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  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will delay the implementation of the removal of the pre-accreditation scheme from the Feed-in Tariff.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The removal of pre-accreditation was implemented as of 1 October. We consider this removal is important in maximising value-for-money deployment under the scheme.

    We consider that the proposals set out in the FIT Review consultation, in particular the introduction of deployment caps, would be an appropriate means of enabling control of overall scheme costs. In this context, we consulted on the possible reintroduction of pre-accreditation for all participants or certain groups only, subject to wider affordability considerations.

  • Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she expects to inform the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon renewable energy project of its contract for difference strike price.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We are in the first phase of a negotiation with Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay PLC for a Contract for Difference (CFD) for the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project.

    This first phase is a due diligence exercise to establish a better understanding of the project, including detailed scrutiny of its costs, timescales and potential benefits.

    Being in a bilateral negotiation does not mean that an agreement on a strike price will be reached or that a CFD will necessarily be awarded.

    If there were to be a decision to offer a CFD, it would be subject to strict value for money considerations, the funds available within the Levy Control Framework at the time of a decision and be subject to State aid approval by the European Commission.

  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment she has made of the financial effect of the removal of pre-accreditation from the Feed-in-Tariff on businesses planning to pre-accredit renewable energy schemes before the end of 2016.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The consultation on removing pre-accreditation contained a statement of impact, setting out an assessment of the effects of this change. The Government Response to the consultation makes references to the assessment of the impact of removing pre-accreditation, having considered the consultation submissions. In addition, the FIT review consultation’s impact assessment contains projections which take into account the effect of removing pre-accreditation on scheme deployment, along with other measures proposed in the review.

  • Vicky Foxcroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Vicky Foxcroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the comparative merits of universities using (a) postcodes and (b) household incomes to determine whether a student lives in a low-participation neighbourhood for the purposes of eligibility for bursaries; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    Universities wishing to charge fees above the basic fee level must agree an access agreement with the independent Director of Fair Access, setting out the support they will give to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Director of Fair Access has said that universities should use any evidence they have about the impact of financial support on widening participation when making decisions on their support packages. They should also include details of the evidence used in their access agreements.

    It is for universities themselves to decide the criteria for awarding bursaries and, in respect of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, to set these out in their access agreement. Each university will decide its criteria taking into account the make-up of its own student body and its individual mission.

  • Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that there are adequate numbers of school places in Hendon constituency.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area; supporting them in this is one of this government’s top priorities. We allocate basic need funding to local authorities to help create new school places where they are needed. The London Borough of Barnet has been allocated £27.9 million for the period 2015-18. Barnet also received £68.7 million of basic need funding between 2011 and 15, which is an increase of 49.5 million compared to the amount spent by the previous government in the period 2007-11.

    The money allocated to Barnet since 2011 has helped to create 7,136 new school places between 2010 and 2014. In addition, Watling Park School, a primary free school that opened in September 2015, is due to provide 420 additional primary places once at full capacity.

    Information on basic need allocations can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/basic-need-allocations-2015-to-2018

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  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2015 to Question 36, if she will make it her policy to separately identify agency teachers in the annual School Workforce Census; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    The government believes that it is for schools to decide when it is appropriate to employ agency teachers; this allows schools to manage their resources and staffing structures in a way that meets local needs and priorities without central prescription from government. The annual School Workforce Census already captures sufficient information regarding the overall teacher employment position in each school.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2015 to Question 2405, what the total cost to state-funded schools of hiring agency teachers was in (a) Brighton Pavilion constituency, (b) Brighton and Hove local authority area and (c) England in each year since 2010.

    Nick Gibb

    Information for the expenditure on agency supply teaching staff is available online in the following locations.

    Spend data on agency supply staff by maintained schools at a national level is available in the publication ‘Expenditure by Local Authorities and Schools on Education, Children and Young People’s Services: 2013-14’ (Table 3), at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-education-and-childrens-services-spending-2013-to-2014

    Spend data on agency supply staff by academies at a national level is available in ‘Income and expenditure in Academies in England: 2012 to 2013 (Experimental Statistics)’ (Raw data SATS table) at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-and-expenditure-in-academies-in-england-2013-to-2014

    Detailed Information on the income and expenditure of local authorities and schools (including academies) can be found in the Department’s local authority and school finance data publications at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-local-authority-school-finance-data

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  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that reviews into Ofsted’s conduct are conducted by an independent body.

    Nick Gibb

    Ofsted has well-established policies and procedures to investigate thoroughly and objectively any concerns received about its work. From August 2015, when a complaint about an Ofsted inspection is escalated to internal review, the handling of the case will also be assessed by a new scrutiny committee. For added independence, the scrutiny committee will include an external panel member who is a senior education practitioner or other sector leader not involved in carrying out inspections for Ofsted.

    If a complainant remains dissatisfied after this process, they can request an external review of the handling of their concerns by the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will commission an update to the research study of Recruitment, Deployment and Management of Supply Teachers in England commissioned by her Department in 2006; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education has no plans to commission an update to this research.

  • Stephen Hammond – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Hammond – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hammond on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has assessed the implications of using a premature child’s due date, rather than his or her birth date, for the purpose of determining when that child should start school.

    Nick Gibb

    We have announced the intention to amend the School Admissions Code so that, subject to parliamentary approval, children born in summer can be admitted to the reception class at the age of five, where this is the wish of their parents. Work is currently underway to assess what other changes it might be appropriate to make to the Code. As part of this process, we will consider whether it would be appropriate to use a prematurely-born child’s expected birth date in the admissions process.