The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-02-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the annual change in local authority rental income as a result of the introduction of fixed-term tenancies.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
We do not expect the introduction of fixed-term tenancies will have a material impact on local authority rental income.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-29.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully applied for non-domicile tax status in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.
Mr David Gauke
The information is not held in the format requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to provide additional support for educational studies to young carers.
Edward Timpson
Schools play an important part in identifying pupils who are young carers and in offering them appropriate support. That is why my Department works with Carers Trust and The Children’s Society to share tools, good practice and increase awareness in schools of young carers’ issues. Ofsted inspectors will also pay particular attention to the outcomes achieved by young carers in schools.
We have changed the law so that, since April 2015, all young carers are entitled to an assessment of their needs for support, regardless of who they care for, what type of care they provide or how much time they spend caring.
The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund enables students from disadvantaged backgrounds to participate in further education by helping them to overcome any financial barriers they face. With the help of Carers Trust, we have recently improved our guidance to the schools, colleges and training providers that administer the bursary on how they can better identify and support eligible young carers. We also have strong links with the National Association of Managers of Student Services, a network of college staff who have direct responsibility for providing appropriate support for students. We have provided Carers Trust with access to this network so they can agree in partnership how they can better raise awareness of young carers’ circumstances and support requirements.
Around 60%, of young carers are thought to be eligible for free school meals, and those who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years will be attracting pupil premium funding to the schools that they attend.
Additionally, all young people who have not achieved their full potential at age 16 in terms of achieving a grade C in English and maths GCSE at the age of 16 attract extra funding to provide the educational support they need to achieve and progress. Any young carer who finds themselves in this situation will be able to access additional educational support from their school or college.
We also funded Suffolk Family Carers over £111,000 in 2015-16 to run a local project to raise awareness of young carers amongst teachers, non-teaching staff and school nurses, including a focus on young carers’ mental health, supporting Suffolk County Council’s strategy on young carers. We are now evaluating that project.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what programmes are in place to increase the numbers of children cycling to school.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government would like to see an increase in the number of children cycling to school. We believe that cycle safety training can give children the skills and confidence they need to cycle on local roads.
Bikeability is the Government’s long-standing programme of cycle training for school children, with over 1.7 million children trained since 2010. It is available to every local body in England (London has separate funding arrangements for Bikeability). Funding of £12 million a year has been confirmed for the next four years. This will provide a range of cycling activities to schools including on-road cycle training and Bikeability Plus, a new suite of training modules focussed on increasing levels of cycling school and cycle safety.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with (a) local education and training boards, (b) Public Health England and (c) Health Education England on the training of healthcare professionals to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception.
Jane Ellison
No specific discussions have been held about the training of healthcare professionals to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception. The continuing professional development of doctors and nurses is the responsibility of individual employers. Health Education England has a role in ensuring employers remain committed to continuing professional development and in developing the overall strategy for workforce skills and development in their areas.
Funding and commissioning of contraceptive services outside of the GP Contract is the responsibility of local authorities though the ring-fenced public health grant. Local authorities are mandated to ensure the provision of open access contraception services that enable reasonable access to a broad range of contraceptive substances and appliances (including intra-uterine methods) and advice on preventing unintended pregnancy. While not directly comparable because of changes in data collection, intra-uterine contraception fitted in sexual and reproductive health services increased from 65,300 in 2004/05 to 121,900 in 2014/15.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that best practice in planning is shared between local authorities.
Gavin Barwell
My department continues to fund the work of the Planning Advisory Service, which exists to help local planning authorities share best practice, improve procedures and understand changes in national legislation and policy. Its current work concentrates in particular on places that need to prepare up-to-date plans and improve their development management services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for a spouse visa have been (a) received and (b) refused in each of the last five years.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The information requested for the last 5 calendar years is published in table vi_01_q (visa data tables volume 1) in ‘Immigration Statistics, April – June 2016’, available from the Home Office website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2016/list-of-tables#visas
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will process as a matter of urgency the asylum applications of the 114 Syrian refugees currently being held at RAF Dhekelia in Cyprus.
James Brokenshire
Under an existing agreement with the Republic of Cyprus, those who claim asylum will be processed by the Cypriot authorities on behalf of the Sovereign Base.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Government’s response of February 2015 to the consultation entitled Arrangements for the Transfer of Commissioning Responsibilities for Renal Dialysis and Morbid Obesity Surgery Services from NHS England to Clinical Commissioning Groups, what information has been provided to clinical commissioning groups in anticipation of the transfer of responsibilities for obesity surgery in April 2016.
George Freeman
Due to feedback during the consultation for the proposal, the responsibility for commissioning renal dialysis services is not transferring to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in April 2016.
NHS England is supporting the transfer of commissioning responsibilities for obesity surgery services to CCGs by providing technical and operational guidance to commissioners, including undertaking a stocktake of Tier 3 and Tier 4 interfaces within regions to assist CCGs. This guidance is in development. Communications are also supported through national and local meetings between NHS England and CCG representatives on shared issues within the commissioning agenda.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Ministers in his Department have visited G4S Medway in the last five years.
Andrew Selous
In the last five years, available records show that three Ministers have visited Medway Secure Training Centre.