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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support best practice from successful academy chains being passed on to other academy chains.

    Edward Timpson

    We are building a school-led system which is focused on building on the expertise and knowledge of our best school leaders and most successful Multi Academy Trusts. There is a range of routes through which academy chains can and do learn from each other.

    The Department has a number of system leadership routes, including Teaching Schools and their alliances, and National Leaders of Education, which enable school leaders and our most successful schools to be at the forefront of sharing best practice.

    Around half of nearly 700 teaching schools are academies. A similar proportion of over 1000 National Leaders in Education are also drawn from academies.

    Regional Schools Commissioners also facilitate sharing of best practice, including through regional events, informal networking opportunities and targeted development activity.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether an export customer is being sought for the retired Warthog vehicle.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Warthog vehicle entered service in 2010 as an urgent operational requirement for use in Afghanistan. Since the end of operations in Afghanistan a range of armoured vehicles purchased specifically for operations in that theatre have been brought into the MOD’s core inventory; the Warthog vehicle was not one of these. The options for disposing of the Warthog are now being considered, including the possiblity of an export route, but no decisions have been taken at this time.

    5 and 32 Regiments Royal Artillery will receive the Bulldog armoured vehicle as a replacement for Warthog. 47 Regiment Royal Artillery will continue to use the Coyote armoured vehicle.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she is taking to ensure that farmers receive fair pricing for their dairy produce.

    George Eustice

    The £26.2 million aid package we secured from the European Commission has helped to provide some immediate relief. A number of supermarkets have also pledged to pay a premium over and above the current market price.

    Longer term, we are working to develop futures markets in the dairy sector to help farmers manage risk.

    At the most recent council meeting in the EU, the UK supported a package of new measures to try to help the dairy sector recover.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have spent on infraction proceedings in each of the last 10 years.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I refer the hon Member to the answer given by my Rt hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General today to UIN 36288.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the importance of the Corsellis Brain Collection for promoting research into brain diseases for the treatment of patients in the NHS.

    George Freeman

    The Department has not made any specific assessment of the importance of the collection for promoting research into brain diseases.

    The excess costs of maintaining the collection compared with the income from specimen preparation over a number of years have rendered the collection unsustainable as a research resource. Every effort is being made to ensure as much of the collection as possible is available to researchers and the West London Mental Health Trust has been working with BRAIN UK (an initiative funded by the Medical Research Council which co-ordinates the distribution of tissue across the country) to support this.

    As part of this strategy the Trust has therefore decided to publicise the decision to close the collection and invite requests from appropriate academic departments for tissue relevant to their research and teaching programmes, and to respectfully dispose of those tissue samples for which no scientific purpose can be envisaged. Some 7,500 out of 8,500 specimens have identified destinations as a result of this process, to departments across the United K and in the Netherlands, in Canada and in Hong Kong. The Trust has obtained the appropriate Human Tissue Authority licenses for this work. We understand that the collection will close by the end of June 2016.

    The UK Brain Bank Network, which is funded by Government through the Medical Research Council, has established a national network of UK brain tissue resources (banks) for researchers to access. The Network currently involves 10 brain banks across the UK which now hold over 14,000 well characterised brains.

  • Lyn Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lyn Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure that the human rights of Turkish people imprisoned as a result of the failed coup in July 2016 are respected; and what reports he has received on the alleged abuse of those prisoners by the Turkish authorities.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Government condemns unreservedly this failed coup. In the aftermath of the coup attempt we have emphasised the need for Turkey to respect human rights, including press freedom, and the rule of law. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also raised concerns about reports of ill-treatment in detention. The Turkish Government’s response to the coup attempt should be lawful and proportionate, and undertaken in line with Turkey’s international obligations.

  • Mrs Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mrs Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what services are being provided to HS2 Ltd by the Maclean Partnership; and what the cost of those services has been to date.

    Andrew Jones

    McLean Partnership have provided two forms of service to date; executive search at a cost of £588,750, and provision of administrative and payroll services for interim staff at a cost of £286,306.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Pet Animals Act 1951 to reflect the increasing number of animals sold over the internet.

    George Eustice

    Defra is reviewing the Pet Animals Act 1951, which already covers sales of pet animals over the internet, as part of a wider review of some of the animal related licensing schemes. We are aiming to consult on a set of proposals shortly.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to monitor the number of trans prisoners; and what definition his Department uses of a trans person.

    Caroline Dinenage

    As the Minister for Prisons, Andrew Selous MP, committed to the House on 20 November 2015, NOMS is currently looking at ways to facilitate the collection and recording of information relating to transgender status as part of our wider review of care and management of transgender offenders. This is within the restrictions of the GRA which means if someone has a GRC they don’t have to disclose former gender. The Equality Act 2010 clearly sets out the definition.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the objectives for NHS England’s National Clinical Directors post April 2016 will be agreed.

    George Freeman

    From 1 April 2016, objectives for the National Clinical Directors will be set according to the priority areas and major programmes, as set out in the Mandate and planning guidance. They will relate, where appropriate, to established programmes of service improvement.