Tag: 2014

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2014-03-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils in (a) Denton and Reddish constituency, (b) Stockport Metropolitan Borough and (c) Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council continued into (i) further education, (ii) higher education and (ii) apprenticeships in the last five years for which figures are available.

    Matthew Hancock

    Destination Measures data, following key stage 4 and key stage 5, are published at local authority level for the years 2009/10 and 2010/11. Parliamentary constituency level data are published for 2010/11 only. The requested data, for the available years, are shown in the attached tables. The information is taken from Statistical First Release data, which is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are making any representations concerning the choice of Qatar as the host of the World Cup in 2022 in the light of recent allegations of corruption.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    There is an investigation taking place into the bidding process and we should wait and see what this reports rather than prejudge it. We expect FIFA, and all other major sports organisations, to practise good governance and operate in a transparent manner.

  • Mr David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mr David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr David Hanson on 2014-03-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many exit checks were performed on passengers leaving the UK in each year since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    The number of outbound passengers checked on Home Office systems for each of
    the last 4 years is as follows:

    2010 – 65 034 675
    2011- 70 627 943
    2012 – 67 960 290
    2013 – 82 311 725

    The figure for 2013 is more than the combined total of exit checks performed
    between 2005 and 2009 inclusive (74 297 809) and more than twice the 2009
    figure (35 283 019).

  • Lord Rooker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Rooker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rooker on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to move responsibility for planning policy to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    No.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-13.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the future propensity to vote of those electors who (a) use and (b) do not use their vote in the first general election after reaching the age of 18 years old.

    Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not made its own assessment of this issue, but is aware of the studies that have examined it.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to continue enforced removals to Mogadishu, Somalia, pending the publication of an official decision on the country guidance case and an official statement by the Home Secretary; and, if so, why.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    There are no existing court judgments that have found that all removals to Somalia are unsafe or should be suspended. An existing country guidance judgment promulgated in November 2011 recognised that many but not all Somalis returning to the country after a significant time abroad would be at risk on return. However, the determination also recognised that the country situation was improving and each case needed to be considered on its individual merits.

    We are awaiting a country guidance determination on the country situation in Somalia. However, the High Court has previously ruled that automatic stays on removal simply because a country guidance case is pending are not necessary. A stay of removal is at the discretion of the courts in each particular case and on its own facts.

    We will continue to assess each case on its individual merits against the latest country information and existing, relevant caselaw.

    We will only enforce the return of Somali nationals who we, and the courts, are satisfied are not at risk on return and who do not elect to leave voluntarily.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-03-12.

    To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of the empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database owned by (a) the Law Officers’ Departments and (b) any executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies of the Law Officers’ Departments in the current financial year.

    Dominic Grieve

    The Law Officers’ Departments have been actively reducing their estate running costs since 2010 in line with Government policy and have already made significant savings.

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) estate rationalisation programme began in 2009 and is set to be completed in 2016, with most of the leases on empty property having expired by then. This programme has already led to a reduction in expenditure and increased efficiency. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has paid £320,178.38 in property business rates in the current financial year on the properties which are currently recorded as vacant on the ePIMS database as at 14 March 2014. The costs figure has been produced by DTZ who are CPS’ managing agents and has not yet been audited.

    The Treasury Solicitor’s Department owns a lease on a building which has some vacant space. This building attracts full business rates in the current financial year. This lease is due to expire in 2016. The estimated business rates for the vacant proportion of the property for 2013/14 are £59 372.71

    The remaining Law Officers’ Departments do not have any vacant properties.

  • Mel Stride – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mel Stride – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mel Stride on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on increasing the number and quality of apprenticeships for 16 to 18 year olds.

    Matthew Hancock

    We are on track to deliver 2 million apprenticeships over this Parliament.

    We continue to focus on quality, insisting that all apprenticeships are jobs, have a minimum duration of a year, include on the job training and meet the needs of employers. As a result the number of ‘full’ 16-18 apprenticeship starts – those with a planned duration of a year – have doubled.

    Apprenticeship reforms will further increase quality and simplify the system, making it easier and more desirable for employers to offer more apprenticeships in the future.

  • Mr Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mr Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Chuka Umunna on 2014-03-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many available school places there are at schools that provide specialist support for children and young people on the atuism spectrum in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) London, (d) Lambeth and (e) Streatham parliamentary constituency; and how many such places will be available in each of the next 15 years.

    Edward Timpson

    These figures are not collected centrally. The Department for Education does not collect information on the number of places available to provide specialist support in schools for children and young people on the autism spectrum. Local authorities are expected to keep their arrangements for providing special educational needs under review.

    We do collect the numbers of pupils in special schools in England with a primary need of ‘Autistic Spectrum Disorder’ are given in the table below.

    Pupils with special educational needs with a primary need of ‘Autistic Spectrum Disorder’ in special schools in England, January 2013

    Number

    England

    20,735

    London

    3,640

    Lambeth

    150

    Source: School Census

    Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.

    Information on special educational needs is published annually in the publication Special Educational Needs in England’, available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2013

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what efforts they have made to support press freedoms in Sudan; and what role they consider such freedoms can play in the promotion of the National Dialogue process.

    Baroness Warsi

    Freedom of expression and an independent media are vital components of a genuinely open and transparent National Dialogue process. Our Embassy in Khartoum regularly raises this in discussions with the Sudanese Authorities, and jointly with the British Council is funding the Thompson Foundation programme to build capacity for Sudanese journalism. Examples include media training and a sponsored visit to London by Sudanese newspaper editors. During his visit to Sudan in January the Minister for Africa, my Hon Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), met Sudanese journalists and editors and stressed to senior members of the Sudanese government the importance of open democratic space and respect for fundamental freedoms.