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Written Question
Health Services: Finance
Monday 12th September 2016

Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to NHS England's consultation on developing a method to assist investment decisions in specialised services, published in April 2016, what budget has been allocated to support new investments in specialised services in 2016-17.

Answered by David Mowat

NHS England funds a range of new treatments and interventions for specialised services each year.

NHS England’s specialised commissioning budget received an additional £1 billion in 2016-17 compared to 2015-16 to cover a range of new investments including the impact of demographic changes and new treatments and interventions.

Most of this additional £1 billion is covering the costs of demographic changes.

With regard to new treatments and interventions, many of these were considered as ‘In Year Service Developments’ – policies which are cost-saving or cost neutral. This includes 12 new treatments and services that were confirmed in July 2016. Further information on these decisions is available at the following address:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2016/07/spec-services-investment/

In addition NHS England funds the cost of drug indications approved through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal and highly specialised technology appraisals process. For new drug indications that have commenced since April 2016, NHS England has released approximately £45 million to date.

Finally, policies which require new investment and that are not being considered by NICE are considered as part of the Annual Prioritisation process. NHS England has set aside £25 million to fund new treatments approved as part of this process for 2016-17.

This is in addition to £340 million budgeted for the new Cancer Drugs Fund.


Written Question
Tourism: World Heritage Sites
Thursday 8th September 2016

Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support tourism through increasing the number of UNESCO-recognised World Heritage sites in the UK.

Answered by Tracey Crouch

World Heritage Sites are internationally recognised. As a result, they attract visitors from near and far.

In July, the Gorham Cave Complex in Gibraltar became the UK’s 30th World Heritage Site. I very much hope to see the Lake District become our 31st in 2017.

The Prime Minister’s Tourism Action Plan sets out how we are working to make it easier for visitors to travel around our country and discover these sites for themselves.


Written Question
Class Sizes: East of England
Wednesday 27th July 2016

Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Key Stage 1 children in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk and (c) the East of England were in classes of more than 30 children in the academic year beginning September (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013, (iv) 2014 and (v) 2015.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The number of pupils in key stage one classes of more than 30 pupils for each of the years and locations requested is given below, along with the corresponding number of classes:

-

Bury St Edmunds Constituency

Suffolk Local Authority

East of England

-

Number of Pupils

Number of Classes

Number of Pupils

Number of Classes

Number of Pupils

Number of Classes

Jan-11

157

5

468

15

3,735

119

Jan-12

96

3

408

13

4,905

157

Jan-13

31

1

529

17

6,575

211

Jan-14

93

3

437

14

7,705

247

Jan-15

124

4

751

24

9,338

299

Jan-16

155

5

716

23

9,451

303

This information has been taken from the Local authority tables and underlying data of the ‘schools, pupils and their characteristics’ statistical release[1] for the corresponding year.

Of those infant classes with more than 30 pupils, roughly 95% of pupils are in classes of 31 or 32 pupils and larger classes are uncommon.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers


Written Question
Domestic Abuse: Homicide
Tuesday 26th July 2016

Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women were killed by their current or former partner in (a) Suffolk, (b) the East of England and (c) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Newton

The Home Office Homicide Index contains information on partner / ex-partner homicides. Information on the number of women aged 16 or over killed by a partner or ex-partner in (a) Suffolk and (b) the East of England and (c) England and Wales for each of the last five years is given in the table.

Table 1: Number of homicides recorded by the police in Suffolk, the East of England and England and Wales, where a woman aged 16 or over was killed by a partner or ex-partner, 2010/11 to 2014/15 1,2.3

Partner or ex-partner4

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

2014/15

Number of victims

Suffolk

2

0

0

0

3

East of England5

9

10

12

3

8

England and Wales

97

89

77

85

81

1. Source: Homicide Index, Home Office

2. Police recorded crime data are not designated as National Statistics

3. As at 13 November 2015; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.

4. Partner / ex-partner homicides include the following relationships: spouse, cohabiting partner, boyfriend/girlfriend, ex-spouse/ex-cohabiting partner/ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, adulterous relationship, lover’s spouse or emotional rival.

5. Includes Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk police.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Suffolk
Tuesday 26th July 2016

Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many decisions taken on claims for (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payments were appealed in (i) Bury St Edmunds constituency and (ii) Suffolk in each of the last five years; and how many of those appeals were successful.

Answered by Phillip Lee

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) does not hold accurate information on the volumes of appeals against decisions on claims for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP). At the point of receipt and registration of the appeal the Tribunal is unable to differentiate between appeals relating to new claims for these benefits and those to relating existing claims.

Information about the volumes and outcomes of appeals to the Tribunal is published at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2016.

The tables below provide information on the number of appeals against decisions taken on ESA and PIP claims that were found in favour of the appellant, that were heard at (i) the Tribunal venue at 1Cambridge, which serves appellants living in the Bury St Edmunds constituency and other nearby locations; and (ii) Suffolk.

ESA claims (excluding reassessment decisions)

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

1Cambridge

171

171

252

33

75

2Suffolk

1,177

869

1,797

332

537

3PIP claims (excluding reassessment decisions)

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

Cambridge

0

0

0

14

103

Suffolk

0

0

0

50

532

1 The tribunal venue in Cambridge serves appellants living in the Bury St Edmunds constituency and other nearby locations

2 Suffolk includes the data from the Cambridge, Colchester, Ipswich & Norwich venues.

3 PIP was introduced as a new benefit in April 2013 to replace Disability Living Allowance for people aged 16 to 64, and appeal volumes have risen since that time.

Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system.


Written Question
Enterprise Allowance Scheme: Bury St Edmunds
Tuesday 26th July 2016

Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Bury St Edmunds constituency are in receipt of the new enterprise allowance.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Statistics published on 29 June 2016 show from April 2011 to March 2016, 210 participants started the mentoring phase of NEA, of which 120 have started a business with support from the scheme in the constituency of Bury St Edmunds.

The most recent NEA statistics can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/new-enterprise-allowance-apr-2011-to-mar-2016


Written Question
Academies: Bury St Edmunds
Tuesday 26th July 2016

Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of (a) trends in the take-up of academy places and (b) the performance of academies in Bury St Edmunds constituency in the last five years.

Answered by Edward Timpson

The number of pupils on roll in the nine academies in the Bury St Edmunds Constituency for the years when they were open as academies from January 2012 to January 2016 is provided in the table below:

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Bury St Edmunds County Upper School

1009

993

957

978

987

Horringer Court Middle School

296

272

307

356

371

Westley Middle School

468

466

470

468

478

Priory School

121

117

129

135

143

Tollgate Primary School

N/A

N/A

N/A

224

273

Great Barton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

200

Rattlesden Church of England Voluntary Controlled School

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

123

Thurston Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

197

Woolpit Community Primary School

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

171

Source: School Census, January 2012 to 2016

The percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or above in reading, writing and maths at key stage 2 in 2012 to 2015 for academies with results in 2015 in the Bury St Edmunds constituency was as follows:

2012

2013

2014

2015

Horringer Court Middle School

64%

72%

79%

83%

Westley Middle School

67%

70%

80%

78%

Source: School Performance Tables

The percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C GCSEs (or equivalent) including English and mathematics GCSEs at key stage 4 in 2012 to 2015 for the academy with results in 2015 in the Bury St Edmunds constituency was as follows:

2012

2013

2014

2015

Bury St Edmunds County Upper School

74%

77%

70%

70%

Source: School Performance Tables

There were no open academies in Bury St Edmunds constituency before August 2011 and no academy results before 2012. Key stage 4 results from 2014 reflect the removal of many equivalent vocational qualifications and other reforms.


Written Question
Housing: East of England
Tuesday 26th July 2016

Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding he allocated for housing regeneration in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk and (c) the East of England in the last five years.

Answered by Lord Barwell

Government expenditure on housing regeneration over the last five years is listed by programme and by the requested geographical areas below.

Help to Buy*

Expenditure

St Edmundsbury LA

£8,078,832

Suffolk

£12,627,929

East of England

£131,886,007

Affordable Housing Programme*

Expenditure

Number of homes

St Edmundsbury LA

£6,611,142

331

Suffolk

£42,209,973

1,924

East of England

£136,907,510

7,652

Get Britain Building, Local Infrastructure Fund, Builders Finance Fund, Build to Rent

Expenditure

Bury St Edmunds Parliamentary Constituency

nil

Suffolk

£4,258,400

East of England

£81,464,427

*This data is not aggregated by constituency, and is provided instead for the St Edmundsbury Borough Council local authority area.


Written Question
Free School Meals: Bury St Edmunds
Monday 25th July 2016

Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children living in Bury St Edmunds constituency have been eligible to receive free school meals in each of the last six years.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The number of pupils attending schools in Bury St Edmunds and known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in each of the last six years is given in the table below:

Year

Number of Pupils on Roll

Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming FSM

% of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming FSM

January 2011

17,436

1,328

7.6

January 2012

17,412

1,365

7.8

January 2013

17,270

1,515

8.8

January 2014

17,294

1,716

9.9

January 2015

17,510

1,618

9.2

January 2016

17,360

1,508

8.7

This information has been calculated from the underlying data of the ‘schools, pupils and their characteristics’ statistical release[1] for each corresponding year.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers


Written Question
Broadband
Friday 22nd July 2016

Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the level of take-up was for superfast fixed broadband in each parliamentary constituency in the latest year for which figures are available.

Answered by Matt Hancock

We do not hold take-up data at constituency level.

Take-up in the areas covered by the BDUK projects is available at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Hs00bNsyRV1WoOt-fow3rsNXzpcKg26AsOWvk1bvJRk/edit#gid=0

Ofcom’s, “Connected Nations 2015” publication indicates that “one in three homes had ‘superfast’ broadband with a connection of 30 Mbit/s or more" in May 2015.