Category: Speeches

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Frontline and Think Ahead social work programmes.

    Edward Timpson

    The Government remains committed to providing appropriate levels of funding to a range of entry routes to social work.

    An independent evaluation of the Frontline programme was published in March 2016, and is accessible online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509240/DFE-RR507-Frontline-pilot-independent-evaluation.pdf

    The first cohort of Think Ahead participants started the programme in summer 2016. Plans are being made to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme.

    “

  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether a security review has been initiated for the purpose of strengthening port security between Northern Ireland and Scotland.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    All maritime security requirements are risk informed and are kept under constant review. The Department for Transport (DfT) works closely with ports, ferry operators and other agencies to ensure the safety of the travelling public.

    The DfT also has a set of comprehensive maritime security requirements which port facilities and ships are required to implement, with a well-established monitoring and oversight programme in place to ensure compliance with this regime.

  • Lord Norton of Louth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Norton of Louth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Norton of Louth on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to issue a revised response to the report from the Constitution Committee The office of Lord Chancellor (6th Report, session 2014–15, HL Paper 75).

    Lord Faulks

    I welcomed the opportunity to participate in the excellent debate on this issue in July of last year, and the Lord Chancellor was similarly grateful for the opportunity to discuss his role during his annual evidence session to the Committee in December. We have no plans to revise the written response provided by the previous administration to the Committee’s report.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many deaf students had not achieved a level 2 qualification in English by the age of 19 in 2015.

    Edward Timpson

    Information regarding the attainment of students with special educational needs (SEN) in England is broken down by type of SEN and published in the “Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessment: England 2015”[1], “National curriculum assessments at key stage 2: 2015”[2] and “GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2015”[3] statistical first releases.

    A wider summary of available SEN information is provided in “Special educational needs – an analysis and summary of data sources”[4]

    Information on the average points score of students with a hearing impairment or the number that achieve three A* to A grades or better at A level is not held by the Department. The Department also does not hold information on the number of students with a hearing impairment who have not achieved a level 2 qualification in English by the age of 19.

    Currently, there are no plans for the Department to publish A-level data split by type of special educational need or to collect additional data on the outcomes achieved by students who have a disability but not an identified special educational need, although this is reviewed every year as part of the collection process.

    [1] Phonics and KS1 assessments for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/phonics-screening-check-and-key-stage-1-assessments-england-2015

    [2] KS2 for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-2-2015-revised

    [3] KS4 for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015

    [4] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/472575/Special_educational_needs-_an_analysis_and_summary_of_data_sources.pdf

    “

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on passenger safety of removing guards and introducing driver-controlled operation on Northern Rail services.

    Andrew Jones

    The safety of passengers and rail users is paramount on the railway and the Department for Transport would never do anything to put passengers at risk.

    This system has already been in safe use on almost a third of rail services in Great Britain for up to 30 years and we think that it can help to improve the service to passengers. By giving responsibility to the driver to operate the doors, the other staff on board the train could provide a better face-to-face service for passengers. Putting this in the wider context of Northern Rail services, unlike the last Northern franchise in 2004 which included limited plans to invest in services or meet demand, this new franchise will deliver more than 2,000 extra services each week, nearly a 40% increase in capacity and the complete removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacers by the end of 2019.

  • Biography information for Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Biography information for Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Baroness Doocey on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Personal Independent Payment claimants have so far been awarded the top level of mobility support; and of those, what percentage were awarded that support as a result of points from (1) the planning and following a journey” activity

    Baroness Altmann

    At the end of January 2016 there were 218,279 people in receipt of the enhanced rate mobility component of PIP. The latest available data on the proportion of awards of the enhanced rate mobility component by activity are in the table below:

    Activities/scores

    Proportion

    12 or more points on the “planning and following a journey” activity

    19%

    12 or more points on the “moving around” activity

    51%

    12 or more points on both “moving around” and “planning and following a journey”

    5%

    12 or more points from a combination of these activities.

    25%

    Notes:

    Figures relate to Normal Rules assessments only.

    Data at 31 December 2015.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the extent of tax evasion and tax avoidance in the global south.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID has not made an estimate of the extent of tax evasion and avoidance in the global south due to a lack of reliable data.

    The UK has been an international leader in efforts to tackle tax evasion and tax avoidance since the UK’s G8 Presidency in 2013. A key part of DFID’s work in this area is to ensure that developing countries can partake in and benefit from international initiatives to challenge tax avoidance and evasion.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that unaccompanied child refugees have access to information in a form and language appropriate to their age and language on their rights to apply for asylum or family reunion which includes information on the criteria used in and estimated timescales for determining applications.

    James Brokenshire

    Unaccompanied asylum seeking children who have arrived in the UK are referred to local authority children’s services as soon as possible.

    As well as social work support, they have access to publicly-funded legal advice in relation to their asylum claim, to advice and guidance on the asylum process from the Refugee Council Children’s Panel, and to an interpreter if English is not their first language.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Education for All Bill will require academies to provide sex and relationships education.

    Edward Timpson

    All schools should offer high quality, age-appropriate sex and relationship education, and build a curriculum that meets the needs of all their students. Sex and relationship education is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools. Academies do not have to teach sex and relationship education but many choose to do so as part of their statutory duty to provide a broad and balanced curriculum.

    The content of any forthcoming Bill will be announced in due course.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of lion trophies imported into the UK.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Strict controls on the import of lions and their body parts were introduced in January 2015. These ensure that the exporting country must be satisfied that the animal was hunted sustainably and that the importing country must also carry out this check. We are working with CITES partners to strengthen hunting safeguards and put in place additional trade controls as appropriate.