The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2014-06-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of 2014DIN04-053 Declaration of obsolete-medical, central and veterinary equipments.
Mr Philip Dunne
A copy of Defence Instruction Notice 2014 DIN 04-053 regarding the declaration of obsolete-medical, dental and veterinary equipments will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2014-06-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the changes in the eligibility of legal aid on the number of litigants in person and the consequential impact on the administration of justice.
Lord Faulks
We are closely monitoring the impact of the legal aid changes. The number of family cases showing self representing parties are published in Courts Statistics Quarterly (www.gov.uk/government/collections/court-statistics-quarterly). We are working towards publishing data on self representation in civil cases more widely and will include this in future publications.
Litigants in person are not a new phenomenon in our courts. Judges are used to helping persons with no legal representation, including explaining procedures and what is expected of them. We have taken steps to help people who either want or have to represent themselves in court, including publishing a revised guide for separating parents and increased training for judges. The link to the guide is:
http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetLeaflet.do?court_leaflets_id=2756
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by and (4) academies.” on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 14 May (WA 532), of the just under a third of teachers who did not have the confidence…to discipline pupils for unacceptable behaviour”
Lord Nash
29 per cent of secondary school teachers did not feel confident using disciplinary powers, compared to 17 per cent of primary school teachers. The Department for Education does not hold separate data for local authority schools and academies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2014-06-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs that senior Lord’s Resistance Army commanders are gathered in the north-east of the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Baroness Warsi
We have not been able to assess the veracity of reports that senior members of the Lord’s Resistance Army are gathered in the north-east of the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, we are aware of reports that local authorities in south-eastern CAR have been in contact with a contingent of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) who have expressed an interest in surrendering.
The British Government condemns in the strongest possible terms the atrocities carried out by the LRA. Although much reduced in numbers, the LRA remains an unprincipled, violent threat to civilians in the heart of Africa. The UK has consistently promoted a co-ordinated regional and international approach to defeating the LRA. We continue to encourage the UN and African Union to implement their counter-LRA strategies in full and bring Kony to justice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Trefgarne on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the present arrangements for the protection of patients’ private medical information by general practitioners.
Earl Howe
General practitioner (GP) practices are individually responsible for ensuring that they comply with legal and ethical requirements and central guidance in relation to data protection and patient confidentiality. A majority of GP practices in England provide assurance that they do so by completing annual assessments of their compliance against information governance requirements through the National Health Service Information Governance Toolkit, and the results of these assessments are publicly available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve support for children and adults with dyspraxia, a form of developmental co-ordination disorder.
Earl Howe
It is for local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to assess the needs of the local populations they serve. CCGs work with their local providers to gain an understanding of the nature of local provision, and the part it should play in their future commissioning plans.
The Children and Families Act has introduced new arrangements for supporting young people with a special educational need and disability, including dyspraxia, and their families. A single assessment involving professionals and commissioners, and the child’s family, will identify the care needs for the child or young person (from ages 0 to 25) to inform an individual Education, Health and Care Plan focusing on outcomes and the integrated services to deliver them.
The Government is committed to ensuring all children and young people should be supported to achieve their best, regardless of their disability or circumstances. The new special educational needs and disability (SEND) Code of Practice due to come into force in September, sets out clear guidance for educational settings on the process for appropriate identifying, assessing and securing further support for children with SEND which can include those with dyspraxia. Through the Code we are ensuring all educational settings have arrangements in place for monitoring the progress of all pupils and responding quickly to their needs.
Chapter 6 of the draft Code of Practice makes specific reference to dyspraxia amongst examples of conditions that educational settings should be aware of when planning SEND provisions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of cost is normally allowed for computers and software in one individual allocation of the Disabled Students’ Allowance.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Computers and software are drawn from the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) specialist equipment allowance where a student has been assessed to receive these items. Other items that can be drawn from this allowance include certain items of specialist ergonomic equipment. For the 2013/14 academic year, the maximum amount available to a student from this allowance for the whole course is £5,212 for full time and part time students. There is one single DSA allowance of £10,362 for postgraduate students, from which computers and software can be drawn.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 14 May (WA 511), and in the light of the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 8 April (WA 267) stating that they do not support eugenic practices in the United Kingdom, why they have no definitions of what these practices might be.
Earl Howe
The Government does not support eugenic practices. It is not considered helpful to interpret the term ‘eugenic practices’ other than by reference to its ordinarily understood meaning. Any attempt at a working definition would risk the unintentional exclusion of practices whose unacceptability is no less great than that of practices captured by such a definition.
As previously stated, in the United Kingdom, the complex nature of devolved responsibilities in this range of policy areas has delayed consideration of full ratification. In the meantime, the UK continues to take an active role in Council of Europe negotiations and development of relevant protocols.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether his Department makes funding available for onshore windfarm operators to place cables underground between the windfarm and the connecting sub-station.
Michael Fallon
The Department does not make specific funding available to generators for placing their cables underground. However, network infrastructure costs have been factored into Government decisions on levels of support for onshore windfarms such as the Renewables Obligation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will publish a list of all consultancy groups and sub-contractors used by her Department on the Bost Agri-Business and Airfield projects in Afghanistan.
Justine Greening
The Bost industrial business park proposal was originally approved by officials in 2009 at a time when Ministers did not approve spend under £40m. In 2012 it became clear that the project could no longer be completed within the original timeframe and in good order. To avoid wasting taxpayers’ money I decided that UK funding for the project should be cancelled. The completed park designs have been handed over to the Afghan authorities to enable them to pursue the project over a revised time frame. DFID’s work on Bost Airfield was completed in November 2013.
The following consultancy groups were paid directly by DFID on the Bost Airfield and Business Park programme:
Coffey International
Crown Agents
Mott Macdonald