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  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141, what steps he is taking to implement the commitment to double the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education by 2020.

    Joseph Johnson

    We have already taken significant steps. In particular, from 2015/16, we have removed the cap on student numbers. Publicly funded institutions can now recruit as many students as they wish if they deem them to be suitable. We have also established a stronger framework with increased responsibility placed on providers to widen access. The Director of Fair Access has agreed 183 Access Agreements for 2016/17 containing an estimated £745m to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

    The Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141 set out steps the Government plan to take to increase the proportion of students from disadvantaged background entering higher education. Further progress will come from the new guidance that we plan to issue to the Director of Fair Access, and through the social mobility taskforce being set up by Universities UK.

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the officers employed at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre are male.

    James Brokenshire

    Management information shows that the proportion of male officers employed at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre as of 17 November 2015 is 51%.

    Deployment of staff to the accommodation units is reviewed on a daily basis by Serco, with the aim of two-thirds of staff on female units being female officers.

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hon. Members have had a request to visit Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre refused in the last 12 months; and on what grounds each such refusal was justified.

    James Brokenshire

    One Hon. Member has had a request to visit Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre declined in the last twelve months.

    As set out in the Detention Centre Rules 2001, visitors to immigration removal centres may only enter with the prior authorisation of the Secretary of State other than those for purposes specified under the Rules.

    Requests to visit centres must be carefully considered and planned to preserve the privacy and dignity of the individuals who are detained.

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information she holds on the likely publication date for the independent review of Yarl’s Wood, commissioned by Serco.

    James Brokenshire

    Serco intend to publish the main findings of the report by the end of the year.

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of women detained in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre in the last year have (a) attempted to or (b) inflicted harm upon themselves.

    James Brokenshire

    Published statistics for the period July 2014 to June 2015 show that 1,501 women entered Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre as the first place of detention. Provisional management information for the same time period shows that there were 54 incidents of self-harm requiring medical treatment at Yarl’s Wood that involved women.

    These numbers do not necessarily equate to the number of detainees requiring medical treatment. An individual may have received medical treatment on more than one occasion, therefore a maximum of 54 women could have received medical treatment for self harm, the equivalent of 3.6% of the total female population that entered Yarl’s Wood for the specified period.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to improve the retention of students who have the potential to succeed in higher education but face financial difficulties.

    Joseph Johnson

    Continuation rates for students in publicly-funded institutions are at a record high, with 94.3% of young full-time first degree entrants to higher education in English HEIs in 2012/13 continuing after their first year and, 90.0% of full-time first degree starters of all ages in English HEIs in 2012/13 were expected to receive an award or transfer. Improvements in these areas have come at a time of considerable expansion in student numbers and increasing diversity in the backgrounds of students.

    Institutions wishing to charge higher fees must agree access agreements with the independent Director of Fair Access. In these, institutions set out what more they will do to attract students from disadvantaged backgrounds and help them to complete their studies and progress to post-graduate study or employment. In 2016/17, institutions expect to spend £425m on financial support through their access agreements.

    The Higher Education Green Paper set out further steps to encourage universities to improve retention rates, including for students from disadvantaged and under-represented groups, through a Teaching Excellence Framework.

  • Martin John Docherty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Martin John Docherty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin John Docherty on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent health and safety checks for civilian personnel have been carried out at Faslane Naval Base.

    Mark Lancaster

    The health and safety management arrangements at Faslane are comprehensive and multi-layered with all staff empowered to intervene or stop work when unsure about any aspect of working practices. This is supported by a wide range of routine risk assessments, inspections and audits conducted by both an internal assurance team and external regulators.

  • Martin John Docherty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Martin John Docherty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin John Docherty on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the NATO Members User Group for MQ-9 Reaper drones last met; and whether he attended that meeting.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The last meeting of members of the MQ-9 Users Group took place 2 – 4 June 2015 at US Air Force Base Wright Paterson, Ohio. The UK party was led by the Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) Force Commander and consisted of representatives from the Royal Air Force.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what level of funding his Department has provided for mental health services in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England in the last three years.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England does not split the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) programme allocation across service categories. CCGs receive an annual allocation calculated by reference to the size of population they commission for, and it is up to the CCG to decide how to spend it, taking into account national policy considerations and a local assessment of need.

    CCGs are required to submit their spending plans and their annual accounts to NHS England. NHS England reviews spending, including for mental health (MH), through the CCG assurance process.

    NHS England has made a requirement of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the planning guidance for 2015/16, The Forward View Into Action: Planning Guidance for 2015/16, that each CCG’s spending on MH services in 2015/16 should increase in real terms, and grow by at least as much as each CCG’s overall funding allocation increase.

    CCG actual and planned spend (not funding) can be split between MH and other categories of expenditure. The table below shows CCG MH spend for Liverpool CCG, for Merseyside CCGs and nationally for all CCGs. These figures are actual spend for 2013/14 and 2014/15 and planned spend for 2015/16:

    2013/14
    Outturn
    £k

    		 2014/15
    Outturn
    £k    		 2015/16
    Outturn
    £k

    Liverpool CCG Total

    76,335

    85,500

    89,609

    Merseyside CCGTotal

    181,521

    209,004

    217,948
    EnglandCCGsTotal

    7,818,924

    8,289,153

    8,602,990

    Specialised health services, primary care and other directly commissioned services includes some spend on MH services. This direct commissioning spend on MH services is not routinely split into the different categories of expenditure and is not included in the figures in the table above.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-11-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of people who are earning below the lower earnings limit and have more than one employer and do not qualify for national insurance contribution deductions.

    Mr David Gauke

    Estimates of the number of individuals who work in more than one job but do not pay national insurance, even though their total earnings are above the lower earnings threshold, are available to view at the following internet address:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pension-coverage-lower-earnings-limit-and-multiple-jobs

    “