Category: Speeches

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they have given to local authorities, in particular Brighton and Hove Council, concerning requests for information about children’s self-perception of their sexual orientation.

    Lord Nash

    The Department for Education do not require schools or local authorities to collect any information on the sexual orientation of children. Any information collected locally by schools and / or local authorities on sexual orientation for their own purposes is a matter for them to manage locally.

    The Department for Education has provided schools with guidance on complying with the Equality Act.

    The Public Sector Equality Duty, at section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, is a duty on public bodies (and others carrying out public functions) to consider, in their day to day work, the needs of people who share particular protected characteristics. This includes schools and children’s services.

    Under the Duty, public bodies must have due regard to the need to:

    • eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conducted that is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010
    • advance equality of opportunity, and;
    • foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.

    The Equality Duty covers the protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act, which includes age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

    Guidance on complying with the Act and the Equality Duty can be found on GOV.UK (under Equality Act 2010 guidance). Earlier guidance formed under the Coalition Government has been archived on the National Archives website (under the ‘Equality Bill’ guidance). The Equality and Human Rights Commission has also issued guidance on the Public Sector Equality Duty.

    Local authorities will also have to comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 on the data they collect. The Information Commissioner’s Office state that data should only be collected if organisations have legitimate grounds for collecting and using the personal data; that they do not use the data in ways that have unjustified adverse effects on the individuals concerned; that they be transparent about how they intend to use the data, and give individuals appropriate privacy notices when collecting their personal data.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the under-occupancy penalty on people with disabilities.

    Justin Tomlinson

    People with disabilities are entitled to an extra bedroom for non-resident overnight carers and disabled children who are unable to share with another child.

    Since 2013, we have provided local authorities with £470 million in Discretionary Housing Payments funding. This has enabled local authorities to give additional support to claimants where appropriate. This includes £175 million specifically for those affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy, of which £75 million is for those living in significantly adapted properties.

    We will continue to provide additional support through Discretionary Housing Payments and have made a further £800 million in DHP funding available for the next 5 years of this Parliament.

  • Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of housing wealth to supporting the income of pensioners.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government has created the foundation for saving for retirement via automatic enrolment and the State Pension reforms and given individuals the freedom to use their own savings and access other sources of income or capital in the way that best suits their needs. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics indicate that around 80% of pensioners hold some form of housing equity. However, people who might choose to access potential sources of income, such as equity release or flexible pension products, will need to give careful consideration to whether it best suits their needs and how it could affect their income and entitlement to welfare, both now and in the future.

    That is why the government set up Pension Wise to provide information and guidance on how people can access their pension saving flexibly. Information is widely available in terms of how income and capital are treated in the means-tested benefits. Officials have held discussions with the equity release industry in May 2014 and February 2015 to explain the interactions between equity release and means tested benefits.

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

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of former care leavers living in unsuitable accommodation.

    Edward Timpson

    Ensuring that young people leaving care are able to access suitable accommodation is a priority for this Government. In 2015, 92% of care leavers aged 19-21 were in suitable accommodation. We have introduced measures to help ensure care leavers have access to suitable accommodation but we are determined to do more.

    That is why, during the last Parliament, we introduced the ‘Staying Put’ duty, which requires local authorities to support young people to continue living with their former foster carers up to age 21.

    Statutory guidance sets out the factors that local authorities must take into account when determining the suitability of accommodation for their children and young people. The guidance was strengthened in 2015 to make clear that bed and breakfast accommodation should only be used in exceptional circumstances and for no longer than 2 working days. Since 2014, Ofsted inspections have assessed whether local authorities are ensuring that care leavers have access to suitable accommodation.

    Further measures to support care leavers to access suitable accommodation will be considered as part of the refreshed cross-Government care leaver strategy, to be launched later this year.

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24371, for what reasons there are no figures for the number of compliance checks the Maritime and Coastguard Agency carried out on vessels in the North Sea sulphur dioxide emission control area in 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Further to my answer of 29 January, the data provided refers to the specific fuel sampling and testing regime put into place by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in order to support compliance activity relating to the use of low sulphur fuel by ships. This sampling activity started on 1 January 2016 in line with a Europe-wide decision.

    This sampling is supplementary to the normal Port State Control activity that is performed by MCA Marine Surveyors, the scope of which includes consideration of compliance with air pollution requirements.

    In 2015 the MCA carried out 1068 inspections under Port State Control which includes the examination of documentation related to compliance with the North Sea sulphur emissions control area.

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

    James Berry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Berry on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reform special educational needs and disability provision.

    Edward Timpson

    The special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms which came into effect in September 2014 represent the biggest change to the SEND system in a generation. They are transforming the support available to children and young people with SEND by joining up services across education, health and social care and by focusing on positive outcomes for education, employment, housing, health and community participation.

    Since September 2014, our reforms have seen the introduction of:

    o published ‘local offers’ for each local area, setting out the SEND services that are available;

    o new Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans for those with more complex needs – replacing statements of SEN and post-16 Learning Difficulty Assessments (LDAs);

    o a new legal requirement on local authorities to take the views of families fully into account when deciding what provision to offer;

    o new statutory protections for 16-25 year olds in further education – including the right to request the educational institution of their choice;

    o new duties for health to deliver the agreed health elements of EHC plans;

    o the option of a personal budget for families and young people with an EHC plan;

    o a review of disagreement resolution arrangements; and

    o new arrangements for supporting young offenders with SEND.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 29817, whether her Department holds information on the number of children who have been further assessed after the strength and difficulties questionnaire score suggested that there may be a problem with that child’s mental health.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Department does not hold information on the number of children who have undergone further assessment following the completion of a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

    The Government has made available £1.4 billion over five years to implement the blueprint set out in Future in mind to transform children’s mental health services, including for those looked after and other vulnerable groups. Together with the Department of Health and working with NHS England and others we are establishing an expert group to develop care pathways that will support an integrated approach to meeting the mental health needs of looked-after children.

  • Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bernard Jenkin on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Prime Minister, if he will publish a list of hon. Members and Members of the House of Lords who he has appointed to serve as his envoy in the current Parliament; what the title and responsibility was of each of those envoys; when each of those envoys was appointed; and of those whose appointment was subsequently terminated, on what date that termination occurred.

    Mr David Cameron

    Information regarding trade envoys can be found on the gov.uk website.

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making the Mobetron mobile device for the delivery of radiotherapy available on the NHS.

    Jane Ellison

    No such assessment has been made. Although NHS England commissions radiotherapy services, the choice of equipment rests with individual providers.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure access to social housing for people in Liverpool, Wavertree constituency who require such housing.

    Gavin Barwell

    Through the Spending Review the Government has committed to investing £8 billion to deliver 400,000 affordable housing starts, doubling our investment from 2018/19. This includes £1.6 billion towards delivering 100,000 affordable homes for rent by 2021.

    Since April 2010, we have delivered over 293,000 affordable homes. Between 1997 and 2010 the stock of rented affordable homes fell by 420,000. Between 2010 and 2015, the stock of rented affordable homes rented increased by 64,000.

    Alongside increasing supply, the Localism act 2011 has maintained the statutory ‘reasonable preference’ criteria which ensure that overall priority for social housing is given to those who need it most.

    The introduction of fixed term tenancies in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 will ensure councils get the best use out of their social housing stock by focusing it on those who need it the most for as long as they need it.