Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in how many cases of abortion pills prescribed remotely since 30 March 2020 the abortion was carried out later than 9 weeks and 6 days.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in how many cases where both abortion pills have been taken at home since 30 March 2020 a woman received a scan to confirm the gestation of her pregnancy.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold this information centrally.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many women have taken two abortion pills at home (a) at the same time and (b) with an interval between the two since 30 March 2020.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold this information centrally.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many remote assessments for an early medical abortion have taken place since 30 March 2020 and how many have conducted by (a) telephone or mobile phone or (b) video call.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold this information centrally.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to address the concerns of schools who state that the Centre Assessed Grades at GSCE and A level allocated to them were fair and balanced in contrast to other schools where predicted grades were inflated and resulted in a skewing of the overall results.
Answered by Nick Gibb
All centre assessment grades in England were signed off by head teachers or college principals who confirmed that they honestly and fairly represented the grades that these students would have been most likely to achieve if they had sat their exams as planned.
Following the release of A level results based on calculated grades, it became clear that there were far too many inconsistent and unfair outcomes for students. The Department agreed with Ofqual that grades for A levels and GCSEs should be awarded to students in England on the basis of students’ centre assessment grades or their calculated grades, whichever was higher. The Department believes this to be the fairest approach in the exceptional circumstances of this year, to avoid some students in England receiving grades that did not reflect their prior performance.
There was scope for schools to appeal where they believed that there had been errors of process, and students could also raise complaints if they had evidence of bias or discrimination. Schools have also been able to enter candidates for the exceptional autumn series to sit exams if they remain dissatisfied with their result.
The approach taken in Northern Ireland this summer was a matter for the Northern Ireland government and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment Regulation.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he plans to publish further proposals on dealing with legacy issues in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government has been clear that we will introduce legislation to address the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in a way that focuses on reconciliation, delivers for victims, and ends the cycle of reinvestigations that has failed victims and veterans alike.
We remain committed to making progress and engaging on these issues with the Northern Ireland parties, the Irish Government, and stakeholders from across the community including victims groups as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on granting Northern Ireland ports freeport status.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government plans to introduce up to 10 Freeports across the UK. Freeports will unleash the potential of our ports, regenerating communities across the UK. We are working with the Devolved Administrations, including the Northern Ireland Executive, to enable the creation of Freeports across all four nations of the UK. We will shortly be publishing the Government’s response to the Freeports consultation, launched In February 2020, which will set out our plans for the delivery of Freeports across the UK, including in Northern Ireland.
A number of ports in Northern Ireland submitted responses to the consultation.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent progress has been made on full implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robin Walker
We have been making good progress on implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant in Northern Ireland, in line with my party’s manifesto pledges and UK Government commitments in the New Decade, New Approach Agreement.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has appointed Danny Kinahan as the first ever Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner, to act as a voice and advocate for veterans as they make the transition to civilian life. Moreover, we have secured additional funding for the Veterans’ Support Office to assist them in delivery of the Covenant at ground level in Northern Ireland.
Elsewhere, a review of the Aftercare Service will consider whether their remit can be extended to cover all HM Forces veterans living in Northern Ireland with service-related injuries and conditions.
Finally, our Armed Forces Covenant legislation will mandate local authorities to pay due regard to the experience of veterans so that they suffer no disadvantage in society. This will apply UK-wide, and the Ministry of Defence is working closely with the territorial offices and devolved administrations to ensure it is implemented effectively across the four nations.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to ensure that an equitable system is in place for schools and students in the event that a predicted grade exam results system is introduced for exams in (a) October and November 2020 and (b) later in the 2020-21 academic year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
There are no plans to introduce a predicted grade results system in England for exams in the 2020-21 academic year. Exams and assessments are the best and fairest way of judging students’ performance, and we are clear in our intention that both the autumn and summer exam series should go ahead.
Most students taking exams in the autumn series received a centre assessment grade, based on an assessment of the likely grades that students would have obtained had exams gone ahead, or a calculated grade if that was higher. There is, therefore, no basis on which to award a different grade other than the student sitting the exam. Some students, for example some home-educated students, were not in a position to provide sufficient evidence for them to be able to receive a grade in the summer, and it remains the case that there would be insufficient evidence to award grades to those students unless they sit exams.
We continue to discuss arrangements for exams in summer 2021 with Ofqual, the exam boards, higher and further education representatives and other sector bodies to ensure that arrangements are fair and the 2021 cohort of students receive the qualifications they deserve.
The arrangements for awarding qualifications to students in Northern Ireland are a matter for the Northern Ireland government and the Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment Regulation.
Asked by: Jeffrey M Donaldson (Independent - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive about funding for the troubles-related Victims Payment Scheme as set out in the New Decade New Approach Agreement.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
I welcome the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive.
The UK Government is providing £2 billion of financial support to the re-formed Executive as part of the New Decade, New Approach Agreement to transform public services and address Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances.
The responsibility for the Troubles-related incident victims payment scheme sits with the Northern Ireland Executive.