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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has discussed the planned move to a numeric grading system for GCSEs in England with her Northern Ireland counterpart.

    Nick Gibb

    The Secretary of State has not had any meetings with Northern Ireland’s Minister for Education to discuss the grading system for GCSEs in England. Her predecessor discussed reforms to GCSEs in England with John O’Dowd (Minister for Education, Northern Ireland) and Leighton Andrews (Minister for Education and Skills, Wales) in May 2013.

    Department for Education officials have regular meetings with officials from the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as the regulators Ofqual and Qualifications Wales, to discuss the qualification reforms taking place in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to implement all of Sustainable Development Goal 5 to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; and what steps she is taking to meet target 5.2 to eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK worked hard to secure a comprehensive standalone goal on gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment in the Global Goals, and to integrate gender equality throughout the remaining goals. The new Global Goals will help us to influence others, achieve even more, and are critical to achieving transformational change to the lives of girls and women across the globe. The UK has put women and girls at the heart of our international development and humanitarian work. The UK is committed to helping 6.5 million more girls to go to school over the next 5 years. This programme of work will include tackling the difficult issues that keep girls out of school like FGM and child marriage.

    The UK led efforts across the globe to ensure that a target to end violence against women and girls (VAWG) formed part of the Global Goals. We are now focused on seeing this target implemented. This includes stepping up DFID action to build the evidence base for what works to prevent violence, which will help to convince others that effective action is possible. It also means DFID working with international partners to ensure financial and technical resources are mobilised to tackle VAWG, and working with national and local partners in developing countries to transform social norms to tackle the discriminatory attitudes and behaviours that are the root causes of VAWG.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill on reducing the length of time it takes to bring a new drug to market.

    George Freeman

    The purpose of the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill is to promote access to innovative medical treatments. It is not specifically designed to reduce the length of time it takes to bring a new drug to market. To which end work is being done in parallel, notably through the Accelerated Access Review, which explores options to speed up access to innovative drugs, devices and diagnostics for National Health Service patients. Sir Hugh Taylor, the independent chair of the review will make his recommendations in the spring.

  • Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote seafood as a healthy British food.

    George Eustice

    Such matters fall primarily to the Non-Departmental Public Body Seafish, which is funded by an industry levy. Seafish has developed ‘Fish is the Dish’, an online campaign which encourages UK consumers to eat more seafood for a healthier diet. The campaign’s digital channels target consumers with health messaging about the nutritional benefits of seafood, including zinc, selenium, iron, omega-3 and vitamin D. The campaign highlights how more seafood can easily be incorporated into the diet.

    Seafish’s ‘#superfishoil’ campaign champions seafood as the best source of omega-3, using innovative and creative communications to raise awareness of seafood’s unique nutritional benefits. This work is supported by Heart Research UK, as well as the wider seafood industry, which has access to a marketing toolkit to help promote the health benefits of eating seafood.

    Health also plays an important part in the annual ‘Seafood Week’ campaign, which generates extensive cross-supply chain support. A new Seafish project looking at the nutritional make-up of fish and chips will help further inform healthy eating choices.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on academy conversions.

    Edward Timpson

    There have been 4897 academy conversions during the current and preceding five financial years. During the same period, the department has spent £323 million to support schools to become academies.

    Further details are in the table below:

    Financial Year

    Academy Conversions

    Costs

    2015-16 (April 15 – January 16)

    530

    £17m

    2014-15

    899

    £48m

    2013-14

    964

    £59m

    2012-13

    1079

    £65m

    2011-12

    1165

    £67m

    2010-11

    260

    £67m

    Total

    4897

    £323m
  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the future effect of the introduction of the national living wage on sleep-in payments used by the learning disability sector.

    Alistair Burt

    We have not made a specific assessment of the effect of the introduction of the National Living Wage on sleep-in payments used by the learning disability sector.

    However, as part of the recent Spending Review, the Department considered adult social care expenditure and the future demand for services, and engaged closely with providers within the sector. This included the impact of the new National Living Wage on local authority finances as part of an overall assessment of spending pressures.

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 May (HL8079), and in the light of the judgment In re. Z(A Child) (No.2) [2016] EWHC 1191(Fam), whether they now intend to review the legislation relating to surrogacy.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Surrogacy is a complex issue, the legislation about which has not been significantly addressed by respective administrations since the Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985. The Government recognises the arguments for the need for a review, and we have therefore asked the Law Commission, as part of the consultation on its 13th work programme this summer, to consider including a project on surrogacy

    The Government has accepted the judgment by Sir James Munby from the High Court. We will be looking to update the legislation on Parental Orders, and are now considering how best to do this.

    The Government recognises surrogacy as an important option for some people wishing to start a family and is currently considering how best to clarify the current legal arrangements for intended parents, surrogates and their families. The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service campaign to increase awareness of Parental Orders is ongoing and targeted at health workers, local authority registration staff and surrogacy agencies. It will be evaluated in full upon completion in autumn 2016; in-campaign monitoring indicates its messaging is reaching the target audience.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 18 July 2016, HC Deb, Official Report, column 538, whether it is the Government’s policy not to impose a devolution deal that includes an elected mayor on any area that does not want an elected mayor.

    Andrew Percy

    The Government’s policy is that if an area is to have an elected mayor, it will be because that area, through its democratically elected representatives, has chosen to have one.

  • Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what proportion of child contact cases presided over by the family judiciary in each year since 2010, where there was an allegation of domestic abuse, either party were litigants in person.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    This information is not held centrally.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what aid her Department is providing to Indonesia to assist with tackling forest fires.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK is providing technical support through a number of channels. For example, the UK Climate Change Unit in Indonesia has funded the World Resource Institute’s Global Forest and Fire Watch which provides free real-time information on fire spots, linking these data to land licensing and land type. In addition, the UK’s Forest Land-Use and Governance (FLAG) programme in Indonesia is funding longer-term fire prevention work through civil society, private sector and government, focusing on transparency, accountability and spatial planning to resolve the land governance issues that lead to fires.