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  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the offer of partial amnesties by President Assad of Syria.

    Baroness Warsi

    The limited amnesties on prisoner release offered by President Assad do not offer a genuine solution to the problems in Syria. While the British Government has been consistent in calling for the release of political prisoners it is as yet unclear who these amnesties will affect and how prisoners’ safety will be assured. The lies and brutality of the Assad regime, as set out in the UN’s Commission on Inquiry reports, mean that this amnesty will not provide reassurance to the Syrian opposition. If the Syrian regime is serious about bringing the conflict to an end, then they should release political prisoners unconditionally and negotiate seriously within the framework set out in the Geneva communiqué.

  • Lord Sharkey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Sharkey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Ministers formally petitioned Her Majesty for the pardons granted in the 16 Northern Ireland terrorist-related cases in the years immediately after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

    Baroness Randerson

    The 16 uses of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy for Northern Ireland terrorist-related cases after the Belfast Agreement were granted between 2000 and 2002. The Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland over this period were Peter Mandelson and John Reid.

  • The Earl of Sandwich – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Earl of Sandwich – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Sandwich on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many displaced people they estimate to be in Darfur, Sudan; how many visits Department for International Development staff have paid to Darfur in the last two years; and which organisations they support there.

    Baroness Northover

    According to the latest update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on 15 June 2014, the cumulative number of verified Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Darfur who have been displaced since January 2014 and have yet to return to their areas of origin is 264,528. This figure is in addition to the estimated number of over 2 million people who, at the end of 2013, have been living in longer term displacement. It is not possible to determine retroactively the number of visits that have occurred over the past two years but DFID staff do travel regularly to Darfur. To date in 2014, there have been a total of six separate visits with a total of eight DFID staff participating, including two by the Head of DFID Sudan.

    DFID has provided support to a wide range of development and humanitarian organisations working in Darfur both directly and through different joint funds such as the Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) and the Darfur Community Peace and Stability Fund (DCPSF). Direct funds go to organisations including the following: the World Food Programme, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision Sudan, Oxfam America, Norwegian Church Aid Sudan and United Methodist Committee on Relief. Organisations getting funding through the joint funds include agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations, International Organisations, International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) and National Non-Governmental Organisations (NNGOs).

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are considering the award of a United Kingdom national defence medal for Her Majesty’s armed forces personnel who have served since the end of the Second World War; and, if not, why not.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    Sir John Holmes was invited to undertake further work to implement the recommendations set out in his Military Medals Review, published on 17 July 2012. This included a review of the case for some form of National Defence Medal, to recognise all military service. Work on this has begun, but – as Sir John noted in his report of July 2012 – the National Defence Medal is an issue of broad national significance which would require a broad political and public consensus and consideration by the government as a whole, in consultation with other political parties and concerned organisations.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made in reducing the number of young people not in education, employment or training since May 2010.

    Matthew Hancock

    Latest quarterly figures published in May show that the proportion of 16-18 year olds NEET is 6.7% – down a third since 2010 and the lowest on record.

  • Andy McDonald – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andy McDonald – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations he has received on the number of children with autism informally excluded from school.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Secretary of State has received several recent parliamentary questions about the informal exclusion of children with autism. Officials from the department have also met with Ambitious about Autism in March 2014, to discuss its concerns about this issue, raised in the report, Ruled Out.

    The government’s view remains clear. No child should be unlawfully excluded. Ofsted and the department would take seriously evidence that a school had acted unlawfully in excluding a pupil. In addition, most children on the autism spectrum would be considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010. Where disabled children are discriminated against through unlawful exclusion their parents can make a claim to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). The Tribunal has wide ranging powers, including the power to require the reinstatement of a pupil.

    Awareness of autism and appropriate skills are essential to meeting the needs of autistic children. The reforms we are introducing through the Children and Families Act will provide for earlier and better assessment of children and young people’s needs. We’re also investing more than £3 million of funding over two years to raise awareness of autism and help schools and colleges deliver the support these children and young people need. This includes £1.5 million for the Autism Education Trust to provide tiered training to early years, school and further education college staff, as well as £440,000 to the National Autistic Society, part of which is being used to provide advice to professionals and parents on exclusion.

  • Mel Stride – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mel Stride – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mel Stride on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on increasing the number and quality of apprenticeships for 16 to 18 year olds.

    Matthew Hancock

    We are on track to deliver 2 million apprenticeships over this Parliament.

    We continue to focus on quality, insisting that all apprenticeships are jobs, have a minimum duration of a year, include on the job training and meet the needs of employers. As a result the number of ‘full’ 16-18 apprenticeship starts – those with a planned duration of a year – have doubled.

    Apprenticeship reforms will further increase quality and simplify the system, making it easier and more desirable for employers to offer more apprenticeships in the future.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support children with special educational needs.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Children and Families Act – to be implemented from September – introduces the most fundamental reform to the system for SEN and disability for 30 years, placing children and families at the heart of a more integrated system focused on improving outcomes for children and young people.

    Families will be more involved in decision making and there will be greater clarity about local services provided in each area.

    We’re providing substantial funding to local areas to deliver the reforms. Last week we announced a further £45.2m – on top of the £70m already provided this year – for implementing the reforms.

    We are also providing £30m over two years to provide independent supporters to families.

  • Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations he has received on funding for the transition to a two-tier school system in Bedford Borough.

    Mr David Laws

    We are not aware of any representations made on this matter.

  • Lord Beecham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Beecham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the budgeted annual expenditure of the National Probation Service.

    Lord Faulks

    The total probation budget for 2014-15 is £804 million. This includes the first two months of the financial year, during which services were provided by the probation trusts. As well as operational delivery, the probation budget includes provision of corporate services to support the new operating model.

    The budget figureis based on an initial assessment of operational and business needs and may vary within the financial period. The costs associated with high-risk offenders fall within a number of budget items and do not constitute a separate category.