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  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many times she has attended public meetings of the Women and Equalities Committee since her appointment.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities has attended two public meetings of the Women and Equalities Select Committee since its establishment in June 2015, giving evidence to the Committee’s enquiries on Transgender Equality and the Gender Pay Gap. In my role as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Women, Equalities and Family Justice, I also attended and gave evidence at the first of these sessions. I remain informed of other public meetings via Parliament TV and meeting transcripts.

    Attendance at Committee meetings is a matter of public record. Transcripts and videos of these appearances can be found on the Committee’s web pages, via the links below. There is also a transcript in Hansard.

    http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/women-and-equalities-committee/transgender-equality/oral/24014.html

    http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/women-and-equalities-committee/gender-pay-gap/oral/28868.html

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  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times he has attended public meetings of the Work and Pensions Committee since his appointment.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Attendance at Work and Pensions Select Committee meetings is a matter of public record and transcripts of such appearances can be found on the Committee’s web pages.

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/work-and-pensions-committee/

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  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on a person providing child maintenance having their payments regarded for the purpose of an income assessment for means-tested benefit.

    Priti Patel

    A person who is providing child maintenance does not have their payments disregarded for the purpose of an income assessment, in a means-tested benefit, as this would amount to the tax payer meeting a person’s liabilities.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he has taken to support women who have been affected by state pension inequalities.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Our pension policies are providing greater choice and dignity for people in retirement, whilst also ensuring the system is sustainable for the future.

    The new State Pension is being introduced for those who reach State Pension age from April 2016. Under our state pension reforms over three million women will gain an average of £11 per week more State Pension by 2030.Around 75 per cent of women (and 70 per cent of men) who reach State Pension age under the new system in the first fifteen years will have a higher value State Pension when compared to the value of the State Pension they would have received under the old system.

    National Insurance credits for those who take time out of work for caring responsibilities will gain the same state pension entitlement as National Insurance contributions through earnings.

    The average woman reaching State Pension age in the new State Pension is also estimated to receive 10% more State Pension over her lifetime than the average man. Women reaching State Pension in the next 40 years will on average receive more State Pension over their lifetime than women ever have before. Women affected by equalisation of State Pension age will be entitled to the same working age in-work, out-of-work and disability benefits as men.

  • Kelly Tolhurst – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kelly Tolhurst – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to improve the performance of schools in parts of the country where there has been persistent underperformance.

    Nick Gibb

    Our reforms are delivering much needed improvement to our education system. Ofsted inspection data shows that sponsored academies are transforming the life chances ‎of over 350,000 pupils by raising standards in their schools. But there are too many areas of the country where, for too long, children have not had the Education they deserve.

    Our strategy for Achieving Excellence Areas will tackle entrenched underperformance in areas where low school standards have been allowed for too long. We look forward to working with the first areas from this autumn.

  • David Warburton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Warburton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Warburton on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to meet demand for school places in Somerton and Frome constituency.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Supporting local authorities to ensure sufficient school places continues to be one of the Government’s top priorities. That is why we have committed to spending £7 billion on school places up to 2021, which, along with our investment in the free schools programme, we expect to deliver 600,000 new places. Somerset received £14.6 million of basic need funding between 2011 and 2015, which helped to create almost 3,000 new places between 2010 and 2015. It has also been allocated a further £24.5 million to create the places needed by 2019.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to require all primary and secondary schools to become academies.

    Nick Gibb

    Ensuring that all schools are academies by 2022 gives schools and local authorities six years notice to plan and make the right decisions for their pupils and communities.

    This is a fully funded policy with over £500 million available this Parliament to build capacity, in support of a high-quality, fully academised school system.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Ansell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to assist teachers in managing their workload.

    Nick Gibb

    We are continuing our extensive work with the profession to remove unnecessary workload so that teachers can concentrate on teaching and not bureaucracy and paperwork.

    This includes establishing three review groups to tackle the top issues raised by teachers in the Government’s Workload Challenge in 2014: marking, lesson planning, and data management.

    The reports from these review groups were published on 26 March 2016. We have accepted all their recommendations for Government.

    As the reports make clear, it is for everybody involved in education to act on the principles and recommendations in these reports so teachers can focus on what really matters – inspiring their pupils to achieve their full potential.

    We will continue to work with the teaching profession to make sure they have the ongoing support they need. We have recently conducted the first biennial Teacher Workload Survey, a commitment which will allow us to track teacher workload over the coming years. The results of the first survey will be published later this year.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what future plans she has for the role of parents in the running of their children’s school.

    Nick Gibb

    There is a long standing tradition of parents’ involvement in the running of their child’s school, including a valuable role in governance, and we want that to continue. Academy boards will always be free to appoint parents for their skills and knowledge to govern in the best interests of all pupils. Academies will be required to engage with all parents to listen to their views and feedback particularly on key decisions about the school.

  • James Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    James Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Morris on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to support the most vulnerable children and families.

    Edward Timpson

    It is a fundamental priority for this Government to keep children safe from harm and improve their life chances. We are reforming children’s social care, putting practice excellence and achieving more for children at its heart. We have made significant progress, reducing bureaucracy and recently announced a further £200m to support innovative new ways of working that focus on the needs of children and families.