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  • Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she intends to meet the hon. Member for North Herefordshire to discuss Brockhampton school.

    Nick Gibb

    The Secretary of State met the hon. Member for North Herefordshire last Wednesday 9th December. Department for Education officials are investigating the concerns raised about Brockhampton Primary School. We will follow up with options as quickly as possible. We will keep the hon. Member for North Herefordshire informed on developments.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to increase the study of Japanese in schools.

    Nick Gibb

    The government supports the efforts of the Japan Foundation to help schools teaching Japanese. Since September 2014, maintained primary schools in England must teach a modern or ancient foreign language to pupils at key stage 2 (ages 7 to 11). Schools can choose which language or languages to teach and should enable pupils to make substantial progress in one language by the end of primary school.

    The government took action in 2010 to halt the decline in the number of school children taking language GCSEs by including it within the English Baccalaureate. This has had a positive effect on the take up of languages in schools. The proportion of the cohort in state funded schools entered for a modern foreign language has risen from 40 per cent in 2010 to 49 per cent in 2015. The government’s goal is that, in time, at least 90 per cent of pupils enter GCSEs in the EBacc subjects of English, maths, science, humanities and languages.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many parents have taken their children off the school roll after being threatened with prosecution for their child truanting in (a) academies and (b) local authority schools in the last three years.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education does not hold information on the number of parents that have taken their children off the school roll after being threatened with prosecution for their child truanting.

    The department holds information on penalty notices for unauthorised absence at local authority level. The most recently published information is available in the “Parental responsibility measures: academies year 2012 to 2013”[1] report.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parental-responsibility-measures-academic-year-2012-to-2013

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  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to ensure equitable application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 across all UK exam boards.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government currently has no plans to alter the scope of the Freedom of Information Act in relation to exam boards. However the scope of the Act is kept under review.

  • Stella Creasy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stella Creasy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will publish the guidance it has issued to schools and colleges for the implementation of Prevent strategy activities for all age groups.

    Edward Timpson

    The government published statutory guidance on the Prevent duty for specified authorities, including schools, in March 2015. In September 2015 the government published Prevent duty guidance specifically for colleges and universities.

    To complement the statutory guidance, the Department for Education has issued practical advice to schools and childcare providers to help them understand their role under the new Prevent duty. Together with Home Office, the Department also published a briefing note on how social media is used to encourage travel to Syria and Iraq. The Department’s core statutory safeguarding guidance for schools and colleges, Keeping Children Safe in Education, was updated in July to reflect the Prevent duty.

    All of the above documents are publicly available via the Department’s dedicated preventing extremism website on gov.uk. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-extremism-in-schools-and-childrens-services/preventing-extremism-in-the-education-and-childrens-services-sectors).

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  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many support jobs were lost when the Nimrod MRA4 was decommissioned; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold any records relating to the number of support jobs which may have been lost as a result of the cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4 in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Type 45 refits will commence; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Refits, or deep maintenance periods as they are also known, of the Type 45 Destroyers have already begun.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, (a) when and (b) where the Type 26 frigates will be built; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my noble Friend, Earl Howe to the noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead, in the House of Lords to Question HL 3905 on 3 December 2015.

    As explained in the White Paper ‘National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (Cmd 9161)’, the T26 GCS programme will be crucial to the future of the UK’s warship-building industry and form a central part of the national shipbuilding strategy which is to be published in 2016. This strategy will confirm the arrangements for the build programme of the T26 GCS.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether (a) stormshadow and (b) stingray will be utilised on the P8 MPA; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Department intends to bring the P-8A into service without significant modification to ensure the delivery of operational capability as soon as is practicable. There are no current plans to integrate Stormshadow and Stingray onto the aircraft, though it is possible that future capability enhancements once the aircraft is in service with the RAF may include UK weapons.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the air to air refuelling capability is of the P8 MPA with the UK Voyager fleet; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 3 December 2015 to Question 17840.