Will Quince

Many local NCS delivery partners already choose to deliver first aid modules to participants. The NCS Trust, the independent organisation that delivers NCS, works closely with specialist first aid providers to design this training. Many NCS participants also visit local fire stations and emergency departments to gain an understanding of the work of Community Emergency Response Teams in their area.

The NCS Trust is running a series of curriculum pilots during the 2016 summer and autumn programmes. One of these pilots focuses on a first aid module. The findings of the pilots will be fed into next year's NCS programmes.

The Department has no plans to include space for people to include their honours in Government online forms.

Space to include honours in online forms produced by the Department’s arm's length bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies is a matter for those bodies.

Maximum tuition fees for students undertaking an Erasmus work placement year are 15% of the maximum applicable full-time fees and fee loans for Approved (Fee Cap) providers in 2019/20. Maximum tuition fees for students undertaking a work placement year of a sandwich course in the UK or a work placement year abroad that is not an Erasmus Year are 20% of the maximum applicable full-time fees and fee loans for Approved (Fee Cap) providers in 2019/20.

There is a significant body of evidence that demonstrates that systematic phonics is a highly effective method for teaching early reading. According to the Education Endowment Foundation, phonics approaches have been consistently found to be effective in supporting younger readers to master the basics of reading, with an average impact of an additional 4 months’ progress. Research suggests that phonics is particularly beneficial for younger pupils (4 to 7 year-olds) as they begin to read. Teaching phonics is more effective on average than other approaches to early reading (such as whole language or alphabetic approaches).

The Department is investing £26 million in a national network of English hubs to support local schools in developing their teaching practice, with a focus on systematic phonics. We are also funding 6 Phonics Partnerships and a series of Phonics Roadshows, to spread good practice and improve phonics teaching.

We know how important it is that pupils are taught the knowledge to be happy, healthy and safe. That is why for the first time, all state-funded schools will be required to teach Health Education, and why the draft statutory guidance, currently out for consultation, includes content on first aid.

We are concerned that some summer born children may be missing the reception year at school. We remain committed to amending the School Admissions Code so that summer born children can be admitted to a reception class at the age of five when their parents believe it to be in their best interests. Any changes to the Admissions Code will require a full statutory process, including consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. We will consider the appropriate time for consulting on these changes in the context of competing pressures on the parliamentary timetable.

The Department for Education does not define GCSE subjects as ‘technical’ or ‘creative’.

Provisional information on the proportion of pupils entered for at least one arts GCSE between 2009/10 and 2015/16 is published as part of the ‘Provisional GCSE and equivalent results in England’ statistical first release (SFR)[1].

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gcse-and-equivalent-results-2015-to-2016-provisional (Table 1c)

Access to waterways, including for recreational purposes, remains subject to licence by the relevant navigation authority or to agreement with the riparian landowner where there is no navigation authority in place.

In the last year, the Great British Food Unit has opened 24 new export markets and secured improved conditions for an additional 14 markets. It has supported UK companies around the world to secure new exports worth hundreds of millions of pounds. In addition, we have made good progress opening the US and Japanese markets to British beef and lamb.

We would only include a specific place for users to include honours information, when designing an online form or transaction, if that information was directly relevant and necessary.

There are no specific EU subsidies provided to sugar manufacturers under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). However, those that produce their own sugar beet are entitled to make a claim for support under the CAP Basic Payment Scheme. Details of the amounts received by UK beneficiaries can be found on the UK CAP Payments website at http://cap-payments.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx.

The Prime Minister was clear in her speech that she wants to guarantee the status of EU citizens already in Britain, and our nationals in the EU, as early as she can. She told other EU leaders that we could give people the certainty they want straight away, and reach such a deal now. Resolving this challenge as soon as possible is the right and fair thing to do. Other EU leaders recognise the importance of reaching a reciprocal deal. This includes the Polish Prime Minister Szydlo who discussed this with the Prime Minister in November.

DFID will continue to lead the UK’s work to end extreme poverty, deliver the Sustainable Development Goals and tackle the global challenges in line with the UK government’s Aid Strategy.

As the UK leaves the European Union, strengthening our global presence will be vital, and I am determined that DFID will play a full part in this – maintaining and enhancing the UK’s position as a global development superpower.

The UK has monitored the situation since heavy persistent rain started falling in parts of the Dominican Republic on 7 November and stood ready to offer assistance if required.

The Government of the Dominican Republic have not requested international assistance.

No UK aid is used for payments to Palestinian prisoners, or their families. The UK’s direct financial assistance to the PA is used to pay the salaries of public sector workers only. Our support is provided through a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, which carries out close monitoring of Palestinian Authority expenditure. Only named civil servants from a pre-approved EU list are eligible. The process is subject to independent auditing.

UK direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is used to pay the salaries of civil servant and pensioners. Our support is provided through a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, which carries out close monitoring of PA expenditure. Only named civil servants from a pre-approved European Union list are eligible, and the vetting process ensures that our funds do not benefit terrorist groups. The process is subject to independent auditing.

DFID has agreed to fund the ODA-eligible costs of the Syria refugee resettlement scheme for this financial year - discussions are ongoing to determine the precise amount necessary. From next year ODA funding for the scheme will be transferred directly from Treasury to the Home Office.

As announced on 12 March, Commercial terms have now been agreed and Delay Repay 15 will go live on Greater Anglia on 1st April.

Oversized lorries hit rail bridges five times a day, almost 2000 every year.

On average, each bridge strike costs the taxpayer £13,500, adding up to £23m a year in damages and delays.

Network Rail recovered £6m in the last financial year from insurers for compensation for bridge strikes, while in previous years the recovery rate was typically between £3-5m. The rate of recovery is rising following legal precedents that allow full recovery of costs to compensate train operators for delays.

In the Action Plan for Information on Rail Fares and Ticketing, launched on 13 December 2016, the Rail Delivery Group committed to provide better and more targeted information to website and app developers to enable them to develop new products and services for consumers by December this year.

This information will include timetable and fares data and live running information, so that they can be used to create better and consistent consumer-facing products. The overall Action Plan is a set of stretching actions to drive real improvement for passengers. Progress is reviewed regularly, working towards two key reports as set out in the Action Plan.

It is the responsibility of train operators to ensure they are compliant with their legal obligations and, as service providers, that their customers are made aware of their rights to compensation or other redress in cases of service failure or disruption. Train operators’ own compensation schemes provide the main means of redress for passengers.

My Department has worked with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), industry and consumer groups to identify actions to improve passenger awareness of their rights to claim compensation, including all options open to them. The ORR has also been working with the Rail Delivery Group and individual train operators over the last year to raise their awareness of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) and their obligations under it.

The ORR is currently reviewing train operators’ compliance with the rules around how refunds must be paid under the CRA.

The Government is not required to collect information on compensation paid by train operators to their customers under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which came into force for all transport providers on 1 October 2016, and does not hold this information.

It is the responsibility of train operators to ensure that their customers are made aware of their rights to compensation or other redress in cases of service failure or disruption. Train operators’ existing compensation schemes provide the main means of redress for passengers.

This information is not available.

This information is not available.

We only collect information that is relevant for an online service. As information on honours is not needed for a user to complete any of our online services we have no plans to collect this information.

The Government is committed to the implementation of the Pension Protection Fund long service cap as described in the Pensions Act 2014.

Before the primary legislation can be brought into force, a number of changes need to be made to secondary legislation, so that it will operate as expected in all cases. Therefore we cannot, at this time, commit to a particular implementation date.

The Department has regular and ongoing discussions with NHS England on how to improve maternity and neonatal outcomes for mothers and babies, as well as how to tackle disparities in access, experience, and outcomes, including and beyond 2025.

The Government is committed to tackling and reducing disparities in health outcomes, and works closely with NHS England to improve equity for mothers and babies, and race equality for staff. A central ambition of the National Health Services’ three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services is to reduce inequalities in access, experience, and outcomes for women and babies. This plan is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/three-year-delivery-plan-for-maternity-and-neonatal-services/

There are no current plans to revise the three-year plan, and NHS England are focused on delivering the existing commitments, including those relating to inequalities in still birth and neonatal death.

The Government is developing a new tobacco control plan, which will be published shortly. The plan will contain actions to reduce the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy.

Since 2010, we have invested £35 million in the National Health Service to improve birthing environments and this included better bereavement rooms and quiet area spaces at nearly 40 hospitals to support bereaved families.

We are also funding Sands, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity to work with other baby loss charities, Royal Colleges and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Baby Loss to produce a National Bereavement Care Pathway to reduce the variation in the quality of bereavement care provided by the NHS. The pathway will cover all forms of baby loss to ensure that all bereaved parents are offered equal, high quality, individualised, safe and sensitive care.

Decisions about the provision of bereavement services are best taken locally. It is for local National Health Service organisations to ensure that appropriate facilities and services are in place to support bereaved parents following the death of a baby.

The Department has published Health Building Note 09-02: Maternity Care Facilities a guideline on the design and planning of maternity care facilities in new healthcare buildings and on the adaptation/extension of existing facilities. In line with the guidance, we would expect new build or redesigned maternity units to have facilities available for women and families who suffer bereavement at any stage of pregnancy.

Since 2010, we have invested £35 million in the NHS to improve birthing environments and this included better bereavement rooms and quiet area spaces at nearly 40 hospitals to support bereaved families.

In 2016, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity, Sands, published Audit of bereavement care provision in United Kingdom maternity. The audit found that of the 62 trusts and health boards that responded:

- 63% has a bereavement room in each maternity unit in the trust or health board;

- 26% has a bereavement room in at least one maternity unit but not all in the trust or health board; and

- 11% had no dedicated bereavement room in the trust or health board.