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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they are monitoring academies and free schools that seek to change their nominal catchment areas in order to ensure that local parents have the final say on such proposals.

    Lord Nash

    School admission arrangements are set and applied locally. Each school has an admission authority to set its admission arrangements. For academies and free schools, it is the academy trust. Where changes are proposed to admission arrangements, the admission authority must first publicly consult on those arrangements, including with local parents. If no changes are made to admission arrangements, they must be consulted on at least once every seven years to ensure admissions arrangements continue to meet local needs. However, we will shortly be consulting on requiring admission authorities to consult on their admission arrangements at least once every four years.

    There is no requirement within the School Admissions Code (‘the Code’) for any school to adopt a catchment area. Where they do, the Code makes it clear that the catchment must be fair and not discriminate against any social or ethnic group, or those with disabilities.

    If parents are concerned about changes to a school’s catchment area they can object to the Schools Adjudicator. The Adjudicator can require any state-funded school to amend its admission policy, if it breaches the Code.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money has been passed to the Scottish Government under the Barnett formula for NHS Services in each year since that Government was established; and what proportion of that money was actually spent on NHS services by the Scottish Parliament in each of those years.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The mechanical application of the Barnett Formula ensures that the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly receive a population share of changes in UK government funding on the services for which they have devolved responsibility. In accordance with the principles of devolution and the devolution Acts themselves, it is for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their funding (from the block grant or taxes/borrowing) to public services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and it is for the devolved legislatures to hold them to account. The Scottish Government’s new fiscal framework does not alter this.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure institutions and organisations in receipt of public funds do not express a corporate opinion on the forthcoming EU referendum.

    John Penrose

    The rules on campaigning at the referendum are set out in the European Union Referendum Act 2015 and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. There is no general restriction on institutions and organisations in receipt of public funds expressing a corporate opinion on the European Union Referendum. However, there are restrictions on organisations whose expenses are met wholly or mainly from public funds publishing certain material relating to the referendum in the final 28 days.

    As the independent regulator for charities in England and Wales, the Charity Commission published guidance for charities on 7 March 2016 regarding the forthcoming EU referendum. This clearly sets out the threshold necessary to justify any charitable activity on this specific issue.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the merits of public grant funded research on the environment, food and farming.

    George Eustice

    Evidence from assessments of the impact of research undertaken by Research Councils and through the 2014 Research Excellence Framework strongly indicates that research (which may be funded from a range of sources) has many benefits in helping to achieve positive outcomes for the environment and for food and farming. Defra has not however, undertaken any systematic evaluation of the merits of public grant funded research in these areas.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of young people who are cared for in (a) local authority-run and (b) private or voluntary sector children’s homes in each local authority area.

    Edward Timpson

    The information requested is attached.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of whether the Walshaw Moor Estate’s management of its blanket bog habitats is in compliance with the Habitats Directive; and when she intends to answer the letter of 29 April 2016 from the European Commission giving formal notice on that matter.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    We do not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications for retrospective reviews for continuing healthcare have been refused in each of the last five years; and what the reasons were for each such refusal.

    David Mowat

    NHS England does not collect this information.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take to use the UK’s position on the UN Security Council to help facilitate diplomatic negotiations on protecting civilians in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Protection of civilians in Syria, as well as those who have been forced to flee the country, is a priority for the UK. In the Security Council we have co-sponsored a number of humanitarian resolutions that call for an end to indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including the use of barrel bombs, starvation as a method of warfare and obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid. Specifically, the UK played a key role in negotiating Resolution 2191, which has allowed the UN and its partners to deliver aid across Syria’s borders to people who were previously denied access, including food for 2.1 million people and medical supplies for 2.5 million people. The UK is the second largest bilateral contributor of humanitarian funding, providing over £1.1 billion to those most in need in Syria and neighbouring countries – our largest ever response to a crisis. The long term protection of civilians requires an end to the conflict in Syria and a political settlement based upon the principles of the Geneva Communiqué. We will continue to pursue this objective with vigour, including through the new political process which began in Vienna on 30 October.

  • Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 1.17 of the UK National Strategy for Maritime Security, published in May 2014, how many policy decisions in relation to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary have been taken to date by the ministerial working group on maritime security.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministerial Working Group has not made any policy decisions on the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). The role of the RFA in providing logistic support to the Royal Navy (RN) is implicit within the support that the RN provides in delivering the National Strategy for Maritime Security.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will take steps to expand the number of places in medicine courses in universities.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department of Health and Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) have periodically reviewed the total number and distribution of undergraduate medical students, basing targets for these students on information provided by the Centre for Workforce Intelligence and local workforce plans that estimate how many doctors we need to work in the National Health Service.

    Since the establishment of Health Education England (HEE) in April 2013, responsibility for reviewing the target intake for medical students has sat with them.

    HEE is currently reviewing the target intake for medical students and will submit recommendations to the Department in the spring. Any changes to medical student numbers will need to be agreed with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and HEFCE who also contribute to the funding of undergraduate medical education.