The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Halifax constituency will be affected by changes to employment and support allowance for new claimants in the work-related activity group.
Priti Patel
Forecasts for Employment and Support Allowance are made only at the national level. As such, the information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a mandatory dog-breeding licence for any household planning to produce two or more litters per year; and if she will make a statement.
George Eustice
We are reviewing certain local authority licensing schemes, including the breeding and selling of dogs. The public consultation on this issue closed on 12 March. The consultation proposed that anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs, or who breeds more than two litters in a twelve month period, would need a licence.
We also proposed to prohibit the sale of puppies under eight weeks of age in all cases. We are currently analysing the 1,500 or so responses before making any firm decisions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which guidance her Department provides to local authorities on the retention of case files for victims of serious child abuse in local authority-provided care.
Edward Timpson
Paragraphs 7.10 and 7.11 of Volume 2[1] of the guidance and regulations to Children Act 1989 (on care planning, placement and case review) explains how a local authority should retain and safe keep all looked after children’s case files.
Paragraphs 4.21 et seq of Volume 3[2] of the same guidance (on transition to adulthood for care leavers) includes information about access to records for people who have spent all or part of the childhood or adolescence in local authority care.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-05-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in connection with the reference in the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting communiqué to the proposal for a Commonwealth Advantage under which all member governments would consider further possible measures to enhance the scope for Commonwealth citizens to access each other’s countries more easily and for longer than is currently possible.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Home Office officials continue to contribute to a Working Group led by the Commonwealth Secretariat which is looking at the movement of Commonwealth citizens and how that can be improved, taking due regard to the requirement in the Communiqué that the actions should “not conflict with national legislation and international obligations”. Commonwealth Heads of Government have requested a progress report on these Working Group discussions at their next meeting.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it policy to adopt a national assessment framework at Key Stage 3 in order to remove from schools the need to spend time writing their own assessment guidelines.
Nick Gibb
The Government removed the system of ‘levels’ used to report children’s attainment in September 2014 and has no plans to replace it. At Key Stages 1, 2 and 3, schools are expected to implement assessment systems that meet the needs of their pupils and takes account of their curriculum.
Levels were only ever intended to be used for end of Key Stage statutory assessment but, over time, they came to dominate all assessment and have a damaging impact on teaching practice. Removing levels has put assessment back in the hands of schools and restored its real purpose of helping teachers to evaluate pupils’ understanding of curriculum content and plan lessons to support their progress. The removal of levels should also help to alleviate teacher workload over time by reducing the tracking burdens that levels encouraged.
In order to support schools so that they can make the most of the freedoms created by the removal of levels, we set up the Commission on Assessment Without Levels. In 2015, the Commission published guidance for schools, which includes examples of best practice. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commission-on-assessment-without-levels-final-report
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will bring forward proposals to reduce the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals.
Tracey Crouch
The Triennial Review of Stakes and Prizes is due to be published shortly, and will consider stakes and prizes of all gaming machines.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-10-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran about the use of capital punishment, in particular regarding the case of Fatemeh Salbehi, and what assessment they have made of the report by Amnesty International that over 700 executions have occurred in Iran this year.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Government opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. There has been no real improvement in the human rights situation in Iran, and in some cases, such as use of the death penalty, the situation appears to have worsened. We have made our position clear to Iran both publicly and privately, and continue to urge Iran to abide by its international commitments to ensure all Iranians enjoy the rights and freedoms they are entitled to.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Human Rights Act 1998 on society and communities in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.
Mr Ben Wallace
The Government was elected in May with a clear mandate to implement its manifesto commitment to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights.
We believe that it is entirely possible to do that in ways that are consistent with the Belfast Agreement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spent on bus services in each of the last five years.
Jane Ellison
The Department does not hold the information requested. Spend on bus services is not recorded separately within the Department’s accounts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the Brazilian government’s enforcement of domestic cabotage legislation on the offshore supply sector in the North Sea.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The UK Government’s strong preference is to encourage free trade and liberalization of cabotage wherever possible, in the broad interests of international trade and economic growth. So far as I am aware, the Brazilian Government’s decision has no significant direct effect on the offshore supply sector in the North Sea, and there is no intention to amend cabotage rules in relation to that sector.
However, the Government does recognize the present pressures upon the North Sea oil and gas sector and, on his recent visit to Aberdeen, my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister set out an action plan for a set of measures including a £1.3bn package of tax measures for the oil and gas industry to ensure the UK Continental Shelf remains an attractive destination for investment and a £20M package of investment in exploration, innovation and skills, as well as the new City Deal for Aberdeen itself.