The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the performance of the Education Funding Agency on the case of Harperbury Free School; and what the cost to the public purse of that school has been to date.
Edward Timpson
I have every confidence in the performance of the Education Funding Agency on this project.
The combined capital and revenue cost of the project to date is £1,919,000.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she was first made aware that the site initially secured for Harperbury Free School was too small for that school; and what steps she took in response to that information.
Edward Timpson
Approval to build the school on the site is subject to the views of the Local Planning Authority. They first raised concerns, alongside a range of other concerns arising from its location in the Green Belt, to my officials in March 2015.
Discussions between officials at both Departments did identify that two adjacent properties could be purchased to provide additional car parking. However, the nature of the sale of the remainder of the former hospital site to a residential developer meant that further land could not be released for the school. Even if additional land were made available, there remain substantial risks associated with developing this Green Belt site.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department engaged in a contract with the Department of Health to transfer land within the Harperbury site for the proposed Harperbury Free School.
Edward Timpson
The negotiation for land for the site of Harperbury Free School was part of a wider land sale for new homes which was being negotiated by the Department of Health. Heads of Terms for the sale were agreed in September 2014 and subsequently revised in October 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will estimate the number of schools which have received funds from EU sources for improvements or maintenance in the last 10 years.
Edward Timpson
The department does not hold information on the number of schools which have been built using EU funds, nor does it hold information on the number of schools which have received funds from EU sources for improvements or maintenance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will estimate the number of schools which have been built using EU funds.
Edward Timpson
The department does not hold information on the number of schools which have been built using EU funds, nor does it hold information on the number of schools which have received funds from EU sources for improvements or maintenance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to support young people who have been receiving palliative care and are transitioning from children’s to adults’ services.
Ben Gummer
The Department has provided grant funding to Together for Short Lives which is the membership organisation for children’s hospices to support the Transition Taskforce to provide guidance and training that supports good transitions locally between children’s and adult services for those with life-limiting conditions or needing palliative care.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional funding her Department plans to make available to small childcare facilities to help them meet the costs of the proposed free 30 hours of childcare per week.
Mr Sam Gyimah
As part of the Spending Review in November 2015, we announced that we will be investing over £1billion more per year by 2019-20 to fund the government’s commitments on the early education entitlements. The funding includes £300 million per year for a significant increase to the rate paid for the two, three and four year old entitlements. From April 2017, the national average funding rates will increase to £4.88 for three and four year olds and £5.39 for two year olds. Local authorities are responsible for deciding how to distribute this funding across their area and for setting the rate paid to early years providers.
We will introduce a national funding formula for early years so that funding is transparently and fairly matched to need and fairly distributed between different types of providers and different parts of the country. We will be consulting on detailed proposals later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the decision was taken to cease displaying radioactive material hazard signs on vehicles carrying special nuclear materials.
Penny Mordaunt
The Defence Equipment and Support organisation decided to cease displaying radioactive material hazard warning signs on vehicles carrying special nuclear materials in July 2011. Before implementing this decision we sought legal advice and notified the regulator. The change was implemented in 2012 in anticipation of the transition to a single type of vehicle for the transport of both nuclear weapons and special nuclear materials and was needed in order to maintain the policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons. No changes were required to operating arrangements as a result of this decision. The Ministry of Defence’s arrangements for the safe transport of defence nuclear materials include the provision of information to the emergency services in the event of an incident; this does not rely on displaying radioactive material hazard warning signs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what changes to operating arrangements were made as a result of the decision to cease displaying radioactive material hazard signs on vehicles carrying special nuclear materials to ensure that relevant information is available to emergency services in the event of an accident.
Penny Mordaunt
The Defence Equipment and Support organisation decided to cease displaying radioactive material hazard warning signs on vehicles carrying special nuclear materials in July 2011. Before implementing this decision we sought legal advice and notified the regulator. The change was implemented in 2012 in anticipation of the transition to a single type of vehicle for the transport of both nuclear weapons and special nuclear materials and was needed in order to maintain the policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons. No changes were required to operating arrangements as a result of this decision. The Ministry of Defence’s arrangements for the safe transport of defence nuclear materials include the provision of information to the emergency services in the event of an incident; this does not rely on displaying radioactive material hazard warning signs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether British military advisers have been present in control rooms of the Saudi-led coalition engaged in conflict in Yemen.
Penny Mordaunt
We have deployed a small number of military personnel serving as liaison officers in Saudi headquarters to provide insight into Saudi operations. They remain under UK command and control. These liaison officers are not involved in the targeting process – whether it be the selection, decision making or directing.
British personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets and are not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process.