Category: Speeches

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding his Department has received from the European Social Fund to fund the National Offender Management Service Co-Financing Organisation in each year since January 2010.

    Andrew Selous

    Money received from the European Social Fund (ESF) by the NOMS Co-financing Programme is published in the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts. No ESF funding has been used to finance employer roadshows at Sudbury, Drake Hall and Wayland prisons. Neither has any ESF money been awarded direct to HM Young Offender Institutions Werrington, Feltham or Cookham Wood.

    It is a condition of any award of core ESF funding to the NOMS Co-financing programme that it has to be spent on front line services for offenders (excluding the administration budget. Because of this, a separate application was made under the Technical Assistance grant to fund, among other things, the setting up and running of the Employers’ Forum for Reducing Re-offending (EFRR). The aim of the Technical Assistance grant is to fund services that will support the objectives of the main programme – employability of offenders. The amount spent from the ESF Technical Assistance fund on the EFRR from 2010 to 2015 was £280,403.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what facilities are available for (a) lactating mothers and (b) the changing of babies in her Department.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office provides suitable facilities for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers (where they can also change babies if required), in line with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance.

  • Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guarantees they plan to give to people with a learning disability that they will continue to have their right to independent living respected following the introduction of the new funding system for supported housing.

    Lord Freud

    Supported accommodation plays a vital role in the lives of many vulnerable people. A safe and stable and supportive place to live can be the key to unlocking better outcomes for people and for many it is a stepping stone to independent living in the longer term. The Government values the role supported housing plays and is committed to encouraging further development to meet future demand.

    The Secretary of State confirmed in his written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 15th September that the Government will shortly be publishing a consultation document on supported housing.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of whether ending her Department’s funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit would affect the UK’s Commitment to Action on the illegal wildlife trade.

    Rory Stewart

    An assessment of the effect of future funding decisions regarding the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit on the UK’s Commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade has not yet been made.

    Decisions on future funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond March 2016 will be made as part of the current Spending Review process.

  • John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has served any French cheeses at receptions within that Department in the last five years.

    George Eustice

    No French cheese has been served at receptions held by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the last five years.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what resources and schemes are being targeted at those who lack the basic levels of literacy and numeracy.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    This Government understands the importance of English and maths and makes these subjects a priority for support within the adult skills system. Adults who improve their literacy and numeracy are more likely to experience better health and well-being, increase their chances of employment and progress to better jobs.

    We fully fund, through a statutory entitlement, all adults to achieve their first English and maths GCSE at grade C or above as well as other qualifications which help them get to that level. The total funding for English and maths for academic year 2013/14 (including for apprenticeships, English for Speakers of Other Languages and prisoners) was £563,961,000. Of this £142m was spent on English and maths in apprenticeships. (905,600 learners participated in English and maths courses in 2013/14)

    We fund a wide range of learners to study English and maths including:
    • Prisoners, through the Offender Learning and Skills Service
    • Learners in the community, including through Family English, Maths and Language
    • People who need English for Speakers of Other Languages
    • Trainees as part of their traineeship
    • Apprentices as part of their apprenticeship
    • Jobseekers

    We have increased our expectations of what learners should achieve in order to increase the standard of literacy and numeracy. To do this we have embedded English and maths at the heart of all our major programmes. This means:
    • Learners who did not achieve a good GCSE pass in English and/ or maths by the age of 16 are now required to continue to study those subjects post-16;
    • Since 2014/15, the English and maths requirement for Intermediate Apprenticeships has been stronger, with all apprentices who have already achieved level 1 English and maths having to work towards level 2;
    • Since 2014/15, young people undertaking a traineeship have been required to study English and maths unless they already have level 2 qualifications in these subjects;
    • In August 2014, we introduced mandatory assessment of maths and English for all newly-received prisoners to ensure that all offenders, not just those that go into learning, receive a learning assessment (focused around English and maths, but also covering learning difficulties and disabilities)

    We have reformed GCSEs to ensure they are more stretching and provide greater assurance of core literacy and numeracy than the old GCSEs. We also recognise that some people are not ready to take GCSE so we are also improving the rigour and relevance of English and maths Functional Skills qualifications, which are taken by many students and apprentices aged 16 and over. We have commissioned the Education and Training Foundation to revise the National Literacy and Numeracy Standards and reform Functional Skills. The foundation has launched a consultation which will run until April and which will involve employers, teacher and subject experts.

    We recognise the need to improve the quality of English and maths teaching in further education. We have invested over £30m over the past 3 years to fund a range of measures to improve the workforce in areas such as leadership, governance, teaching and learning, with a particular focus on maths and English. This has resulted in over 1,000 bursaries to attract graduates to teach in further education and over 3,800 teachers have benefited from training to improve the quality of their English and maths courses.
    We are undertaking a range of research to best understand where Government investment in English and maths has the greatest impact and delivers value for money. This includes:
    • Using behavioural insights to identify how to motivate adults to improve their English and maths and encourage learners to keep studying once enrolled on a course; ;
    • Longitudinal research into skills gain and skills atrophy of adult English and maths learners
    • Comparing the impact of blended and more traditional classroom learning.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consulted the Charity Commission prior to their announcement on 6 February that charities would no longer be able to use any government grant to influence policy, and if so, what advice the Charity Commission gave.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The announcement on 6 February was on a new clause for all government grant agreements. It is not specific to Charities.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 3 March (HL6235), what destinations are currently licensed to accept spoil from the Thames Tideway Tunnel, and what commitments have been given about whether such spoil may be sent to landfill permit sites.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    There are many sites across the country licensed to accept the type of excavated material and waste from the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT). Tideway, the Infrastructure Provider set up to finance, build, maintain and operate the TTT, is assessing several sites that were identified as part of the information submitted for the Development Consent Order consent to receive the TTT excavated material. In order to meet Tideway’s commitment to transport by river, it is focussing on sites in the Thames Estuary. The type of permit these sites require is being assessed in line with current statutory guidance. A number of applications have been made and are being determined by the Environment Agency.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what timetable he has set for publication of information on the cost to the public purse of the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information.

    Matthew Hancock

    The final costs for the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information are currently being assembled and I expect to be able to publish the information shortly.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what changes his Department has made to Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd’s performance benchmarks under Schedule 7.1 of the Thameslink Southern and Great Northern franchise agreement since that agreement was signed.

    Claire Perry

    The Franchise Agreement sets out the circumstances which entitle a revision to the Govia Thameslink Railway Schedule 7.1 benchmarks. A predefined contractual change has occurred which has required changes to the Cancellation and TOC Minute Delay benchmarks.