The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he expects EU funding allocated to the Youth Guarantee to be drawn down in the UK.
Esther McVey
There is no EU funding allocated to the Youth Guarantee.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the quality of early years education support for children diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Mr Edward Timpson
Under the Children and Families Act 2014, health bodies identifying a 0-5 year old child with special educational needs (SEN) or a disability must discuss this with the parent and bring the child to the attention of the local authority so they can consider whether an education, health and care plan is needed. The Department for Education is working with the Department of Health and NHS England to support health commissioners and clinicians to play their part in the SEN reforms.
In early years settings practitioners must consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child in their care and whether a child may have SEN or a disability requiring specialist support. Providers must review children’s progress between the ages of two and three. Where SEN or disability is identified, practitioners should develop a targeted plan to support the child’s future learning and development involving other professionals as appropriate.
We provide funding to Early Support to support the implementation of the SEN reforms. As part of this, Early Support worked with Scope to produce guidance to parents and others on cerebral palsy, which was published in 2012. This guidance is published online at: http://www.ncb.org.uk/media/923252/earlysupportcerebral_palsy_final.pdf
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Jim Murphy on International Development.
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Justine Greening
As we have already made clear, the UK recognises that the potential for migration to be a positive force for developing countries is increased when migration is safe, legal and through regular channels; and as such global migration can contribute to sustainable development. This language is included in the most recent draft goals and targets list released by the co-chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG) on 2 June.
The final targets in the post-2015 development framework will however be subject to international negotiations in the United Nations in which the UK will play an active role.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what oversight mechanisms his Department had in place of bid evaluations of the contract to award ownership of shares in Magnox Ltd and Research Sites Restoration Ltd on 31 March 2014; and if he will make a statement.
Michael Fallon
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is responsible for running the competition to secure a new Parent Body Organisation for Magnox Ltd and Research Sites Restoration Ltd. Bid evaluations were made by the NDA’s competition team in strict accordance with UK and EU procurement regulations. DECC was not involved in the bid evaluations. Oversight and governance of the wider competition process is provided by the NDA’s Competition Programme Board (CPB), on which DECC is represented by the Shareholder Executive. Formal Government approval will be required before the contract can be awarded in September.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Andy McDonald on Work and Pensions.
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Esther McVey
The boundaries are defined by postcodes and geographical areas served by national insurance services at Newcastle’s Jobcentre Plus are;
TS1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27, 28,29
DL1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,12,13,14,15,16,17
DH1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
SR1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
NE1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28, 29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37
NE38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which air quality monitoring stations went off-line in each year since 2010-11; and on what dates they were off-line.
Dan Rogerson
Defra operates an extensive monitoring network of nearly 300 sites in order to assess air quality in the UK and report to the EU for compliance. Many of these sites have multiple instruments measuring different pollutants.
The Automatic and Urban Network has 130 sites that provide information on five key pollutants on an hourly basis. Information from this network is updated hourly on the UK Air website to provide the most recent data to the public.
An extensive Programme of maintenance, auditing and site inspections is required to maintain the networks operation. EU directives state that instruments must be operational for a minimum period of time for data to be reported and these requirements are met in our annual compliance reporting.
It is therefore not possible to provide information on the specific times when instruments were not operational during the last four years, but I refer the hon. Member for Brent North to the UK’s annual compliance report for statistics regarding data capture at each site, at:
http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/index
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Ms Diane Abbott on Business, Innovation and Skills.
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Mr David Willetts
As highlighted in the International Education Strategy, there is no cap on the number of genuine overseas students who can come to the UK, nor do we have plans to introduce one. This has been reaffirmed by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister.
Government and the sector are taking every opportunity to promote the warm welcome the UK extends to international students, notably using the ‘Britain is GREAT’ campaign. For example, the High Commission in Delhi began work last year (with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK Trade and Investment and the British Council) to promote positive messages on UK education at outreach events, exhibitions and road shows in some of India’s biggest cities.
Early indicators for 2014 show there was an increase in the year to March 2014 in the number of visa applicants for higher education institutions (+7%). UCAS figures, to May 2014, for undergraduate applications suggest a 7% increase from non-EU countries.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list all meetings Dmitry Firtash has had at his Department since May 2010.
Mr David Lidington
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials met Dmitry Firtash on 24 February to discuss developments in Ukraine and support for Ukraine from the international community. They did not discuss matters of national security. The meeting was part of a wider approach by the FCO to understand better the situation in Ukraine, by seeking information and views from a wide range of contacts, including senior business figures. The Government does not have plans to publish a note of the meeting at this time. According to our records, Dmitry Firtash has not attended any other meetings with the FCO in London.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Simon Kirby on Communities and Local Government.
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Brandon Lewis
The council tax referendum principles are proposed annually by the Government and subject to the approval of the House of Commons. We are open to representations on the principles for 2015-16 and how local residents can continue to be protected from unwanted council tax rises.
A further council tax freeze offer is available for local authorities in 2015-16, and we would encourage all local authorities, including Brighton and Hove, to take up that opportunity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain McKenzie on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for the Emergency Services Mobile Communication programme; and what steps she is taking to ensure that commercial operators offer a service at least equivalent to the existing service.
Karen Bradley
The current Airwave Solutions Ltd contracts were let under a 20 year Private Finance Initiative arrangement, with a series of 15 year contracts, which expire over the period from September 2016 to December 2020.
The Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme aims to introduce a replacement for Airwave, as current contracts expire from September 2016. The requirements have been developed in partnership with the emergency services and we are running an open and fair competition in accordance with government guidelines.
The aim is to provide a replacement solution which is at least equivalent to the existing service, but not necessarily delivered in the same way.