Tag: 2016

Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraphs 5.36 to 5.38 of the Cabinet Manual, what the Government’s policy is on whether the convention that a debate in Parliament should be held before troops are committed in military action applies if troops are deployed in a non-combat role but then subsequently become involved in sustained and proactive combat activities as a result of a change in circumstances or a change in mission.

Michael Fallon

The Government has been clear that before troops are committed, the House of Commons should have an opportunity to debate the matter except when there was an emergency and such action would not be appropriate. We will continue to ensure that Parliament is kept informed of significant major operations and deployments of the Armed Forces. In observing the convention, we must ensure that the ability of our Armed Forces to act quickly and decisively, and to maintain the security of their operations, is not compromised.

01/01/2023
Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s bus statistics table BUS0208, what the supported bus service mileage has been by local authority in each year since 2010.

Andrew Jones

The data in table BUS0208 on vehicle miles on local bus services by local authority and service type, including local authority supported mileage, is available for the years 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16.

Table BUS0208 for 2013/14 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/379004/annual-bus-statistics-year-to-march-2014.zip

Table BUS0208 for 2014/15 is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/485295/annual-bus-statistics-year-ending-march-2015.zip

Table BUS0208 for 2015/16 is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/560582/bus0208.ods

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01/01/2023
Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency arrangements her Department has made for the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

George Eustice

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 14 January 2016, PQ UIN 21952.

01/01/2023

Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which 10 local authorities have (1) the most, and (2) the least, pupil funding.

Lord Nash

Local authorities (LAs) are funded for their schools through the dedicated schools grant (DSG). This currently comprises three blocks, namely schools, early years and high needs. Each LA has its own school block unit of funding (SBUF), and the 10 highest and lowest 10 SBUFs for financial year 2016 to 2017 are shown below:

10 highest funded LAs	2016-2017 SBUF	10 lowest funded LAs	2016-2017 SBUF
City of London	8,587	Leicestershire	4,238
Tower Hamlets	6,982	Dorset	4,232
Hackney	6,858	Stockport	4,229
Lambeth	6,486	Trafford	4,227
Southwark	6,463	South Gloucestershire	4,214
Hammersmith and Fulham	6,351	Cheshire East	4,206
Camden	6,233	York	4,202
Islington	6,221	West Sussex	4,198
Newham	6,127	Poole	4,187
Westminster	6,020	Wokingham	4,167

01/01/2023

Lord Strasburger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Strasburger on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the timetable for the recruitment of the 1,900 additional intelligence personnel announced in November 2015, and what is being done to ensure that the salary package offered attracts sufficiently talented applicants.

Lord Bridges of Headley

1,900 additional staff across the three intelligence agencies will be recruited over the Spending Review period to 2020. Specific pay and reward details cannot be disclosed for national security reasons however pay and reward packages for staff at the intelligence agencies are under regular review to ensure that what can be offered reflects both the unique challenges the agencies face, and the high level of ability and skill required to meet them.

01/01/2023
Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2016 on Question 30222, when he expects that data on secondary breast cancer will be complete.

Jane Ellison

Data on breast cancer recurrence has been mandated in the Cancer Services and Outcomes Dataset (COSD) for diagnoses from 1 January 2013. The National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) in Public Health England (PHE) estimates about one-quarter of recurrences are currently submitted. NCRAS will support trusts to improve their submission of data by producing reports on the number of recurrences submitted by each National Health Service trust. These will enable the identification of best practise to be shared, and enable us to engage with trusts that are not submitting data.

Data on all cancer recurrence has been mandated in COSD since 31 July 2015.

In addition further work is being scoped by NHS England and PHE based on the recommendation in the recent Independent Cancer Taskforce report to establish robust surveillance systems to collect relapse and recurrence data on all cancers.

01/01/2023
Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the budget reduction for community pharmacy in 2016-17 on high street vacancy rates.

Alistair Burt

Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public. Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. A consequence may be the closure of some pharmacies but that is not our aim. We are not able to assess which pharmacies may close or what the effect on high street vacancy rates might be because we do not know the financial viability of individual businesses or the extent to which they derive income from services commissioned locally by the NHS or local authorities or have non-NHS related income.

We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) and others, including patient and public representatives, on our proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.

01/01/2023
Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2016 to Question 39519, what the whole life cost of the East Coast Main Line Intercity Express fleet is; and how much of that cost will be met by funding from his Department.

Claire Perry

Whole life costs of the East Coast Main Line fleet are part of the £2.7bn investment for the Intercity Express Programme East Coast which includes the design, finance and maintenance of the rolling stock and maintenance facilities over the 27.5 year term. It is not possible to break this cost down further.

The Departments costs in support of this investment are supported through funding of infrastructure enhancements and agreement in the East Coast Franchise Agreements to ensure the benefits of the IEP trains are delivered.

01/01/2023
Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) nursery schools, (b) day-care facilities and (c) children’s centres in (i) Birmingham, Erdington constituency, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) the UK have (A) declared insolvency and (B) closed due to funding shortages in each of the last three years.

Caroline Dinenage

Nursery Schools

The Department for Education’s register of educational establishments in England and Wales indicates that from the 31 August 2013 to 31 August 2016 eight maintained nursery schools closed, and 10 amalgamated or merged with another school. No closures were recorded in Birmingham, Erdington or the West Midlands.

The Department does not collect information on the reasons for the closure of nursery schools. Local authorities have a duty to secure sufficient childcare in their local area. In consultation with their Schools Forum, they are responsible for deciding how best to distribute early years funding across their locality.

There is a presumption against the closure of any nursery school. The local authority must consult on any proposed closures, clearly demonstrating the rationale for so doing.

Day-care facilities

The Department does not collect data on the number of childcare businesses that have closed. The Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey shows that the childcare market continues to expand.
- The number of registered places in full day care settings rose by ten per cent between 2011 and 2013.
- The long term increase in the number of full day care providers continued in 2013. In total there were 17,900 full day care settings in 2013 (compared to 17,600 in 2011).
Children’s centres

Local authorities have a duty under the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families. The Department does not collect information on the reasons for the closure of children’s centres.

According to data supplied by local authorities, a total of 259 children’s centres closed in the calendar years, 2013, 2014 and 2015. Forty nine of these closures were in the West Midlands. None of these were in Birmingham.
01/01/2023
Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received on the application of the cap on public sector exit payments to employees of Sellafield Ltd; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman

In relation to Sellafield Limited employees, my rt. hon Friend the Secretary of State has received representations, including from employees, employee representatives and Members of Parliament.

The Government has legislated for a cap on public sector exit payments via the Enterprise Act 2016, as promised in the manifesto. The cap will apply to public sector organisations in line with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) classifications; Sellafield Limited is classified as part of the public sector by the ONS.

01/01/2023