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Tag: 2014

  • Lord Smith of Finsbury – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Smith of Finsbury – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Finsbury on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with universities, and what research they have conducted, in relation to the impact that changes to the A/S level examinations will have on the assessment the university sector will be able to make of candidates for undergraduate entry.

    Lord Nash

    We have discussed the changes to the AS qualification with UCAS and other higher education organisations, including the A level Content Advisory Board (ALCAB), the Russell Group and Universities UK. It is, of course, for individual universities to determine their own admission arrangements. AS grades only form one part of a range of information available to universities about prospective applicants. They also look at prior attainment at key stage 4, teachers’ assessments and personal statements.

    In May 2013 the Department for Education published research which considered how GCSE results compared to AS Level results at estimating the probability of a student attaining at least a 2:1 at university. The research[1] found that using GCSE results are a better predictor of university outcomes than AS results. Our plans to restore rigour to GCSEs will ensure they are an even more useful source of information for university admissions.

    [1]Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-comparison-of-gcse-results-and-as-level-results-as-a-predictor-of-getting-a-21-or-above-at-university

    “

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-03-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the Youth Justice Board’s budget has been spent on research in each year since 2010.

    Jeremy Wright

    The statutory functions of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) include that of identifying and promoting good practice to prevent and reduce youth crime. In undertaking this function, the YJB works closely with local services, research bodies and academic institutions.

    The table below shows the YJB’s central expenditure on research for each full financial year since 2009/10 alongside the proportion of that expenditure against the YJB’s overall expenditure for the year:

    No new central research was commissioned in 2012/13 to enable the completion and publication of ongoing research projects. Figures relating to YJB’s research programme expenditure for 2013/14 will be published in the YJB’s Annual Report and Accounts due for publication in July. This and previous reports can be found at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/yjb.

    “

  • Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent progress has been made in establishing the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland.

    Baroness Randerson

    We strongly support the discussions currently under way between the Northern Ireland parties and the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland on securing the full operation of the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland. Early resolution of this issue is essential to avoid gaps emerging in law enforcement in Northern Ireland in areas where there is serious public concern, such as drug enforcement, human trafficking and other forms of serious criminality.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-03-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce statutory time limits on claims for personal independence payments.

    Mike Penning

    In line with other benefits, there are no statutory time limits on processing times to claims for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and we have no plans to change that position.

    We are taking the necessary action to improve the processing times, including working with the providers.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the resignation of Mr Lakhdar Brahimi as United Nations mediator in Syria.

    Baroness Warsi

    Lakhdar Brahimi has played a crucial role as joint UN and Arab League Special Envoy for Syria since June 2012. He showed strong leadership and great patience in getting the parties to the conflict round the same table in Geneva and take the first steps towards potentially constructive dialogue. The responsibility for the collapse of negotiations rests wholly with the regime’s refusal to engage in discussion on an agenda for future talks put forward by Mr Brahimi. The appointment and mandate of any future UN Special Envoy is still under consideration by the UN.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-03-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much each Government department has allocated to charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institutions to deliver programmes through the Charities Act 2006 to date.

    Nick Hurd

    Cabinet Office is investing £470 million over the Spending Review period directly to support charities and voluntary groups. In most cases these payments are made under the Charities Act 2006.

    Data on the legal powers exercised to make these and previous allocations to charitable, benevolent and philanthropic institutions by the Cabinet Office is not held.

  • Lord Ashcroft – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Ashcroft – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ashcroft on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Liberation and Justice Movement in Sudan has been involved in South Sudan; and if so in what capacity and on what side.

    Baroness Warsi

    We are not aware of any reports that suggest that the Liberation and Justice Movement in Sudan has been involved in the conflict in South Sudan.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2014-03-12.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were for each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in Luton Borough Council.

    Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.

    Results for all wards are available on the Commission’s website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

    The ward results for Luton Borough Council were as follows:

    Ward

    Green matches

    Amber matches

    Red matches

    BARNFIELD

    82.0%

    1.5%

    16.4%

    BISCOT

    68.7%

    5.1%

    26.2%

    BRAMINGHAM

    82.8%

    1.1%

    16.1%

    CHALLNEY

    77.9%

    2.8%

    19.3%

    CRAWLEY

    79.6%

    1.3%

    19.1%

    DALLOW

    66.9%

    5.0%

    28.1%

    FARLEY

    76.6%

    2.4%

    21.0%

    HIGH TOWN

    63.6%

    2.9%

    33.5%

    ICKNIELD

    85.2%

    1.3%

    13.5%

    LEAGRAVE

    79.8%

    2.1%

    18.1%

    LEWSEY

    81.8%

    2.3%

    15.9%

    LIMBURY

    83.4%

    1.9%

    14.6%

    NORTHWELL

    81.1%

    2.4%

    16.6%

    ROUND GREEN

    81.1%

    1.8%

    17.1%

    SAINTS

    74.7%

    3.9%

    21.4%

    SOUTH

    57.6%

    4.5%

    37.9%

    STOPSLEY

    85.3%

    1.1%

    13.7%

    SUNDON PARK

    82.9%

    2.0%

    15.1%

    WIGMORE

    81.9%

    1.2%

    16.9%

    “

  • Baroness Meacher – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Meacher – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Meacher on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government upon what evidence they have based their proposals to outsource children’s services to private firms.

    Lord Nash

    The Children and Young Persons Act 2008 (CYPA) allowed some local authorities to contract out looked after children and care leaver functions for a five-year pilot period. As a result, small autonomous practitioner-led organisations (Social Work Practices) were encouraged to develop. Between 2008 and 2012, 15 local authorities were involved in the pilot to create more tailored social work approaches.

    The evaluation of Social Work Practices identified evidence of positive change through delegated arrangements for looked after children and care leavers. As a result, in November 2013, the freedoms in the CYPA were extended to all local authorities.

    Staffordshire County Council have also recently received a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted under the new single inspection framework, which included the social work practice ‘Evolve YP’.

    Some local authorities have asked the Government to extend these freedoms to other areas of children’s social care. The current proposals will encourage greater innovative approaches for all local authorities to take the step from adequate or good children’s services to excellent ones. The consultation on these proposals closed on 30 May and the Government is currently considering the responses.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2014-03-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to reply to the email correspondence from the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish dated 10 January 2014 (reference 7648/Jan14) on Atos Healthcare.

    Mike Penning

    I wrote to the hon. Member on 7 March. I apologise for the delay in replying.