Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contracts (a) have been agreed and (b) are still to be awarded by Highways England for (i) routine highway services and (ii) specialist goods and services.

    Andrew Jones

    For routine highways services and specialist goods and services, Highways England has awarded several contracts that cover the whole of England. One recently awarded contract was in the Area 7, for the East Midlands and Lincolnshire:

    • Maintenance and Response Contract- this was awarded to Amey Highways Ltd on 14th March 2016 and is now in mobilisation.
    • Design Contract – this was awarded to Kier Highways on 10th March.

    Contracts still to be awarded include:

    • Construction Works Framework – Award is scheduled for early May 2016.

    • Salt Saturators – Award is programmed for 15th April 2016.
    • Salt supply – Highways England intend to use the ESPO framework which is currently being tendered for the supply of salt. ESPO is a public sector owned professional buying organisation and Highways England are scheduled to award a task order for the supply of salt in mid May 2016
    • Structural Inspections – award is scheduled for early June 2016.
    • Technical Surveys and Testing – this is the non-OJEU process and Highways England has published a Prior Information Notice (PIN) in the Official Journal for the European Union detailing how firms are to register. Responses are currently being assessed and then assessed firms will be invited to tender for specific pieces of work.
    • Weather forecasting – this is currently out to tender, with the award date scheduled for mid-June 2016

    The Asset Led Delivery Model that is being adopted in Area 7 will also be rolled out in Areas 1 and 2 covering the South West of England and in Areas 13 covering Cumbria and Lancashire. These contracts will not be awarded until 2017.

  • Neil Parish – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Neil Parish – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Parish on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of fruit juice a drink must contain to be considered a pure fruit juice for the purposes of the sugar levy.

    Damian Hinds

    The levy will apply to soft drinks with added sugar. This will include any fruit or vegetable juice drinks that contain added sugar. Pure fruit and vegetable juices, and other juice drinks that do not have added sugar will not be liable.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been awarded the enhanced rate mobility component of personal independence payment in each month since January 2014.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The available data on the number of claimants in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), by a range of breakdowns including award outcomes, are available from Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.

    “

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2016 to Question 31582, whether the Government has offered support to the government of Iraq on collecting forensic evidence of genocide committed against the Yazidis and other religious minority groups.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We continue to condemn in the strongest terms the appalling crimes that Daesh has committed in Iraq against Christians, Yezidis and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population.

    On 21 July, The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), announced that the UK will work with international partners to drive a global campaign to hold Daesh to account for its crimes. Over the summer, Ministers and officials have been working with international partners, including the Government of Iraq, to establish the character and scope of this campaign. We will take forward action on it in New York later this month.

  • Peter Bone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Peter Bone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the change in the value of the pound on the negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

    Simon Kirby

    The UK has an inflation target, not an exchange rate target, and the Government does not express a view on the level of the exchange rate. Instead, the exchange rate is allowed to adjust flexibly in response to economic conditions and movements in sterling are determined by market forces.

    The UK economy is fundamentally strong and is well-placed to deal with the challenges, and take advantage of the opportunities, that lie ahead. HM Government is not giving a running commentary on our exit negotiations.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 28 October (HL2621), what assessment they have made of whether the 12 unplanned closures of the East Coast Main Line in September represent an adequate level of service to the users of that line.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport measures the performance of franchised train operators through a range of metrics as specified within their franchise agreements. The Office of Rail and Road monitor the performance of Network Rail. We expect all in the rail industry to work together to ensure good performance for its customers.

  • Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what measures they will use to determine whether higher education institutions are delivering effective outcomes for widening access and social mobility.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    Universities wishing to charge higher fees must agree Access Agreements with the independent Director of Fair Access, showing what more they will do to widen access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. These Access Agreements include measures and benchmarks for success, in line with the universities’ own particular mission and challenges.

    The Director of Fair Access monitors the performance of Universities against their targets and provides a report each year on the progress that has been made.

    The Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141 sets out additional steps the Government plans to take to increase the proportion of students from disadvantaged background entering higher education including through the new guidance that we plan to issue to the Director of Fair Access, and through the social mobility taskforce being set up by Universities UK.

  • Lord Northbourne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Northbourne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Northbourne on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the majority of secondary schools meet the objective of instilling self-confidence and social and emotional skills in their pupils.

    Lord Nash

    All schools should equip young people with the necessary skills to leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) education has a vital role to play in this and we want all schools to put it at the heart of their curriculum.

    This includes developing character traits like self-confidence, motivation and resilience. These traits support academic attainment, are valued by employers, and encourage young people to make a positive contribution to British society. Many schools are already doing this. The 27 schools and organisations that were winners of character awards in 2015 demonstrated excellence in the area. We will continue to support schools in developing these traits in pupils without prescribing compulsory measures. In order to do this, we are investing £5 million in character education, including £3.5m of grants for 14 projects and £1m to the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to build evidence and expand research into the most effective character education.

    Last September, Ofsted introduced a common assessment framework for the inspection of schools, early years and further education and skills remits. There is an overall effectiveness judgement underpinned by four graded judgements, one of which is a new judgement on personal development, behaviour and welfare. This aspect, therefore, will be graded and reported on in all school inspections.

    Additionally, before making the final judgement on the overall effectiveness of all schools, Ofsted inspectors must evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This means that when judging the effectiveness of leadership and management, inspectors will consider the design, implementation and evaluation of the curriculum, ensuring breadth and balance and its impact on pupils’ outcomes and their personal development, behaviour and welfare.

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

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with the US administration on the siting of a US drone operation centre at (a) RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk and (b) other UK locations.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK and US have routine discussions on all aspects of US visiting forces in the UK.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS transplant centres there are for the transplantation of stem cells for people with blood cancer or blood disorders; how much funding has NHS England provided to such centres in each year since 2009-10; and in the latest inspections by the Joint Accreditation Committee for the International Society for Cellular Therapy and the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (JACIE), on how many of the standards set by JACIE was each entre found (a) compliant and (b) non-compliant.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England commissions stem cell transplant activity for adults and children from 46 providers and have provided the following information on funding.

    Total funding for stem cell transplantation was £163 million in 2013/14 and £170 million in 2014/15. Services are commissioned within this budget based on need rather than as individual services. Stem cell transplantation is subject to local pricing and so it is not possible to provide information about funding by provider as this is commercially sensitive.

    NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised care involving adult bone marrow transplantation that includes care up to 100 days after transplant. The costs of care up to 100 days post-transplant are included within the overall budget for stem cell transplantation. NHS England does not hold data on the funding of care beyond this 100 day period.

    The Department does not hold information on funding provided for these services before the creation of NHS England in 2013.

    The Joint Accreditation Committee for the International Society for Cellular Therapy and the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (JACIE) is an independent organisation and the Department does not hold data related to JACIE compliance.