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  • Liam Fox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Liam Fox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Fox on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been paid in personal independence payments to (a) UK and (b) non-UK citizens in each of the last five years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has been available in Great Britain since April 2013 and will be introduced in Northern Ireland later this year. A person’s nationality is not a consideration when assessing entitlement to PIP; rather it is whether they have a right to reside in Great Britain and whether they have met the presence conditions which are material. Information on the amount of PIP paid to UK and non-UK citizens is not available. Information on benefit expenditure as is available is published on Gov.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables.

    “

  • Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the announced changes to the initial teacher training criteria, whether the Teacher Standards will also be changed to reflect the increased emphasis on issues such as special educational needs and child development.

    Lord Nash

    The Teachers’ Standards state that a teacher must adapt teaching to respond to strengths and needs of all pupils, including by having a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils including those with special educational needs; and by demonstrating an awareness of the physical, social and intellectual development of children, and knowing how to adapt teaching to support pupils’ education at different stages of development.

    Following a review of the quality of initial teacher training (ITT) by Sir Andrew Carter, the Secretary of State last year commissioned an expert group, chaired by Stephen Munday CBE, to develop a framework of core content for ITT. This will help to ensure that key areas of training identified by Sir Andrew, including special educational needs, are appropriately addressed in the initial training period for new teachers. Stephen Munday’s expert group will report to Ministers shortly.

    On Wednesday 16 March, The National College for Teaching and Leadership published an updated version of the ITT Criteria, which combined the statutory guidance and supporting advice into a single document to improve clarity. Some routine and minor amendments were made to the supporting advice to assist ITT providers. These related to safeguarding arrangements, middle years programmes, and secondary subjects that are typically offered in schools in only one Key Stage. NCTL also included advice for ITT providers on the Government’s Prevent strategy.

  • Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the announced changes to the initial teacher training criteria run parallel to the proposed recommendations of the Department for Education’s independent expert group led by Stephen Munday.

    Lord Nash

    The initial teacher training (ITT) criteria and accompanying supporting advice do not prescribe the content of ITT. Providers must ensure that programmes are designed to enable trainee teachers to meet the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level.

    The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) published an updated version of the ITT Criteria, which combined the statutory guidance and supporting advice into a single document to improve clarity. Some routine and minor amendments were made to the supporting advice to assist ITT providers. These related to safeguarding arrangements, middle years programmes, and secondary subjects that are typically offered in schools in only one Key Stage. NCTL also included advice for ITT providers on the Government’s Prevent strategy.

    The Government is awaiting the report from Stephen Munday’s independent expert group which is due shortly and will consider how their recommendations will be taken forward.

  • Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the announced changes to the initial teacher training criteria, why the suggested content was not made compulsory.

    Lord Nash

    The initial teacher training (ITT) criteria document contains both statutory guidance and accompanying advice from the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). Accredited ITT providers must have regard to the statutory guidance when carrying out their duties relating to ITT. The criteria are made under The Education (School Teachers’ Qualifications) (England) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/1662). They set out criteria which providers must ensure that candidates meet when they seek to gain a training place, and programme design, management and quality assurance criteria that must be met by those ITT providers in the design and delivery of their programmes. There are criteria specific to employment-based ITT routes.

    The accompanying advice is designed to help training providers understand and interpret the statutory criteria. Ofsted uses the supporting advice when it inspects ITT providers under the relevant initial teacher education framework for inspection. The content of ITT is not specified by the criteria and supporting advice, except that providers must ensure that programmes are designed to enable trainee teachers to be assessed as meeting the relevant standards (the Teachers’ Standards). No changes have been made to the ITT criteria recently; the last change was made in June 2015 (Criterion C2.2). This removed the previously specified age ranges, allowing providers greater scope to work with schools to determine the age range that their programmes would be designed to cover, within the specified primary, middle, and secondary phases.

    On 16 March, NCTL combined the statutory guidance and supporting advice into a single document to improve clarity. Some routine and minor amendments were made to the supporting advice to assist ITT providers. These related to safeguarding arrangements, middle years programmes, and secondary subjects that are typically offered in schools in only one Key Stage. NCTL also included advice for ITT providers on the Government’s Prevent strategy.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 7 March (HL6225) and the letter from the Chief Executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to both Lord Alton and the Department of Health on 7 March, which specific members of the HFEA Licence Committee decided to overrule the HFEA’s appointed peer reviewers; which particular points raised by the peer reviewers were considered to be irrelevant by the Licence Committee; and which of the peer reviewers’ comments that were not considered to be irrelevant were also not considered by the Licence Committee to be addressed by the person responsible.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The considerations and decision of the Licence Committee of this application are set out in the Licence Committee minutes, which are attached. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it does not provide additional commentary on the Licence Committee’s reasoning beyond those set out in the minutes.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by the Minister of State for the Department for International Development, Desmond Swayne, on 16 March (HC Deb, col 937), whether it is their position that no non-state party is capable of committing genocide under the 1949 United Nations Genocide Convention.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Under Article IV of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article III of the Convention shall be punished whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals. Any member of Daesh who has committed an act of genocide is therefore liable to prosecution. Individual criminal responsibility, rather than by organisations or groups, is determined by courts. The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor has set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her press statement of 8 April 2015.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by the Minister of State for the Department for International Development, Desmond Swayne, on 16 March (HC Deb, col 937), what assessment they have made of measures required to confer on the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over crimes committed by Daesh in Syria and Iraq.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor has set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her press statement of 8 April 2015. As neither Iraq nor Syria are State Parties to the Rome Statute, the ICC has no territorial jurisdiction over crimes committed on their soil. In order for Daesh’s crimes to be investigated by the ICC, Iraq and Syria would have to declare their acceptance of the Court’s jurisdiction, or the UN Security Council could refer the situation to the Court.

  • – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply of Earl Howe on 15 March (HL Deb, col 1736) that in the UK a declaration of genocide is a matter for the judicial system”

    Lord Faulks

    The judiciary in England and Wales does not make general declarations on genocide. It is a long-standing Government policy that any judgements on whether genocide has occurred should be a matter for the international judicial system.

    Ultimately, the best way of preventing future atrocities is to defeat Daesh and its violent ideology. The UK is playing a leading role in a Global Coalition of 66 countries and international organisations to respond to Daesh’s inhumanity.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will respond to, and what is their assessment of, the statement by the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, that Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yazidis and Christians.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, is right to draw attention to the appalling crimes Daesh are committing, both against minority groups and Muslims. We will continue to work closely with the US and our other partners in the Global Coalition to defeat Daesh and to ensure justice for those who have suffered at their hands. It is a long standing UK policy that any judgement on whether genocide has occurred should be a matter for judicial decision, rather than for governments. As Secretary of State Kerry said, “ultimately, the full facts must be brought to light by an independent investigation and through formal legal determination made by a competent court or tribunal.”

  • Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was their bilateral spending on technical assistance to programmes funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the financial years from 2010–11 to 2014–15 in addition to their commitment of up to £1 billion for the Global Fund.

    Baroness Verma

    The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a critically important part of the international architecture for fighting the three diseases. The UK provides technical assistance to programmes funded by the Global Fund through the following organisations: the Stop-TB Partnership, Roll Back Malaria, UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation’s Global Malaria Programme. The table (below) shows DFID’s spend to these organisations over the last five financial years.

    (£ Millions)

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    WHOs Global Malaria Programme

    –

    1.50

    3.50

    1.50

    3.50

    Roll Back Malaria

    0.52

    1.00

    1.63

    0.63

    1.23

    Stop TB Partnership

    1.00

    1.90

    1.50

    0.50

    1.00

    UNAIDS

    10.00

    10.00

    15.00

    15.00

    15.00

    Total (£ Millions)

    11.52

    14.40

    21.63

    17.63

    20.73

    The UK is committed to remaining a world leader in tackling global diseases and ending the epidemics of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by 2030. Our future contributions to the Global Fund will be determined following the completion of the Bilateral and Multilateral Aid Reviews.