Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the Professional and Linguistics Assessment Board examination (PLAB) as a test of competence for International Medical Graduates, given the conclusion of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published on 17 April 2014 that the pass mark of PLAB would need to be increased by 30 per cent to reach equivalence with UK graduates.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It sets and enforces the standards to which all doctors must adhere. The GMC is responsible for operational matters, including those relating to Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board tests, which it revised in 2016 following a review.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they give to doctor-patient ratios which are significantly below those in UK when recruiting international medical graduates from low-income countries outside the EU and EEA.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
International recruitment of medical graduates is guided by the ‘Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England’, available in an online-only format. The code aligns with the latest advice from the World Health Organisation, preventing active recruitment from countries with the most pressing health and social care workforce challenges, including those with low healthcare worker density.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many medical school places were available in England in each of the last 10 years; and how many applications were made on average per place.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of entrants to undergraduate medicine courses in England from 2012 to 2022.
Academic year | Entrants |
2012 | 6,190 |
2013 | 5,980 |
2014 | 6,000 |
2015 | 5,880 |
2016 | 5,930 |
2017 | 6,095 |
2018 | 6,800 |
2019 | 7,565 |
2020 | 8,405 |
2021 | 8,485 |
2022 | 7,630 |
Source: Office for Students Medical and Dental Students Survey (2012-2022)
Note: 2022 entrants are based on initial figures and are likely to change.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service records the number of unique applicants and acceptances to undergraduate medical courses. Based upon this data, there has been an average of 3.2 applicants for each accepted place from 2011 to 2021.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many doctors from overseas first registered in England in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of those doctors came from EU or EEA countries.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number of doctors from overseas who first registered in England in each of the last 10 years or what percentage of those doctors came from EU or EEA countries. The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors practising in the UK, and all doctors must register with them and hold a licence to practise to work in the UK. The GMC maintains data on medical practitioners registered with them.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) number, and (2) percentage, of properties were sold in each of the Council Tax bands in (a) 2004, and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department does not hold information on the number of domestic properties sold by council tax band.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to revise the inspection criteria for Citizenship Education with Ofsted; and what plans they have to publish (1) any correspondence, or (2) the minutes of meetings, with Ofsted, including of any meeting that took place on 15 March.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the noble Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts to the answer I gave on 25 April 2022 to question HL7809.
The government has now responded to the recommendations outlined within ‘The Ties that Bind: Citizenship and Civic Engagement in the 21st Century Follow-up report’, including the recommendations relating to the inspection of citizenship education.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to revise the inspection criteria for citizenship education with Ofsted; and what plans they have to publish (1) any correspondence, or (2) minutes of meetings (including the meeting on 15 March,) with Ofsted.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ofsted, as a separate government department and independent inspectorate, is responsible for the criteria in its inspection framework and handbooks.
On 21 February, Ofsted wrote to the Chair of the House of Lords Liaison Committee, Lord Gardiner of Kimble, setting out its inspection approach regarding citizenship education. The letter is available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/9100/documents/159384/default/.
The department has subsequently discussed this matter with Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. The Chief Inspector has confirmed that citizenship education forms a significant, but proportionate, part of school inspections. There are no plans to publish correspondence or minutes relating to discussions on this matter. The government will respond in due course to ‘The Ties that Bind: Citizenship and Civic Engagement in the 21st Century Follow-up report’, which includes recommendations relating to the inspection of citizenship education.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the proposed (1) name, (2) terms of reference, (3) membership, and (4) frequency of meetings, of the Cabinet Committee to be set up under the plans in the Levelling Up White Paper.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The terms of reference for the Domestic and Economic (Levelling Up) Cabinet Committee are: ‘To set direction for place-based strategies and embed levelling up within government policy and delivery’. The membership of the Committee comprises: the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; the Chief Secretary to the Treasury; and, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Levelling Up, The Union and Constitution. Other Ministers are invited according to the agenda.
It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they meet, is not normally shared publicly.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the negative consequences for the existing public rights of way network arising from ending the cross-compliance requirement that recipients of Direct Payments keep paths open and accessible.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Clear arrangements are already in place through the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to allow for the establishment, recording and appeal of rights of way to agreed standards, and local authorities have responsibility for their maintenance. Local authorities will continue to receive funding through the Revenue Support Grant for their various rights of way duties.
We will continue to pay for access and engagement through our existing environmental land management schemes and we will consider how to maintain investment in these areas as part of future schemes. Our ongoing commitment is visible through other funds and activities including through the Nature for Climate Fund, the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, our Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme and through Countryside Stewardship.
Alongside this ongoing support, as we continue to develop our new schemes throughout the transition and into the future, contact is being maintained with a range of stakeholders that represent a variety of interests including access, as well as with end users to determine the specific land management actions that will be paid for under our new schemes.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will set a date for the commencement of the provisions of the Deregulation Act 2015 which relate to public rights of way.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As set out in my answer of 27 July 2021 the Government intends to lay legislation as soon as reasonably practicable including the relevant provisions in the Deregulation Act 2015. Deferring the 2026 cut-off date for registration of historic rights of way is still under consideration.