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  • Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Luff on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) objectives, (b) governance, (c) intended duration and (d) funding of the Your Life campaign are; and if he will make a statement.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The main objective of the Your Life campaign is to increase the number of young people choosing A levels in maths or physics.

    The campaign will be led by an independent organisation chaired by Edwina Dunn, and it will run for three years.

    It will seek support and resources from leading employers and organisations. The Government has provided limited funds to establish a website and other set-up work.

  • Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Luff on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the review of design and technology GCSE/GCE examination specifications will bring those examinations in line with the revised national curriculum for design and technology.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The GCSE and GCE Awarding Organisations are leading on developing new design and technology GCSEs and A levels. They are ensuring that the content builds on and is in line with the revised design and technology national curriculum.

  • Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Luff on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what continued professional development assistance is provided to design and technology teachers.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The Government is committed to raising the quality of teaching in all subjects, including Design and Technology (D&T). Headteachers and teachers are best placed to make decisions about what professional development they require in order to meet the needs of their pupils and school. A network of Teaching Schools has been established to improve the capacity of schools to take the lead in the training and development of teachers and create more opportunities for peer-to-peer learning. The Teachers’ Standards set a clear benchmark for the level of practice expected of all teachers, and provide a valuable tool to help headteachers and teachers identify and address development needs through regular appraisal.

    The D&T expert subject group, set up to provide support to teachers implementing the new D&T curriculum, comprises of leading professionals in D&T who work to clarify the key areas on which teachers most need further support, identifying the topics that can present the greatest challenge when discussing with pupils. The group liaises with relevant specialists and providers to develop and produce new resources where necessary. DATA, in partnership with others, have developed a range of resources including an annotated programme of study, providing advice and explanatory notes on implementation.

  • Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Luff on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what account he plans to take of (a) design and (b) technical knowledge in the review of the GCSE/GCE examination course in design and technology.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The GCSE and GCE Awarding Organisations are leading on developing subject content for reformed design and technology qualifications. In carrying out this work, they are drawing closely on advice from subject organisations with design and technical expertise. The draft criteria that are developed will be formally consulted on and the evidence gathered will be used to review and finalise the content for the new design and technology qualifications.

  • Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Teather on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of average household earnings in 2014-15.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Dame Tessa Jowell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Dame Tessa Jowell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dame Tessa Jowell on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total number of properties (a) in the UK and (b) in the Greater London region affected by a levy on a property’s value of above a (i) £2 million and (ii) £5 million threshold.

    Mr David Gauke

    I refer the Right Honourable Member to my answers of 12 May (column 332W) and 13 May (column 529W). The number of residential properties in the UK valued at more than £2 million was estimated before Budget 2012 to be around 55,000.

    The Treasury does not have a precise regional breakdown of properties worth over £2million.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for how many vehicles registered in another country applications were made to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority to register them in the UK in each of the last five years.

    Stephen Hammond

    The table below shows figures for the amount of vehicles registered by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) that were previously registered elsewhere between 2009 and 2012.

    YEAR

    NUMBER OF VEHICLES

    2009

    65,060

    2010

    62,373

    2011

    58,379

    2012

    57,910

    Since 2013 the way that certain vehicle transactions are processed has changed and the data gathered about foreign registered vehicles is no longer readily available. In 2013, the DVLA processed 99,168 applications to register new and previously registered imported vehicles.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to improve the reliability of tracking methodologies for foreign (a) registered and (b) unregistered vehicles in the UK.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) receives information on foreign registered vehicles from the police and other enforcement agencies, as well as from members of the public. Other ways of obtaining this information are currently being explored.

    The DVLA has been working with the police to pilot a new enforcement process. This involves the DVLA providing the police forces with registration numbers of foreign registered vehicles which may have overstayed the six- month exemption period and where the keepers have not complied with UK requirements. This information enables the four police forces involved to seize and impound vehicles that have overstayed, where appropriate. If the pilot is successful, the DVLA will explore the potential for extending it to more police forces.

    The DVLA is also working with other government agencies to establish what other data might be used to track and identify over staying foreign registered vehicles.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many fixed penalty notices were issued to drivers of vehicles registered in another country that should have been but were not registered in the UK in each of the last five years.

    Stephen Hammond

    Failure to register a vehicle following the six-month exemption period is not an offence for which a fixed penalty notice can be issued. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency instead writes to keepers of these vehicles offering them an out of court settlement where it appears that an offence has been committed, so that the matter may be resolved without court proceedings. The table below shows the amount of these out of court settlement letters issued in the last five financial years.

    YEAR

    NUMBER OF OCS ISSUED

    09/10

    108

    10/11

    83

    11/12

    192

    12/13

    59

    13/14

    84

    Since April 2014, 237 out of court settlement letters have been issued.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicles have been found to be in breach of rules about tinted windows in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Lancashire in each of the last five years.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Department has information broken down relating to the enforcement by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) for the most recent year. The following prohibitions were found in the year to March 2014, a) 710 in England, b) 62 in the North West and c) 37 in Lancashire. National totals for the previous 4 years were, 2013 – 720, 2012 – 663, 2011 – 1617, 2010 – 2364. The Department does not have the Police data for this offence at this time. Enforcement of Construction and Use regulations is a matter for both DVSA and the police.