The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with the Department of Health on implementation of the Ross Fund.
Mr Nick Hurd
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 7 March to question number 28791
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29811, on further education, how many meetings have been held for area reviews in (a) Birmingham and Solihull, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Sheffield City Region, (d) Tees Valley, (e) Sussex, (f) Solent and (g) West Yorkshire in each of the last nine months.
Nick Boles
A wide range of meetings are held within each area review, which is a locally owned process designed to meet the needs of each local area. Bilateral meetings will often take place, for instance, between individual colleges which might be exploring restructuring options. Local stakeholders will often meet in smaller groupings to discuss particular issues or themes, for example local enterprise partnerships and local authorities may have set up separate meetings. Additionally, some local stakeholders will seek meetings to ensure their involvement at particular points, for example local MPs once recommendations emerge.
The number and type of meetings are likely to vary with each review, depending on local provision, circumstances and issues as well as local interest in engaging with the review work. The following focuses on the formal meetings which are a core part of the area review process and would therefore be consistent across the country.
A number of formal area review steering group meetings have taken place in each area since September 2015. No steering group meetings were held prior to September 2015. Meetings held between September 2015 and March 2016 are as follows:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answers of 2 and 8 February 2016 to Questions 25202 and 23871, and the update provided by Ofqual, what further progress has been made on A levels in (a) French, (b) German, (c) Spanish, (d) Religious Studies and (e) Geography being approved ready for first teaching from September 2016.
Nick Gibb
This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce geographic variation in access to surgical and transcatheter interventions for heart valve disease.
Jane Ellison
NHS England is working with professionals across the healthcare system to look at ways in which services and outcomes for patients with heart valve disease can be improved further, for example, by encouraging practitioners to follow clinical guidelines.
Service specifications and policy for the surgical and interventional treatment of heart valve disease are published by NHS England’s Cardiothoracic Clinical Reference Group. These define what NHS England expects to be in place in order for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. NHS England is working on the next iteration of the specifications, which will include important standards relating to mitral valve surgery.
In addition, NHS England is holding a clinical summit on 15 June 2016, which will bring together cardiologists and cardiac surgeons to examine the issues relating to heart valve disease, including variation. Outputs from discussions will be used to inform the future commissioning approach within specialised commissioning.
Information on the number of people with an undiagnosed heart valve condition is not collected centrally. Patients with undiagnosed heart valve disease, once diagnosed, may require a range of treatments, including surgery. Therefore it is not possible to estimate what the aggregate costs might be.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research into hearing loss at what cost his Department has commissioned in the last three years.
Nicola Blackwood
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) invested £4.1 million in ear disease research in 2014-15 (the latest year for which data is currently available).
The NIHR is investing £6.2 million over five years (2012-17) in the Biomedical Research Unit in Deafness and Hearing Problems at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham.
The NIHR has launched a new, open competition for biomedical research centre funding from April 2017 to March 2022. In this competition, a number of clinical areas of particular strategic importance to the health of patients are highlighted including deafness and hearing problems.
Current NIHR-funded awards relating to hearing loss include a £1.6 million research professorship to develop the evidence base for Ear, Nose and Throat medicine and surgery, and a £1.3 million feasibility study of an implantable middle-ear microphone.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools with sixth forms there are where the proportion of students achieving GCSE A*-C in English and A*-C in mathematics is lower than the national average in each respective subject.
Nick Gibb
43.9% of schools with sixth-forms have a percentage of students achieving GCSE A*-C in English, which is lower than the corresponding national average. 45.4% of schools with sixth-forms have a percentage of students achieving GCSE A*-C in maths, which is lower than the corresponding national average.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the Multiple Sclerosis Society’s recent findings that 36 per cent of people with multiple sclerosis surveyed who had had a PIP face-to-face assessment declared that it had caused their condition to deteriorate or relapse.
Justin Tomlinson
We have made it clear that when attending a face-to-face consultation, claimants can bring someone with them in order to support them or help them manage any anxiety they may feel. In some cases assessment providers will also carry out consultations in claimants’ homes.
Assessments for PIP are carried out by qualified health professionals who have broad training in assessing the impacts of a variety of disabilities, including fluctuating conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis. Before claimants are invited for a face-to-face consultation, all of the evidence held is reviewed and if, at that stage, a decision can be made on the paper evidence alone, then claimants will not be required to attend a face-to-face consultation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the reduction in the number of English language testing centres on the number of international students entering the UK; and if she will make a statement.
James Brokenshire
English language ability is a key strand of the immigration requirements for many of those coming as partners and to work, study and settle in the UK. Significant abuse within the English language testing sector was uncovered in 2013/2014, following which the Home Office commissioned an independent review. A key outcome was the need to develop new and robust business and commercial requirements for Secure English Language Testing (SELT). The Home Office has rightly responded to that abuse robustly, particularly considering that thousands of people sought to use evidence that was obtained fraudulently to enter and remain in the UK. The new, strengthened arrangements for SELT came into effect on 6th April 2015.
One of the security changes introduced was the reduction of the test centre network to mitigate the risks of oversupply and enable the Home Office to achieve greater control and ability to audit centres.
Whilst the Home Office has reduced the number of test centres, it has increased the number of countries where students could sit tests. Before the 6th April students could sit tests in 79 countries (excluding the UK), they can now sit tests in 129 countries.
The Home Office has planned the reduced test centre network to meet anticipated demand and test centres in each country are currently meeting demand.
We continue to have a highly competitive offer for international students who would like to study at our world-class institutions and this is borne out by the figures: visa applications from international students to study at British universities are up by 17 per cent since 2010, whilst visa applications to our world-leading Russell Group institutions are up by 33 per cent since 2010.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academies in each local authority area were in deficit in each year since 2009-10; and what the total deficit was in academies in each such area in each of those years.
Edward Timpson
The Department does not hold this information in the form requested. Academies are operated by the legal entity of academy trusts, many of which operate multiple academies across multiple local authorities. As such, it is not possible to give local authority figures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the retention rate is of teachers recruited through the Troops to Teachers scheme.
Nick Gibb
There has only been one cohort to complete to date. The retention rate for this cohort was 76 per cent.
The current retention rate for cohort 2 is 90 per cent, and for cohort 3 it is 96 per cent.