Category: Speeches

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued to caseworkers on handling applications from international students to study at UK colleges and universities in a way that ensures the applicants are not disadvantaged by accusation of fraud in English language tests made by ETS.

    James Brokenshire

    UK Visas and Immigration caseworkers were issued with guidance on how to handle applications made by international students who had taken ETS English language tests in February 2014. This guidance has been updated as required. This is part of the reasonable and proportionate action we have taken in response to the clear evidence provided by ETS to identify those who had sought to profit from abuse of the English language testing system. The guidance does not disadvantage students who obtained an ETS test certificate properly, but ensures that due scrutiny is being applied by caseworkers where individuals have been identified as having obtained invalid test certificates.

    We received the determination in the case of Qadir and SM from the Upper Tribunal on 8 April, providing full reasons for the summary decision handed down on 23 March. Although the Upper Tribunal found that the Home Office did discharge the evidential burden on it in establishing fraud at ETS test centres and that each appellant would need to establish an innocent explanation, it went on to allow the appeals. We are disappointed by the decision and we are currently reviewing it with a view to challenging before the Court of Appeal. Given this, there are no current plans to issue further updated guidance to caseworkers following the recent Upper Tribunal determination.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many traffic police officers were employed in each police force area in each of the last five years.

    Mike Penning

    The number of full time equivalent police officers employed in traffic policing roles as at 31 March in each of the last 5 years is provided in the tables. Officers with multiple responsibilities are recorded under their primary function or role. Data for 31 March 2015 (the latest period for which figures are available) can also be found in the supplementary tables of the July 2015 police workforce statistics publication:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/444537/police-workforce-supptabs-mar15.ods

    Reclassification of roles within a force can lead to fluctuations in the number of officers in a particular role.

    As HMIC has made clear, there is no simple link between police numbers and crime levels, between numbers and the visibility of police in the community, or between numbers and the quality of service provided.

    Decisions on the size and composition of the police workforce are operational matters for Chief Officers working with their Police and Crime Commissioners and taking into account local priorities. What matters is how officers are deployed, not how many of them there are.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to encourage students at Key Stage 3 to take up modern foreign languages.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government expects all pupils in secondary education to be taught a broad and balanced curriculum, and that includes the opportunity to study a foreign language at Key Stage 3 and 4. In 2010, only 43% of pupils were studying a GCSE in a foreign language, down from 76% in 2000. Since the Government introduced the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), the proportion of the cohort in state schools that are entered for a modern foreign language GCSE increased by 20% between 2011 and 2015. Our ambition is that 90 per cent of pupils in mainstream secondary schools will enter GCSEs in the EBacc subjects, including a foreign language.

  • Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps have been taken to ensure that teachers are able to identify the progress of students in (a) English language, (b) English literature and (c) mathematics who will be assessed using the new GCSE grading structure in the summer of 2017.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department, together with Ofqual and Awarding Organisations, is working closely with schools to help them to understand and be ready for new GCSEs. Sample assessment materials, mark schemes and grade descriptors are all available and will help schools to understand what is required.

    Assessment of pupils’ progress is a matter for schools. School leaders and teachers should use their professional judgement to establish their own assessment systems that best support teaching.

    From this year, Progress 8, which measures the progress that pupils make across 8 qualifications compared to other pupils nationally with similar prior attainment, will be reported for the first time. Progress in each of the subject elements of Progress 8, including English and maths, will also be published. This new accountability system is a fairer way of measuring school performance and will incentivise and reward the good teaching of all pupils.

  • Lord Bowness – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Bowness – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bowness on 2016-10-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will seek to preserve the mutual recognition of the European Health Insurance Card throughout the UK and EU in their negotiations to leave the EU.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Nothing has yet been decided on whether the United Kingdom will seek to preserve the mutual recognition of the European Health Insurance Card after leaving the European Union. Officials in both the Department of Health and the Department for Exiting the European Union are considering the position and options available to us with the aim of achieving the best outcome for the UK health system and for the UK as a whole.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will take steps to ensure that it is aware of the criminal histories of all people admitted into the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK has detailed arrangements in place to identify people of concern seeking to enter the country. All passengers are checked against police, security and immigration watchlists and where we are aware of individuals who pose a risk, Border Force officers can – and do – refuse them entry.

    The onus for flagging a threat lies with the authorities in their home country and the UK is leading the way in Europe on improving the exchange of information in cases involving dangerous criminals. In April the UK connected to the second generation Schengen Information System (SISII), this provides us with real time information about all those individuals wanted under a European Arrest Warrant so that they can be stopped at the border.

    Since 2010, checks on foreign nationals going through the UK criminal justice system have increased by more than 1,500 per cent, helping ensure more foreign criminals are taken off our streets and making our communities safer.

    In September, we introduced a new requirement for Tier 1 investor and entrepreneur applicants to supply an overseas criminal record certificate covering the last 10 years as part of their application.

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness King of Bow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in response to the Homes and Communities Agency’s decision to downgrade Circle Housing Group’s governance rating from G1 to G3 following its failure to manage properly its Repair and Maintenance Contract with the Kier Group.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Social Housing Regulator has a clear regulatory framework which it used in this case. As is normal practice the Social Housing Regulator is working closely with Circle as it continues to recover its repair service and improves its governance. The Regulator currently has sufficient assurance of Circle’s intention to address the issues and its progress in doing so, such that the Regulator considers it does not need to apply enforcement powers at this point. The Regulator will of course continue to examine new information that comes to light.

  • Khalid Mahmood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Khalid Mahmood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Khalid Mahmood on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle gang-related gun crime.

    Mike Penning

    The Government and police work nationally, and with international partners, to reduce the threat to the UK from the criminal use of firearms. In 2013/14, firearms were used in a small and diminishing proportion of total police recorded crime, 0.2%.

    The Government keeps the firearms licensing system under review to safeguard against abuse by criminals and to preserve public safety. We have asked the Law Commission to conduct a scoping consultation on firearms law and we are considering the recommendations made by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary following their inspection on how the firearms system is working in practice. We also support local areas to take action against gang violence to reduce offending and protect vulnerable people. Under the Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme, Birmingham was subject to a peer review in 2012 and has implemented and integrated the recommendations from the review into their local strategic plans.

  • Lord Balfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Balfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Balfe on 2016-01-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to take steps to ensure that the organisation CAGE is prevented from speaking at British universities.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Government introduced a duty on universities in September to ensure that they have due regard to the need to prevent people being drawn into terrorism. The statutory guidance which accompanies the duty makes clear that universities must ensure that they assess the risks associated with organisations and speakers at events on campus, putting mitigations in place where necessary or cancelling events where the risk cannot be mitigated.

    The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has been appointed as the body to monitor compliance at English universities, including where potential breaches of the duty are reported. Appropriate arrangements will apply in Wales and Scotland.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on that body’s record of (a) call waiting times, (b) call handling and (c) the steps HMRC plans to take to increase the level of service to telephone customers.

    Mr David Gauke

    Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

    Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:

    http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

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