Category: Speeches

Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their current plans are to improve and extend the training of entering civil servants following changes to in-house training over the past 10 years; what plans they have to use universities to help provide training for civil servants; and whether they will encourage specialised agencies and departments to provide their own training or to outsource it where appropriate.

Lord Bridges of Headley

There is a comprehensive induction programme for all new civil servants which was introduced in 2015, as well as department and role specific development provided by each department. Senior external recruits also have opportunities to hear from senior officials, network with their peers and get access to a mentor or buddy as part of their induction. As with every learning and development programme, the content and approach to induction is continually reviewed to ensure that it meets current and future needs.

Civil Service Learning (CSL) provides a core suite of learning for all civil servants, for example on leadership and management. The learning and development providers working with CSL are based around consortia containing universities and their business schools. MIT and Cranfield University are helping to develop the curriculum for the Senior Civil Service, and the Open University is a key partner in delivering learning for all other grades. They have also worked with the London School of Economics on a Policy Masters.

Whilst CSL provides learning that meets the needs of all civil servants, specialised agencies and departments do provide their own training. Examples include the Diplomatic Academy run by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and HMRC’s Tax Academy. Professions also provide their own training – for example through the Commercial College and the Government Finance Academy. This provision represents a mix of internal delivery and outsourcing. CSL provides support and guidance on good practice to departments and professions.

January 1, 2023

Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of school pupils aged 18 or under had either a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan in each of the last five years.

Edward Timpson

The transition period from statements to Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs) runs until April 2018. Every local authority has published an individual Local Transition Plan setting out the timings for transfers to the new system. We are monitoring local authority progress and published figures about transition up to January 2015, returned by local authorities, in the Special Educational Needs in England Statistical First Release of May 2015[1]. We will publish the figures up to January 2016 in May 2016.

The Department does not collect information on the number of children who are home educated. Some local authorities choose to maintain registers so that parents can voluntarily register children being educated at home.

The number and proportion of school pupils who had a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an EHCP in each of the last five years is as follows:

x	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Pupils with statements or EHCPs	224,210	226,125	229,390	232,190	236,165
Pupils on roll	8,123,865	8,178,200	8,249,810	8,331,385	8,438,145
Incidence (%)	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8[2]

The number of permanent and fixed period exclusions received by pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs in each of the last five years for which data is available is as follows:

x	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14
Fixed period exclusions	37,140	36,740	35,640	32,210	33,190
Permanent exclusions	420	430	380	330	330[3]

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-special-educational-needs-sen

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2015

[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions

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January 1, 2023

Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to review the current time limits for abortion.

Jane Ellison

The Abortion Act 1967 sets out that an abortion may be carried out after 24 weeks gestation only where:

― the termination is necessary to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman Section 1(1)(b); or

― the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated Section 1(1)(c); or

― there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped Section 1(1)(d).

In England and Wales it is accepted Parliamentary practice that proposals for changes to the Abortion Act come from backbench members and that decisions are made on the basis of free votes. The Government has no plans to review this legislation.

January 1, 2023
Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his officials last updated the Blue Badge Scheme local authority guidance; whether he plans to update that guidance; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

The extent to which a specific condition affects people will vary. If we were to provide automatic eligibility without further assessment by virtue of having dementia it may not reflect genuine need.

However, the ‘subject to further assessment’ criteria do not preclude the issue of badges to people with mental/cognitive disabilities. Any permanent and substantial disability may qualify for a badge if it causes “very considerable difficulty in walking”. It is for the local authority to assess the degree of challenge on a case-by-case basis.

The guidance was last updated in October 2014. There are no plans to update it at this time.

January 1, 2023
Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of the flexibility of the scheme of the CBI’s proposal to delay implementation of the apprenticeship levy.

Robert Halfon

We understand that some organisations want to delay or scrap the levy, but any delay would mean holding back opportunities for people and businesses to gain the skills they need. We are working with the CBI, employers and training providers to make sure the new system works for them. In August we published proposals for how apprenticeships will be paid for in England in the future and invited feedback on these. Following thorough analysis we will publish final details at the end of October.

January 1, 2023
Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children who have had a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in each local authority area were excluded from school in the last five years.

Edward Timpson

The Department does not hold information on the number of pupils excluded with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

January 1, 2023
Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department made of the effect of previous reviews on the uptake of innovation in the NHS in establishing the terms of reference for the Accelerated Access Review.

George Freeman

The Accelerated Access Review (AAR), chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, will make recommendations to government on reforms to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative medicines and medical technologies making our country the best place in the world to design, develop and deploy these products. The terms of the reference for the review focus on faster access to innovations, which may include certain off-patent repurposed drugs, as opposed to the routine availability of medicines or medical technologies.

Prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR, the Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS including the Innovation, Health and Wealth report. As a result, building upon the lessons of previous reviews is explicit with the terms of reference of the AAR.

The AAR has regular meetings with senior officials from NHS England via a steering group as recommendations are being developed. In addition, some staff from NHS England have been assigned to support the review team.

Sir Hugh is still in the process of developing final recommendations which will be published in spring 2016. In his Interim Report published in October, Sir Hugh sets out a proposition on “galvanising the NHS”. This involves supporting the NHS to adopt innovation, more rapidly through better practical support, stronger incentives and the potential streamlining of local structures.

The Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR. It was clear that whilst progress has been made on the uptake of innovation in the NHS there is still much to do. Sir Hugh and the head of the External Advisory Group, Professor Sir John Bell, set out the case for uptake of innovation in the recently published AAR Interim Report.

The AAR has senior level contact with officials working on Lord Carter’s review of NHS efficiency to ensure that information is shared between the two teams.

January 1, 2023
Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-01-05.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what provision his Department has made for public sector employers to pay the (a) national living wage, (b) 3.4 per cent increase in Secondary National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from 2016-17 following the abolition of Contracted Out NICs and (c) Apprenticeship Levy.

Greg Hands

It is the responsibility of each Department to ensure they have sufficient funding available to cover any additional costs associated with either the National Living Wage, the 3.4 per cent increase in Secondary National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from 2016-17, or the apprenticeship levy. HM Treasury has only made provision for the costs that it will incur in respect of its own staff as a result of these changes.

January 1, 2023
Kirsty Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsty Blackman on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many data protection breaches there have been by HM Courts and Tribunals Service when dealing with non-devolved tribunals in Scotland since April 2013.

Mr Shailesh Vara

Below are the reported data incidents figures of non-devolved tribunals in Scotland since April 2013:

April 2013 – March 2014 64 reported incidents

April 2014 – March 2015 65 reported incidents

HMCTS staff are mandated to complete annual information assurance training, which includes actions to take in respect of a data protection breach or data incident.

January 1, 2023
Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to promote collaboration between farmers by setting up producer organisations in the dairy sector.

George Eustice

Collaboration is a powerful way for groups of farmers to share knowledge and expertise, market information and good farming practice, exercise joint purchasing power and strengthen their negotiating position within the supply chain.

We have put in place the legal framework that allows dairy producer organisations (DPOs) to form and provided some initial funding through the launch of the £5m Dairy Fund in 2013. The first domestic DPO, Dairy Crest Direct, was formally recognised by the Rural Payments Agency in May 2015, bringing together 1,050 dairy farmers across England and Wales.

In 2015, AHDB Llaeth/Dairy commissioned Promar International to carry out a study into ‘The Feasibility of a Dairy Producer Organisation in Wales’ on behalf of a group of Welsh dairy farmers. A report is available at: http://dairy.ahdb.org.uk/resources-library/market-information/adhoc-reports/the-feasibility-of-a-dairy-producer-organisation-in-wales-report/

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January 1, 2023