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Tag: 2016

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the budget of each Regional School Commissioner; who scrutinises and audits those budgets; how many staff are employed by each Commissioner; and whether those Commissioner budgets are made publicly available at the end of each financial year, and if so, how.

    Lord Nash

    Each Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) has an annual budget of approximately £560k for the 2015-16 financial year. This consists of a programme budget of £40k per region and an administration budget of approximately £520k. The programme budget is to cover costs related to events and other communications activities. The administration budget is for staff costs, for example salary and travel. In addition, each RSC also has a Head Teacher Board (HTB) budget of approximately £100k annually to recompense the HTB members’ employer for loss of staff time.

    There are a number of other budgets that are used to support the work of the RSCs and the delivery of the academies and free schools programmes, but these are not held by the RSCs themselves.

    In line with the Department for Education’s internal review and governance arrangements, RSCs are required to provide financial reports each month, as well as an assurance statement at year end. Their budgets are included within the annual financial scrutiny and audit of the DfE accounts carried out by internal audit and externally scrutinised by the National Audit Office (NAO).

    At present, each RSC office employs between 8 and 10 members of staff. The RSC and their office’s salary information are included within the Department’s salary details published on GOV.UK.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the use of tear gas at Qitoun checkpoint against Palestinian children on their way to school.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities on this specific issue, we consistently urge Israeli contacts against the use of excessive force.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure accurate and early diagnosis of Kawasaki disease.

    George Freeman

    The Government published the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases in November 2013. The strategy contains over 50 commitments to ensure people living with a rare disease, such as Kawasaki disease, have access to the best evidence-based care and treatment that health and social services, working with charities, researchers and industry can provide.

    It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricular to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. This includes training in both scarlet fever and Kawasaki disease.

    Health Education England works with bodies that set curricula such as the General Medical Council and the Royal Colleges to seek to ensure training meets the needs of patients.

    The Department and its arm’s length bodies have not published any specific guidance on the similarities between Kawasaki disease and scarlet fever.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on the assessment and initial management of fever in under 5s sets out the circumstances in which a diagnosis of Kawasaki disease should be considered, and Public Health England (PHE) has endeavoured to keep healthcare professionals, schools and the general public informed of the increased incidence of scarlet fever through timely information, news stories and updates on the PHE website and by using social and other media. These awareness raising measures assist general practitioners and other frontline healthcare professionals in reaching a correct diagnosis more quickly and encourage patients to seek medical advice early so that suspected cases receive prompt antibiotic treatment to reduce the risk of complications and limit further transmission.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much has been spent by his Department on the services of consultancy firms relating to proposals to privatise the Land Registry.

    Anna Soubry

    We will publish details of the expenditure on advisers once a transaction is completed. Given that the privatisation of the Land Registry would be a significant commercial transaction for Government, it is expected that the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee will scrutinise fees incurred as part of any review into the conduct of the transaction. This is the normal process of scrutiny for major Government asset sales.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39159, what the figures for his Department’s spending on cycling programmes in each year to 2021 are in real terms.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Programme

    2016/17

    2017/18

    2018/19

    2019/20

    2020/21

    Total

    Cycling

    £m

    £m

    £m

    £m

    £m

    £m

    Real term spending

    £185.20

    £199.56

    £115.07

    £87.98

    £54.41

    £642.23

    We have applied the GDP deflator rates to the figures that were provided in response to the original PQ 37870. It should be noted that the future years GDP deflator rates are estimates only.

    Note that the above totals include sums from within current Local Growth Fund allocations. Not all of the Local Growth Fund is currently allocated, so as future allocations of the Local Growth Fund are made to Local Enterprise Partnerships, the amount supporting cycling projects through to 2020/21 is likely to rise.

    In addition to the totals above, from within the record £6 billion allocated to local highways authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, this funding can help maintain footways and cycleways.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academies have been removed from their multi academy trust on the initiative of (a) Regional School Commissioner and (b) Minister in each of the last three years.

    Edward Timpson

    The following table shows the number of academies that have been removed from MATs in the last three academic years.

    Academic Year

    Number of academies

    2013/14

    3

    2014/15

    38

    2015/16

    38

    Academies and free schools removed from trusts in 2013/14, prior to the appointment of regional schools commissioners, would have had ministerial approval. Since September 2014, RSCs would have made this decision in the majority of cases.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department was notified of the decision to use French steel to build the Trident successor submarines.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The management of the steel procurement process for the Successor Programme is the responsibility of the Prime Contractor, BAE Systems. The Ministry of Defence conducted a technical assessment during the tendering process to ensure bids met specifications. Overall, 85% of BAE System’s supply chain for the new submarines is based in the UK. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is working closely with the Ministry of Defence and the Crown Commercial Service in the implementation of steel-specific guidance on future procurements.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what contingency arrangements the Government Equalities Office has made for the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

    Caroline Dinenage

    We refer the Right Hon. MP to the response submitted by the Cabinet Office.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in reducing the levels of youth unemployment in Northern Ireland over the last three years.

    Lord Dunlop

    The Government is reducing the largest structural deficit in UK peacetime history and this more than anything will help deliver a sustainable economic recovery and so directly assist young people get into employment.

    The Government has also abolished employer National Insurance Contributions for under-21 year olds from April 2015 making it cheaper for businesses in Northern Ireland to employ young people.

    According to data from the Office for National Statistics, the number of unemployed 16-24 year olds in Northern Ireland has fallen by 5 per cent in the last three years.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the evidence that recent attacks on the north-east Borna State in Nigeria, and attacks in neighbouring Chad and Cameroon, are being carried out by Boko Haram.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Boko Haram usually do not claim responsibility for individual attacks, which often take place in remote areas with no international presence. However, they are the only terrorist organisation conducting this type and scale of attack in North East Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad Basin region, including in Chad and Cameroon. This assessment is shared by Nigerian National and State-level authorities as well as civil society across the region.