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Category: Speeches

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of how effectively pupil premium funding is used by schools to support disadvantaged highly-able pupils.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The department recently published ‘Supporting the Attainment of Disadvantaged Pupils: Articulating Success and Good Practice’[1]. This is independent research on the effective use of the pupil premium, carried out by National Foundation for Educational Research.

    On the basis of this report, the department published ‘Supporting the attainment of disadvantaged pupils: briefing for school leaders’[2], which reinforces the importance of supporting more able disadvantaged pupils to meet their potential.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473974/DFE-RR411_Supporting_the_attainment_of_disadvantaged_pupils.pdf.

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473976/DFE-RS411_Supporting_the_attainment_of_disadvantaged_pupils_-_briefing_for_school_leaders.pdf

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  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Chinese government on the sovereignty of the Spratly Islands archipelago; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), expressed our concerns about the situation in the South China Sea most recently during his visit to Beijing on 5 January. He stressed the need to avoid raising tensions and underlined the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation.
    I set out the UK’s position during the Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Luxembourg on 5-6 November 2015.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to maintain the diversity of the local newspaper sector in the UK.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    As the Secretary of State has stated previously, Local papers are the bread and butter of journalism – they part of the communities they serve, and people rely on and respect them. In our manifesto, we committed to consulting on the introduction of a business rates relief for local newspapers in England, which we have now done, and are considering next steps.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether public sector net debt is forecast to fall in the next financial year.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) produce the forecast for public sector net debt. Based on the OBR’s November 2015 ‘Economic and fiscal outlook’, public sector net debt is expected to fall as a share of GDP in every year of the forecast period.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the proposed merger between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse on London’s role as a global financial centre.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government is aware of the announcement by the London Stock Exchange Group and Deutsche Boerse that they have reached agreement on a merger of equals. This is a commercial transaction and subject to regulatory and other relevant approvals. The Government will not be commenting at this stage.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the legal status of NHS Improvement is; how and to whom that body is accountable; and what functions he has in relation to that body.

    Ben Gummer

    NHS Improvement has brought together two distinct legal entities: Monitor, a non-departmental public body and the NHS Trust Development Authority, a special health authority, under a single leadership and operating model. It is a combination of the continuing statutory functions and legal powers vested in these organisations.

    They will continue to maintain their current legal underpinnings as two separate bodies, although they will function as a single organisation to manage NHS trusts and foundation trusts more effectively in the interests of patients and taxpayers.

    NHS Improvement will be accountable directly to Parliament, the Secretary of State and the Department’s Principal Accounting Officer for discharge of Monitor’s statutory and regulatory functions and to the Secretary of State and Principal Accounting Officer for the specific functions of the Trust Development Authority.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will allow the Quality Assurance Agency to include an assessment of how well universities are meeting the needs of disabled students in their remit.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone with the potential has the opportunity to benefit from higher education, irrespective of their background or mode of learning. In the last year we saw record numbers of applicants and entrants to higher education, and record application rates among students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

    Universities expect to spend more than £745 million through access agreements agreed with the Director of Fair Access on measures to improve access and success for students from disadvantaged groups, including disabled students – up significantly from £404 million in 2009.

    Under the Equality Act 2010, higher education institutions have a role and responsibility for promoting equality, including for students with disabilities.

    The UK Quality Code promotes an inclusive approach by embedding consideration of equality and diversity throughout higher education institutions. Promoting equality for disabled students can include eliminating arbitrary and unnecessary barriers to learning and offering learning opportunities that are equally accessible to them. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) looks for evidence that universities promote equality when making assessments of higher education institutions in line with the UK Quality Code.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how she plans to ensure that the early years workforce strategy encourages the recruitment and retention of early years teachers.

    Nick Gibb

    We recognise the importance of the Early Years workforce in improving quality and delivering better outcomes for children. That is why we are committed to publishing an Early Years workforce strategy. The strategy will set out how we will help to remove barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff. As part of the strategy, we will look at the barriers to increasing the number of graduates in the workforce.

    The Government currently delivers Early Years initial teacher training places, funds eligible graduates to undertake training and also provides student bursaries. Information about training routes is available from the Get into Teaching site: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/

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  • Ian Lavery – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian Lavery – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civilian enforcement officers were employed by HM Courts and Tribunal Service in each year since 2010; and if she will make a statement.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    The number of civilian enforcement officers that were employed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service since 2013 are:-

    Headcount

    FTE (Full time Equivalent)

    December 2013

    296

    287.49

    December 2014

    242

    231.18

    December 2015

    212

    202.59

    September 2016

    185

    173.72

    Data prior to 2013 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    HMCTS takes recovery and enforcement of financial impositions very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters is a continued priority nationwide and remains committed to finding new ways to ensure impositions are paid and to trace those who do not pay. This is why there has been a year on year increase in the total amount of financial penalties collected over the last five years. The amount of money collected has risen from £310m at the end of 2014/115 to a record of £381 million at the end of 2015/16.

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations against Rohingya people in Burma.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 12 November 2015 (PQ14884), which can be located at: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/.