Category: Speeches

  • 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 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to adjust the pupil premium funding for schools to take account of the additional responsibilities proposed in the Children and Social Work Bill in its current form.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Children and Social Work Bill proposes a new duty on schools to appoint a designated teacher to promote the educational achievement of previously looked after children.

    The pupil premium plus is additional funding for schools to support the educational needs of looked-after children and those who were previously looked after but who have left care through an adoption, Special Guardianship or Child Arrangements Order. The Spending Review confirmed that the pupil premium will be protected at current rates over the course of this Parliament. This protection applies to the pupil premium plus, which will continue at £1,900 per pupil.

    Pupil premium plus funding for pupils who were previously looked after is allocated directly to schools and it is for the head teacher to decide how best to use it to support the needs of these pupils.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the funding gap between research spending on adult autism and other health conditions.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including adult autism. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the potential impact of the proposal on patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

    Research currently funded by the NIHR includes a £0.8 million study entitled Supporting adults with high functioning autism and asperger syndrome: mapping and evaluating specialist autism team service models, and a £0.4 million study of guided self-help for depression in adults with autism spectrum disorders.

    The Department’s Policy Research Programme has recently funded a project which aimed to synthesise both research evidence relevant to low-level support for people with high functioning autism and information on current practice and service provision in England. This research was undertaken by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York and the Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University College London.

  • Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the conclusion by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) that there was no consistent evidence that the Troubled Families Programme had any significant or systematic impact on those families which took part in the programme, what evidence they have for the statement by the Communities Minister, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, on 17 October that this programme has transformed the lives of thousands of families”; and what is their response to the NIESR report National Evaluation of the Troubled Families Programme.”

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The NIESR Impact Study was just one of 6 reports comprising the independent evaluation of the first Troubled Families Programme. The evaluation found that the programme had many positive achievements. These include:

    • Families feeling more confident and optimistic about being able to cope in the future

    • Joining up local services for families by encouraging a single keyworker approach to work with the whole family on all of its problems

    • Raising the quality and capacity of local data systems

    • Better joint working with partners such as Jobcentre Plus

    The data shows that nearly 120,000 of the families on this programme saw their lives improve – more children attending school, youth crime and anti-social behaviour significantly cut and, in more than 18,000 families, an adult holding down a job. The evaluation does not dispute this fact.

    Unsurprisingly, the ambitious and innovative impact study which used national administrative datasets to track changes in families circumstances over comparatively short time periods, was unable to specifically attribute positive outcomes achieved in employment, youth crime or school attendance to the Troubled Families Programme.

    This was because at that time the level of change achieved was not significantly different from that seen in a group of families not on the programme with whom comparisons were made. This is not the same, however, as saying that the evaluation shows family outcomes did not improve, as some have wrongly inferred.

    Of course, we will continue to review all evidence of how the programme is working, to learn from it and see if there’s more we can do to help families facing such multiple problems. In fact, we have already adapted the new programme in a number of ways, including extending the length of time over which family outcomes will be tracked – from 12 months to 5 years.

  • Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure schools in rural Suffolk receive an allocation of funding based on need.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    In the previous Parliament we allocated an extra £10.5 million to Suffolk for its schools, in the biggest step forward in fairer funding in a decade. We are protecting the schools budget in this Parliament, so that it rises with pupil numbers. We have already ensured that the extra funding for under-funded areas from 2015-16, including the £10.5 million for Suffolk, will be included in budgets for 2016-17. We are committed to going further in ensuring funding for schools in Suffolk is allocated according to need and will bring forward plans after the Spending Review.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department plans to take account of the conclusions of the United Nations/World Health Organisation Second Global High-Level Conference on Road Safety when preparing the UK’s response to the next set of Sustainable Development Goals.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Road traffic injuries cost developing countries an estimated 1-2% of their gross national product, equivalent to over US$100 billion annually, with a widening of the disparity between advanced and developing countries. Road accidents kill an estimated 1.3 million people and injure up to 78 million people each year.

    We are pleased that the burden of road crashes has been recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals and we are committed to supporting the international community to achieve the target of halving the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020.

    DFID recently increased its funding to the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) hosted at the World Bank and will contribute £4.5 million between 2013 and 2017. The GRSF provides funding, knowledge, and technical assistance that lever road safety investments into transport sector programmes.

    We also focus on road safety through our research and evidence portfolio. For example our programme on High Volume Transport and the programme “Research for Community Access Partnership” (ReCAP) both have strong road safety research components. DFID also supports a programme in Nepal working to improve road infrastructure for road safety on a critical section of Nepal’s national network.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many defibrillators are provided in each building his Department manages.

    Jane Ellison

    One defibrillator is provided in each of the buildings managed by the Department which includes Blenheim House in Leeds, Premier House in Reading and Skipton House, Richmond House and Wellington House in London.

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

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how and when they intend to introduce and implement a comprehensive plan in relation to the Zika virus to (1) inform fully the British public about that virus, (2) advise on travel to Central and South America in the light of that virus’ prevalence in that region, and (3) clarify all known means of transmission of that virus.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England (PHE) and the National Travel Health Network and Centre have issued travel advice to people who may be travelling to the affected countries, particularly pregnant women and provided information for the general public through the NHS Choices website.

    PHE has been working with appropriate professional groups to develop information and guidance on Zika for clinicians. They have worked in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to develop specifically targeted at primary care which is available on the PHE website and has been cascaded by the RCGP. A copy of this guidance is attached.

    PHE have also issued a Central Alerting System update alert letter to clinicians, which includes specific information and guidance about Zika virus and pregnancy and general guidance on Zika virus and travel. A copy of this is attached.

    Although some evidence of sexual transmission exists and there is the possibility that blood transfusions may be able to transmit the virus this will be very rare. Transmission from mother to fetus via the placenta is also possible. If a person acquires Zika abroad and becomes ill on their return to the United Kingdom, mosquito-borne transmission will not occur as the mosquito is not present in the UK.

    Information on these issues is available on the PHE website. The Government continues to monitor this situation very closely and will continue to take action as appropriate.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what issues were discussed at the meeting that took place between Ministers of his Department and representatives of the Financial Conduct Authority on 5 August 2015; and who the attendees were at that meeting.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss relevant regulatory issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many allegations of fraudulent benefit claims made by members of the public led to (a) benefits being stopped and (b) prosecutions in each of the last five years.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of times the Key Stage 1 spelling, punctuation and grammar test, which was due to be sat in May 2016 but was subsequently cancelled, was downloaded from the Standard and Testing Agency’s website.

    Nick Gibb

    The version of the key stage 1 spelling test administration guidance which contained the live test content was downloaded by 18,986 individual users between 24 December 2015 and 20 April 2016.