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  • Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord MacKenzie of Culkein on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are funding research into terrestrial enhanced position navigation and timing systems.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Her Majesty’s Government is researching terrestrial technology that could supply positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) needs. For example, Innovate UK is working with other agencies to research the use of quantum technology for PNT applications. In addition, there is research into technologies that supply only some elements of PNT, including ranging mode and radar absolute positioning.

  • Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord MacKenzie of Culkein on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessments they have carried out on the future of resilient position, navigation and timing systems and the vulnerability of the global navigation satellite system to intentional and unintentional jamming.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government recognises the strengths and limitations of global navigation satellite systems such as GPS and Galileo, and the importance of the position, navigation and timing services that they provide.

    The issue of the vulnerability of satellite based navigation systems has been addressed in the National Space Security Policy, which notes that the signals received from satellite navigation systems are inherently weak. The policy recognises that a proportionate approach is needed to ensure that space infrastructures are resilient to threats, including for instance the use of alternative or fall-back methods of providing the necessary services in the event of an interruption.

    Responsibility for determining alternative methods will rest largely with owners and operators of space services or with infrastructure owners and operators, with oversight provided by lead Government departments. UK industry has well recognised capability in developing systems that identify and mitigate intentional and unintentional interference to GNSS.

  • Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord MacKenzie of Culkein on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations to the governments of France and Norway about their discontinuing the transmission of Enhanced Loran signals on 31 December 2015, and if not, why not.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Officials continue to discuss with their counterparts in France and Norway the decision by those countries to discontinue Loran transmissions, to understand their reasoning and plans for the disused transmitters.

  • – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the anonymous evidence given to the Public Accounts Committee to the effect that national regulators are pressuring NHS providers to potentially mislead the public and Government departments over their true

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    From 1 April this year NHS Improvement will be the operational name for the national regulator for National Health Service providers, replacing Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority.

    NHS Improvement have asked finance directors to review the accuracy of accounting entries and scrutinise estimates as far as possible to ensure they are a true and accurate reflection of the financial position of each trust. All financial statements for individual providers will be prepared in line with international Financial Reporting Standards and Government budgeting rules and are subject to independent, external audit. The Department is therefore satisfied that the current NHS Improvement approach is entirely appropriate and would be so in any financial year.

    NHS Improvement representatives have committed to address this point with the Public Accounts Committee at the earliest opportunity and have written directly to the chair.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Donoughue – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Earl of Courtown on 26 January (HL4975), whether there has been an occasion on which they have not been satisfied with the annual performance report of a charity receiving Programme Partnership Arrangement funding; whether financial penalties were imposed as a result; and whether they publish criteria about when such penalties will be imposed.

    Baroness Verma

    All Programme Partnerships Arrangement are reviewed on an annual basis, providing an assessment of performance, ongoing relevance, value for money and any remedial action required. We have not to date imposed financial penalties on any Programme Partnership Arrangement recipient. All Annual Reviews are published on DFID’s Development Tracker which is available online.

  • Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of UK liquid milk has been sold by the 10 leading supermarkets over each of the past five years.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Virtually all liquid milk sold at retail in the UK is UK produced, since imports account for less than 1% of the total UK supply. We do not hold any data on milk sales provided by retailers.

  • Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the national consultation on the future of children’s centres will be launched, and what is the timetable for responses to be received and for them to announce their proposals following the consultation.

    Lord Nash

    The government is considering its future policy on children’s centres as part of the development of the cross-Government Life Chances Strategy, and plans to publish details in the summer. At that point we will make it clear how stakeholders and members of the public can contribute.

  • Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many times since 2006 government-commissioned reports have recommended that more teacher training is necessary in the field of special educational needs to satisfy the duty to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs.

    Lord Nash

    All initial teacher training (ITT) courses must ensure that trainee teachers can meet the teachers’ standards at the appropriate level. This includes having a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs (SEN). Teachers must also be able to adapt teaching to the needs of all pupils and have an understanding of the factors that can inhibit learning and how to overcome them.

    An independent review of ITT, carried out by Sir Andrew Carter, and published in January 2015, found that there is considerable variability in ITT course content across the system, and cites SEN among areas where there are gaps in a range of courses.

    In response to the Carter Review, the Government has commissioned an independent working group made up of expert representatives from the sector, including an SEN specialist, to develop a framework of core ITT content. The group is expected to report to Ministers in spring 2016.

    Further guidance on teacher’s standards is available on GOV.UK.

  • – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the minimum amount of special educational needs teaching required to fulfil the Teacher Standards of having a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils

    Lord Nash

    The Teachers’ Standards set a clear baseline of expectations for the professional practice and conduct of teachers and define the minimum level of practice expected of teachers in England.

    Head teachers and other appraisers should use their professional judgement to assess teachers to a level that is consistent with what should reasonably be expected of a teacher given their role and level of experience and the specific demands of the setting in which they are working.

  • Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wasserman on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are in place to regulate the activities of individuals who offer support services to victims of crime.

    Lord Faulks

    The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) currently funds a range of support services for victims of crime.

    Where appropriate, grant agreements require organisations to adhere to the Victims’ Code and the EU Victims’ Directive when providing services for victims and MoJ has the right to terminate grant funding to those who do not comply with these, or other relevant requirements of the grant agreement .

    Where organisations funded either by MoJ or PCCs are registered charities, they will also be subject to regulation by the Charity Commission.