Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • 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 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the NHS staff and recruitment needs for (a) the North East, (b) County Durham and (c) Easington constituency.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    No estimate has been made by the Department. Health Education England (HEE), an independent arms-length body, has been established to ensure the National Health Service has access to the right numbers of staff, at the right time and with the right skills. In doing so, HEE works with key external stakeholders to develop its National Workforce Plan for England which sets out the number of training places it will commission in the year ahead. The latest Workforce Plan for England, together with annexes detailing planned commissions by Local Education and Training Boards, is available at:

    https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/planning-commissioning/workforce-planning/commissioning-investment-plan-england-2016-17

    HEE is investing in the development of Local Workforce Action Boards (LWABs), which will provide strategic leadership in the development of local workforce strategies. HEE has been leading on the development of a LWAB for Cumbria and the North East. The LWAB will meet in October to agree priorities to support the local workforce.

  • Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether Moussa Koussa’s arrival in the UK by aeroplane at Farnborough in March 2011 was by prior agreement with the UK Government; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Moussa Koussa flew to the UK from Tunisia of his own volition, having notified our authorities shortly before his departure of his intention to travel here.

  • Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government who line manages Regional School Commissioners.

    Lord Nash

    The eight Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) take decisions in the name of the Secretary of State in relation to schools and academies (including free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools). The RSCs were appointed through open competition, with successful candidates being appointed for their outstanding leadership skills and track record. The process was overseen by the Civil Service Commissioner. RSCs are line managed by the national Schools Commissioner.

    The responsibilities of RSCs include:

    a) monitoring the performance of the academies, free schools, UTCs and studio schools in their area;

    b) taking action when an academy, free school, UTC or studio school is underperforming;

    c) approving the conversion of maintained schools to academies and making the decision on the sponsor for new academies in areas where the local authority has identified a need for additional school places;

    d) making recommendations to ministers about free school applications and advising on whether approved free school projects are ready to open;

    e) encouraging organisations to become academy sponsors or to establish free schools, approving applications to become sponsors and helping to build the capacity and capability of existing sponsors within their area;

    f) approving changes to open academies, for example: changes to age ranges, mergers between academies, and changes to MAT arrangements;

    g) addressing underperformance in local authority maintained schools through sponsored academy arrangements.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the devolved administrations, (b) civic society and (c) industry on the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government first announced it was exploring options for bringing private capital into UK Green investment Bank plc (GIB) in the Autumn Statement 2013. It was subsequently confirmed in both the 2014 Autumn Statement and 2015 Budget debate that work was progressing on this matter.

    My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills set out firm proposals to move GIB into private ownership in a written ministerial statement of 25 June.

    On 15 October 2015, My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills made a further written ministerial statement in order to provide an update on work to implement the proposals and the need to repeal legislation relating to GIB.

    On 18 November, the Government published a detailed policy document on the future of GIB setting out the case for moving the company into private ownership and seeking to address a number of concerns that had been expressed about this.

    In support of these various publications and announcements, there has been substantial engagement and correspondence on the matter with environmental groups, stakeholders, members of Parliament and the Devolved Administrations, particularly the Scottish Government which raised a number of specific concerns. Much of the stakeholder engagement activity has been undertaken by GIB itself in view of its strong existing relationships with relevant stakeholders.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterparts on the siege of Cizre by Turkish government forces.

    Mr David Lidington

    Security operations, including military curfews, are continuing in Cizre and other towns in south-east Turkey against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its youth wing, the YPS (Civil Protection Units, formerly the YDG-H). There has been intense fighting in recent days. One policeman and one soldier were killed on 9 February. Our condolences are with the families of the soldiers and police who have been killed, and with civilians caught up in the violence. We continue to call for the PKK to end its terrorist attacks and for the peace process to be resumed. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Turkey have emphasised to the Turkish government the need to respect human rights and avoid civilian casualties. We stand ready to help in any way we can.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) import extradition requests her Department received from non-Category 1 and 2 countries and (b) export extradition requests her Department made to non-category 1 and 2 countries in each year since 2009-10; and how many such requests were (i) granted and (ii) refused.

    James Brokenshire

    “Category 2 territories” refers to countries designated as extradition partners under Part 2 of the Extradition Act 2003. Not all the information requested is held centrally. The tables below set out the information which is centrally held by the Home Office.

    Figures for the numbers of people extradited or requests refused in a particular year may include those for whom a request was made in a previous year.

    Import extradition requests involving Category 2 territories

    Year

    Requests submitted to the Home Office for Category 2 territories

    Requests sent to Category 2 territories

    Number of people extradited to the UK

    2009

    35

    35

    26

    2010

    33

    33

    19

    2011

    49

    49

    22

    2012

    32

    32

    25

    2013

    23

    23

    26

    2014

    37

    37

    11

    2015

    45

    45

    26
  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-04-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department’s non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority by 2020.

    Mr David Gauke

    No jobs in the Treasury or non-Departmental public bodies, executive agencies, advisory bodies falling under its remit have been abolished or relocated in the regions or time frames stated in the question.

    In April 2011, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – a non-ministerial Department falling under the remit of the Chancellor – closed Crewe House, an Enquiry Centre (EC), and relocated to Hornbeam House in Crewe. In 2014, following HMRC’s decision to close all ECs, the EC in Crewe was closed.

    In May 2011, Craven House, Macclesfield was closed and the EC relocated to Macclesfield Town Hall. In 2014, following HMRC’s decision to close all ECs, the EC in Macclesfield was closed.

  • Nusrat Ghani – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nusrat Ghani – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36176, what steps his Department is taking to support research to develop a non-invasive diagnostic technique for endometriosis.

    George Freeman

    The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including diagnosis of endometriosis. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

    The Director of the NIHR Diagnostic Evidence Cooperative Oxford, University of Oxford, provided mentorship and methodological expertise to support a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of cancer antigen 125 for endometriosis. This was published in May this year in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

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

    Lord Blunkett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blunkett on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of funding for those units set up to provide assistance to children with visual impairments (1) in multi-academy trusts, (2) in individual schools, or (3) supported directly by local education authorities, on the education provided to those children.

    Lord Nash

    We commissioned the ISOS Partnership to research the use and impact of funding for special educational needs and disability, although they did not consider in detail the impact of funding on the education of children with visual impairments who receive assistance in special units. Their research report was published in July 2015.

    As set out in their school inspection handbook, Ofsted inspectors will consider and report on any differences between the progress and attainment of pupils in resource-based provision (such as specialist units for pupils with visual impairments) and those with similar starting points who are disabled or have special educational needs in the main school. Inspectors also consider the progress of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs in relation to the progress of all pupils nationally with similar starting points, and examine the impact of funded support for them on closing any gaps in progress and attainment.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Dental Contract Reform: Prototypes pilot in (a) improving the quality of dental care and (b) improving access to dental care.

    David Mowat

    The Government is committed to replacing the current National Health Service dental contract with one that better rewards dentists for improving the oral health of their patients in addition to providing treatment where needed.

    The dental pilots which ran from 2011-16 tested a new way of delivering care focussed on prevention. Based on the learning from that scheme, 79 high street practices are continuing to test the prevention based clinical pathway with the addition of testing a possible new remuneration system.

    The prototype scheme evaluation is expected during 2017-18. The evaluation will be overseen by an evidence and learning group, which includes clinical and stakeholder representation. If successful the new system could start to be rolled out nationally from 2018-19.