The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of toxocariasis have been identified in England in each year since 2010.
Jane Ellison
The data are available in the United Kingdom Zoonoses Report, and are published here:
The data for 2015 are not yet published.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 May 2016 to Question 36211, whether (a) free and (b) new schools which open in a local education authority area are funded from the same delegated schools budget that existed prior to their opening.
Edward Timpson
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-06-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 June (HL645), how many of the 8,408 rare disease genomes and 1,671 cancer genomes have been shared with Genomics England’s commercial interpretation partners.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Genomics England has confirmed that 293 rare disease and 310 cancer genomes have been sent to their clinical interpretation partners. Genomics England expects this flow to increase steadily as further links with clinical interpretation providers are established.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawson on 2016-09-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on inward investment to the UK of the condition and environment of the UK rail network.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
There is extensive evidence of the importance of transport and connectivity to attracting inward investment in to the UK economy. HM Government is always seeking to maximise such opportunities, however we have made no specific assessment of how the UK’s railways are currently bearing on inward investment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what criteria his Department uses to determine who receives Start-Up Loans; and what processes are in place to ensure that people with mental health problems have their applications considered fairly.
Anna Soubry
The Start-Up Loans programme provides loans and mentoring support to enable entrepreneurs aged 18 and over from all parts of society and based in the UK to start a business. So far, over 34,300 entrepreneurs have received support from the programme, which in turn has facilitated over £187 million worth of lending to date.
The programme operates through a network of Delivery Partners, who make individual lending decisions based on criteria set by the Start-Up Loans Company. Delivery Partners are required to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. A condition of this authorisation is that they adhere to the FCA’s Treating Customers Fairly principles, which include reference to the treatment of customers with mental health issues.
A full list of principles is available on the FCA’s website
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has allocated funding for primary and secondary schools to employ a dedicated mental health practitioner to provide services to pupils on site.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The most recent prevalence survey estimated that 1 in 10 children have a diagnosable mental health disorder, and more have lower level problems. This is why the Government has made good mental health, character and resilience a high priority. The Department of Health is commissioning a new prevalence survey to update this estimate for a wider range of ages, from 2-19. It is due to report in 2018. We do not routinely collect data that allows us to measure the amount schools spend specifically on addressing mental health issues.
We are committed to better understanding what schools are doing on this matter, which is why my department is commissioning an extensive survey. This survey will provide a robust national picture of mental health support provided by schools and colleges.
It is for head teachers to determine how they spend their individual school budgets to best meet the needs of all their pupils. In the Spending Review we announced that the core schools budget will be protected in real terms through this Parliament. We are also protecting the Pupil Premium, which many schools use to fund mental health provision, at current pupil rates. Within these protections, we announced in December 2015 that an additional £92.5 million will specifically be provided in the high needs element of the Dedicated School Grant (DSG) next year.
We have also made £1.4 billion available over the next five years to transform local children and young people’s mental health services to deliver more integrated and accessible services. Clinical Commissioning Groups have been required to work with others services locally, including schools, to produce plans that set out how they will transform children and young people’s mental health services locally to make them more accessible and increase the focus on prevention.
We are also contributing to a £3 million joint pilot with NHS England for training single points of contact in schools and specialist mental health services, to ensure that children and young people have timely access to specialist support where needed. There are 22 pilot areas covering more than 200 schools across 27 CCGs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from (a) consumer groups and (b) railway franchise holders on the level of staffing at small railway stations; and if he will make a statement.
Claire Perry
Whilst we regulate Ticket Office opening times through the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, station staffing levels are primarily a matter for operators as we believe that they themselves are best placed to determine how to meet the needs of their passengers.
Since February 2015, 3 ticket offices have reduced their opening hours after train companies followed the procedure as set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, which includes making representation to the Department.
Passenger Focus (as was) and London TravelWatch provided responses to the East Anglia franchise public consultation with regard to staffing.
More recently, both Transport Focus and London TravelWatch have made representations to the Department with regard to the South Western franchise consultation and staffing.
Representatives from Govia Thameslink Railway have also briefed officials at the Department on their plans to carry out a consultation on proposals to change ticket office opening hours at some stations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to increase the number of bedded inpatient services for young people with mental health conditions.
Alistair Burt
The £1.4 billion additional funding the Government has made available over the course of this Parliament to deliver the vision set out in Future in Mind includes £7 million to enable NHS England to commission 56 new inpatient care beds for children and young people with mental health needs. This raises the total number of beds to 1,442, the highest this has ever been.
The local Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) transformation plans developed during 2015/16 provide the ideal context within which to make decisions about the future requirements for CAMHS T4 beds. The specialised commissioners have reviewed the approach to be taken to the CAMHS T4 procurement and have moved away from a single national procurement to local procurement, clearly set within a national framework. This revised approach will enable variation around timescales and ensure responsiveness to the local agenda. The approach will also reinforce the essential local ownership of capacity plans and pathways of care.
We also need to be clear that effective mental health care is about far more than inpatient beds. We are therefore working with local commissioners to strengthen care across the system. The aim is to bolster preventive and early-intervention services that help young people stay well in their own communities, without ever needing inpatient care.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress has been made on the techno-economic assessment of small modular reactors which was due to conclude at the end of March 2016.
Andrea Leadsom
The techno-economic assessment of small modular reactors is due to conclude shortly. Once the assessment is complete officials will consider the key findings as part of on-going SMR policy development
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the net expenditure of the Standards and Testing Agency in the year ending March 2012 was over 25 per cent lower than the average yearly net expenditure for the period April 2010 to March 2015.
Lord Nash
The year ending March 2012 was the period when the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency closed and the Standards and Testing Agency opened. The reduction in expenditure can partly be explained by the transfer of functions between the two organisations. In addition, there was no whole cohort external marking of the Key Stage 2 writing test that year.