Tag: 2016

  • Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides (a) at home and (b) in schools for children who have special educational needs and disabilities.

    Edward Timpson

    The system for identifying and meeting the needs of all children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and disabilities is designed to deliver the right support for all children, so that they can achieve their potential and their education prepares them well for fulfilling adult lives.

    We legislated through the Children and Families Act 2014 to strengthen the system and have invested in practical and financial support for schools, local authorities and other key players in the system to help ensure that the reforms lead to a real improvement in children’s experiences. We have, for example, protected the overall school budget and increased the funding for children and young people with high needs by over £90 million this year. To ensure that local authorities have capacity to implement the reforms effectively, our additional funding included a £70 million SEN Reform Grant in 2014-15 to help local authorities plan for the SEN and disabilities reforms, and three grants (£45 million in 2014-15, £32 million in 2015-16 and £35.8 million in 2016-17) to local authorities to pay for the additional costs of implementing the reforms.

    All schools are required to put in place systems for the early identification of SEN and disabilities and to use their best endeavours to meet those needs. For most pupils with SEN, schools will meet needs through ‘SEN Support’. Schools will use the ‘graduated approach’, a cycle in which they assess what support is needed, plan and deliver it and then review its impact and improve the support a child actually needs. For those pupils with more complex or severe SEN and disabilities, following a multi-agency assessment, local authorities will issue an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan setting out the provision that must be made.

    A key element of the SEN and disabilities system and the recent reforms is ensuring that parents and carers are empowered to work with schools and others over the provision that is made for their children. By working together, families, local authorities and schools can provide more effective support to a child (in school and at home) to meet their SEN. For example, the 2014 Act requires local authorities to work with families over producing a Local Offer. That offer sets out in one place information about provision an authority expects to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people in its area who have SEN and disabilities, including those who do not have EHC plans. This should provide clear, comprehensive, accessible and up-to-date information about the available provision and how to access it. The offer should include what support is available to parents to aid their child’s development at home. The local authority has to publish a statement on short breaks for disabled children, young people and their families and this will form a core part of its offer. The statutory 0-25 SEN and Disabilities Code of Practice also describes a wide range of services that schools, Early Years providers, local authorities, health bodies and others provide to families to help meet SEN within the home. This includes, for example, services for pre-school age children and therapies that include programmes for implementation at home.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to complete the roll-out of smart meters.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government is requiring energy suppliers, as part of their licence conditions, to take all reasonable steps to roll-out smart meters to all their domestic and smaller non-domestic customers by 31 December 2020. Good progress is being made with more than 3.6 million meters now operating under the Programme.

  • Marcus Fysh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Marcus Fysh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Marcus Fysh on 2016-10-24.

    To ask the Attorney General, what steps the Government is taking to increase the number of prosecutions for hate crime.

    Robert Buckland

    We are committed to tackling hate crime in any form. The cross Government Hate Crime Action Plan, published in July 2016, focuses on reducing hate crime, increasing reporting and ensuring that all criminal justice partners and key stakeholders deliver the appropriate outcomes for victims.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contact, if any, they have had with the Assad regime in Syria over the last two months.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    There has been no contact with the Asad regime over the last two months. Since the closure of the Syrian Embassy in London in August 2012, the British Government has had only limited contact with the Asad regime in relation to consular matters. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), wrote to the Syrian Foreign Minister in August 2015 about a consular case.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22264, what research his Department has funded into rehabilitative therapies for veterans with persistent symptoms associated with Gulf War illnesses; and what the main findings of that research are.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) funded the first stage of a trial at Cardiff University to develop a treatment programme for ill Gulf veterans. Unfortunately there were difficulties with the recruitment of Gulf War veterans and the Department took the decision not to proceed with the second phase of the trial.

    The MOD has made no assessment of the recovery outcomes for ill Gulf War veterans that took part in that trial.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much public funding has been allocated in each year since 2003-04 to improve post-transplant outcomes for people with blood cancer or blood disorders after they receive a successful stem cell donation.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England commissions stem cell transplant activity for adults and children from 46 providers and have provided the following information on funding.

    Total funding for stem cell transplantation was £163 million in 2013/14 and £170 million in 2014/15. Services are commissioned within this budget based on need rather than as individual services. Stem cell transplantation is subject to local pricing and so it is not possible to provide information about funding by provider as this is commercially sensitive.

    NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised care involving adult bone marrow transplantation that includes care up to 100 days after transplant. The costs of care up to 100 days post-transplant are included within the overall budget for stem cell transplantation. NHS England does not hold data on the funding of care beyond this 100 day period.

    The Department does not hold information on funding provided for these services before the creation of NHS England in 2013.

    The Joint Accreditation Committee for the International Society for Cellular Therapy and the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (JACIE) is an independent organisation and the Department does not hold data related to JACIE compliance.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress on implementation of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created in 2005 and concluded in 2010 when it presented its final report. The Government of Liberia has taken some steps to implement the recommendations of the Commission, notably launching the Strategic Roadmap for National Healing, Peacebuilding and Reconciliation in 2014. A key plank of that Roadmap has been the launch of the “Palava Hut Programme”. This draws on a traditional approach to reconciliation whereby those implicated in the civil war meet with affected communities to agree a resolution. However, obstacles to implementation of the Commission’s recommendations remain. As one of the main contributors to the UN Peacebuilding Commission’s Peace Building Fund, which funds the "Palava Hut Programme", the UK will continue to press for progress on the Commission’s recommendations, including in the context of UNSC discussions.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what research his Department has conducted or commissioned on the effectiveness of tobacco licensing schemes in tackling the illicit market in tobacco; and what the outcomes of such research were.

    Damian Hinds

    HMRC has not conducted or commissioned any research into the effectiveness of tobacco licensing schemes in tackling the illicit market in tobacco.

    The World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Illicit Trade Protocol, to which the UK is a signatory, requires parties to consider whether to introduce tobacco licensing schemes for participants in the supply chain.

    HMRC is currently undertaking a public consultation on the possible benefits of licensing participants in the supply chain in tackling the illicit trade in tobacco products. The consultation closes on 20 May and also covers the implementation of a licensing scheme for tobacco manufacturing machinery, a further requirement of the Protocol.

    HMRC will publish a summary of responses later in 2016.

    The consultation is published on GOV.UK:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/503011/Tobacco_Illicit_Trade_Protocol___licensing_of_equipment_and_the_supply_chain.pdf

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  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people are part of the team working on projects to improve Turkey’s prospects of joining the EU based at the British Embassy in Ankara; and what the total cost of that team was in the last 12 months.

    Mr David Lidington

    Four members of staff at the British Embassy in Ankara work either for all or part of their time on projects to promote reform and democratisation, as a full part of our work to promote UK interests in Turkey. The total annual cost of these staff for that project work was approximately £76,000 for Financial Year 2015/2016. This does not include the cost of the one UK-based member of staff which could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    The UK remains committed to supporting security and prosperity across Europe, where we will continue to have close relationships and mutual interests.

    In countries aspiring to join the EU, our bilateral focus will remain on strengthening stability, security, good governance and the economic fundamentals; and on building the resilience and capability to tackle global threats and challenges such as irregular migration and terrorism.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many flights (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have taken as part of their official duties since his Department was set up on 14 July 2016.

    Mark Garnier

    As part of their official duties, since 14 July 2016, Ministers have taken 22 flights overseas and accompanying officials have taken 25 flights overseas.