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 reports his Department has received on the rebuilding by Hamas of its cross-border tunnel infrastructure into Israel.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of reports of Hamas rebuilding tunnels and we remain deeply concerned by Hamas' attempts to rearm and rebuild infrastructure, including the tunnel network in Gaza. Any Hamas rearmament undermines efforts to improve the situation in Gaza and harms prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.
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 discussions his Department has had with the government of Israel on the extension of the Separation Barrier in the Cremisan Valley.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have raised the issue of the separation barrier through Cremisan Valley with the Israeli authorities repeatedly, most recently on 1 September 2015. Our Deputy Consul General to Jerusalem visited the Al Walajah and Khirbet Najjar areas of Beit Jala on 9 February 2016, where he was given an update on the impact of the barrier on residents.
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 discussions his Department has had with the government of Israel on the international delegation of Bishops which was recently refused access to the Cremisan Valley by Israeli security forces during a visit to the construction site of the Separation Barrier.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have raised the issue of the separation barrier through the Cremisan Valley with the Israeli authorities repeatedly, most recently on 1 September 2015.
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 discussions his Department has had with the government of Israel concerning recent anti-Christian vandalism at the Dormition Abbey.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
While we have not had any discussions with the Israeli authorities over this specific incident, we understand that the Israeli police have arrested two Israeli teenagers for the attack. This attack was widely condemned by Palestinian and Israeli leaders. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv is in regular contact with representatives of Churches on a range of issues, including to discuss concern about attacks on places of worship.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will take steps to ensure that there is equality of educational achievement between girls and boys in schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Evidence shows that girls outperform boys on average at the end of primary and secondary school. The attainment of boys has been improving in primary school: in 2015, 77% of boys achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2, compared to 71% in 2012. Nonetheless, more remains to be done to raise levels of achievement amongst boys at all key stages.
While girls have higher attainment, they are still less likely than boys to pursue further study beyond the end of secondary school in subjects such as mathematics and physics – although the number of girls entered for A levels in these particular subjects has risen by 13 percent and 16 percent respectively since 2010.
In addressing these issues, we have placed high expectations at the heart of our school system through our new curriculum and reformed exams – and our new accountability system will reward those schools that encourage every child, boys and girls alike, to achieve their best. We are committed to delivering educational excellence everywhere so that every child, regardless of gender or background, can reach their potential.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress NHS England has made on improving cancer survival rates.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Cancer survival rates are at a record high and continue to improve. However, we know that we have to strive to be better. The Independent Cancer Taskforce’s report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes (July 2015), recommends improvements across the cancer pathway, and set a clear ambition for further improvement of survival rates.
NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the Taskforce’s recommendations and has appointed Cally Palmer CBE as National Cancer Director to lead on implementation, as well as new cancer vanguards to redesign care and patient experience. A new cross-system Cancer Transformation Board has been established to oversee the implementation of the strategy, and this met for the first time on Monday 25 January. There will also be a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Harpal Kumar, to oversee and scrutinise the work of the Transformation Board.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to monitor and evaluate the effect of the men who have sex with men human papilloma virus vaccination programme.
Answered by Jane Ellison
In November 2015, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that a targeted human papilloma virus vaccination programme for men who have sex with men attending genito-urinary medicine and HIV clinics should be undertaken, subject to procurement of the vaccine and delivery of the programme at a cost-effective price. The Department and Public Health England are considering the JCVI’s advice, including how such a programme could be monitored and evaluated.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when human papilloma virus vaccinations will be available to men who have sex with men through genito-urinary medicine clinics; and what steps his Department is taking to promote that availability.
Answered by Jane Ellison
In November 2015, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the expert body that advises the Government on all immunisation matters, advised that a targeted human papillomavirus vaccination programme should be undertaken for men who have sex with men up to 45 years of age who attend genitourinary medicine and HIV clinics. They noted that this should be subject to procurement of the vaccine and delivery of the programme at a cost-effective price.
The Department is considering the JCVI’s advice and is undertaking a full equality analysis. The Department will confirm its plans in due course.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to extend the age group entitled to receive the human papilloma virus vaccinations for women.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for girls was introduced in 2008, on the recommendation of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the expert body that advises the Government on all immunisation matters. The aim of the programme is to prevent cervical cancer related to HPV infection.
When the routine programme was introduced in 2008, a catch-up programme was also rolled out to offer the vaccine to women up to age 18 years. This was also based on advice from the JCVI that the catch-up, as well as the routine programme, would be cost-effective.
The JCVI also noted that 'catch up' vaccination for women aged 18 to 25 years was not cost-effective at the vaccine price considered and, on this basis, did not advise the routine vaccination of women beyond the age 18. In 2015, the JCVI revisited the issue and noted that the cost-effectiveness of a catch-up programme for women above 18 years who had not received the vaccine was considered unlikely to be cost-effective. On this basis, we do not have any plans to offer HPV vaccine routinely to women aged 18 and over at this time. Clinicians are however able to offer vaccinations outside of the national programme to women at high risk using individual clinical judgement.
Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to carry out an equality impact assessment of the tender decision on the universal girls vaccination programme for the human papilloma virus; and what the implications are for that programme of a decision to award it to one using the bivalent vaccine.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Department has no plans to conduct an equality impact assessment on the tender decision following the on-going re-procurement of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for the adolescent girls programme. The current programme, recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the expert body that advises the government on all immunisation matters, protects girls against HPV strains 16 and 18 which are responsible for about 70% of cervical cancers.
The Department and Public Health England are currently undertaking a procurement exercise to secure vaccine to support the girls programme and as this is a competitive tender, it would not be appropriate to pre-judge the outcome of that exercise. The procurement will take account of the costs and benefits of all vaccines offered to establish which provides best value for money for the National Health Service.