Tag: 2015

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate the Government has made of the number of people in Easington constituency who are unable to access the internet.

    Matthew Hancock

    Information provided by ONS for the period January to March 2015 shows that 11% of adults in the UK (5.9 million) had never used the internet. In 2015 14% of households in Great Britain had no internet access.Official data at local constituency level is not available.

    The Digital Inclusion Strategy launched in 2014 outlined that by 2016 we will have reduced the number of people who are offline by 25% and by 2020 everyone who can be online should be online. 85 partners work with government to reach this goal, including the Tinder Foundation, Post Office, Argos, Barclays, LGA, Go ON UK, Society of Chief Librarians, Digital Unite and Age UK.

    The government recognises that there are many reasons for not being online. We will always provide assisted digital support for people who need help accessing government services.

    Many of these partners have local delivery networks, and work with hard to reach groups. Details of local resources can be found from a number of sources, including libraries and the Post Office. A range of services are available in Easington, including Easington Colliery Library, which provides internet and email facilities; and there are a number of UK Online Centres in the Easington area.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will (a) issue new guidance and (b) amend the school admissions code to give parents of multiple birth children the right to insist their children are not split up across different schools or classes within the same school.

    Nick Gibb

    The School Admissions Code already allows schools to admit multiple birth siblings as exceptions to the infant class size limit so that these children can be educated at the same school.

    Once children have been admitted to school, it is for individual schools to make decisions about matters of internal organisation of classes, including how children should be split between classes in a year group with two or more forms. We would expect schools to take into account the views of parents in making such decisions.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) free schools and (b) academies with a religious character have been oversubscribed in each of the last five years.

    Edward Timpson

    The government is committed to ensuring that faith designated free schools and new academies provide additional places not just for pupils of their own faith but for pupils from other faiths or no faith. It is for individual schools to decide whether or not to adopt faith based admission arrangements.Those that do may give priority when oversubscribed to a maximum of 50% of applicants with reference to their faith. The department does not collect data on schools that are oversubscribed or on religious diversity in those schools that adopt faith based admission arrangements.

    The number of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year is detailed in the table below.

    Numbers of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year

    Academic year of opening

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    Total

    Free Schools and New Provision Academies

    0

    7

    12

    22

    15

    12

    68

    “

  • Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations she has received on the potential effect on jobs and investment in the solar industry of a more gradual reduction in feed-in-tariff subsidies than is proposed.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Feed-in Tariff Review is currently open for consultation until 23 October. As part of that, we strongly welcome evidence from the industry around the impact on jobs and investment.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans she has to ensure that energy companies do not overcharge consumers.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Competition is a key element to keeping prices as low as possible. There are now 25 independent suppliers for households to choose from in addition to the 6 largest suppliers, giving more choice than ever before. By switching from the standard tariff to the best fixed deal on the market, many people can save around £200 and some could save more. We have already made it simpler and quicker to switch supplier and are working towards next day switching.

    In addition, we supported Ofgem’s reference of the energy markets to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and are committed to implementing any recommendations the CMA deem necessary.

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce legislative proposals to amend existing fly tipping offences to make it possible to attribute group responsibility or culpability to ensure local authorities can take enforcement action when illegal encampments fly tip on public land.

    Rory Stewart

    Tackling fly-tipping is a priority for the Government. Our manifesto sets out our plans to give councils the power to issue fixed penalty notices for small-scale fly-tipping, as well as reviewing the existing fixed penalty notices for littering.

    These steps will build on other action we have taken, including working with the Sentencing Council to strengthen its Guideline for sentencing for environmental offences, which came into force on 1 July last year; making it easier for vehicles suspected of being involved in waste crime to be stopped, searched and seized; and continuing working in partnership with others through the Defra-chaired National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to promote and disseminate good practice in the prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipped waste.

    Local Authorities already have enforcement powers to prosecute individuals who transport and dispose of waste illegally. There are no plans to amend fly-tipping offences to attribute group responsibility or culpability.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the job description for the Governor of Gibraltar includes a requirement that the post-holder be a serving or retired military officer.

    Mr David Lidington

    In the case of the recent recruitment of the Governor of Gibraltar, the position was open to serving and former senior civil servants and military officers. The successful candidate was then selected on merit.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Japan on the abolition of the death penalty in that country.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We remain strongly opposed to the death penalty. Together with EU partners, we will continue to express our opposition to the death penalty. We recently co-funded a report on Japanese attitudes to the death penalty and will use this report to influence Japanese policy makers.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the demolition of the Samra School in Khirbeit Samra on 20 August 2015.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Whilst we have not raised this particular demolition with Israel, our position is clear; demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; are harmful to the peace process; and are, in all but the most exceptional of cases, contrary to international humanitarian law.

    We regularly raise the issue of demolitions with our Israeli counterparts. For example on 24 September, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Israel raised demolitions with Israel’s Justice Minister Shaked and on 10 September the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (David Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised this issue with Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the lack of statutory regulation of child psychotherapists on patient safety.

    Ben Gummer

    Whilst statutory regulation is sometimes necessary where significant risks to users of services cannot be mitigated in other ways, it is not always the most proportionate or effective means of assuring the safe and effective care of service users.

    For the overwhelming majority of occupational and professional groups which are not currently subject to statutory regulation, including those groups recommended by the Health and Care Professions Council for statutory regulation in the past, the accreditation of voluntary registers by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) is the preferred option.

    The voluntary register held by the Association of Child Psychotherapists, which is a professional body for psychoanalytic child and adolescent psychotherapists in the United Kingdom, is subject to independent annual accreditation by the PSA. Accredited registers meet demanding standards set by the PSA including those relevant to governance, the setting of standards for registrants, education and training, and managing the register. This provides the public with assurance that is appropriate and proportionate.