travelling to the affected countries, particularly pregnant women and provided information for the general public through the NHS Choices website.
PHE has been working with appropriate professional groups to develop information and guidance on Zika for clinicians. They have worked in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to develop specifically targeted at primary care which is available on the PHE website and has been cascaded by the RCGP. A copy of this guidance is attached.
PHE have also issued a Central Alerting System update alert letter to clinicians, which includes specific information and guidance about Zika virus and pregnancy and general guidance on Zika virus and travel. A copy of this is attached.
Although some evidence of sexual transmission exists and there is the possibility that blood transfusions may be able to transmit the virus this will be very rare. Transmission from mother to fetus via the placenta is also possible. If a person acquires Zika abroad and becomes ill on their return to the United Kingdom, mosquito-borne transmission will not occur as the mosquito is not present in the UK.
Information on these issues is available on the PHE website. The Government continues to monitor this situation very closely and will continue to take action as appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-02-29.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what issues were discussed at the meeting that took place between Ministers of his Department and representatives of the Financial Conduct Authority on 5 August 2015; and who the attendees were at that meeting.
Harriett Baldwin
Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss relevant regulatory issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many care leavers as identified through the self-identified marker used by his Department between the ages of 18 and 25 had their (a) jobseeker’s allowance and (b) employment and support allowance sanctioned in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Priti Patel
The information requested in respect of care leavers is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of converting schools into academies in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands.
Edward Timpson
In light of the new money announced in the Budget to support our plans, we are currently considering how best to consolidate and improve the support available to schools as they convert to become academies. New guidance will be available soon which will ensure that the available funding has maximum impact to build capacity and help schools make the most of the opportunities of becoming an academy.
There will be a range of help available to support schools to become academies and secure the associated benefits. Pre-opening support grants are available to all schools, which contribute towards the costs of conversion incurred by schools in establishing the academy. In addition, other grants support a range of different models and phases of academy development, including the sponsor capacity fund and grants which are targeted to help groups of primary schools to either come together in new trusts or join existing ones.