The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their most recent estimate of the in-service date for the F-35B aircraft.
Earl Howe
UK F-35B Lightning II Initial Operating Capability remains on schedule for 2018.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Huddleston on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the evidential basis is for clearing the 700 MHz band of spectrum requiring £600 million in funding; and what discussions his Department had with representatives of the programme making and special events sector prior to agreeing that figure.
Mr Edward Vaizey
In March 2015, Government announced funding of up to £600m to fund the clearance of the 700MHz band and, as part of the programme, we are committed to safeguarding the ongoing benefits of PMSE to the UK economy. Ofcom have published a consultation outlining alternative spectrum bands for PMSE users, and we are currently working with Ofcom to look at how PMSE users can be supported if they need to buy new equipment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Department of Health to encourage more people to walk.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Since 2013 the Department has worked with the Department of Health (DH) to deliver projects to increase walking levels in Norwich, Birmingham, Cambridge, Greater Manchester and Leeds/Bradford through DH funded Walking Cities programme. These projects have now started to achieve a cultural and strategic shift towards more walkable cities which complements the Department’s investment in measures to increase cycling levels through the Cycle Ambition Cities programme.
A report and evaluation summary of the interventions in Birmingham, Leeds/Bradford and Norwich reveals that 49% were more likely to choose walking and 47% felt fit and healthy as a result of being involved in the programme. The five Cities in receipt of Walking City funding have highlighted the need for capital funding to deliver infrastructure improvements to make walking safer and easier to support increased walking levels.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times explosive ordinance officers were deployed to deal with incidents in Northern Ireland between 1 July 2015 and 1 January 2016.
Penny Mordaunt
The Explosive Ordnance Device teams in Northern Ireland continue to respond with great professionalism to requests for assistance. We will continue to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland in the most operationally effective way.
Incidents requiring explosive ordnance disposal experts in Northern Ireland are dealt with solely by military personnel.
The information requested on the number of occasions Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel have responded to incidents in Northern Ireland is published annually in the Report of the Independent Reviewer of the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007. A copy of the report covering up to 31 July 2015 is available in the Library of the House and can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/499691/Independent_Reviewer_of_the_Justice_and_Security__Northern_Ireland__Act_2007__8th_report.pdf
Between August 2015 and December 2015, Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel responded on a further 111 occasions to incidents in Northern Ireland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by MiDavies on 2016-05-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Sport England’s (a) implementation of the strategy to tackle inactivity and (b) use of funding for that purpose.
David Evennett
Government is determined to tackle physical inactivity. Around one in two women and a third of men in England are damaging their health through a lack of physical activity.
In December 2015, Government published ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation", which set out a new vision for a successful and active sporting nation, with a strong focus on reaching inactive people and helping them to get moving in ways that suit them.
Sport England’s new strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’, published on 19 May, is consistent with, and takes forward, the Government’s vision and relevant recommendations from Sporting Future, including those on inactivity. It sets out the organisation’s plans for tackling inactivity, including by tripling its current investment to over £250m over 4 years, making it the largest single national investor in tackling inactivity. As part of that it will create a new, dedicated fund of £120 million to tackle inactivity over the next four years, building on the insight gained from pilots of their Get Healthy Get Active fund.
Government will report annually on progress in implementing ‘Sporting Future’.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2016 to Question 41323, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of teachers leaving state-funded schools between 2011 and 2015; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
The proportion of teachers leaving the profession has remained at around 10% a year since 1996. However, there are more qualified teachers than ever before with 440,000 in 2011 compared to 456,900 in 2015.
We recognise that it is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers – that is why we have made policy interventions in the areas that teachers tell us matter most such as improving pupil behaviour and reducing unnecessary workload.
We asked Tom Bennett, a behaviour expert, to chair an expert group to develop core content on behaviour management for the framework of content for initial teacher training, and the group’s recommendations were published last week.
We set up three independent review groups to address unnecessary workload in the key areas of marking, planning and data management. The groups reported early this year, and set out clear principles about what should happen in schools to reduce unnecessary workload in these areas. The Government has accepted all the relevant recommendations made by the groups, and we will continue to work with the teaching profession to make sure they have the ongoing support they need to continue reducing unnecessary teacher workload.
We have recently conducted the first biennial Teacher Workload Survey, which will allow us to track teacher workload over the coming years. The results of the first survey will be published later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to implement annual uprating to ensure that funding matches demand for supported housing.
Caroline Nokes
The Secretary of State confirmed in his written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 15th September that the Government will shortly be publishing a consultation document on supported housing.
The Government values the important role that supported accommodation plays in helping vulnerable people to live as independently as possible. This announcement demonstrates the commitment of this Government to safeguarding vulnerable groups, and encouraging further development to meet future demand.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants in 2014-15 were not British citizens.
Priti Patel
The information as requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether basic farm payment applications on paper for 2016 will continue to be accepted.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
For 2016 we will look to offer an online Basic Payment Scheme application process with online transfers of entitlements and land. There will be a paper application for those that need it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the awarding of the second phase of the National PET-CT contract for England will be delayed pending publication of the investigationcommissioned by NHS England into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership to deliver urgent care for the over-65s and adult community services.
Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England advises that there is no direct relationship or clinical interdependency between positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT) and urgent care services, and therefore the investigation of the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership has no influence on the PET-CT procurement timescales.