The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued to officials in his Department to support the implementation of the Family Test.
Mr Oliver Letwin
Family Test guidance was published online in October 2014, and is available to all officials. The guidance can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has paid to staff in overtime in each of the last 24 months.
Mike Penning
The Department publishes overtime payment data on a monthly basis and the report can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workforce-management-information-moj
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he made of the funding needs of (a) university health centres and (b) other GP surgeries with atypical patient profiles in applying the core funding formula for GP surgeries.
Alistair Burt
Approximately 55% of general practitioner (GP) practices operate under General Medical Service (GMS) contract arrangements. Typically, at least half of the money that a GMS practice receives is in the form of the ‘global sum’, derived through the Carr-Hill Formula.
The formula, as agreed with the British Medical Association (BMA) before the introduction of the 2004 GP contract, is used to allocate the global sum and related payments on the basis of the practice population, weighted for factors that influence relative needs and costs.
There are indications that the formula does not work as effectively in areas with demographically atypical populations, such as new towns or areas with high student populations. NHS England is working with the BMA’s General Practitioners Committee, NHS Employers, the Department and academic partners on the review to develop a formula that better reflects the factors that drive workload, such as age or deprivation. As part of this work, the effect of any changes on practice funding in specific areas such as Huddersfield and Kirklees will be considered. It is intended that the review of the Carr-Hill formula will inform the 2017-18 GP contract.
A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified one item of correspondence received since 1 May 2015 from university health centres. There has also been a Ministerial meeting related to areas with demographically atypical populations, in this case new towns. It was not possible to identify correspondence received from GP surgeries with atypical patient profiles. This represents correspondence received by the Department’s ministerial correspondence unit only.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding was allocated to schools for supporting children with learning difficulties in (a) Manchester, Withington constituency and (b) Greater Manchester in each of the last three years.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Funding for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) is allocated to local authorities through the dedicated schools grant, which includes both funding to be delegated to mainstream schools, and funding for the additional costs associated with educating children and young people with high needs.
Schools are funded through a formula set by their local authority, and local authorities are required to delegate funds to a level that enables schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with SEN up to £6,000 per annum. It is for individual schools to decide how they allocate their overall budget to ensure they meet the specific needs of children with learning difficulties.
For those pupils whose additional support costs more than £6,000 the local authority pays top-up funding to the schools from their high needs budget. Top-up funding rates are for local authorities to agree with their schools.
The high needs allocation, within the dedicated schools grant, for the Greater Manchester local authorities in each of the last three years were as set out below:
|
2013-14 (£million) |
2014-15 (£million) |
2015-16 (£million) |
|
|
Bolton |
25.83 |
27.15 |
27.55 |
|
Bury |
22.50 |
24.08 |
24.17 |
|
Manchester |
59.83 |
63.34 |
64.07 |
|
Oldham |
23.54 |
24.90 |
25.58 |
|
Salford |
22.10 |
22.75 |
22.82 |
|
Stockport |
27.62 |
29.04 |
29.44 |
|
Tameside |
25.82 |
27.14 |
28.23 |
|
Trafford |
13.81 |
14.79 |
14.73 |
|
Wigan |
22.88 |
23.34 |
24.08 |
We do not hold information on the total funding for supporting children with learning difficulties allocated to schools in the Manchester, Withington constituency or in the Greater Manchester area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-06-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many electric vehicles they estimate will be using British roads by 2030.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
There are currently over sixty thousand ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) on the road in the UK. The Government has the goal that by 2040 all new cars and vans will be zero emission vehicles. The uptake trajectory between now and then will depend on a range of factors including technological developments, consumer attitudes, international regulations and Government incentives, but by 2030 we would expect ULEVs to be firmly into the mass market. The Government will be spending more than £600 million by 2020 to support uptake and manufacturing of ULEVs in the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to use further interventions to prevent the spread of Koi herpesvirus disease which kills common and ornamental carp.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government recognises the importance of protecting the UK from fish diseases including koi herpesvirus (KHV) disease which can have serious effects on our native fish population, angling waters and aquaculture industry.
We have strong control measures in place to identify and constrain outbreaks of KHV. This includes an annual surveillance programme in fish farms; the prohibition of the movement of live fish from KHV infected sites, both farm and fishery; and, restrictions on angling in affected waters during disease outbreaks. We will continue to apply these control measures robustly to prevent spread of the disease. In addition we support research into KHV transmission routes and will review our options for interventions as new scientific information becomes available.
KHV is most likely transmitted through the movement of live fish and it has also been demonstrated that angling equipment such as keep nets may spread infection. Defra has been working closely with the Angling Trust on the Check, Clean, Dry campaign to support good practice in the angling community, and with the Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association to highlight the importance of not releasing pet fish into the environment.
Last year we published the aquatic animal health strategy for England setting out our approach and activities to protect and improve aquatic animal health over the next five years. This includes looking at the use of new technologies to improve disease surveillance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many air passengers have made claims against airline companies for flight delays in each of the last five years; and how many such claims have been successful.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government does not hold this data, it is owned by the individual airlines. The Civil Aviation Authority, as the National Enforcement Body under EU Regulation 261/2004 on Air Passenger Rights, does however collate and publish data on complaints that it receives from passengers. This information can be found on the CAA website:
http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=80&pagetype=88&pageid=27&sglid=27.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships were created in the last Parliament (1) nationally, and (2) in North Lincolnshire, and how many they are intending to create during this Parliament.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
There have been 324,800 apprenticeship starts in the manufacturing technologies sector subject area nationally in the last parliament (May 2010 to April 2015).
In North Lincolnshire Local Authority there have been 1,500 apprenticeship starts in the manufacturing technologies sector subject area in the last parliament (May 2010 to April 2015).
We are committed to reaching 3 million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020.
The locations and sectors where apprenticeships are available are determined by employers choosing to offer apprenticeships and recruit apprentices. We have therefore set no specific regional targets.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their most recent estimate of the unit cost of the UK’s F-35Bs has been revised (1) upwards, or (2) downwards, as a result of updated information provided by the US Joint Strike Fighter programme.
Earl Howe
We continue to see a reduction in aircraft unit costs which is in line with the estimates shown in the annual US Selected Acquisition Report. The UK’s F-35 programme remains within its cost approval limit as detailed in the National Audit Office Major Projects Report 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress he has made in giving access to download speeds of at least 2mbps to residents of (a) Woking constituency, (b) Surrey and (c) the South East.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Nearly 90% of homes and businesses in the UK currently have access to superfast broadband – and we are on target for this to reach 95% by the end of 2017. All premises which cannot currently get 2Mbps will be able take advantage of a subsidised satellite broadband service which can deliver speeds of 10Mbps or more.