Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many apheresis machines are operational in the UK; and where those machines are located.

    George Freeman

    Apheresis machines are part of the care provided in a number of haematology services including sickle cell and thalassaemia care.

    NHS Blood and Transplant is one of the main providers of Therapeutic Apheresis Services in England and has the largest installed base of therapeutic apheresis equipment in the National Health Service (32 machine platforms across the country). Additional provision of apheresis services are provided by NHS trusts and other UK Blood Services but NHS England does not currently hold information on this information centrally.

    Work in relation to these services including the incentivisation of automated exchange through Commissioning for Quality and Innovation will improve the baseline information over the coming year.

  • 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 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children aged 11 to 16 are educated at (a) selective state-maintained schools, (b) non-selective state-maintained comprehensive and academy schools, (c) independent fee-paying schools and (d) other educational settings in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Scotland, (iv) Wales and (v) Northern Ireland.

    Nick Gibb

    The number and proportion of pupils aged 11-16 in selective state-funded schools, non-selective state-funded secondary schools, independent schools and other settings in England are given in the table below. The Department does not hold this information for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and therefore cannot provide these figures or a UK figure.

    Type of Establishment

    Number of pupils aged 11-16 (1)

    Proportion of Total

    State-funded selective schools

    117,310

    3.9%

    State-funded non-selective secondary schools

    2,569,444

    86.2%

    Independent Schools (2)

    226,878

    7.6%

    All other educational settings (3)

    66,498

    2.2%

    (1) Includes sole and dual main registered pupils, as at January 2016.

    (2) Not all independent schools charge all pupils fees, but it is not possible to group only the fee-paying independent schools together here.

    (3) Includes state-funded primary schools, state-funded special schools, non-maintained special schools, general hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision academies and free schools.

  • Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions she has had with her European counterparts about minimum EPC standards for the private rented sector.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property)(England and Wales) Regulations 2015 were made in March this year following a full public consultation, and establish an EPC minimum of E for domestic and non-domestic private rented sector properties from April 2018.

    Officials in the Department liaise regularly with the insulation industry, local authorities, and other stakeholders on a range of energy efficiency issues including the minimum EPC standards for the private rented sector. Discussions have also been held recently with French officials about domestic energy efficiency issues including minimum standards.

  • Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Article 2, section 1(b)(xiv) of EU Regulation 235/2014 and the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education, what action they have taken, and what action they plan to take, ahead of the EU Referendum to ensure that (1) active and engaging European and EU citizenship education is integrated into every primary and secondary school’s curriculum, and (2) training for specialist citizenship teachers is included in initial teacher education, and in teachers’ continuing professional development.

    Lord Nash

    Schools are aware of their duties regarding impartiality and treatment of political issues. Sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996 require maintained schools to prevent political indoctrination and secure the balanced treatment of political issues. The new national curriculum includes an improved programme of study for citizenship education at key stages 3 and 4, which is organised around core knowledge and democracy, government and how laws are made and upheld. Pupils are also taught about local, regional, and international governance, and about the United Kingdom’s relations with the rest of Europe, the Commonwealth, the United Nations, and the wider world.

    The Government does not prescribe initial teacher training (ITT) content. However, all ITT courses must ensure that trainee teachers can meet the Teachers’ Standards. This sets clear expectations and defines the minimum level of practice expected of teachers in England. The standards require all teachers and trainees to have secure knowledge of relevant subject and curriculum areas and demonstrate a critical understanding of developments in them. Ofsted inspects the quality of ITT against the Teachers’ Standards and no trainee can be recommended for qualified teacher status (QTS) until they have met the Standards in full at the appropriate level. Schools and headteachers are best placed to determine which development activities will be most beneficial for their schools and we expect them to lead on the development of their teachers.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans in (a) Pendle, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West have been helped by Veterans UK since 2010.

    Mark Lancaster

    I have taken help by Veterans UK to mean assistance provided by the Veterans UK Welfare Service. The Veterans Welfare Service provides Veterans and their families’ with free and confidential advice on a wide range of issues.

    Regrettably, the information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

    However, the total number of visits to Veterans from the Veterans UK Welfare Service since 01 January 2010 to 20 January 2016 in the Pendle, Lancashire and North West district, are set out below.

    District

    *Number of Visits

    Pendle

    100

    Lancashire

    1,870

    North West(1)

    7,240

    (1) This figure incorporates the Pendle and Lancashire districts.

    *In line with departmental policy, values have been rounded to the nearest 5.

  • Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23331, what the average cost for each participant of the National Citizen Service has been in each year of its operation.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    National Citizen Service (NCS) delivers value for money and the most recent independent evaluation demonstrated that for every £1 spent on NCS it generates up £3.98 of social benefits. The table below shows the average cost per NCS participant calculated as part of the published independent evaluation for each year of operation:

    Year

    Average cost per participant

    2011

    £1,553

    2012

    £1,700

    2013

    £1,570

    2014

    £1,538

    2015

    Figures will be made available in the NCS 2015 evaluation report, which will be published in due course.
  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding from the European Regional Development Fund is currently committed to projects in each region of the UK.

    Anna Soubry

    European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programmes for 2007-2013 have still to be formally closed by the European Commission. A list of projects in each region of England and the amount of funding awarded to each project under the 2007-2013 ERDF programmes can be found on GOV.UK at ‘2007 to 2013 ERDF programmes: achievements’.

    A list of projects in Scotland and the amount of funding awarded to each project under the 2007-2013 ERDF programmes can be found on the Scottish Government website under ‘Structural Funds 2007-2013’ for ‘Highlands & Islands Programmes’ and ‘Lowlands & Uplands Scotland Programmes’.

    A list of all projects in Wales and the amount of funding awarded to each under the 2007-2013 ERDF programmes can be found on the Welsh Government website under ‘Funding’, ‘European funds in Wales’, ‘Previous European Structural Funds programmes’, ‘Approved project database 2007-2013’.

    A list of projects in Northern Ireland and the amount of funding awarded to each project under the 2007-2013 ERDF programme can be found on www.eugrants-successes.org.

    Implementation of the 2014-2020 ERDF programmes is at an early stage. For the 2014-2020 period, England has an allocation of €3.6bn from the ERDF. This has been notionally allocated on the basis of Local Enterprise Partnership areas rather than regions. Information on the allocations to each Local Enterprise Partnership area, which include also the European Social Fund, can be found on GOV.UK.

    Information on the 2014-2020 ERDF programme in Scotland can be found on the Scottish Government website under ‘Structural Funds 2014-2020’, ‘Scotland’s 2014-2020 Programmes’.

    Information on the ERDF programme for 2014-2020 for Wales can be found on the Welsh Government website under ‘Funding’, ‘European funds in Wales’, ‘European Structural Funds 2014-2020’, ‘West, North Wales, and Valleys Programmes’ and ‘East Wales programmes’.

    Information on the 2014-2020 ERDF programme in Northern Ireland can be found on the Department of Finance & Personnel website of the Northern Ireland Executive at ‘Finance’, ‘Funding’, ‘EU Funding Allocations’, ‘EU allocations to NI (07-13 & 14—20).

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with the Department for Transport on the proposal to the International Maritime Organisation to develop a work plan to define the shipping industry’s fair share in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions ahead of the meeting on 18 to 22 April 2016.

    Andrea Leadsom

    All countries agreed in Paris in December to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts towards 1.5°C. Action on international shipping will be an important part of this. The international nature of shipping emissions means that the best place to reach a credible solution is at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

    Negotiations on how the global shipping sector can contribute to Paris goals are at an early stage. The Department for Transport leads on these negotiations for the UK. The Department of Energy and Climate Change will continue to support the Department for Transport on this issue.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Statement of 25 November 2015, Official Report, column 1361, if he will place in the Library an itemised breakdown of to which HM Revenue and Customs’ projects and programmes he has allocated the additional £800 million announced in that statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    Autumn Statement 2015 referenced £800 million allocated to HM Revenue and Customs at Summer Budget 2015 to tackle evasion and non-compliance.

    The £800 million will fund the following projects:

    • Tax Credit Debt Recovery

    • Criminal Investigations

    • Wealthy: enhanced compliance

    • Tackling the hidden economy

    • Additional Compliance Resource: local compliance

    • Tackling illicit tobacco and alcohol

    • Large Business: enhanced compliance

    • Specialist Personal Tax: enhanced compliance

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what comparative assessment she has made of the cost to the public purse of deportations on chartered flights and commercial flights.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office conducts a cost comparison between charter flights and commercial flights every 6 months.