The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2014-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy trusts account returns remain outstanding.
Edward Timpson
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Coventry South, Mr Jim Cunningham, on 18 March, Official Report Column 555W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Barry Sheerman on 2014-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to improve the education of children on the autistic spectrum.
Edward Timpson
Children on the autism spectrum will benefit from the changes to the special educational needs system which the Government is bringing about through the Children and Families Act 2014, including the strengthened arrangements, through 0-25 Education, Health and Care plans, for the transition from children’s services to adulthood which young people with autism can find particularly difficult.
The Department for Education is funding the Autism Education Trust to provide training to early years, school and further education staff on autism. From January 2012 to February 2014, 22,451 staff have received level 1 basic awareness training, 3,214 have received level 2 hands-on tools and techniques training and 775 have received level 3 training for those who want to develop their knowledge of autism further and those who will themselves take on a training role, such as school Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators.
The Department is also funding three autism organisations from 2013 to 2015, including Ambitious about Autism, to work with four general further education colleges and schools to test innovative ways of supporting the transition of young people with autism from school to college and the National Autistic Society to help young people with autism take part in the development of ‘local offers’, to provide advice to professionals and to fund an exclusion adviser for parents and professionals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Nick Gibb on 2014-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implementation of The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012. [R]
David Laws
Ofsted routinely checks school websites before inspections. If a parent, or other party, believes that a school is not complying with the requirements, they are entitled to raise this with the governing body. If their complaint is not resolved and they believe that the school has failed to discharge its duty or acted unreasonably, they can raise their complaint with the Secretary of State.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Adrian Sanders on 2014-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help schools that are unable to deliver free infant school meals in September 2014 because of a lack of capital funding.
David Laws
The Department for Education has previously confirmed that it would be allocating £150 million in the 2014-15 financial year to support the implementation of the universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) policy. Local authorities (LAs) are also free to use their budgets for improvement and maintenance to support this objective. We allocated £1.4 billion to schools, LAs and the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund for maintenance and improvement in 2014-15.
On 6 March we launched a package of implementation support measures to help schools to provide meals to eligible pupils. This includes a national UIFSM support service, run by school food experts, which will offer advice and guidance to schools that need assistance in implementing UIFSM. The support will include a telephone helpline, the sharing of good practice, and intensive face-to-face support
The Department also announced on 6 March that it would be providing transitional funding to small schools with eligible pupils, worth a minimum of £3,000, which qualifying schools will be able to use to help them overcome delivery challenges.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Williamson on 2014-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many planning appeals resulted in local authority decisions being overturned by the planning inspector in South Staffordshire in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013.
Nick Boles
Planning is a quasi-judicial process; it is a long-standing feature of the planning system that there is a right of appeal, just as there are with other local quasi-judicial decisions such as on licensing applications, gambling applications or parking fines.
The table below shows planning appeal decisions by calendar year for South Staffordshire District Council. To assist public scrutiny, I have provided comparative figures for a similar period before 2010.
|
Calendar Year |
Allowed |
Split |
Dismissed |
Total |
|
2007 |
25 |
0 |
37 |
62 |
|
2008 |
27 |
1 |
53 |
81 |
|
2009 |
14 |
0 |
26 |
40 |
|
2010 |
18 |
0 |
35 |
53 |
|
2011 |
19 |
0 |
33 |
52 |
|
2012 |
16 |
0 |
26 |
42 |
|
2013 |
8 |
0 |
22 |
30 |
Whilst the precise number of appeals will fluctuate from year to year, this table shows that the number of appeals both (a) received and (b) allowed has fallen in recent years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-17.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 28 Janaury 2014, Official Report, column 510W, on the electoral register, what estimate his Department has made of the number of young people registered through Bite the Ballot; what the average cost to the public purse was of each registration through Bite the Ballot; and what the average cost to the public purse has been of each registration arising from the registration campaigns of (a) the Electoral Commission and (b) his Department.
Greg Clark
The government has made available £4.2 million funding to all 363 local authorities (LAs) and valuation joint boards (VJBs) in Great Britain. The Government has written to Electoral Registration Officers and encouraged them to use this funding to support the delivery of Rock Enrol! in their area. Officials will continue to work closely with LA/VJBs in order to monitor and measure the outcomes.
The Government is supportive of organisations that promote democratic engagement such as Bite the Ballot and welcomes lessons from their experiences.The Rock Enrol! learning resource is freely available on the gov.uk and Times Education Supplement websites amongst others. The Government is also working with a range of organisations, including the Association of Citizenship Teachers, to promote the use of Rock Enrol!
For details of the Electoral Commission’s registration activities I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by the Hon. Member for South West Devon on 22 January 2014, Official Report, column 209W [183573].
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-17.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of the number of jobseekers over the age of (a) 50 and (b) 60 years in Vale of Clwyd constituency.
Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-17.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what change there has been in median gross weekly earnings for (a) men and (b) women in Vale of Clwyd constituency since 2010.
Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-17.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 510W, on Electoral Register: young people, what steps his Department has taken to circulate the Rock Enrol! resources to (a) hon. Members, (b) members of the European Parliament, (c) members of the Scottish Parliament, members of the Legislative Assembly and Assembly members, (d) local councillors, (e) schools, colleges and universities and (f) local education authorities.
Greg Clark
The government has made available £4.2 million funding to all 363 local authorities (LAs) and valuation joint boards (VJBs) in Great Britain. The Government has written to Electoral Registration Officers and encouraged them to use this funding to support the delivery of Rock Enrol! in their area. Officials will continue to work closely with LA/VJBs in order to monitor and measure the outcomes.
The Government is supportive of organisations that promote democratic engagement such as Bite the Ballot and welcomes lessons from their experiences.The Rock Enrol! learning resource is freely available on the gov.uk and Times Education Supplement websites amongst others. The Government is also working with a range of organisations, including the Association of Citizenship Teachers, to promote the use of Rock Enrol!
For details of the Electoral Commission’s registration activities I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by the Hon. Member for South West Devon on 22 January 2014, Official Report, column 209W [183573].
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-17.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of children being cared for by a single parent in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber.
Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.