The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many successful prosecutions have been made for cases involving breast ironing in each of the last five years.
Dr Phillip Lee
The information is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141, what steps he is taking to implement the commitment to double the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education by 2020.
Joseph Johnson
We have already taken significant steps. In particular, from 2015/16, we have removed the cap on student numbers. Publicly funded institutions can now recruit as many students as they wish if they deem them to be suitable. We have also established a stronger framework with increased responsibility placed on providers to widen access. The Director of Fair Access has agreed 183 Access Agreements for 2016/17 containing an estimated £745m to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141 set out steps the Government plan to take to increase the proportion of students from disadvantaged background entering higher education. Further progress will come from the new guidance that we plan to issue to the Director of Fair Access, and through the social mobility taskforce being set up by Universities UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2015-12-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bridges of Headley on 17 November (HL3184) and 7 December (HL2794), whether public engagement strategies are produced by electoral registration officers and made publicly available, and how the success of their work with local education institutions to increase voter registration is measured.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Electoral Commission’s guidance requires that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) produce a public engagement strategy. There is no requirement that these be made publicly available.
As part of the performance standards framework, the Electoral Commission encourages EROs to monitor and adapt their public engagement strategy where needed to meet local challenges. Evaluation of the success of this work is carried out by EROs at a local level.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people who voted in the 2015 General Election are not on the latest electoral register.
John Penrose
The electoral registers used for the 2015 General Election contained over 400,000 more entries than the last registers published prior to the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration (IER). As such, suggestions that IER would lead to a decline in registration levels were simply incorrect.
While data is not available on the number of non-IER registered electors who voted at the 2015 General Election, the Electoral Commission found 96% of the entries on the electoral register in May 2015 were already registered under IER.
The Electoral Commission is planning to publish a report in February/March 2016 on the state of the December 2015 registers. This is expected to include data on the number of register entries and on the number of remaining non-IER registered entries removed in December.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the cost was to the public purse of settlement agreements for staff from Crown Post Offices which were franchised in 2014 and 2015.
George Freeman
Post Office Limited runs and manages its directly managed Crown post offices. Arrangements for employees of these offices and changes to the Crown network are the operational responsibility of the Post Office.
I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to you on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-03-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what submissions they have made to the Bank of England’s consultation Establishing Shari’ah compliant central bank liquidity facilities.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The Government has not made any submissions to the Bank of England’s consultation: Establishing Shari’ah compliant central bank liquidity facilities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the additional costs incurred by his Department arising from appeal hearings at the First-tier Tribunal (Asylum and Immigration) being adjourned as a result of no Home Office representative being present.
Mr Shailesh Vara
This information requested is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Key Stage 1 children in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley local authority area and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber were in classes of more than 35 children in the academic year beginning September (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2013, (iv) 2014 and (v) 2015.
Nick Gibb
Information about the number of pupils in infant classes with more than 30 pupils is available at school level in the underlying data of the ‘schools, pupils and their characteristics’ statistics.[1]
Information on class sizes for the academic year beginning September 2015 is not yet available and is due to be released in June 2016.
[1] Data from January 2011 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2011 in the file called ‘School_level_classes_2011’ within the underlying data download
Data from January 2012 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2012 in the file called ‘School_level_classes_2012’ within the underlying data download
Data from January 2013 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013 in the file called ‘School_level_classes_2013’ within the underlying data download
Data from January 2014 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2014 in the file called ‘SFR15_2014_school_level_classes_UD’ within the underlying data download.
Data from January 2015 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2015 in the file called ‘SFR16_2015_Schools_Classes_UD’ within the underlying data download.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary academies and free schools teach sex and relationships education.
Edward Timpson
The Department does not hold this information.
Sex and relationship education (SRE) is compulsory in maintained secondary schools. Academies and free schools do not have to teach SRE but many choose to do so as part of their duty to provide a broad and balanced curriculum. When academies do teach SRE they are required through their funding agreement to have regard to the Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education Guidance[1].
[1] http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/statutory/g00214676/sex-and-relationships-education-guidance
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the dangers of using a hands-free kit while driving.
Andrew Jones
The Highway Code makes it clear that drivers need to be in control of their vehicles at all times. That means that drivers need to ensure that they use any device in their vehicles in a safe way when driving.
Driving while using a hands-free kit is legal and previously published research estimated that whilst a hands-free kit is distracting, it is safer than using a hand-held device.
Many cars now have built in hands-free kits and we are working with the industry to ensure that safety and legislation keeps pace with new technology as it develops.