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  • Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2016 to Question 21517, whether funding for the Farming Recovery Fund has been increased since its extension to farmers affected by recent flooding in Yorkshire and Lancashire.

    George Eustice

    We will pay out on all eligible claims from farmers. Extending the Farming Recovery Fund to eligible farmers in Lancashire and Yorkshire impacted by Storm Eva will therefore increase the total amount that will be paid out from the fund.

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that small businesses can access flood insurance.

    Rory Stewart

    While we recognise the difficult challenges that some small businesses could face in accessing commercial flood insurance in areas of high flood risk, we are not currently aware of evidence that there is a systemic problem. Therefore, we have committed to work with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and other interested parties to monitor the insurance market for small businesses. We are keen to work across government, and with a range of business interests, to better understand the nature and extent of any problem that might exist.

    The ABI have assured us that the insurance industry will continue to provide insurance to small businesses on a competitive basis.

  • Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she plans to take to address the practice of energy companies charging for the installation of prepayment meters in cases where customers are already in debt to those energy companies.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The vast majority of suppliers offering prepayment meters as a means to repay an energy debt do not charge when consumers agree to the installation, including all of the 6 major suppliers. As of December 2015, Ofgem estimated that only 1% of consumers in debt face a charge.

    Ofgem is currently consulting on the use of the warrant process used by suppliers to install prepayment meters for non-payment of energy, which includes the level of charges and how suppliers engage with consumers on energy debt. The consultation, which is available on Ofgem’s website, closes on 25 February 2016:

    https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/proposals-improve-outcomes-prepayment-customers

    “

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the (a) viability of hydrogen fuel cells and (b) associated energy costs of extracting liquid hydrogen on the reduction of carbon emissions.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The viability of hydrogen fuel cells depends on a number of factors including the nature of the application and the future costs of fuel cells and competing energy technologies. Hydrogen can be produced by a number of different routes, some of which are low carbon. There are energy costs associated with the production, storage, distribution and end use of hydrogen which depend on the approach taken. Hydrogen is typically stored in bulk as a compressed gas rather than a cryogenic liquid; both processes require energy.

  • Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will issue a notice to improve to local authorities where Ofsted identify significant concerns over provision for children with special educational needs or disabilities in a local area.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department continues to monitor progress with implementation of the special educational needs duties set out in the Children and Families Act 2014. Our intention is that a combination of local accountability measures, data and analysis and independent inspection will show how the SEND system is performing, which parts are working well and less well and whether outcomes are improving for children and young people. The Department will consider the findings from the local area inspections as part of our approach to monitoring progress to assess where additional support and challenge may be required.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many complaints of each type her Department (a) received and (b) upheld against childcare providers in (i) England and Wales, (ii) London and (iii) each London borough in each year since 2010.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Ofsted, as the regulator for childcare providers in England, is responsible for considering and responding to complaints about them and Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector will be writing to the hon. Member about this. A copy of that letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

    Responsibility for childcare in Wales is a devolved matter and it would be for the Welsh Government and Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales to respond. Their contact address is Care and Social Services Inspectorate National Office, Welsh Government office, Rhydycar Business Park, Merthyr Tydfil, CF48 1UZ or cssiw@wales.gsi.gov.uk.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the regional schools commissioners have oversight of performance of sixth forms in academies; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    Regional Schools Commissioners are responsible for monitoring the performance of academies within their region, including performance at sixth form level. Decisions regarding intervention action are informed by the academy’s performance against minimum standards, including the 16-19 minimum standards, and Ofsted judgements, as well as local intelligence.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on which dates the relevant (a) regional schools commissioner and (b) chief executive of the local enterprise partnership have attended steering group meetings of the area reviews of post-16 education and training in (i) Birmingham and Solihull, (ii) Greater Manchester, (iii) Sheffield City Region, (iv) Tees Valley, (v) Sussex, (vi) Solent and (vii) West Yorkshire; and if she will make a statement

    Nick Boles

    There are a range of ways in which Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) and members of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) contribute to area reviews, for instance through the Area Review Advisory Group.

    All Wave 1 Area Reviews have held a number of local steering group meetings, and RSCs and LEPs are members. In terms of specific attendance, an RSC may attend in person, or may instead send a representative. The area review guidance published in September 2015 does indicate that the LEP should be a member of the local steering group, but it does not require a particular representative to attend. LEPs do not usually have chief executives.

    RSC and LEP representatives have attended various steering group meetings in Birmingham and Solihull, Greater Manchester, Sheffield City Region, Tees Valley, Sussex, Solent and West Yorkshire from September 2015 to the present.

  • Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to improve children’s character and resilience.

    Edward Timpson

    All schools should develop character traits like self-confidence, motivation and resilience in their students. These traits support academic attainment, are valued by employers, and encourage young people to make a positive contribution to British society.

    At the Character Symposium in January 2016[1], the Secretary of State for Education outlined her vision for character education. She announced that the Department intends to promote character education through the building and strengthening of our evidence base. We will facilitate this via an online digital platform which will share evidence, innovation, and examples of best practice in character education. We will also promote character education to schools and organisations through a new round of character awards.

    To support schools in this, we are already investing £5 million in character education. This figure includes £3.5m of grants for 14 projects and £1m to the Education Endowment Foundation to build research the most effective ways that character can be developed.

    Of course, many schools and organisations are already supporting children to develop their character, through programmes such as National Citizen Service. We will be investing over a billion pounds over the next four years to make NCS a rite of passage and to ensure that 60% of 16 year olds can take part by 2021.

    School sport can also help children and young people develop positive character traits such as fair play, leadership and resilience. It can teach them how to bounce back from defeat, how to respect others and how to work together in teams to achieve a goal. PE remains a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the new national curriculum which came into force in September 2014.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/nicky-morgan-opens-character-symposium-at-floreat-school

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  • Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to ensure that attachment theory is understood by teachers across schools in England to help readiness for learning.

    Edward Timpson

    Attachment issues can impact on educational outcomes, particularly for looked after children and for those children who have left care through adoption. The attachment of these children may have been adversely affected through difficult experiences in their early years.

    Every school must have a designated teacher for looked after children who promotes their educational achievement. Every looked after child must also have the support of the local authority’s Virtual School Head. These vulnerable children, including those who have left care, also attract the pupil premium worth £1900 per eligible pupil. Schools may use this funding to purchase training for staff on recognising and responding to attachment related issues.

    Stephen Munday is leading an independent group to develop a framework of core Initial Teacher Training content to build a better shared understanding of the essential elements of the training. Although we cannot pre-empt what will be included in the framework, the group will be considering a broad range of course content including special educational needs and disabilities and classroom management, amongst other things. Stephen Munday will report to Ministers in the spring of 2016.