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 routine responsibilities are required of Amey by Highways England in its maintenance and response contract for the East Midlands.

    Andrew Jones

    The Maintenance and Response (M&R) Contractor for Area 7. Amey Highways Ltd, will be required to undertake cyclic and reactive maintenance, incident response, severe weather response and traffic management across the East Midlands and Lincolnshire. This includes :

    Cyclic and reactive maintenance:

    • Schedule and deliver the annual programme of cyclical work to meet requirements in the most efficient and effective way
    • Carry out defect repairs to the requirements for each asset type

    Incident Response:

    • Attend incident, assess and advise Area 7 Control
    • Make safe and clear up, including environmental containment
    • Act as lead if other parts of the Highways England supply chain is used
    • Carry out associated defect repairs
    • Act as the on-road incident support function for Area 7
    • Be Principal Contractor if other contractors are used

    Severe Weather Response:

    • Provide severe weather response for winter, flooding and high winds
    • Work with Highways England on weather intelligence to be prepared and proactive
    • Provide trained driver / operatives to cover the full winter service
    • Maintain vehicles and equipment
    • Provide fuel used by fleet and management of salt

    Traffic Management (TM):

    • Provide TM for all M&R cyclical work
    • Provide TM for all reactive work, including incidents
    • Provide TM for Highways England activities and Support Services, including inspections and technical survey work
    • Provide TM for events when requested

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions the Government has had with (a) UK companies and (b) the Malawian government on oil exploration around Lake Malawi.

    James Duddridge

    Our High Commissioner to Malawi met a representative of UK oil exploration firm Surestream, who are now a minority shareholder of an exploration licence for one of the oil exploration blocks in Lake Malawi, on 29 February. Last month the High Commissioner also discussed with the Malawi Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining his desire for assistance to develop legislation and agreements that would conform to global good governance standards and protect Malawi’s national interests.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to improve end-of-life care over the next five years.

    Ben Gummer

    We are committed to ensuring that everyone at the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care that is tailored to their needs and preferences.

    The Government will shortly publish its response to the independent Review of Choice in End of Life Care which will set out actions to improve quality, choice and personalisation of end of life care in the context of delivering the NHS Five Year Forward View throughout this Parliament.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on introducing automatic compensation for rail users whose trains arrive late.

    Paul Maynard

    The majority of train operators now operate the Delay Repay scheme and we are continuing to roll this out to all train operators through refranchising and / or as opportunities arise.

    It is important that claims can be made easily and that passengers are made aware of their rights. This can be supported by automated systems that notify passengers when they are eligible to claim and electronic claims forms.

    Some train operators have introduced fully automatic Delay Repay compensation: Virgin Trains West Coast for Advance tickets purchased through the operator’s website or app for registered passengers, and by c2c for all passengers with a registered c2c Smartcard. This is feasible when the passenger has a ticket for a specific train purchased from the operator or a smartcard.

    Northern, TransPennine Express and East Anglia are also planning to introduce fully automatic compensation for certain passengers who buy Advance or Season tickets.

  • Richard Bacon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Richard Bacon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Bacon on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent discussions he has had with his Ministerial colleagues on the legal status of foreign scientific researchers resident in the UK following the EU referendum.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The Department for Exiting the European Union has engaged with a wide range of organisations including Universities UK, the Royal Academies and the pharmaceutical sector, as well as colleagues from the Department for Education and the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

    The Prime Minister has been clear that she is determined to protect the status of EU nationals already living here, and the only circumstances in which that would not be possible is if British citizens’ rights in European member states were not protected in return.

    The UK remains fully open to scientists and researchers from across the EU. We highly value the contribution of EU and international staff, and there are no immediate changes to their rights to live and work in the UK.

    The announcement on underwriting Horizon 2020 funding underlines our commitment to do what is necessary to maintain the UK as an attractive place to conduct research and innovation.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rehman Chishti – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of NHS England about perinatal mental health services; and what plans he has to improve such services.

    Alistair Burt

    My Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State meets the Chief Executive of NHS England on a regular basis and discusses a wide range of issues, including improving access to mental health services.

    The Government is committed to improving perinatal mental health services for women during pregnancy and the first postnatal year. In the March 2015 budget the Government announced £75 million over five years, £15 million per year, to support women with mental ill health in the perinatal period. NHS England is leading a work programme to ensure that this money is spent in the right way, at the right time and in the right places. This work is being carried out collaboratively with system partners, including the Department of Health and Public Health England, clinical experts and service users.

    On the 10 November I met with representatives from NHS England and a small group of perinatal mental health experts to discuss improving perinatal mental health services.

    Health Education England has a mandate commitment to ensure that trained specialist mental health staff are available to support mothers in every birthing unit by 2017. And a further mandate commitment requires Health Education England to work with the Royal Colleges to support perinatal mental health training being incorporated into the postgraduate training syllabus for doctors by 2017.

    Over 600 perinatal mental health visitor champions have been trained who are supporting health visitors with the identification and management of anxiety, mild to moderate depression and other perinatal mental disorders and knowing when to refer on.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17695, how many studies have been completed under JSP507 in each year since 2005; what the title was of each such study; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

  • Robert Jenrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Robert Jenrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Jenrick on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average level of funding per pupil in secondary schools in Newark constituency has been in each year since 2010.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Funding from the Department is primarily allocated at a local authority level, in this case the Nottinghamshire local authority. Since the introduction of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) in 2006-07, figures are no longer available to be shown split by phase of education.

    Figures for financial years 2010 to 2013 are shown below in cash terms:

    Average revenue per pupil funding (£)

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    Nottinghamshire LA

    4,810

    4,750

    4,750

    Per pupil figures use DSG allocations plus other schools related grants, e.g. school standards grant, school standards grant (personalisation), standards fund, and pupils aged 3-15, rounded to the nearest £10. Most of the additional grants were mainstreamed into DSG in 2011-12.

    The changes to DSG funding in financial year 2013-14 with funding allocated through three blocks, namely schools, early years and high needs, means there is no longer a comparable overall figure with previous years. The table below shows the DSG schools block unit funding figures in cash terms for Nottinghamshire LA.

    DSG schools block per pupil funding (£)

    2013-2014

    2014-2015

    2015-2016

    2016-2017

    Nottinghamshire LA

    4,351

    4,351

    4,352

    4,355

    Since 2011-12, schools have received the Pupil Premium which targets funding at pupils from the most deprived backgrounds to help them achieve their full potential. In 2011-12, the premium was allocated for each pupil known to be eligible for Free School Meals, looked after children and children of parents in the armed services. In 2012-13 coverage was expanded to include pupils known to have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in the last six years. The amounts per pupil amounts for each type of pupil are shown in following table in cash terms:

    Pupil Premium per pupil (£)

    2011-2012

    2012-2013

    2013-2014

    2014-2015

    2015-2016

    Free School Meal Pupil Primary

    £488

    £623

    £953

    £1323

    £1320

    Free School Meal Pupil Secondary

    £488

    £623

    £900

    £935

    £935

    Service Children

    £200

    £250

    £300

    £300

    £300

    Looked After Children

    £488

    £623

    £900

    £1900*

    £1900*

    *Also includes children adopted from care

    Total Pupil Premium allocations for Nottinghamshire local authority and schools in the Newark constituency for each year are shown in the following table in cash terms:

    Pupil Premium Allocations (£ millions)

    2011-2012

    2012-2013

    2013-2014

    2014-2015

    2015-16 (prov.)

    Nottinghamshire LA

    7.380

    14.710

    22.903

    30.420

    30.163

    Newark constituency

    0.678

    1.404

    2.203

    2.899

    2.815

    Figures for Newark exclude the looked after children element as this is not available at a parliamentary constituency level.

  • Lord Naseby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Naseby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the grant awarded to Action on Smoking and Health for 2015–16 relates to activities to be delivered beyond the end of the financial year; and, as the grant conditions stipulate that such activities must be delivered prior to that day, whether they will investigate.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The proposed budget estimates received from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) for each of the last five years for a Section 64 grant is attached. Commercially sensitive information has been redacted.

    As the agreed project outputs make clear, the 2015-16 Section 64 grant funding awarded to ASH will be spent in the current financial year, including work relating to preparation for legislation coming into force later in 2016.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much his Department has paid to staff in overtime in each of the last 24 months.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Sums paid to Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) staff for overtime for the last 24 months, for which figures are available, were as follows:

    £000s

    January

    February

    March

    April

    May

    June

    July

    August

    September

    October

    November

    December

    2014

    –

    5.1

    10.9

    2.6

    6.8

    4.3

    7.3

    23.7

    7.0

    7.1

    3.7

    10.8

    2015

    2.2

    3.9

    28.0

    6.2

    31.0

    5.8

    4.3

    8.3

    6.6

    4.3

    8.6

    7.1

    2016

    6.3

    –

    –

    –

    –

    –

    –

    –

    –

    –

    –

    –

    DCMS is the smallest government department, with 509 full time equivalent (FTE) permanent employees (as of 31 January 2016). Overtime is a cost-effective way of managing peaks in workload in order to reduce the need for contractors or adding to the department’s headcount. Annual expenditure on overtime accounts for just under 0.3% of the DCMS paybill.

    DCMS has responsibility for high profile policy, which includes staging national First World War commemoration events – this is reflected in our overtime figures for August 2014 and May 2015.

    Recent machinery of government changes has also seen DCMS take on additional policy areas, including the digital economy unit, digital inclusion, data protection, the sponsorship of the National Archives and the Information Commissioner. The figure for March 2015 reflects the addition of the 2014-15 total overtime cost for the Digital Economy Unit following its Machinery of Government transfer to DCMS; monthly analysis of this sum is not available.