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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Mark Hoban – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Hoban – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hoban on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Iranian counterpart on that country’s material and financial support for terror organisations.

    Hugh Robertson

    We have serious concerns about Iran’s support for a number of militant groups in the Middle East, including Hizballah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the military wing of Hamas, and Shia militia groups, including in Iraq. This support undermines prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East. We have raised our concerns about such activity during our expanding bilateral engagement with Iran, and will continue to do so.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what savings are planned for neonatal care under the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention Initiative for 2014-15.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    NHS England, as part of its direct commissioning responsibilities for specialised services, has an ongoing programme in place to identify both local and national opportunities to identify potential efficiencies as part of its management and prioritisation of available resources.

    NHS England’s Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs), involving lead clinical, patient and professional representatives, are assisting NHS England in this work, particularly in respect of proposals that might be considered nationwide.

    Specialised neonatal care is one of NHS England’s most significant areas of expenditure and the Neonatal CRG has therefore been involved in identifying potential neonatal specific schemes, which may have the potential to deliver savings whilst maintaining safety and quality. The schemes will be subject to a confirm and challenge process to determine their deliverability, before being worked up into schemes which could be implemented on a national basis.

    It is therefore not possible, at this stage in the programme’s development, to quantify the level of savings that might be generated nationally or the specific savings approach that will be adopted.

    It is unlikely that the national schemes currently being considered will generate savings in 20140-15. The schemes are more likely to be transformational in design and therefore are more likely to deliver savings in the longer term.

  • Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the proportion of new homes planned for construction in 2014-15 that will be (a) wheelchair accessible and (b) built to lifetime homes standards.

    Stephen Williams

    DCLG does not collect information on the number of wheelchair-accessible or lifetime homes standard planned for 2014-15.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he or other Ministers of his Department have visited a foodbank in order to assess the contribution of foodbanks to public health and nutrition.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    No Departmental Ministers have made a visit to a food bank since May 2010 on official Departmental business, but this does not preclude visits in their personal capacities or as constituency MPs.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the newly-elected Ukranian President about the support the UK can offer to stabilise the situation in that country.

    Mr William Hague

    The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) spoke to President Petro Poroshenko on 29 May, when he congratulated him on his election victory and praised the Ukrainian people for their determination to hold elections in such difficult circumstances and choose their own future. I also did so when I met him on 6 June. The Prime Minister praised Mr Poroshenko’s clear messages on democracy, as well as financial and political reform, and offered his continued support in helping him to build a secure and prosperous Ukraine, through an inclusive national dialogue.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the Exchequer was of statutory maternity pay in the last year for which figures are available.

    Steve Webb

    The amount of Statutory Maternity Pay in the last year for which figures are available was £2,303 million for 2012/13 (nominal terms). Figures are subject to change due to more information becoming available through employers’ returns to HM Revenue and Customs.

    The figure is for Great Britain only. Northern Ireland figures are the responsibility of the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland.

    Source:

    Original source is expenditure data from employer returns to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and is the amount recovered by employers rather than the amount received by claimants. This information is shown in DWP’s expenditure tables found on the Gov.uk website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables

    “

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were injured as a result of (a) dog fighting, (b) dog baiting and (c) unprovoked attacks by other dogs in each region of the UK in each of the last five years.

    George Eustice

    The data requested is not collected or held by Defra.

  • Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Teather on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of average household earnings in 2014-15.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Miss Anne McIntosh on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has received on the issuing of passports; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    Numerous representations have been made both about the general passport issuing
    process as well as on behalf of individual applicants. They have been received
    from Members of Parliament and the public. Those with concerns about imminent
    travel plans for individuals will be prioritised. All will receive a reply. On
    12 June my Rt. Hon. Friend the Home Secretary, made a statement in the
    House where she announced the arrangements we are putting in place to
    deal with the current level of demand for passports.

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure a high standard of teaching in numeracy and literacy.

    Elizabeth Truss

    We have published a more rigorous curriculum for English and mathematics. The new national curriculum sets expectations that match those in the highest-performing education jurisdictions in the world, challenging pupils to realise their potential in an increasingly competitive global market. It increases the level of demand from an early age, with greater emphasis on arithmetic, including learning times tables to 12 x 12 by age 9 and removing calculators from key stage 2 tests in mathematics, and on phonics, grammar and vocabulary development in English. GCSEs in English language and mathematics are also being reformed to be more challenging and give stronger guarantees of literacy and numeracy, with the mathematics GCSE in particular covering more than the current GCSE.

    We are confident that our reform to the national curriculum will give teachers greater flexibility and freedom, which will help to raise standards and expectations for all pupils. It has been significantly slimmed down and will free-up teachers to use their professional judgement to provide support that best meets the needs of their pupils.

    We have invested in and reformed initial teacher training (ITT) to focus on attracting the very best graduates with the right qualities for teaching into the profession through making more scholarships available; using bursaries to attract more of the most talented graduates in key subjects such as maths and physics and supporting the expansion of the highly-successful Teach First programme. Teach First is now the largest graduate recruiter in any sector in the United Kingdom.

    In 2013/14, we recruited 96% of the overall number of trainees we set out to recruit and the proportion with first-class or 2:1 degrees has risen 3 percentage points (74%) – a record compared to last year (71%). We have raised the bar for entry into ITT by making skills tests tougher, limiting candidates to two re-sits and making passing the tests in literacy and numeracy a requirement before entering, rather than exiting, ITT.

    Sir Andrew Carter has been appointed to lead an independent review about the effectiveness of ITT. As part of this, the review will look at ITT courses for both primary and secondary teaching to consider how well trainees are equipped to become outstanding teachers.