Tag: Parliamentary Question

Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether HMS Dauntless is being used as a harbour training and accommodation ship.

Mr Philip Dunne

The introduction of Engineering Training Ships is an important component of the Royal Navy’s comprehensive programme to improve training and career development opportunities by increasing training capacity.

Ships in the operating cycle immediately ahead of refit will be used to deliver training alongside home Bases and Ports. HMS DAUNTLESS entered this profile in February this year. A reduced Ship’s Company reside on board as normal, augmented by trainees who use the opportunity to gain experience through development activities in a realistic environment.

January 1, 2023
Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department is doing to narrow the 12 year difference in life expectancy between council wards in Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport constituency.

Nicola Blackwood

Addressing health inequalities is a Government priority. This was clearly set out in the Prime Minister’s inaugural speech in July. Key to this message was the importance of addressing the gap in life expectancy.

Achieving measurable and sustained reductions in health inequalities by 2020 and reducing the gaps in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy are priority objectives in the Department’s Shared Delivery Plan: 2015 – 2020. Action is largely led locally to ensure that the solutions put in place reflect the needs of individual communities.

To address the differences in life expectancy across Plymouth, Plymouth Clinical Commissioning Group and health services have introduced the ‘Thrive’ initiative. This aims to tackle the four lifestyle choices (inactivity, diet, alcohol consumption and smoking) that lead to respiratory diseases, cancer, stroke and heart disease. The work, currently in its second year, is the start of the long term drive to improve health and reduce inequalities in Plymouth. Health organisations such as Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Livewell Southwest and general practitioner Practices have signed up in support of the Thrive initiative.

In order to ensure that health services are supporting those communities with the highest need, the ‘Success Regime’ has been introduced across Devon, which aims to protect and promote services for patients in local health and care systems that are struggling with financial or quality problems. Additionally, the Sustainability and Transformation Plan for Wider Devon includes a requirement to ensure that sustainable general practice is in place for all populations with equitable access times for routine and urgent treatment.

January 1, 2023
Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will estimate the cost of a single ticket to any destination served by High Speed 2.

Andrew Jones

The business case for HS2 assumes the same fares structure as today. It is too early to set individual fares for HS2 services, which will begin operation in 2026.

January 1, 2023
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.

January 1, 2023
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.

January 1, 2023
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.

January 1, 2023

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.

January 1, 2023

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).

January 1, 2023
Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that the number of qualified teachers does not decrease proportionately or in real terms by 2022.

Nick Gibb

As announced in our White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, our proposals to replace Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) with a new, stronger accreditation will raise the bar for new teachers. While we expect the vast majority of new teachers to continue to complete initial teacher training (ITT), these proposals will also mean that schools can put teachers who have not completed a period of ITT onto a pathway to formal accreditation.

We will set out further details of how and when we intend to implement the new accreditation process shortly. Until then, the Department has no plans to change the regulations which permit academies and maintained schools to employ teachers who do not hold QTS.

January 1, 2023

Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many whales, dolphins and other aquatic mammals have been beached on British shores in each of the last 10 years.

George Eustice

Defra, in conjunction with the Devolved Administrations of Scotland and Wales, fund the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP), which investigates the causes of cetacean strandings around the UK.

Between 2006 and 2014 a total of 4838 cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) were stranded around the UK (English, Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Ireland) coast. 147 of these were successfully refloated. The 2015 data has not yet been published. This will be available in due course on the CSIP website, where the annual reports for preceding years are already available.

The published annual strandings data, shown below, may also be subject to change where additional strandings information is reported after publication.

Although not part of its formal remit, data on stranded seals has been collected by CSIP in recent years. Since 2010 2185 dead stranded seals have been recorded.

Year	No. of UK Cetacean Strandings	No. of UK Cetacean Live Strandings	No. of UK Cetaceans Refloated
2006	718	31	9
2007	536	41	14
2008	566	83	24
2009	422	39	14
2010	277	27	6
2011	600	86	29
2012	562	75	15
2013	595	38	9
2014	562	55	27
Total	4838	475	147

January 1, 2023

District	*Number of Visits
Pendle	100
Lancashire	1,870
North West(1)	7,240