Asked by: Jason McCartney (Conservative - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent meetings she has had with civil society groups on potential adverse health effects of introducing more technology in schools.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Secretary of State has not met with any civil society groups to discuss the potential adverse health effects of introducing more technology in schools.
Asked by: Jason McCartney (Conservative - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what research her Department has undertaken on the potential effect of digital screen use on students in the last five years.
Answered by Edward Timpson
There has been no specific research undertaken by the department on the potential effect of digital screen use on students in the last five years.
Asked by: Jason McCartney (Conservative - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on (a) tablet computers and (b) other new information technology for students in schools in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The Department for Education does not provide schools with dedicated funds for information technology. We are therefore unable to advise on the volume or type of equipment that has been purchased. Headteachers manage their own budgets, prioritise spend and are best placed to decide on local requirements.
Asked by: Jason McCartney (Conservative - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the refund of VAT costs to sixth form colleges.
Answered by Nick Boles
All funding decisions, including the question of the VAT costs currently paid by sixth form colleges, will be considered in the round at the Spending Review.
Asked by: Jason McCartney (Conservative - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many intensive care unit beds there are per capita in the UK.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS Blood and Transplant launched a new United Kingdom-wide organ donation and transplantation strategy in July 2013. Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020 sets out the action necessary to increase organ donation and transplant rates building on the significant increase in donor and transplant rates since 2008. It is vital that all potential donors are identified and referred to the specialist donation team. The strategy recognises that commissioners should keep the demand for intensive care beds under review to ensure that intensive care capacity is not a barrier to donation.
There were 10.6 adult critical care, paediatric intensive care and neonatal intensive care beds per 100,000 population in England in May 2015. The numbers of such beds in the rest of the United Kingdom is a matter for the devolved administrations.
Asked by: Jason McCartney (Conservative - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the number of intensive care unit beds in the UK on the number of transplants that per capita the NHS can provide.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS Blood and Transplant launched a new United Kingdom-wide organ donation and transplantation strategy in July 2013. Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020 sets out the action necessary to increase organ donation and transplant rates building on the significant increase in donor and transplant rates since 2008. It is vital that all potential donors are identified and referred to the specialist donation team. The strategy recognises that commissioners should keep the demand for intensive care beds under review to ensure that intensive care capacity is not a barrier to donation.
There were 10.6 adult critical care, paediatric intensive care and neonatal intensive care beds per 100,000 population in England in May 2015. The numbers of such beds in the rest of the United Kingdom is a matter for the devolved administrations.
Asked by: Jason McCartney (Conservative - Colne Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from the Kurdistan Region in Iraq (a) applied for and (b) were refused entry clearance to the UK in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The most recent figures available from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 show A) the number of Entry Clearance applications made via the Visa Application Centre in Erbil, Iraq to be 2,895 and B) the number of refusals 1,600.
Asked by: Jason McCartney (Conservative - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to promote and support brass bands.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
This Government continues to recognise the important place that brass bands have in British culture and their local communities. Before the end of the last Parliament, the Treasury confirmed that the new orchestra tax relief will be available to the full range of orchestras, including large brass bands. Orchestra tax relief will be available from April 2016.Asked by: Jason McCartney (Conservative - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2015 to Question 226346, when he expects negotiations with GlaxoSmithKline on the meningitis B vaccine to be concluded.
Answered by Jane Ellison
We are seeking to reach a positive conclusion to the negotiations with GlaxoSmithKline for supply of the meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine, Bexsero® at a cost-effective price, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, as soon as possible.
The Department has had a number of meetings with the manufacturer and is continuing to meet.
Asked by: Jason McCartney (Conservative - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking with officials of his Department to expedite negotiations with GlaxoSmithKline on the meningitis B vaccine.
Answered by Jane Ellison
We are seeking to reach a positive conclusion to the negotiations with GlaxoSmithKline for supply of the meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine, Bexsero® at a cost-effective price, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, as soon as possible.
The Department has had a number of meetings with the manufacturer and is continuing to meet.