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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the difference between the academic performance of adopted children and that of their peers in (1) GCSEs, and (2) A-levels, over the last five years.

    Lord Nash

    Estimates of GCSE attainment of former looked after children who have been adopted were published for the first time this year. The statistics were published as experimental statistics because we estimate that they are based on around 30% of all children adopted from care[1]. The estimates show that 22.8% of former looked after children who have been adopted achieved 5 or more A*-C GCSEs or equivalent, including English and mathematics in 2015. This information is published on GOV.UK in the statistical first release “Outcomes for looked after children by local authorities in England: 31 March 2015”[2].

    Nationally, 57.1% of children in state funded schools achieved 5 or more A*-C GCSEs or equivalent, including English and mathematics in 2015. These figures are published on GOV.UK in the statistical first release “Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England, 2014 to 2015”[3].

    Information on attainment at Key Stage 5 for former looked after children who have been adopted is not available.

    [1] These figures were based on children who are identified as adopted (requiring declaration by the parents) in the school census, matched to key stage 4 data

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/outcomes-for-children-looked-after-by-las-31-march-2015

    [3] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015

    “

  • The Lord Bishop of Durham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Durham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Durham on 2016-09-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what diplomatic and financial assistance they are providing to the governments of Rwanda and Burundi to establish confidence-building measures that improve relations between those governments.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK remains deeply concerned about the ongoing political crisis in Burundi. The sharp deterioration in Burundi’s relationships with the region, including Rwanda, is particularly worrying. The recent restrictions imposed by Burundi on cross-border trade will further exacerbate the serious negative economic impact of the crisis on the lives of Rwandans and Burundians.

    The UK is supporting a range of efforts to generate dialogue and ease tension in the region. We have worked with EU and UN Security Council partners to deliver strong and coherent international messaging to the government of Burundi. We have imposed EU sanctions on key individuals responsible for the violence; suspended direct EU aid to the government; and delivered robust strong Security Council Resolutions including July’s UNSCR 2303.

    The former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), visited Rwanda and Burundi in December 2015 and urged all parties to act responsibly to reduce violence. The UK Special Envoy to the Great Lakes, Danae Dholakia, visits the region regularly to reinforce these messages. We have been clear in all our public and private dialogue with Rwanda on the need for neighbours to play a stabilising role in Burundi. The UK is also providing £6.85 million of DFID funding to support Burundian refugees in Rwanda.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether General Sir Nicholas Houghton sought permission under departmental directive 2014DIN03-024 on Contact with the media and communicating in public to discuss the Trident nuclear weapons system in advance of the recent television interview on the Andrew Marr on Sunday programme.

    Michael Fallon

    General Sir Nicholas Houghton sought prior clearance to be interviewed on the Andrew Marr Show on Remembrance Sunday, 8 November 2015: as with previous Remembrance Sunday appearances a number of military issues were covered.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sarah Wollaston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that funding is sufficient to meet patient demand in (a) community mental healthcare and (b) inpatient mental healthcare; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2015/16, Forward View into action: planning for 2015-16, sets out the expectation that clinical commissioning groups’ (CCGs) spending on mental health services in 2015/16 should increase in real terms, and grow by at least as much as each CCG’s allocation increase to support the ambition of parity between mental and physical health. Compliance with the Planning Guidance is being assured at national and Area Team level.

  • Simon Danczuk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Simon Danczuk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Danczuk on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release of 10 January 2016 entitled, Prime Minister pledges to transform sink estates, if he will make an assessment of the value of house prices on those estates planned for removal or regeneration.

    Brandon Lewis

    The new Estate Regeneration Advisory Panel will be starting its work shortly, and will be seeking representations from as many estates as possible. The Panel will evaluate the potential for the regeneration of particular estates over the coming months, and will report by this year’s Autumn Statement. Any estates proposed for regeneration will need to take into account the value of properties and development viability considerations.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when a vaccine will be procured for the human papilloma virus vaccination programme for men who have sex with men.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department and Public Health England are currently undertaking a procurement exercise to secure vaccine to support the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for girls. The procurement will take account of the costs and benefits of all vaccines offered to establish which provides best value for money for the National Health Service.

    In November 2015, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the expert body that advises the Government on all immunisation matters, advised that a targeted HPV vaccination programme should be undertaken for men who have sex with men up to 45 years of age who attend genitourinary medicine and HIV clinics. They noted that this should be subject to procurement of the vaccine and delivery of the programme at a cost-effective price. The JCVI acknowledged that finding a way to implement its advice would be challenging and made clear that work was needed by the Department and others to consider commissioning and delivery routes for this programme. This work is already underway and we will announce our plans as soon as we can.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2016 to Question 27312, what steps she has taken to reduce the proportion of children and young people entering the care system who have not had their Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire score submitted.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education and Department of Health strengthened the statutory guidance Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked after children[1] in March 2015 to include information on how Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs) should be used. The Department wrote to local authorities in 2014 and 2015 to remind them about the purpose and importance of SDQs. Ahead of this year’s data collection (published in September 2016), the Department will also write to Virtual School Heads and Independent Reviewing Officers about the use of SDQs for looked-after children. In addition we are considering how to utilise best practice from local authorities that have had consistently good return rates for SDQ scores in their annual children looked after data returns to the Department.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-the-health-and-wellbeing-of-looked-after-children–2

    “

  • Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure provision of sustainable and long-term funding for (a) children’s hospice sector and (b) other voluntary sector end-of-life care services.

    Ben Gummer

    A review of the allocation methodology of the annual children’s hospice grant is being considered to support an equitable, transparent and evidence based formula making use of data from all children’s hospices in 2016/17. The aim is to provide clear advice to hospices on the grant for 2016/17 and a proposed way forward to review the formula and how hospices can contribute to that process.

    Adult hospices, including voluntary sector hospices, receive on average around a third of their funding from the National Health Service and it is for local commissioners to ensure that the services they commission meet the needs of their local populations, including in end of life care.

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility for ensuring that they are meeting the needs of those requiring children’s palliative care services, considering the full range of local provision, both statutory and voluntary sectors, and the wishes of children and young people and their families. CCGs will need to make sure that they provide information on the support available locally for children with palliative care needs and their families.

    Many maternity units have specialist bereavement midwives and dedicated bereavement suites to support parents but we know that this support is not available in every unit and we are currently considering the actions that we can take to improve bereavement services further. For families of older children and young people chaplaincy services may be able to provide support.

    It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure staff receive appropriate development to deliver safe and effective healthcare. This includes training in providing care to children and young people with life-shortening conditions.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that Ofcom implements the recommendations from its Strategic Review of Digital Communications, published in February 2016, on automatic compensation for mobile and broadband customers for loss of internet connection.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government fully supports Ofcom’s plans to implement a system of automatic compensation for telecommunications customers who suffer a loss or reduction of their broadband services. This is in line with Ofcom’s remit to, amongst other things, protect the interests of end users. The Department anticipates that Ofcom will, in due course, define the specific parameters of the automatic compensation requirements that it will impose, and DCMS will liaise with it during this process.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-06-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on payments for people affected by contaminated blood.

    Jane Ellison

    I have had a number of discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Well-being and we are working together to facilitate the increased payments using the current scheme administrator.

    We both want these payments to be made as quickly as possible to people infected in Scotland, and across the UK.

    Officials in the Department and Scottish Government have been working together to facilitate the increased payments using the current payment scheme.