Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reducing speed limits on road safety for all users.
Answered by Katherine Fletcher
The Department published a comprehensive three-year evaluation of the effect of 20mph signed-only limits in November 2018.
The report found that while 20mph limits were supported by the majority of residents and drivers, there was insufficient evidence to conclude that that the introduction of 20mph limits in residential areas had led to a significant change in collisions and casualties.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will assess the potential contribution that (a) replacing and (b) repowering old onshore wind turbines would make to meeting the Government's net zero carbon emissions target.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Renewable technologies are essential to meet the 2050 net zero emissions commitment. Meeting this will require a diverse and efficient energy system. We keep under review the potential contribution from different renewable generation technologies, including where existing generation assets are reaching the end of their lifetime.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of Hamas’s role in the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
As the UK said at the UN Security Council on 22 May, Hamas’s ongoing decision to embrace violence and reject the Quartet Principles lies at the heart of the Gazan tragedy. Hamas’s decision to send rockets towards Israel is unacceptable and must stop. Our policy on Hamas is clear: they must renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previously signed agreements. Violence further undermines the humanitarian situation in Gaza, creates fear amongst the Israeli and Palestinian populations, and damages the prospects for peace. We urge all parties to demonstrate restraint, and work towards a durable agreement that addresses the underlying causes of the conflict and transforms the situation in Gaza.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip on the humanitarian situation in that region.
Answered by Mark Field
Ministers and officials regularly raise the situation in Gaza with the Egyptian Government both in London and in Cairo. We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Gaza and support the Palestinian Authority returning to administer Gaza. The Foreign Secretary discussed Gaza with new Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh on 20 March. We continue to urge Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to work together to ensure a durable solution for Gaza.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on additional funding for rural schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, meets Treasury ministers regularly to discuss matters of shared interest, including funding for schools.
The Department provides additional support aimed at rural schools. For example, the sparsity factor in the National Funding Formula allocates £25 million specifically to schools that are both small and remote.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
What progress his Department has made on tackling mobile phone use in prisons.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Our strategy to tackling the security threat posed by mobile phones is threefold:
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the introduction of defibrillators into public buildings.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government encourages organisations, including schools, to consider purchasing a defibrillator as part of their first-aid equipment, particularly for places where there are high concentrations of people.
Automated external defibrillators are currently available for schools and other education providers in the United Kingdom to purchase through NHS Supply Chain at a reduced cost. These arrangements are available to all UK schools, including academies and independent schools, sixth-form colleges, further education institutions and early years settings (including holiday and out-of-school providers). These arrangements have been in place since November 2014.
The NHS Long Term Plan states fast and effective action will help save the lives of people suffering a cardiac arrest, and key measures include:
- a national network of community first responders and defibrillators will help save up to 4,000 lives each year by 2028, which will be supported by educating the general public, including young people of school age, about how to recognise and respond to out of hospital cardiac arrest;
- NHS England will also work with partners such as the British Heart Foundation to harness new technology and ensure that the public and emergency services are able to rapidly locate defibrillators in an emergency; and
- more effective mapping of data on incidence will help direct community initiatives to areas where they are most needed, and the British Heart Foundation-funded national Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Registry, based in Warwick, will allow NHS England to track survival rates and target unwarranted variation.
NHS England will continue to work closely with key partners and stakeholders, including the British Heart Foundation, as it supports the National Health Service to deliver the commitments set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the financial viability of rural schools in England.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The national funding formula includes support for schools in rural areas, and the sparsity factor allocates additional funding of £25 million specifically to remote schools. The formula also provides a lump sum of £110,000 for every school as a contribution to the costs that do not vary with pupil numbers. This aims to give schools certainty that they will attract a fixed amount each year in addition to their pupil-led funding.
When the lump sum is coupled with the sparsity factor, this provides significant support for small and remote schools that play an essential role in rural communities. A small, rural primary school eligible for sparsity funding will attract up to £135,000 in total through the lump sum and sparsity factors and a small secondary school will attract up to £175,000.
In addition, the formula has already allocated an increase for every pupil in every school in 2018-19, with increases of up to 3% per pupil for the most underfunded schools, including some in rural areas. In 2019-20, those schools that have been historically underfunded will see further gains of up to 3% per pupil, as the Department continues to make progress in addressing historic unfairness. Alongside this, the Department has been able to ensure that all schools will attract an increase of 1% per pupil by 2019-20, compared to 2017-18.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure an adequate long-term funding settlement for schools in England.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government continues to invest in schools, with an additional £1.3 billion across 2018/19 and 2019/20, over and above the plans set out at the last spending review, meaning that the total core schools and high needs budget will rise from almost £41 billion in 2017/18 to £43.5 billion in 2019/20. The Department will be making a strong case to the Treasury at the next spending review to ensure that we have the resourcing we need for our schools.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if in the absence of the Northern Ireland Assembly she will make a decision on a teachers pay award for Northern Ireland.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Northern Ireland Department of Finance Permanent Secretary determined 2018-19 pay policy on 22 November 2018.
In keeping with HMT policy, for 2018-19, the 1% pay award limit has been removed.
Any decision on an increase above 1% is for the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education in Northern Ireland.