The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of Hamas fighters joining ISIS in Syria.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We have not received any reports of Hamas fighters joining Daesh in Syria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to increase participation in cycling by women.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government remains committed to its manifesto target to double the number of journeys made by bicycle. In order to achieve this, all potential cyclists’ needs must be considered.
The Government recently reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking, with SR2015 announcing funding support of over £300m. In addition, Highways England has committed to provide a safer, integrated and more accessible strategic road network for cyclists and other vulnerable road users.
The draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, which is currently being consulted on and is due to be published in summer 2016, fully explains the Government’s ambitions for increasing cycling activity and sets out the funding resources available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the NHS England Five Year Forward View on Mental Health, published in February 2016, what progress has been made on Recommendation 34 on incentive payments.
Alistair Burt
The Government is working with delivery partners to carefully consider the independent Mental Health Taskforce’s recommendations and aims to publish a strategic implementation plan in the autumn that will set out how Government and partners will deliver the recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had at the UN on implementation of Security Council Resolution 47 on Kashmir.
Alok Sharma
The United Kingdom does not intend to support an international conference or a plebiscite on Kashmir in line with UN Security Council Resolution 47. I have not had any discussions at the UN on this issue. The longstanding position of the UK is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or to act as a mediator.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s proposed deadline is for closing the 1993 and 2003 Child Support Agency IT system.
Caroline Nokes
The closure of existing child maintenance cases on the 1993 and 2003 schemes is proceeding as planned. The timetable for the closure of the underlying 1993 and 2003 child support IT systems is currently under consideration.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21012, what repairs there have been to Tadcaster Bridge to date; and whether finance for any repairs will be found from (a) the Road Investment Strategy and (b) a contingency fund.
Andrew Jones
North Yorkshire County Council are continuing their assessment of the damage to Tadcaster Bridge as the water levels reduce, and they are also removing debris. We have not asked the Council for an estimate of repairs to date at Tadcaster Bridge as they work on a County wide assessment of damage to road and bridge infrastructure.
The Government recently announced funding of £3.3m to repair Tadcaster Bridge and for a temporary footbridge to reconnect the community, none of which has come from the Road Investment Strategy as that is funding for the Strategic Road Network managed by Highways England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the reduction in numbers of complaints made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline since 2010.
Nick Boles
No assessment has been made of the reasons for the reduction in the number of complaints made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline since 2010.
Since 1 April 2015, the Acas Helpline has, in addition to its usual services, been answering queries previously handled by the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. No formal assessment has been made at this time of the outcomes for workers, but we continue to work closely with Acas and four enforcement bodies to ensure the service is bedding in effectively and delivering the right outcomes for the public.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent from the public purse on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The cost of Employment Tribunals can be found within the HMCTS annual accounts published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433948/hmcts-annual-report-accounts-2014-15.pdf.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to use the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) registry to get an accurate number of people living with IBD.
Jane Ellison
The IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) Registry provides a United Kingdom-wide repository of anonymised IBD adult and paediatric patient data for prospective audit and research purposes. Patients must consent for their data to be added to the registry. The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) has allocated transitional funding this year to incorporate IBD audit data collection into the IBD Registry, providing an enhanced system for data capture and quality improvement that will be available to every hospital in the UK. This will allow the entry of data locally and support service improvement. Initially the focus will be for IBD patients receiving biologic treatments, but the system will address other key aspects of IBD care in the future.
The second step of data collection will be to focus on new patients with IBD to begin to understand the incidence of IBD in the UK. This picture will build up over a number of years and be dependent on the engagement of clinicians.
No specific assessment of the potential effects on healthcare due to the introduction of a registry of patients with IBD in England has been made. However, the data provided through the register can support National Health Service services in areas such as the assessment of local IBD populations as well as in measuring incidence and outcomes with services in other parts of the UK.
Although there is no direct Department funding, HQIP have given £290,000 for a year’s transition funding to join the audit data with the registry.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends faecal calprotectin testing as an option to help doctors distinguish between inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and non-inflammatory bowel diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome.
The NICE IBD Quality Standard states that general practitioners (GP) and GP practices should ensure that testing is offered and clinical commissioning groups should ensure the diagnostic services are in place to support this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the academisation of all schools on the provision of sex and relationship education in maintained secondary schools; and whether she plans to introduce a requirement on academies to provide sex and relationship education.
Edward Timpson
All maintained secondary schools are required to teach sex and relationship education and we also expect academies to teach it as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.
When any school, including academies, teaches SRE, they must have regard to the Secretary of State’s statutory Sex and Relationship Education Guidance (2000). The guidance makes clear that all SRE lessons should be age-appropriate and that schools should ensure young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgments and behaviour.
Academies and free schools must have regard to the SRE guidance further to section 403 of the Education Act 1996. The model funding agreement can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-and-free-school-funding-agreements-single-academy-trust
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