The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost to the public purse has been to date of the National College for High Speed Rail.
Andrew Jones
The Government has committed £52 million of capital cost up until the College opening. To date £12.3 million has been spent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which rebel groups in Syria are recognised and supported by the UK.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We support several moderate opposition groups in Syria who we would want to see involved in a political process. We define these groups in terms of ideology and tactics: moderates are liberal, secular or Islamist in their political outlook, call for a wider pluralistic system that respects the rights of all Syrians and reject terrorism and terrorist tactics, for example by seeking to protect civilians from harm and to prevent abuses. Several moderate opposition groups refer to themselves as being part of the Free Syrian Army. The UK does not support designated terrorist organisations in Syria or groups who use terrorist tactics, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Jabhat al Nusra, which are designated terrorist organisations under the UN al Qaeda sanctions regime.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information she holds on the number of countries calling for a commitment to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees; what the Government’s policy is on limiting the long-term global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees; and if she will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
A number of countries are calling for a commitment to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees, most notably through a new group called the Climate Vulnerables Forum. The Government supports the ‘below 2 degrees’ objective, and recognises the need to keep the temperature rise as low as possible below 2C, including the possibility of staying below 1.5 degrees. We are pushing for the highest possible mitigation ambition in the new agreement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will bring forward proposals to require all owners and managers of care homes to give a copy of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 to care workers on appointment.
Ben Gummer
There are no plans to require care homes owners and managers to give a copy of Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 to all new employees.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. It monitors, inspects and regulates services against fundamental standards of quality and safety below which care should never fall.
One of the fundamental standards covers good governance and requires that a provider seeks and acts on feedback from relevant persons, including staff, for the purpose of continually evaluating and improving such services. A further fundamental standard requires that employees receive appropriate support, training and professional development.
One of the areas the CQC inspections consider is how the service demonstrates good management and leadership. The CQC Key Lines of Enquiry state that a provider should have policies in place to investigate whistleblowing concerns and that any investigations are thorough, questioning and objective. The service should also record and learn from these investigations so such incidents are less likely to happen again.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Public Sector Transparency Board last met.
Matthew Hancock
The Public Sector Transparency Board has been replaced with the Data Steering Group.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government plans to take to celebrate HM the Queen’s 90th birthday.
John Penrose
Representatives of the Government will be attending a number of events to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday including a National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral and The Queen’s Birthday Parade on Horseguards Parade.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what provisions his Department has put in place to improve rolling stock as part of the rail franchise package for the North West.
Andrew Jones
The new Northern and TransPennine Express franchises commenced on the 1st April. By the end of 2019, they will have introduced significant improvements in Rolling Stock.
The Northern franchise will deliver:-
This means that 30% of this expanded fleet will be new and will operate 2000 more services per week –a 12% increase. The additional trains will provide a 37% increase in morning peak capacity into the North’s 5 major cities by December 2019.
The TransPennine franchise will deliver:-
This means that 70% of fleet is new, the fleet size increases by two-thirds, provides 13million more seats, an 80% increase in morning peak seats by the end of 2019.
These delivery plans as bid by the two operators during the Invitation to Tender process have been contracted within the franchise agreements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Brady on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information her Department holds on the viability of molten salt reactors to generate electricity.
Andrea Leadsom
In 2012, DECC published an ‘Assessment of advanced reactor systems against UK performance metrics’, which it had commissioned from the National Nuclear Laboratory. This analysis covered molten salt reactors.
These can be found online at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kramer on 2016-06-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the value of (1) imports, and (2) exports, from other EU member states to each local authority area in the UK.
Lord Price
Regional trade statistics at the local authority level are not available.
Trade statistics showing the value of trade in goods between UK regions/countries (NUTS 1 level) and EU member states are available from the HM Revenue and Customs’ Regional Trade Statistics database.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for patients who have certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, mental health problems or other illnesses, to go into schools to talk to children about those conditions, to give them a better understanding of the nature of those illnesses.
Lord Nash
The national curriculum sets the expectation that pupils study personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education in maintained schools and academies are encouraged to teach it as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.
Schools and teachers should decide what to teach based on their pupils’ needs, and taking account of pupil and parent views, when planning health education as part of PSHE.
We believe that schools are best placed to decide whether they draw on the support of patients or resources using patients’ perspectives when delivering PSHE.