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Tag: Parliamentary Question

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

    Lord Crisp – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the need for increased funding for the infrastructure costs associated with mental health research.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Mental health research is vital for better prevention of mental illness, development and evaluation of effective treatments, and to inform organisation and delivery of high quality care. Research funders are working together in this field to identify priorities and co-ordinate activity. In November 2015, the Department and Royal College of Psychiatrists held a joint meeting to identify key questions for mental health research. Following this meeting, funding organisations met on 6 January to discuss the strategic co-ordination of mental health research.

    In 2014/15, the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) spent £27.7 million on mental health through its research programmes – expenditure higher than in any other disease area including cancer (£19.8 million). In all, the NIHR spent a total of £72.6 million on mental health research in that year, including research infrastructure and fellowships.

    Total NIHR investment in mental health research infrastructure (including that provided through NIHR biomedical research centres and the NIHR Clinical Research Network) has nearly doubled from £23.8 million in 2009/10 to £41.8 million in 2014/15.

    The NIHR has launched a new, open competition for biomedical research centre funding from April 2017 to March 2022. In this competition, a number of clinical areas of particular strategic importance to the health of patients are highlighted including mental health.

    The NIHR Clinical Research Network supports delivery in the National Health Service of studies funded by the NIHR itself and by eligible partners including the United Kingdom Research Councils and medical research charities. To date in 2015/16, the network has recruited 23,778 participants in 273 studies where mental health is recorded as the main specialty. The network will continue to monitor the study pipeline for mental health.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure consistency of GCSE grades across the UK after changes to the grading system.

    Nick Gibb

    This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of expanding the Marine Conservation Zone from Bideford to Foreland Point to include the Greencliff site.

    George Eustice

    This extension was proposed in a response to the consultation on the designation of this Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ). Boundary issues were examined where new relevant information or data were presented which had not previously been considered. Natural England analysed evidence submitted with the extension proposal and advised that it would increase the area of intertidal rock and seabed sediment habitats protected, but these were already protected elsewhere within the MCZ, and in the wider network. Any proposed changes to the boundary cannot be made without further consultation with other stakeholders who may be affected by the change.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Office of Rail and Road on improving those practices of train operating companies which relate to compensation for delays.

    Claire Perry

    The Office of Rail and Road (ORR)’s response to the Which? super complaint into passenger compensation, published in March this year, included consideration of the regulatory landscape and other government interventions. As a result of this investigation, the ORR plans to publish a revised regulatory statement in June this year to clarify the requirements on train companies to provide good information about compensation in the event of delays, to support future enforcement of the “Information for Passengers” license condition.

    My Department is working closely with the ORR and the Association of Train Operating Companies to bring about improvements to passenger compensation. The Department for Transport will respond to the ORR’s report into the Which? super complaint in the summer of 2016.

  • Baroness Greengross – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Greengross – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Greengross on 2016-05-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 26 April (HL7576), why the current section 7a public health functions agreement does not include performance indicators for the provision of pneumococcal vaccination to severely immunocompromised children aged at least five years and adults, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in July 2013.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The performance indicators included in the 2016-17 S7A public health functions agreement do not reflect every activity which is carried out under the agreement.

    As I stated in my answer of 26 April, the provision of pneumococcal vaccination to severely immunocompromised children aged at least five years and adults, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in July 2013, is reflected in the relevant service specification for the existing pneumococcal immunisation programme and within the document Immunisation against Infectious Diseases (‘the Green Book’). The Green Book is published on the GOV.UK website in an online only format.

    A copy of the service specification on the pneumococcal immunisation programme is attached.

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will take steps to ensure that her Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.

    Amber Rudd

    The Department’s purchasing policies support the Government’s commitment to do all it can to ensure UK suppliers can compete effectively for public sector contracts, in line with our current international obligations and guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with with Guy Verhofstadt on the UK’s exit from the EU.

    Mr David Jones

    The Prime Minister has been clear we will not give a running commentary on Brexit negotiations. We will ensure that we engage closely with all relevant interlocutors.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make representations requesting reforms of the management and administration of the World Food Programme to improve its effectiveness and efficiency.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID continually works to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the World Food Programme (WFP). As an active donor and Executive Board member, DFID champions value for money and pursues increased efficiency and effectiveness in all areas including organisational reform, financial procedures and programme activities. DFID is also currently assessing WFP in its Multilateral Aid Review (MAR) 2015 and will use the MAR findings to take forward continued reform with WFP.

    Examples where DFID has pursued reform of management and administration of the WFP include the six-monthly Commercial Expertise Reviews which DFID conducts to assess procurement functions and make recommendations for increased efficiency. Another example is DFID support to the expanded forward purchasing facilities proposed by WFP which is leading to large cost savings.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to increase the study of Japanese in schools.

    Nick Gibb

    The government supports the efforts of the Japan Foundation to help schools teaching Japanese. Since September 2014, maintained primary schools in England must teach a modern or ancient foreign language to pupils at key stage 2 (ages 7 to 11). Schools can choose which language or languages to teach and should enable pupils to make substantial progress in one language by the end of primary school.

    The government took action in 2010 to halt the decline in the number of school children taking language GCSEs by including it within the English Baccalaureate. This has had a positive effect on the take up of languages in schools. The proportion of the cohort in state funded schools entered for a modern foreign language has risen from 40 per cent in 2010 to 49 per cent in 2015. The government’s goal is that, in time, at least 90 per cent of pupils enter GCSEs in the EBacc subjects of English, maths, science, humanities and languages.

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

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of gross domestic product was spent on (1) the NHS and public health, (2) publicly financed adult social care, and (3) both of those, in (a) 1996–97, (b) 2000–01, (c) 2009–10, and (d) for each year thereafter up to and including 2014–15.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Spend as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is usually reported on a United Kingdom basis.

    The Department is responsible for reporting on health spend in England and is not in a position to provide equivalent spend figures for health and adult social care by the devolved administrations.

    HM Treasury publish UK health spend figures as a percentage of GDP which are shown in table below.

    Spend on health in UK as % of GDP

    Year

    UK Public Spending on health as a % of GDP

    1996/97

    5.0%

    2000/01

    5.2%

    2009/10

    7.8%

    2010/11

    7.6%

    2011/12

    7.4%

    2012/13

    7.5%

    2013/14

    7.5%

    2014/15

    7.4%

    Source: Table 4.4 HMT, Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2015.

    Numbers shown do not include total spend on adult social care