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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 6 November (HL2947), why they have decided not to raise the issue of the three British citizens who were killed during the Gujarat Massacre in 2002 with Prime Minister Modi during his visit to the UK.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    This case is ongoing in the Indian courts. The United Kingdom cannot interfere in another country’s legal system, as we would not expect them to interfere in ours. The British Government has registered its interest in this case, and our officials will continue to press the relevant Indian authorities for the family’s appeal to be heard swiftly and fairly.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, whether access for disabled students will be included in measures to determine whether higher education institutions deliver effective outcomes for widening access and social mobility.

    Joseph Johnson

    Higher Education Institutions have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support their students, including those with disabilities.

    The Independent Office for Fair Access (OFFA) has agreed 183 Access Agreements for 2016/17 with plans for Universities to spend more than £745 million on measures to improve access and student success for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, up from £404m in 2009/10. HEIs choose their own access agreement measures and targets, in line with their own particular mission and challenges and these can include targets on disability where appropriate.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many faces have been uploaded onto the police facial recognition database since the ruling against the Metropolitan Police Service in 2012; which police forces made those uploads; and how many faces each force has uploaded.

    Lord Bates

    There is no facial recognition database as such. The Police National Database (PND) includes photographs of persons taken on their arrest. These images can be uploaded onto the PND by police forces.

    Full face images of a suitable size and quality are then enrolled in the facial image recognition gallery within PND, which can be searched using automated facial recognition software. Information on the number of facial images loaded by forces since June 2012 is not readily available

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 1.123 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what estimate he has made of the effect of uprating the individual threshold in the minimum income floor for self-employed people on the household income of a tax credit claimant family with two children and one self-employed earner under the age of 25 earning the national minimum wage.

    Priti Patel

    The government is committed to moving the UK from a high tax, high welfare, low wage society to a lower tax, lower welfare, higher wage society. This remains the case, and Universal Credit (UC) is delivering this.

    UC is fundamentally different from the current legacy benefit system and supports people into work and encourages them to earn more.

    Therefore there is no meaningful way of comparing an unreformed Tax Credit system with UC. The Government has committed to transitional arrangements as we reform the benefits and Tax Credit system. Those transferred by DWP from tax credits to UC will receive Transitional Protection. In addition, estimates of entitlements under UC of the sort requested will vary depending on assumptions on the level of earnings.

  • Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish any background advice and research provided to Lord Strathclyde’s review of the powers of the House of Lords.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston):

    Lord Strathclyde is being supported in his review by a panel of external experts and a small secretariat of civil servants in the Cabinet Office. The secretariat does not include political advisers. The expert panel comprises Sir Stephen Laws, former First Parliamentary Counsel; Jacqy Sharpe, a former Clerk in the House of Commons and Clerk to the Joint Committee on Conventions; and Sir Michael Pownall, former Clerk of the Parliaments.

    Several reviews have examined the powers of the House of Lords, including the Royal Commission on the reform of the House of Lords (2000) and the Joint Committee on Conventions referenced above (2006).

    The review led by Lord Strathclyde is due to consider how to protect the ability of elected Governments to secure their business in Parliament in the light of the operation of certain conventions. The review will consider in particular how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to its primacy on financial matters; and secondary legislation.

    Ministers regularly discuss a wide range of issues with the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service.

    Lord Strathclyde will determine the way in which the review is undertaken and the content of his recommendations, including any definitions required. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the cost of the exercise at this stage, but neither Lord Strathclyde nor his panel of experts will be paid a fee. Lord Strathclyde is expected to seek views from a wide range of Parliamentarians, parties and groups in undertaking his review, and has issued a letter to all Parliamentarians inviting their input. He is also seeking views from the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House. Lord Strathclyde will report to the Prime Minister, and the Government will decide how to proceed upon receipt of his recommendations.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 2.144 of the Summer Budget 2015, what progress has been made on designing the Horserace Betting Right; and when he plans to publish his proposals on that matter.

    Tracey Crouch

    Work is continuing on the detailed policy design of the replacement for the existing levy.

    As part of the design work we commissioned an independent economic analysis of the costs and funding of racing. This will draw on information provided by betting and racing, and will be key to assessing what level of funding from betting to racing would be reasonable.

    We will make a further announcement in due course

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with other EU member states about whether the Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive provides sufficient safeguards to allow regulators to assure themselves that migrant healthcare professionals have kept their skills and competence up-to-date.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The revised Directive was negotiated between Member States including the United Kingdom over a number of years before its publication in the Official Journal in 2013. A copy of the Directive is attached.

    The main aim of the Directive is to increase freedom of movement of professions across the European Union by providing a framework for the regulatory bodies to consider a professional’s qualification. If a professional’s qualifications are of the standard recognised across Europe they are deemed to be of sufficient quality. Ifhowever a professional’s qualification does not meet the minimum standards set out across Europe the regulator can require them to undertake further training to improve their skills and competence before being permitted to practise in the UK.

    Individual employers also have a responsibility to ensure that the people they employ or contract with have the required knowledge and skills and qualifications for the posts for which they are applying.

    Once a professional has been registered with the regulatory body they must adhere to the same requirements as UK registrants including continuing professional development and revalidation (for doctors and nurses) to ensure that they remain fit to practice.

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve awareness of cerebral palsy among pupils and staff working in schools.

    Edward Timpson

    The reforms introduced in September 2014 will ensure that all children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) aged 0 to 25, including those with cerebral palsy, have improved access to the support they need.

    Local authorities are responsible for meeting the educational needs of all children with SEND within their local area. They must co-ordinate education, health and care provision for individual children and ensure that young people and parents are involved in discussions about their individual support and about local provision more generally. Statutory Local Offers published by each local authority must set out what support is available for all children and young people with SEND in their area, including those with more complex needs.

    The reforms detailed in the SEND Code of Practice were drawn up in consultation with a wide range of interested parties, many of whom represented the interests of children and young people with specific impairments. They are intended to improve outcomes for every child or young person with SEND by placing them at the heart of a system designed to respond to their individual needs and aspirations.

    The Department has not assessed the impact of the SEND Code of Practice, or regional variations in provision, on the basis of any specific impairment but is monitoring implementation closely.

    This monitoring includes inputs from annual data collection; termly surveys of local authorities and Parent Carer Forums; and feedback from specialist SEND Advisers and funded voluntary sector organisations. From May 2016, this monitoring will be enhanced by a new joint Ofsted/CQC inspection framework for SEND, which is currently the subject of a national consultation.

    Schools are required by the Children and Families Act 2014 to identify the SEN of the pupils they support and to use their best endeavours to make sure that they get the support they need. Teachers are expected to be able to adapt their teaching to the needs of all pupils, and to have an understanding of the factors that can inhibit learning and how to overcome them.

    To support the school workforce, the Department has funded almost 11,000 SEN Coordinators to attain Masters-level national awards between 2009 and 2014, at a cost of almost £33 million; is funding SEND conferences for school leaders and supporting the development of a ‘SEND gateway’ for education professionals, which offers a wide range of online training and information.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of (1) the recent report by former UK ambassadors to the EU that, if the UK left the EU, access to free-trade deals would be lost with 51 states; (2) whether those states would, as a consequence, lose free access to the UK market; and (3) the overall effect on the UK’s trading balance of those assessments.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 2.150 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how many of the additional homes to be protected from flooding are classified as at (a) very high, (b) high, (c) moderate, (d) low and (e) very low risk of flooding; and what estimate she has made of the number of such homes that will be in each such category after the completion of work to protect them from flooding.

    Rory Stewart

    The £2.3 billion 6-year capital investment programme will better protect over 300,000 homes and will move around 170,000 households from either ‘very significant’ or ‘significant’ flood probability category to the ‘moderate’ or ‘low’ probability category.