Author: admin

  • Jeremy Browne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jeremy Browne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Browne on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the performance of the children and families department in Somerset County Council.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Ofsted inspected Somerset County Council’s arrangements for the protection of children between 24 June 2013 and 3 July 2013 and published their findings on 5 August 2013. Ofsted judged the authority’s performance as ‘inadequate’.

    My officials met with representatives of Somerset County Council on 20 August 2013 to discuss the Ofsted judgement, the Department’s proposed course of action and the Council’s immediate plans for improvement.

    I wrote to the leader of Somerset County Council, John Osman, on 13 September 2013 to underline my concern at the Ofsted judgement of performance and set out my intention to issue the council with an Improvement Notice.

    I issued a 12-month Improvement Notice to Somerset County Council on 22 November 2013, requiring the council to institute an improvement board headed by an independent chair to drive improvement and hold partners to account. The improvement board has sat monthly since October 2013 and I am represented at each Board by my officials.

    I plan to visit Somerset County Council to assess improvements for myself. My officials will also undertake a review of progress in June 2014 and report findings to me. I will then assess progress against the Improvement Notice and Ofsted recommendations and decide whether to intervene further.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the merits of requiring all schools in the UK to fly the Union flag.

    Mr David Laws

    The Department for Education has made no such assessment.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to deal with emotional neglect of children.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Our revised statutory safeguarding guidance, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013′, includes a definition of emotional abuse which social workers already act on when deciding on what action to take to keep a child safe.

    We want social workers and other professionals who work with children and families to recognise the early signs of all forms of abuse and neglect and take appropriate action. To support this, the Department is working on a number of initiatives. We have brought together a panel of experts to review the evidence concerning indicators of neglect that are associated with a likelihood of future harm to babies, pre-school children and school-age children.

    We are reviewing the recommendations in the Action for Children report ‘Child Neglect: The scandal that never breaks’ and the Ofsted report ‘In the child’s time: professional responses to neglect’ and will consider how to support professionals in recognising early signs of all forms of neglect. We are also working with the Department of Health on their proposals for the development of a new criminal offence of ill-treatment or wilful neglect. Following the Narey review, we are improving social work training and developing further the skills of social workers in critical areas including neglect and how to undertake a good quality assessment.

    We have also published training materials commissioned from Action for Children and the University of Stirling. These materials, ‘Childhood neglect: Improving outcomes for children’, contain guidance and training resources to help staff identify and respond early to all signs of neglect and to know what types of interventions are the most effective.

  • Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in what circumstances he uses a calculation of the (a) value of preventing a fatality, (b) willingness to pay and (c) cost-per-quality adjusted life year approach to quantify the value of a policy intervention; what other tools he uses to quantify the benefit of a policy intervention; and if he will make a statement.

    Elizabeth Truss

    Department for Education economists employ a range of valuation tools as appropriate to specific policy interventions in order to advise Ministers, following the principles and techniques prescribed in HM Treasury guidance. Such techniques are also used as appropriate in research commissioned by the Department, for instance in policy evaluations.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what mechanisms his Department has put in place to ensure that (a) schools, (b) nurseries and (c) learning establishments receiving any funds or endorsement from his Department teach evolution and do not teach that creationism is scientifically valid.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The Government’s policy is that evolution should be taught in schools as an essential element of a rigorous scientific education; teaching creationism as science is incompatible with the delivery of a broad and balanced curriculum.

    The national curriculum requires all maintained schools to teach evolution as an established scientific theory. All academies and free schools are required to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum. The model funding agreements for all kinds of academies and free schools are being revised. The latest published version includes a specific requirement to teach evolution, and prohibits the teaching of creationism as an evidence-based theory.

    As in all areas of education, we look to Ofsted as the best and most effective lever to ensure expected standards are being achieved. All state funded schools are subject to Ofsted inspections which are required to report on the quality of education provided in the school including the quality of teaching.

    Providers in receipt of early years funding must follow clear standards to make sure children are taught the key skills they need to get a good start in life. Where an Ofsted inspector identifies any concerns, they must notify Ofsted’s compliance, investigation and enforcement team, who will consider notifying the appropriate agencies.

    We expect the Government’s position on creationism and evolution to be supported by any learning establishment in receipt of funding from the Department for Education to support science education.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to his Answer of 14 January 2013, Official Report, column 481W, on biofuels, is biomass feedstock origin recorded in the renewable energy planning database; and what his policy is on the use of biomass feedstock sourced from outside the UK.

    Michael Fallon

    Biomass feedstock origin is not recorded in the renewable energy planning database but this information is required to be submitted as part of the reporting requirements for biomass and bioliquids under the Renewables Obligation and is published annually by Ofgem.

    With regards to bioliquids, the Renewable Energy Directive sets out the sustainability requirements which must be complied with in order to receive financial support. The key considerations of land use criteria and greenhouse gas balance are required to be met by both domestic and imported feedstock.

    In the case of solid and gaseous biomass, the UK has established its own criteria which include a minimum of 60% greenhouse gas (GHG) lifecycle saving against the average EU fossil electricity grid intensity. Transport related carbon emissions as well as any direct land use change, whether in the UK or elsewhere, are considered as part of the GHG lifecycle assessment for biomass electricity.

  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the costs associated with supporting new nuclear power stations in England and Wales will be levied on energy consumers in Northern Ireland.

    Michael Fallon

    The supplier obligation will raise funds to cover all liabilities under all Contracts for Difference (CfDs), including nuclear ones. All licensed suppliers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be obliged to pay the supplier obligation in due course.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to his Answer of 16 January 2014, Official Report, columns 994-5, whether his Department is seeking to promote first or second generation biomass and biofuels; and whether his Department has made a sustainability assessment of both forms.

    Michael Fallon

    First and second generation biofuels are the responsibility of the Department of Transport.

    Biomass, when sourced sustainably, can provide a cost-effective, low carbon and controllable source of renewable energy.

    The sustainability standards referred to by the Secretary of State’s Answer of 16 January 2014, Official Report, columns 994-5, refer to the use of solid and gaseous biomass for the purposes of renewable electricity generation under the Renewables Obligation (RO). To ensure that Government only supports sustainably produced biomass, it recently introduced requirements as part of the Renewables Obligation. Similar measures will be introduced under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) this autumn, and we intend to mirror the RO requirements within the Contracts for Difference.

  • Damian Hinds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Damian Hinds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Damian Hinds on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information his Department holds on the incidence of power cuts by (a) county and (b) parliamentary constituency.

    Michael Fallon

    Statistics on the number of power cuts are held by Ofgem. Ofgem measure the number and duration of power cuts based on the number of customer interruptions (interruptions per 100 connected customers) and customer minutes lost (minutes of supply lost per connected customer). The statistics, broken down by Distribution Network Operator, can be found in tables A10.1 and A10.2 of Ofgem’s Assessment of the RIIO-ED1 business plans document, pages 86 and 88:

    https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/84945/assessmentoftheriio-ed1businessplans.pdf

    Ofgem do not collect a more detailed regional breakdown than what is presented in both of these tables.

    “

  • Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps he is taking to ensure that the renewable heat incentive scheme is targeted on households most in need of help with their energy bills.

    Gregory Barker

    The domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is targeted at, but not limited to, homes off the gas grid, which are more expensive to heat than those with mains gas. Households without mains gas have the most potential to save on their fuel bills and decrease their carbon emissions. The RHI is funded through general taxation rather than through a ‘green levy’ on energy bills.

    As well as homeowners, the domestic RHI is also open to social landlords and private landlords. Following the very successful Renewable Heat Premium Payment Social Landlords’ Competitions, with over 4,200 installations to date, we expect to see significant take-up in the social housing sector.