The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the devolved administrations on the implementation of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Officials from the UK Government’s Resettlement Programme are in regular dialogue with the devolved administrations in relation to the delivery of the Syrian Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-11-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of steps taken to hold to account companies and directors responsible for promoting and managing the affairs of Connaught Asset Management.
Harriett Baldwin
This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government.
These questions have been passed on to the FCA. They will reply directly to the Honorable Member Kirsten Oswald by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support parents of babies who spend time in neonatal care; if he will take steps to extend the statutory maternity pay of premature babies; and if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of such steps.
Priti Patel
The Government currently has no plans to extend Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for the parents of premature or sick babies who spend time in neo-natal care.
SMP is designed to help working women during pregnancy and after childbirth by providing a measure of earnings replacement enabling them to stop work for a reasonable period around the birth to prepare for and recover from childbirth.
Working women are generally able to choose when they want their payments to begin and this flexibility in the start date for maternity pay was introduced in response to medical opinion that the woman herself is best able to judge the point at which she should give up work. This ensures sufficient time off to allow for different situations, including instances where babies are delivered at an earlier date and where babies need hospital care following birth.
The standard rate of SMP is part of a package of financial support to working families which includes Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay, Parental Leave and Flexible working. Tax Credits and Child Benefit are also available through HM Revenue and Customs to all families who qualify.
Additionally, the introduction of Statutory Shared Parental Leave and Pay for babies due on or after 5 April 2015 enables eligible mothers, fathers, and partners to choose how to share time off work after their child is born, giving parents much more flexibility in how to use their leave entitlement. This flexibility will be particularly valuable to parents who have to deal with difficult or unexpected circumstances and it allows parents, for the first time, to take leave together in a way that suits them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the legal requirements to have a governing body for (1) a maintained school, and (2) an academy school, and whether a school of either kind can abolish its governing body.
Lord Nash
Section 19 of the Education Act 2002 requires every maintained school to have a governing body, constituted in accordance with regulations.
Under the Academies Act 2010, an academy is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is therefore required under the Companies Act 2006 to have members and a board of trustees or directors.
It is not possible for a maintained school to abolish its governing body or an academy trust to abolish its board of trustees, however, it is possible for a group of schools to be governed by one governing body or academy trust.
When two or more maintained schools federate they operate under a single governing body, but each school remains a separate legal identity. In a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), individual academies do not have a separate legal identity and are all under the control of the trust board. Whether the board establishes local governing boards for each academy, and the range of functions delegated to any such boards, are both a matter for the board to determine – but in all cases the board remains accountable for the academies in the MAT.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s press release of 18 August 2015, entitled Earnings outstrip rail fare increases for the first time in a decade, what the statistical evidential basis is for the statement that increasing regulated rail fares by the retail price index between 2016 and 2020 will save season-ticket holders around £425 each.
Claire Perry
Data on all annual season ticket issues and the revenue associated with them was used to create an implied average annual season ticket fare. This was then uprated under both the RPI+0 policy, and the Department’s previous assumption about future policy (RPI+1), using the OBR’s assumptions of future RPI increases. The difference between the two was then summed to reach an average saving of £425 over the period.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the methodology and data sources set out in his Department’s paper, Benefit claims by EEA nationals, published in November 2015, how many individuals are recorded in government computer systems who were nationals of a non-EEA member country at time of registration for a National Insurance number and are recorded as having arrived in 2004-05 using the earlier of (a) arrival date or (b) NINO registration date and have either (i) paid National Insurance contributions over the previous year, (ii) paid PAYE income tax over the previous year, (iii) registered any other form of activity in the relevant systems, including payments of other tax or tax in respect of self-employment or (iv) claimed benefits or tax credits over the previous year and these; and how many such people (A) claimed benefits or tax credits only and (B) paid NI or PAYE or self-assessment tax only in each year from 2004-05 to 2014-15.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the Government will implement the recommendations made in the Time to Move report published by Blind Children UK in February 2016 to improve the number of children with sight loss who receive rehabilitation training.
Jane Ellison
The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to work with children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), and their parents, to develop a Local Offer of the services they have or expect to be available to children and young people with SEND, including those with visual impairment. As such, it is for local authorities, in consultation with children and young people with SEND and their families, to decide which services they offer in their area, which can include habilitation training.
At a national level, the Department for Education has funded a partnership of charities through the National Sensory Impairment Partnership to help local authorities to compare their services, learn from the best in the country and make sure that services for blind children and their families (as well as those with other sensory impairments) are effective and meet local needs.
In 2013/14 the Department of Health provided funding to Blind Children UK for their three year project training eight students for the Diploma in Habilitation Studies at the UCL Institute of Education. Officials have met with Blind Children UK recently as part of their engagement with key organisations which represent the interests of children and young people with complex needs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal Parks about the Plantation and the Royal Park Estate Yard in Hyde Park.
Mr Edward Vaizey
I have had no discussions with the Royal Parks about the estate yard in Hyde Park. Following my decision this year to increase the capital allocation for the parks, my officials have been in discussion with TRP about rebuilding the existing ageing Hyde Park nursery facility. Planning on this is underway and, subject to relevant permissions, when complete will enable the estate to grow 95% of its plants on site in a new more efficient building.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans to require non-levy paying employers wishing to recruit an apprentice from April 2017 to make a compulsory cash contribution to the cost of training.
Nick Boles
The Government will help employers who are not paying the levy to meet the costs of apprenticeships training by providing generous financial support. We will ask these employers to make a small contribution. Further detail on funding rates will be published shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish (a) how much spending has been committed from the public purse, and on what, (b) the outcomes proposed and (c) the outcomes achieved to date as part of the joint intervention fund agreement of September 2014 with the French government to combat illegal migration between 2015 to 2020.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The September 2014 Joint Declaration committed the UK to a £12 million contribution to upgrade port infrastructure across the juxtaposed ports in northern France and to ensure effective measures are taken to protect vulnerable persons such as victims of trafficking.
The migrant situation has developed significantly since the September 2014 Declaration and further investment has followed, in line with the Government’s aim to reinforce border security. We continue to work closely with the French authorities at both political and operational levels on a package of measures to further bolster security at ports in northern France. This includes not only physical and personnel security measures but also wider work to tackle criminal gangs involved in people trafficking. The UK has also part funded a project, run by a French non-governmental organisation to identify and direct vulnerable people to protection, support and advice within France.
The investment in security by the UK, the closer coordination of our law enforcement response and the significant investment in police resources by the French Government has led to a significant improvement in the situation at the ports in northern France. The UK and France regularly review security at the ports to ensure the new measures are maintained and remain effective.
Furthermore, at the UK-France summit in Amiens on 3 March, the Home Secretary announced that the UK will contribute £17 million to joint work with France to ease migrant pressures in the Calais region and further strengthen the UK border. Most recently, the Home Secretary and French Interior Minister reiterated at their meeting on 30 August that both Governments are committed to working side by side on a range of issues in northern France.