The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy schools have been found to have made irregular payments to third party suppliers without the necessary contracts in each of the last three years.
Edward Timpson
The Education Funding Agency does not record information in this manner, and would only be able to gather such information at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the enactment of UN Security Council Resolution 2248 on Burundi, passed on 12 November 2015.
James Duddridge
Under the UK’s Presidency the UN Security Council approved Resolution 2248 which provided for the deployment of a UN team to Burundi. We are now working with our partners on the UN Security Council to agree a deployment of UN police to Burundi. The force will be tasked with monitoring the situation, promoting respect for human rights and advancing the rule of law – all with the aim of creating conditions that will allow a political dialogue to go forward. We want the UN police to work closely with the African Union’s deployment of 200 military and human rights observers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of UK aid in Syria.
Sir Desmond Swayne
To date, we have allocated £561 million to support people inside Syria. By May 2016, this had provided 16.3 million food rations; access to clean water for 2 million people; 3.5 million medical consultations; 5.1 million relief packages; and 8.3 million sanitation and hygiene activities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department expects the European Medicines Agency London headquarters to be relocated.
David Mowat
The future arrangements which apply in relation to European Union (EU) institutions based in the United Kingdom should be determined once the United Kingdom has left the EU. It is too early to speculate on the future location of the European Medicines Agency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that apprenticeships deliver the skills that are needed in the current world of work.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
We are committed to delivering employer-led apprenticeship reforms, which continue to improve the ability of apprenticeships to provide the skills that employers need.
Employers are designing high quality apprenticeships – including Degree Apprenticeships -that are more responsive to the needs of business. They are deciding the skills, knowledge and behaviour required in each apprenticeship and how those skills should be assessed at the end of the programme. Through this process employers can be confident that completing an apprenticeship signals a genuine ability to do the job.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on television recruitment campaigns for the (a) Royal Air Force and (b) Royal Air Force Reserve in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15.
Penny Mordaunt
The table below details how much each of the three Services spent on television recruitment campaigns for both Regular and Reserve Armed Forces personnel in each of the last five financial years.
|
Financial Year/Service |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
|
£ millions |
|||||
|
Royal Navy |
1.80 |
1.50 |
2.80 |
4.45 |
7.46 |
|
Army |
Not held |
Not held |
2.99* |
1.28 |
1.42** |
|
Royal Air Force |
– |
3.1 |
2.25 |
2.67 |
3.92 |
*From 1 October 2012 to 31 March 2013
**Figure for Financial Year 2014-15 is less than previously reported. This is because the previous figure included production and other costs.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2016 to Question 22118, what steps her Department is taking to tackle shortfalls of mathematics teachers in state-funded primary schools; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
The number of primary teachers in state funded primary schools in England is the highest on record, and we exceeded our target for primary postgraduate trainee teachers for 2015/16.
Excellent mathematics teaching in primary schools is a high priority for this government, and we have taken a number of steps to promote this.
We have established a national network of 35 Maths Hubs, backed by £11million of funding to raise standards in mathematics. These centres of excellence are helping schools to improve the quality of their mathematics teaching. Through the Maths Hub network we are making improvements via exchanges with Shanghai, as Hubs develop a deep understanding of the ‘mastery’ approach to mathematics teaching and trial its implementation within schools. We also fund good quality mathematics professional development opportunities for primary teachers through The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics.
In addition, we have encouraged the development of primary mathematics specialist and specialism initial teacher training (ITT) courses, to allow trainee primary teachers to specialise in the subject. Since 2013/14 we have provided an ITT bursary uplift for trainees on these courses. This means that trainees with a B grade at mathematics A level, or equivalent knowledge, receive a higher bursary than those who train on primary general courses. For courses starting in 2016/17 primary mathematics specialists with a 1st class, 2:1 or 2:2 degree will receive a £6,000 bursary, compared to the maximum £3,000 bursary for primary general trainees.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how the Transitional Grant available to certain local authorities was calculated and allocated.
Mr Marcus Jones
The local government finance settlement distributed revenue support grant by looking at the main resources that are available to local councils. The Local Government Finance Report (England) 2016/2017 sets out the basis of this distribution and the results can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2016-to-2017.
My rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark) has made clear that the Transitional Grant is for places that did not benefit from these changes in the formula. I refer the hon. Member to the debate on the Local Government Finance Report (England) on 10 February 2016, Official Report, Columns 1643-1645. The fund will be applied in direct proportion to the difference in the revenue support grant that would have been experienced and so it will ease the change from a system based on central Government grant to one in which local sources determine a council’s revenue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 27620, in what ways the ring-fenced £100 million is being spent; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure its other projects compliment local air quality plans.
Andrew Jones
Highways England has set out their approach for managing the Air Quality fund in their Delivery Plan (2015-2020), published in March 2015. In this they committed to building a clear picture of where pollution exists around the Strategic Road Network and to deliver ten pilot schemes to help develop new approaches to reduce air pollution. The ring-fenced air quality fund will support the implementation of viable solutions once these have been identified though Highways England’s ongoing work.
Since 2011, Government has committed over £2 billion to measures that will help improve air quality including uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles and investment in sustainable transport. The team responsible for delivering the air quality plan will work with officials in the Department for Transport to ensure that programmes are closely aligned.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the per pupil value for money of free schools and the effect acquisition of sites (a) in London and (b) outside London has on that value for money.
Edward Timpson
Since 2010, we have opened around 400 new free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools. These schools offer excellent value for money. They are being built significantly quicker and cheaper than previous school building programmes. The National Audit Office found in its report in 2013 that free schools were built 45% cheaper than other school building programmes. Almost 200,000 new places will be provided. 25% of the free schools inspected by Ofsted have been judged outstanding compared to 20% of all other schools. We plan to open at least 500 new schools during this Parliament.
We monitor the programme’s costs to ensure it continues to offer excellent value. A value for money assessment is made prior to a free school application being approved for the pre-opening stage and again before a capital budget is approved. We consider all aspects of the project, including the size of the school and the location of the site. Sites in London tend to cost more to acquire and this is taken into account when considering the value for money offered by London projects.