The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many units of housing he expects to be built in the London borough of Newham in each year to 2020.
Brandon Lewis
The Department does not publish forecasts of house building. It is for local planning authorities to ensure that they plan for the full, objectively assessed housing needs in their area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending trade defence instruments to add a further exemption to the lesser duty rules in cases of social and environmental dumping.
Anna Soubry
The Government supports the use of the lesser duty rule in trade defence cases, as it allows for protection against unfair trade while at the same time avoiding the imposition of disproportionate costs on the wider economy. We do not support changes that would lessen its effectiveness as a trade defence instrument.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and which family test assessments he has seen in the last six months.
Priti Patel
We do not record the number of assessments conducted. Assessments against the Family Test are completed by policy officials in the course of developing advice on new policy and can be included in submissions to Ministers. Assessments can be completed for some policies in the early stages of development, including for some ideas that do not progress beyond the design stage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which residential and nursing homes he has visited in an official capacity in 2016; and what the date was of each such visit.
Jane Ellison
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his team have visited the following hospitals in an official capacity in 2016 to date.
Secretary of State for Health
29 January 2016 Kings College Hospital, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, King’s Health Partners
5 February 2016 Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
14 April 2016 Oxford University, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Lord Prior
6 January 2016 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust
20 January 2016 East Surrey Hospital, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
3 February 2016 St Thomas Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
18 February 2016 Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
16 March 2016 Southmead Hospital, North Bristol NHS Trust
22 March 2016 Guy’s Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
24 March 2016 Royal Derby Hospital, Derby Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust
24 March 2016 Lings Bar Hospital, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
12 April 2016 Royal Brompton Hospital, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust
Ben Gummer
14 January 2016 Watford General Hospital, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust
21 January 2016 Salford Royal Hospital, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust
21 January 2016 St Mary’s Hospital, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
15 February 2016 Royal Cornwall Hospital, at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
16 February 2016 Mount Gould Hospital, Livewell Southwest
16 February 2016 Tiverton and District Hospital, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust
17 February 2016 Dorset County Hospital, Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
17 February 2016 Southampton General Hospital, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
29 February 2016 St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
14 March 2016 St Thomas’ Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
Alistair Burt
3 March 2016 St Pancras Hospital, Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust
11 March 2016 Wythenshawe Hospital, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust
17 March 2016 Kings College Hospital, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
14 April 2016 Clock View Hospital and Ashworth Hospital, Mersey Care NHS Trust
George Freeman
7 March 2016 CityLabs, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Oxford Rd, Manchester
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his team have visited the following primary care services in an official capacity in 2016 to date.
Secretary of State for Health
15 January 2016 Hillfoot Surgery, Pudsey, West Yorkshire
Alistair Burt
11 February 2016 Copes Pharmacy Ltd, London
11 March 2016 Five Oakes Family Practice, Manchester
Jane Ellison
4 February 2016 The Acton African Well Woman Clinic, Hillcrest Surgery, London
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his team have visited the following residential and nursing homes in an official capacity in 2016 to date.
Secretary of State for Health
5 February 2016 Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Ben Gummer
15 February 2016 St Julia’s Hospice, Cornwall Hospice Care
Alistair Burt
25 February 2016 The Betty and Asher Loftus Centre, London
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to participate in the initiative of the government of France for ending the conflict in Israel and Palestine.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We will continue to work closely with the French government to ensure that their initiative makes a constructive contribution that encourages the parties to resume negotiations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish the Small Schools Taskforce report on free school meals.
Nick Gibb
The small schools taskforce was made up of a number of local authority and private sector caterers and manufacturers who were unpaid but could claim expenses. The total value of the contract to deliver action arising from the School Food Plan was £204,000. We are able to directly attribute around £10,000 of this to the work of the Small Schools Taskforce; in addition there would have been small amounts claimed in expenses for the other taskforce members.
The majority of the findings from the Small Schools Taskforce report are already in the public domain following the publication of the toolkit for small schools, which is available at: http://www.thegreatschoollunch.co.uk/media/169570/CFT-SmallSchoolToolkit.pdf
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons the Government did not support proposals by the Netherlands for the UN Human Rights Council to set up an independent inquiry into civilian deaths in Yemen.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We worked hard with international partners to secure a strong resolution to help the situation on the ground in Yemen. The resolution includes a commitment to increase the number of international human rights experts in the Yemen Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) operation, making clear the independent mandate for OHCHR to conduct their own investigations. The resolution also maintains the technical cooperation programme for OHCHR to strengthen the National Commission in Yemen, which we believe will make a difference on the ground. We look forward to reports from the OHCHR next year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which assets his Department plans to decommission over the next 12 months.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence manages a wide range of assets to support the UK Armed Forces. A list of equipment due to be decommissioned in the next 12 months is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, the following major equipment platforms are planned to be taken out of service in 2016:
Sea King Mk3, 3a, 4 and 5;
RFA Black Rover – Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fleet Support Tanker.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will put mechanisms in place to ensure that the Institute for Apprentices responds to labour market information when setting funding cap levels for apprenticeships.
Nick Boles
The Institute for Apprenticeships (IFA) will have a role in advising Government on which funding cap each apprenticeship standard should be allocated to.
The IFA will take into account the cost of apprenticeship training and assessment as well as the demand for different skills across the economy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Garden of Frognal on 2016-03-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to ensure that there is adequate funding for children with special educational needs in early years education.
Lord Nash
We have already announced over £1bn funding for the early years entitlements within the ring-fenced Dedicated Schools Grant by 2019-20, which includes £300m to uplift the funding rate to providers. We are also providing protection for high needs funding that will ensure that the level of funding rises in proportion to the number of children, including those under 5. This will mean that local authorities continue to have the flexibility to target funding where it is most needed to help children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families, including the youngest children. Further consideration will be given to funding for children with special educational needs in early years education as part of our consultation later this year.
Local authorities are required by law to secure free entitlement places for parents that want their child to take them up. The Government is committed to ensuring that all families have access to high quality, flexible and affordable childcare and parents with children with special educational needs should have the same opportunities as other parents through access to high quality childcare. The Children and Families Act requires local authorities to have a ‘local offer’ which includes a statement on how they intend to tailor the childcare on offer for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Early implementation of 30 hours from September 2016 provides a real opportunity to develop innovative approaches to providing flexible childcare for working parents whose children are disabled or have special educational needs.
Through Early Implementation, York, Northumberland, Newham and Wigan are among 8 Local Authorities delivering the 30 hours entitlement from September 2016, a year earlier than planned. This will include delivering targeted places focusing on children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
They will also be supported by Early Implementer Innovator areas including Brighton and Hove, Hampshire and Trafford, who will test the offer and how it works under specific circumstances, including developing approaches to support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.