The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Goschen on 2016-06-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Southern Rail about the ongoing disruption to service on their network.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We are in regular dialogue with Govia Thameslink Rail (GTR) who provide Southern services about the performance on their network. We are determined to see services improve and are working hard with the industry to achieve this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-09-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential contribution of addressing childhood cancer to the third Sustainable Development Goal.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The third millennium development goal includes the intention to reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment by 2030: this includes all forms of cancer. Reporting will be based on data from country health information systems.
DFID’s health focus is to improve the provision of basic health services for the poorest by strengthening health systems, improving health worker capacity and increasing access to essential medicines and equipment. Increasing coverage, access and quality will strengthen health services to address all health problems including childhood cancer. DFID also supports some specific efforts to tackle childhood cancer, such as a project through World Child Cancer in Burma, which seeks to improve the diagnosis, treatment and care for children with cancer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 902718, what transfer arrangements are in place for the 70 green specialists employed by the Green Investment Bank should they be transferred to the private sector.
Anna Soubry
Private investors will be buying the Green Investment Bank company and employees will continue to be employed by that company. No transfer arrangements are therefore required.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the rates of mental illness among school-age children.
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 Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the residence test for disability living allowance and personal independence payment on people who have been granted refugee status or humanitarian protection.
Justin Tomlinson
People arriving in Great Britain – whether for the first time or if they are returning former GB residents – must meet the test of being habitually resident in order to receive Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment. They must also have been present in Great Britain for 104 weeks out of the previous 156 weeks. These benefits are non–contributory, non means–tested and paid out of general taxation and, in the absence of a means test or National Insurance contributions condition, DWP uses the past presence test to demonstrate a sufficient connection to the UK social security system. There are no special arrangements for people granted refugee status or humanitarian protection, however those people who are granted refugee status are likely to be considered habitually resident for the purposes of making a claim and they would also then meet the past presence test once they have been resident in the UK for the requisite period of time. In addition, these claimants may be entitled to other, means tested benefits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what arrangements his Department has put in place to ensure that long-term funding is available for the transfer of care for people with learning disabilities from inpatient facilities to community care settings outlined in NHS England’s Transforming Care programme.
Alistair Burt
In national service model and Building the right support published in October 2015 NHS England, the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services set out how areas would be supported to deliver lasting change to people with a learning disability and/or autism who display behaviour that challenges.
To develop community capacity, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), local authorities and NHS England’s specialised commissioners have formed 48 transforming care partnerships (TCPs) to plan for the future. TCPs have been asked to use the total sum of money they spend as a whole system on people with a learning disability and/or autism to deliver care in a different way to achieve better results. This includes shifting money from some services (such as inpatient care) into others (such as community health services including mental health services or individual packages of support). The costs of the future model of care will therefore be met from the total current envelope of spend on health and social care services for people with a learning disability and/or autism.
During a phase of transition, commissioners will need to invest in new community support before closing inpatient provision. To support them to do this NHS England will make available up to £30 million of transformation funding over three years, to be matched by CCGs, and £15 million in capital funding. This funding is in addition to the £10 million made available to six fast track areas in 2015/16.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies on green energy of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Andrea Leadsom
The UK is already playing its part in delivering the Paris climate deal, through its contribution to meeting EU climate and energy targets and through its domestic climate framework set out in the Climate Change Act. In addition, the Government believes we need to take the step of enshrining the global goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions into UK law. As a first step, our independent advisors, the Committee on Climate Change, are looking at the implications of the Paris commitments. The Committee has said that it will report in the autumn, and we will consider carefully the recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to cover any shortfall in university research funding as a result of the UK leaving the EU if a satisfactory negotiated alternative cannot be achieved.
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
The future of UK access to European research and innovation funding will be a matter for the new Prime Minister and government to discuss. The government is determined to ensure that the UK continues to play a leading role in European and international research and innovation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-08.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the large increase in public sector contracts going out to tender since the EU referendum.
Ben Gummer
The overarching principle behind all public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of achieving the best value for money for the taxpayer.
It is the responsibility of the individual contracting authorities to decide whether, how and when to go to market for the procurement of goods and services.
Analysis by the Crown Commercial Service shows no significant variation in the number of above threshold opportunities advertised in the Official Journal of the EU. Analysis of opportunities over £10k advertised on Contracts Finder show a drop in the levels of procurement activity prior to the referendum, consistent with deferring advertisements during the Civil Service’s period of “purdah”, rather than a sudden increase in new activity since the referendum.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the next UK-China Human Rights Dialogue is planned.
Mr Hugo Swire
The UK-China Human Rights Dialogue is an annual event which last took place in Beijing in April 2015. We expect to hold the next round in March or April 2016.