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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the pupil-teacher ratio was in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in York Unitary Authority area in 2008-09 and in each year since.

    Mr David Laws

    The following table provides the pupil to teacher ratios (PTR) in publicly-funded primary and secondary schools in York local authority, in each January, 2008 to 2010 and November 2010 to 2012, which is the latest information available. 2013 figures will be available in late July 2014.

    Figures for November 2010 and later are not comparable to those in January 2010 and earlier due to the change in the data collection to the School Workforce Census .

    York

    Primary PTR[1]

    Secondary PTR1

    January

    2008

    21.4

    15.7

    2009

    21.6

    15.7

    2010

    21.8

    15.3

    November

    2010[2]

    24.6

    16.0

    2011[3]

    23.7

    15.5

    2012

    22.8

    15.0

    Source: School Workforce Census and School Census

    [1] Up to January 2010 PTRs are calculated by dividing the total full time equivalent (FTE) number of sole registered pupils on roll in schools by the total FTE number of qualified teachers regularly employed in schools. From November 2010 figures are calculated using the FTE number of sole and dual registered pupils on roll.

    [2] In the November 2010 the source of the teacher numbers upon which the PTR is calculated was changed to the School Workforce Census. The completeness of the November 2010 teacher numbers for York local authority is in question as teacher numbers fell compared with the previous January 2010 figure based on the School Census and this is reflected in the higher PTR figures for the year. Subsequent teacher numbers reported by the authority in 2012 have seen the numbers return to previous levels.

    [3] Excludes one secondary school in York which did not provide a return for inclusion in these figures.

    “

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much Government spending there was on public forest estate in each year since 2008-09.

    Dan Rogerson

    Government spending on the public forest estate since 2008-09 has been as follows:

    Financial year

    2008/9

    2009/10

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    £ (million)

    18.7m

    14.3m

    7.9m

    14.6m

    26.1m

    19.9m
  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many admissions there were for alcohol-related illnesses in (a) York, (b) North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust area and (c) England in 2008-09 and in each year since.

    Jane Ellison

    The following tables contain the sum of the estimated alcohol attributable fractions (AAFs) for admissions for patients in (a) York (b) North Yorkshire and York primary care trust (PCT) area and (c) England over for the years 2008-09 to 2012-13.

    It should be noted that these figures are not a count of people and represent an estimated number of admissions that were attributable to alcohol.

    AAFs are based on the proportion of a given diagnosis or injury that is estimated to be attributed to alcohol. Some diagnoses or injuries will, by definition, be wholly attributable to alcohol and have an AAF of one, others will only be partly attributable to alcohol and have an AAF greater than zero, but less than one. Diagnoses or injuries that are not attributable at all to alcohol will have an AAF of zero.

    These figures are derived by summing all AAFs for the relevant admissions and should therefore only be interpreted as an estimate of the number of admissions that can be attributed to alcohol.

    In addition, partially AAFs are not applicable to children aged under 16 years, therefore figures for this age group relate only to wholly – attributable admissions.

    The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care – Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2014 report manually implemented new methodology against the 2012-13 data in their report. However, no change to the underlying Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data has been currently made.

    Sum of partially and wholly alcohol attributable fractions1 for finished admission episodes (FAEs)2 for patients for York Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, North Yorkshire and York PCT of treatment and England for 2008-09 to 2012-133

    York Teaching Hospital NHS Trust

    Sum of wholly alcohol Attributable fractions (FAEs)1

    Sum of partially alcohol Attributable fractions (FAEs)1

    Total

    2008-09

    1,185

    3,775.21

    4,960.21

    2009-10

    1,259

    3,673.31

    4,932.31

    2010-11

    1,268

    4,065.70

    5,333.70

    2011-12

    1,225

    3,952.58

    5,177.58

    2012-13

    2,217

    7,936.95

    10,153.95

    North Yorkshire and York PCT

    Sum of wholly alcohol Attributable fractions (FAEs)1

    Sum of partially alcohol Attributable fractions (FAEs)1

    Total

    2008-09

    2,669

    7,480.90

    10,149.90

    2009-10

    3,029

    9,246.72

    12,275.72

    2010-11

    3,124

    10,340.52

    13,464.52

    2011-12

    3,097

    10,846.87

    13,943.87

    2012-13

    2,930

    11,465.32

    14,395.32

    England

    Sum of wholly alcohol Attributable fractions (FAEs)1

    Sum of partially alcohol Attributable fractions (FAEs)1

    Total

    2008-09

    237,820

    707,649.50

    945,469.50

    2009-10

    265,246

    791,716.34

    1,056,962.34

    2010-11

    287,198

    881,067.56

    1,168,265.56

    2011-12

    304,206

    916,087.40

    1,220,293.40

    2012-13

    294,786

    937,677.63

    1,232,463.63

    Activity in English National Health Service Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.

    Notes:

    1Alcohol –related admissions

    The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO), which uses 48 indicators for alcohol-related illnesses, determining the proportion of a wide range of diseases and injuries that can be partly attributed to alcohol as well as those that are, by definition, wholly attributable to alcohol. Further information on these proportions can be found at:

    www.nwph.net/nwpho/publications/AlcoholAttributableFractions.pdf

    The AAF is set to 1 (100%) where the admission is considered to be entirely due to alcohol, e.g. in the case of alcoholic liver disease – these records are described as wholly alcohol attributable. The AAF is set to a value greater than 0 but less than 1 according to the NWPHO definition, e.g. the alcohol fraction of an admission with a primary diagnosis of C00 – malignant neoplasm of lip, where the patient is male and between 65 and 74 is 0.44 – these records are described as partly alcohol attributable.

    These wholly and partly AAFs can be aggregated to supply an estimate of activity which can be considered wholly or partly attributable to alcohol.

    Partly AAFs are not applicable to children under 16. Therefore figures for this age group relate only to wholly-attributable admissions, where the attributable fraction is one.

    2Finished admissions episodes

    A FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.

    3Assessing growth through time (Admitted patient care)

    HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care.

    Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Decision Notice of 14 May 2013 on the extension of the reserved legal activities, what steps he is taking to educate consumers on (a) the different types of providers, (b) their respective protections and (c) options for redress.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    In the Lord Chancellor’s Decision Notice of 14 May 2013, as well as confirming that he had decided not to make will writing a reserved legal activity, he indicated that further efforts should be made to see if alternatives to regulation could be made more effective in improving standards in relation to will writing.

    Since then, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has taken a number of steps, with the intention of encouraging and supporting measures to improve standards, in both the regulated and unregulated legal service sectors.

    In relation to the regulated sector, the LSB has written to the approved regulators, to encourage them to take steps to address concerns about the quality of will writing by authorised persons. In May 2014, the Solicitors Regulation Authority issued guidance for solicitors on will-writing.

    In relation to the unregulated sector, the LSB convened a roundtable with industry stakeholders, including leading will writing trade bodies, in January 2014, to explore ways to improve the coverage and effectiveness of voluntary schemes and codes. At this roundtable, the LSB and stakeholders also discussed how to improve consumer information, to better educate consumers about the differences between regulated and unregulated will providers, and related protections and redress routes.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is currently pursuing plans for jam jar bank accounts under the universal credit programme; and if he will make a statement.

    Esther McVey

    We are looking at a wide range of support options and considering the best outcomes for Universal Credit claimants which provide value for the taxpayer.

    We are continuing to have discussions with providers of financial products and other stakeholders and we will make an announcement once those discussions have concluded.

  • Lord Stone of Blackheath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Stone of Blackheath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stone of Blackheath on 2014-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 26 June (WA 177), what were the exact amounts of money given by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development to the Arab Partnership Economic Facility in the financial years 2012–13 and 2013–14; and what are the projected amounts for 2014–15 and 2015–16.

    Baroness Northover

    The FCO and DFID support Egypt through the Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), which is funded and managed by DFID, the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), which is co-funded by the FCO and DFID and is managed by the FCO, and the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MoD) Conflict Pool. We estimate that since 2011 approximately £17m has been spent in Egypt through regional programmes funded by the APEF; due to the regional nature of this funding we are not able to further disaggregate the amounts spent. A small amount of APEF funding has been spent by the Embassy on local-level economic projects, as follows: £129,538 in 2012-2013; £784,801 in 2013-14; and £629,000 in 2014-2015. All APEF funds for 2014/15 have now been allocated.

    Through the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), £1.5m was provided in financial year 2012-2013; £1.3m in 2013-14; and £1.3m has been allocated for 2014-15.

    Through the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MOD) Conflict Pool (CP) £264,386 was provided in 2012-13; £458,370 in 2013-2014; and approximately £2m is allocated for 2014/15.

    We are not currently able to provide projected amounts for 2015/16. From 2015/16 onwards, the Conflict Pool will be replaced by the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), which will have a global budget of £1billion. CSSF allocations by country and according to government department will be finalised in early 2015. FCO and DFID funding for the Arab Partnership for 2015/16 has not yet been agreed.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many applicants for the Start-Up Loans Scheme have been received from Northern Ireland; and what value of such loans have been provided for new businesses in Northern Ireland since the scheme was launched.

    Matthew Hancock

    To date there have been 913 applications for Start-Up Loans in Northern Ireland including applications that have been withdrawn, declined or still in progress. Of these applications, 120 loans with a value of £562,110 have been drawn down to date.

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the £72.3 billion allocated in the Defence and Equipment Plan 2013 supporting existing in-service equipment, how much of that allocation is devoted to (a) nuclear propulsion and (b) nuclear weapons.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Of the £72.3 billion referred to in the 2013 Equipment Plan we plan to allocate to the support of in-service equipment over the next decade, £1.6 billion is for nuclear propulsion and £13.0 billion for maintaining the Trident Strategic Weapons System, including costs associated with the nuclear warhead.

  • Austin Mitchell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Austin Mitchell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Austin Mitchell on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have been prosecuted for setting intertidal nets in England in each of the last three years.

    George Eustice

    Prosecutions for setting intertidal nets in England are undertaken, for the most part, by the Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authorities (IFCAs). The ten IFCAs manage sea fisheries resources to six nautical miles around the English coast.

    · In 2011, North Eastern IFCA made one prosecution relating to intertidal nets and Cornwall IFCA had one case where a prosecution was commenced alongside another, potentially more serious, non-fisheries offence.

    · In 2012 there were no prosecutions.

    · In 2013, North Eastern IFCA made two prosecutions.

    · To date in 2014, there are two cases under investigation by Cornwall IFCA,

    one case under investigation by North Eastern IFCA, and three pending cases with Southern IFCA. These cases will not necessarily result in a prosecution in a court.

    In all of these years there will be cases where warnings or cautions were issued or seizures were made instead of formal prosecutions.

    Environment Agency records indicate that 12 people have been prosecuted in the past three years for setting an intertidal net which targeted or caught salmon or sea trout for which they did not have an Environment Agency licence to do so in England.

    The River Tweed Commission (RTC) has its own legislation to control netting both in England and in Scotland which is included in The Scotland Act 1998 (River Tweed) Order 2006. In England, the RTC took seven prosecutions relating to intertidal nets in 2011, five prosecutions in 2012, and five prosecutions in 2013.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will include prostate cancer in the next Be Clear on Cancer awareness campaign; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Be Clear on Cancercampaigns are tested at a local and regional level, before a decision is taken on whether to run them nationally throughout England.

    Public Health England is actively considering potential local pilot activity specifically targeting prostate cancer within Black African-Caribbean men, due to their significantly increased risk of developing prostate cancer.