The below Parliamentary question was asked by Khalid Mahmood on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish an updated timetable on the development of the Institute for Apprenticeships.
Robert Halfon
The Institute for Apprenticeships will come into being in April 2017. We expect to publish further information about how the Institute will operate in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Bolton on 7 July 2009 (WA 122), why the Background briefing on the Crown Dependencies on the Ministry of Justice website indicates that the maintenance costs of the Alderney breakwater form part of Guernsey’s annual voluntary contribution towards the cost of its defence and international representation by the UK” when the Ministry of Defence ceded responsibility for the maintenance of that anchorage in 1950.”
Lord Faulks
The background briefing paper to which the noble Lord refers correctly represents the current position. The United Kingdom is responsible for the defence and international representation of the Crown Dependencies, including the Bailiwick of Guernsey of which Alderney forms part. The Alderney breakwater was completed in 1865 to shelter Royal Navy vessels. In 1950 responsibility for its maintenance was transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Home Office. The maintenance costs continued to be met by HM Government until 1 April 1987, when Guernsey assumed responsibility for maintaining the breakwater as part of its annual voluntary contribution towards the costs of defence and international representation undertaken by the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of how many eligible pupils did not claim free school meals in each of the last three years.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The Department only collects data on those eligible pupils who claim free school meals. To collect the data on pupils who did not claim free school meals could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to page 24 of the interim report of the Accelerated Access Review, published in October 2015, what steps he is taking to ensure that drugs that target the genetically validated targets (a) PCSK9 and (b) BCL2 are introduced into routine NHS care; and if he will make a statement.
George Freeman
The Accelerated Access Review, chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, will make recommendations to government on reforms to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative medicines and medical technologies making our country the best place in the world to design, develop and deploy these products. The terms of the reference for the review focus on faster access to innovations, which may include drugs that target genetically validated targets such as PCSK9 and BCL2.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-03-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people diagnosed with hepatitis C are eligible for treatment under the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance for new direct acting antiviral drugs.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Based on National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) modelling, NHS England has planned for 10,000 patients to be treated in 2016/17. No national registry exists for hepatitis C and as a result NICE estimates that the NHS should be treating 10,000 people based on the total number of people diagnosed with hepatitis C, their genotype, their treatment history and their disease severity, all of which impact on treatment eligibility.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has provided support to the US administration for its remotely piloted aircraft system strikes in Yemen.
Penny Mordaunt
The UK Government has not provided support to the US for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System strikes in Yemen.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether 77th Brigade’s full operating capability has been met.
Penny Mordaunt
Following its establishment in April 2015, 77th Brigade is planned to reach full operating capability in December 2019.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides to students with refugee status.
Edward Timpson
The Government is wholly committed to ensuring that refugees who are resettled in the UK receive appropriate support and have a positive experience while they remain in the UK. Children with refugee or humanitarian protection status have access to the education system in the same way as citizen children.
Many pupils with refugee status will be classed as having English as an additional language (EAL). Current school funding arrangements enable local authorities to allocate a proportion of their funding to schools on the basis of the number of pupils in each school who have EAL, and who have been in the school system for a maximum of three years. Local authorities, in agreement with their schools forum, have the freedom to set the pupil rate for this, based on local circumstances.
Furthermore, pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years attract additional funding to the schools they attend in the form of the Pupil Premium. This is worth £1,320 per annum for each eligible pupil in primary school, and £935 per annum for those in secondary school. Pupils who are looked after by the local authority, including unaccompanied refugee children, and those who have left care through adoption or other specified routes also attract the Pupil Premium Plus, at the higher rate of £1,900 per annum. Schools have flexibility over how they use the funding to improve the educational outcomes of their pupil premium-eligible pupils, and are held to account through the focus in Ofsted inspections and the school performance tables on the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cleverly on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had on the renovation of the official residence and offices of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Secretary-General’s official residence is fully maintained and allowance is made in the existing Secretariat budget to provide ongoing general maintenance. It is custom to refurbish the premises on the appointment of a new Secretary General thus giving a cycle of approximately eight years. The budget for the renovation of the official residence was agreed by the Board of Governors at its meeting in June 2015, before the appointment of Patricia Scotland. Nevertheless, we welcome the Secretary-General’s statement that "any work on Hill Street must represent value for money and no extravagance."
We also welcome steps by the Secretary-General to create a Commonwealth Hub through the shared use of existing premises at Quadrant House. Incorporating the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Royal Commonwealth Society and the Commonwealth Local Government Foundation will help bring these organisations together alongside the Secretariat. It will also help the Secretariat to reduce overheads while obtaining value from existing resources and developing new partnerships to better deliver outcomes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what conditions the Government considers need to be met for the UK to divest itself of nuclear weapons through international negotiations.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK has a strong record on nuclear disarmament. As The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Mr Fallon) set out in his Written Ministerial Statement of 20 January 2015 (Official Report, column 4WS) the Government has met its commitment to implement the changes announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 to reduce the number of operationally available warheads from fewer than 160 to no more than 120.
As set out in the recent 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we consider that our nuclear deterrent is the ultimate means to deter the most extreme threats. The UK will retain a credible, continuous and effective minimum nuclear deterrent for as long as the global security situation makes it necessary.