Tag: 2016

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will take steps to expand the number of places in medicine courses in universities.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department of Health and Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) have periodically reviewed the total number and distribution of undergraduate medical students, basing targets for these students on information provided by the Centre for Workforce Intelligence and local workforce plans that estimate how many doctors we need to work in the National Health Service.

    Since the establishment of Health Education England (HEE) in April 2013, responsibility for reviewing the target intake for medical students has sat with them.

    HEE is currently reviewing the target intake for medical students and will submit recommendations to the Department in the spring. Any changes to medical student numbers will need to be agreed with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and HEFCE who also contribute to the funding of undergraduate medical education.

  • Lord Lansley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Lansley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many local authorities with a social care responsibility have made local authority-funded care available for those with less than substantial care needs, in each of the last five years.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The following table shows where local authorities set their local eligibility criteria within the eligibility framework set out in the statutory guidance Prioritising Need in the Context of Putting People First: A whole system approach to eligibility for social care.

    Critical

    Substantial

    Moderate

    Low

    2010/11*

    –

    –

    –

    –

    2011/12

    3

    121

    25

    3

    2012/13

    3

    127

    19

    3

    2013/14

    3

    130

    16

    3

    2014/15**

    –

    –

    –

    –

    Source: ADASS Budget Survey

    * Data not collected

    ** Data not published

    The Care Act 2014 provides the power for Secretary of State to set national eligibility criteria. The national criteria are set out in the Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2015, which were implemented in April 2015. The national eligibility threshold is set at a level where an adult’s needs have a significant impact on their wellbeing. Local authorities cannot tighten eligibility above this threshold, but they can choose to meet needs below this threshold.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that a greater proportion of people who start apprenticeships see them through to completion.

    Nick Boles

    Provider payments are made on completion of an apprenticeship framework. The final 20% of the rate will be paid when the apprentice achieves their learning aim.

    We emphasise the benefits of completing an apprenticeship. At Level 2 and 3 these are very significant, standing at between £48,000 and £74,000 for Level 2 and between £77,000 and £117,000 for Level 3 Apprenticeships[1]. Higher apprentices could earn £150,000 more on average over their lifetime compared to those with L3 vocational qualifications[2].

    We are committed to improving the quality of apprenticeships to ensure that they deliver the training employers and apprentices expect, making them more likely to complete.

    Apprentices develop transferable skills and English and maths to enable them to progress in their careers. Employer-led Trailblazers are designing apprenticeship standards at a range of levels to provide the skills that employers need.

    Ofsted is responsible for the overall process of inspecting and quality assuring training providers. The Institute for Apprenticeships will work closely with Ofsted, Ofqual and the Skills Funding Agency who have responsibility for quality assuring the delivery of many aspects of apprenticeships.

    [1] London Economics (2011) – ‘BIS Research Paper Number 53, Returns to Intermediate and Low Level Vocational Qualifications, September 2011’

    [2] Apprenticeships in England Oct 2013

    “

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has for the future role of the merchant navy.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government appreciates the role played by the merchant navy and recognises the need for an adequate supply of UK maritime expertise to meet the nation’s economic and strategic requirements. This includes the demand for experienced seafarers in the shore-based maritime services sector.

    The Department continues to provide support for the training of officers and ratings through the £15m Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme.

    Apprenticeships are at the heart of the Government’s drive to give people of all ages the skills employers need to grow and compete. Maritime is a key part of this with the Maritime Trailblazer which is employer led and has one approved standard for deck ratings and a further three in development for maritime mechanic, maritime caterer and onboard services.

    The Maritime Growth Study, chaired by Lord Mountevans and published on 7 September 2015, recognised the need for more proactive action to replenish and develop the skills needed to maintain the UK position as a world-leading maritime centre. The Government has accepted the recommendations. We have already let a research contract to Oxford Economics to establish the requirement for trained seafarers in the UK. This will assist both government and industry to plan ahead and to make efforts to address priority shortages where gaps are identified. We are also working to address the other skills recommendations including conducting a review of SMarT funding, better links into schools teaching and enlarging the awareness programme to encourage entry into the merchant navy.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the findings of the Armed Forces continuous attitude survey 2015 on dissatisfaction of personnel with service life, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on (a) reforming service pay and (b) service conditions of those findings.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The annual Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) is key to our understanding of how Service personnel feel about the issues which affect their lives. The results are briefed to the Defence Board and are used to shape and improve robust, evidence-based personnel policies across Defence.

    AFCAS 2015 showed that levels of satisfaction have decreased by 10 percentage points since 2011 but have stabilised over the last two years. This decline in satisfaction reflects the tough decisions made by Defence on issues such as headcount reductions and pay restraint. However, we recognise that more remains to be done, and will continue to strive to ensure that our Armed Forces feel valued and their contribution and sacrifice is recognised. This is why we continue to develop the New Employment Model (NEM) which aims to produce a modernised offer that reduces the impact of Service life on individuals and their families.

    The change to the core pay model under NEM was initiated in response to Service personnel’s criticisms of the previous pay model, recognised through AFCAS and in feedback from the Armed Forces Pay Review Body. The new pay model is simpler, more transparent and improves the differentiation and targeting of pay. Many personnel will experience an increase in pay as a result of NEM, and no one will take a cut in core pay on implementation of the new model.

    A number of other programmes were also announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, including making the changes necessary to enable our Armed Forces to work flexibly, reflecting the realities of modern life. AFCAS will be a core source of information in assessing the benefits realised through the NEM programme.

    The Department is also in the early stages of developing a new "Offer" for new joiners into the Armed Forces which will meet the expectations of future recruits. It will ensure that our future expenditure on personnel is sustainable and applied in the most efficient way.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has developed proposals that enable academies to be re-brokered with a new sponsor or multi academy trust on the initiative of parents of children in those academies.

    Edward Timpson

    Our White Paper Educational Excellence Everywhere set out the Government’s intention to engage Multi Academy Trusts (MATs), sponsors, academies, dioceses and the wider schools sector to ensure that the academies legal framework for the future can achieve the right balance of intervention, review and stability. This included a commitment to consider how parents at individual schools might be able to petition Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) for their school to move to a different MAT where the school or its MAT is underperforming or in other exceptional circumstances.

    We will be testing and consulting on proposals for the future legal framework with a wide range of stakeholders, including parents, in due course. This engagement will assess the implications of different legal framework models and ensure that any options which are taken forward are fit for purpose.

    RSCs already take action to move academies to new trusts where necessary and parents should continue to escalate any concerns they have about academies to RSCs where the academy trust has not responded sufficiently to their concerns.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many premature babies were born in (a) England and (b) each local authority in 2015.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Information is not available in the format requested. The gestation length is not recorded on an individual birth record, but on the mother’s delivery episode. Therefore we cannot provide the number of births, as a single delivery may involve multiple births.

  • Lord Bowness – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Lord Bowness – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bowness on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what will be the projected annual running costs for the next three years, including salaries or fees paid to seconded staff and consultants, for (1) the Department for Exiting the EU, and (2) the Department for International Trade.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The budget for the Department for Exiting the European Union will be voted on by Parliament at the Supplementary Estimate and published in line with standard practice.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Indonesian counterpart on the (a) ISIL attacks in Jakarta in January 2016 and (b) implications of those attacks for the Government’s foreign policy.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK and Indonesia are already working closely together on a broad range of issues, including counter-terrorism and counter-extremism. We continue to provide support and assistance to the Indonesian government as it works to defeat those who plan and perpetrate acts of terror. Our collaboration in these areas includes an operational capacity-building programme, established in 2005, and incorporates training delivered through the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation. A bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on police cooperation was signed during the Prime Minister, my right hon Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) visit to Jakarta in July. Additionally, we co-operate on a range of issues including foreign terrorist fighters, crisis response and legal frameworks.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the costs to the NHS of providing treatment to students who cannot afford to pay for prescriptions and subsequently experience a deterioration in their health.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We have not made such an assessment.

    Where a student has difficulty in paying for their prescriptions, they may be able to get help through the National Health Service low income scheme, which may provide exemption from the prescription charge, and help with other health costs, on the basis of a means-tested assessment. They may also be entitled through other exemptions (for example based on medical condition, maternity or though receipt of a qualifying benefit, for example, child tax credit), or, if they have to pay and need many prescription items, can purchase a Prescription Prepayment Certificate to minimise the cost.