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Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average annual spend per pupil was in grammar schools in each region in 2015-16.

Nick Gibb

Schools self-select their own admissions category on Edubase. 163 schools are identified as ‘selective (grammar).’

The Department does not yet hold the income and expenditure data from 2015-16. The data will be available for those which are maintained by the local authority in December 2016, and for those which are academies in the summer of 2017.

The overall expenditure per pupil in grammar schools by each region for 2014-15 is listed in the following table:

Region	Number of grammar schools	Expenditure per pupil (£)
East Midlands	15	5,195
East of England	8	5,644
London	19	5,683
North West	18	5,392
South East	55	5,332
South West	20	5,210
West Midlands	17	5,553
Yorkshire and the Humber	6	5,557
England Total	158*	5,404

*Note: There are 5 selective schools which converted to academies during 2014-15 and as such we do not have comparable financial data for them for this period. The expenditure per pupil takes into account expenditure from all income sources, including self-generated income.

01/01/2023

Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps have been taken to ensure that teachers are able to identify the progress of students in (a) English language, (b) English literature and (c) mathematics who will be assessed using the new GCSE grading structure in the summer of 2017.

Nick Gibb

The Department, together with Ofqual and Awarding Organisations, is working closely with schools to help them to understand and be ready for new GCSEs. Sample assessment materials, mark schemes and grade descriptors are all available and will help schools to understand what is required.

Assessment of pupils’ progress is a matter for schools. School leaders and teachers should use their professional judgement to establish their own assessment systems that best support teaching.

From this year, Progress 8, which measures the progress that pupils make across 8 qualifications compared to other pupils nationally with similar prior attainment, will be reported for the first time. Progress in each of the subject elements of Progress 8, including English and maths, will also be published. This new accountability system is a fairer way of measuring school performance and will incentivise and reward the good teaching of all pupils.

01/01/2023
Tom Tugendhat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Tugendhat on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the announcement on page 4 of her Department’s publication entitled Central Government Funding for Flooding and Coastal Erosion, published in September 2016, that decisions on where to allocate the remaining funding set aside for flood defences have yet to be made, (a) which Department or agency will make those decisions and (b) when she expects those decisions to be made.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Decisions on allocating the remaining headroom from the £700 million uplift to flood defence and resilience measures announced at Budget 2016 will be made on the basis of a rigorous assessment of local needs and value for money. HM Treasury, in consultation with other government departments including Defra and the Environment Agency, will make allocation decisions in due course.

01/01/2023
Alan Whitehead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s announcement of 17 December 2015 on improving air quality in cities, what progress her Department has made on deciding what resources, funding and guidance will be made available to the five local authorities which are introducing clean air zones.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Air quality has improved significantly in recent decades and we are working at local, national and international levels to continue those improvements. The UK currently meets legal limits for almost all pollutants.

The national air quality plan for NO₂, published in December last year, combines targeted local and national measures, forming part of a wider approach that exploits new and clean technologies, such as electric and ultra-low emission vehicles. As part of the national plan we are requiring five cities to implement Clean Air Zones. The relevant cities are Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton.

The Joint Air Quality Unit has been established to deliver the national plan and is working in close cooperation with local authorities. The unit will provide guidance and support to local authorities to implement the plan by producing a Clean Air Zone framework which will set out how zones should be implemented, ensuring consistency across English local authorities. This will allow businesses and individuals to make straightforward economic decisions about which vehicles to purchase, and how and when they use them. We will support local authorities to make improvements to air quality through a variety of measures, including the Air Quality Grant, a competitive fund supporting local action to improve air quality.

We are also providing dedicated support for the five cities which are required to implement Clean Air Zones by funding local scoping studies. In addition, we will provide funding to help these local authorities implement the zones and, where necessary, support the implementation of additional measures.

01/01/2023
Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2015 to Question 42913, on Yemen: Armed Conflict, what representations he has received from Saudi officials on the timescale for that investigation.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK welcomes the release by Joint Investigation Assessment Team of the outcome of eight investigations into incidents of alleged breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen.

The UK regularly encourages the Saudi-Arabian led Coalition to conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into reports of alleged violations of international humanitarian law.

01/01/2023
Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what reports he has received on whether a UK-made cluster munition was (a) found and (b) used in Yemen in the last two years.

Mike Penning

Amnesty International wrote to the Prime Minister on 23 May 2016, and to the Ministry of Defence on 3 June 2016, on the alleged use of UK-produced BL-755 cluster munitions by the Saudi-led coallition in Yeman.

01/01/2023
Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports of alleged breaches of international humanitarian law he has received from (a) UN agencies, (b) non-governmental organisations, (c) other governments, (d) UK armed forces personnel and (e) Saudi Arabia in each of the last 12 months.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by actors in the conflict and take these very seriously. The Ministry of Defence monitors incidents of alleged IHL violations using available information. It is important that all sides conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into all incidents where it is alleged that IHL has been violated.

01/01/2023
Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people executed in Iran in the last 12 months.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

As stated in our annual 2015 Human Rights report, the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights estimated that between 966 and 1,025 people were executed in Iran in 2015. It is estimated that there have been 309 executions to date in 2016. The British Government continues to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances.

01/01/2023
Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps in addition to his discussions with his Iranian counterpart his Department is taking to encourage the cessation of capital punishment in Iran.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The British Government opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. We raise this issue with Iran at all levels. In addition, we successfully lobbied to renew the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, and actively support the launch of an EU/Iran Human Rights dialogue.

01/01/2023
Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gill Furniss on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to encourage a de-escalation of violence in Kashmir in response to the recent unrest in that region.

Alok Sharma

I remain very concerned by reports of violence and offer my condolences to the victims and their families. The UK abides by its commitments under international law and expects all countries to comply with their international legal obligations. Our High Commission in Delhi is monitoring the situation closely and we have updated our travel advice.

01/01/2023