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Tag: 2015

  • 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 2015-11-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what legislative changes they propose in order to bring together Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority within NHS Improvement.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We are bringing together Monitor, the Trust Development Authority (TDA), and patient safety and improvement functions from across the health system, under one single leadership and operating model – known as NHS Improvement.

    A number of changes to secondary legislation, covering directions and regulations to the TDA, will be required to support this work. Work is ongoing to bring forward a set of proposals which will be laid before the House in the new year.

  • Baroness Benjamin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Benjamin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Benjamin on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of children’s media from the UK to promoting British culture and principles in the UK and abroad.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government recognises the important contribution children’s television makes to promoting British culture and the UK economy. In April, the Government introduced a new tax relief for children’s ‘live action’ television productions to attract inward investment and support our domestic market. We have noted the issues identified by Ofcom and will continue to monitor the sector and consider whether further measures are needed.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which UK citizens’ data have been collected by the government of the United States through the PRISM programme, and whether they have taken steps to prevent such data being collected in the future.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    It is the long-standing policy of successive Governments not to comment in detail on matters of intelligence. This includes discussions with allies and liaison agencies.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 December (HL3987), what is the procedure for children who are dependants of British citizens and persons who are living legally in the UK, and who have had asylum claims accepted by the French authorities, to apply for entry to the UK in order to be reunited with their families.

    Lord Bates

    The UK does not hold statistical information of the number of asylum applications made in France by dependent children of British citizens or persons living legally in the UK or how many of these applications have been accepted by the French. Statistics for transfers of asylum applicants from France to the UK on the basis of family ties are not routinely recorded.

    We will consider any request made to us by the French asylum authorities to take responsibility for an asylum applicant in France because they have close family in the UK in accordance with the terms of the Dublin Regulation concerning the principle of family unity and the best interests of the child. This is subject to an applicant first claiming asylum in France. If they do not wish to claim asylum, individual migrants in France as in any other country, are entitled to apply under the Family Reunion provisions to join relatives in the UK by making the appropriate application.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has assessed the necessary financial support required by local authorities to deliver a charging network for electric vehicles of the scale required to have an effect on local air quality.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government wants almost every car and van to be a zero emission vehicle by 2050 and is investing £500m between 2015 and 2020 to help deliver this. The long-term transition to ultra low emission vehicles can help improve local air quality, and will also lower UK greenhouse gas emissions and provide high value jobs and growth, but our modelling suggests that even very rapid uptake can have only a marginal impact on today’s air quality problems because of the time taken to turn over the vehicle fleet.

    We are aware that a number of local authorities have been assessing electric car charging point requirements in air quality management areas.

    The Government is considering future grid and chargepoint requirements as part of its planning for this transition. The UK already has the largest network of rapid chargepoints across Europe and over 6000 publically accessible chargepoints have been part-funded by the Government. We will continue to collaborate with industry to ensure that the UK’s infrastructure network meets the needs of electric vehicle drivers.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to reform or strengthen the role of Traffic Commissioner.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport published its review of the role of the traffic commissioners this year. This recommends that we continue with the commissioners in their present form.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people over 100 years old living (a) in the UK and (b) overseas received the state pension in each of the last three years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The requested information as of September 2012, 2013 and 2014 is within the table below:

    Country Sept-12 Sept-13 Sept-14
    GB 8,300 9,000 9,700
    Overseas 600 1,000 1,000
    Total 8,900 10,000 10,700

    “-“ indicates less than 100

    Source:
    DWP 5% data

    Notes:
    1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding

    2. Cases where the payment has been suspended or the payment is not “live” have been omitted from these figures.

  • Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the powers, duties and responsibilities of Regional School Commissioners.

    Lord Nash

    The eight Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) take decisions in the name of the Secretary of State in relation to schools and academies (including free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools). The RSCs were appointed through open competition, with successful candidates being appointed for their outstanding leadership skills and track record. The process was overseen by the Civil Service Commissioner. RSCs are line managed by the national Schools Commissioner.

    The responsibilities of RSCs include:

    a) monitoring the performance of the academies, free schools, UTCs and studio schools in their area;

    b) taking action when an academy, free school, UTC or studio school is underperforming;

    c) approving the conversion of maintained schools to academies and making the decision on the sponsor for new academies in areas where the local authority has identified a need for additional school places;

    d) making recommendations to ministers about free school applications and advising on whether approved free school projects are ready to open;

    e) encouraging organisations to become academy sponsors or to establish free schools, approving applications to become sponsors and helping to build the capacity and capability of existing sponsors within their area;

    f) approving changes to open academies, for example: changes to age ranges, mergers between academies, and changes to MAT arrangements;

    g) addressing underperformance in local authority maintained schools through sponsored academy arrangements.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of English and mathematics teachers in further education and sixth form colleges; and what effect those steps have had.

    Nick Boles

    Our FE Workforce Strategy[1], published in 2014, sets out the steps the government has taken to encourage more Mathematics and English teachers to take up posts in further education colleges.

    Since 2013, bursaries of up to £25,000 have been available to attract new graduates with relevant degrees to teach Maths and English, and to specialise in teaching students with SEN within the FE sector. These bursaries match those offered to trainee secondary teachers. To date, over 950 bursaries have been provided to graduates.

    In March 2015, the Prime Minister announced an investment of £67m in a package of measures to improve the teaching of STEM subjects, including Maths, in secondary schools and sixth form colleges. This will see an additional 2,500 new Maths and Physics teachers trained, and a further 15,000 teachers given additional support to improve their subject knowledge.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-workforce-strategy

    “

  • Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the main expenditure estimates of July for the Department for Education, what is the breakdown of the £4 billion budget line other” currently assigned to Education Funding Agency funding of academy schools.”

    Lord Nash

    We refer to both the £4 billion budget in the department’s Main Estimate, and the £1.6 billion of ‘other expenditure’ by the Education Funding Agency (EFA), identified in the July Memorandum to the Education Select Committee.

    The £4 billion identified in the Main Estimate relates to the department’s £4.7 billion capital budget, of which £4,115,299 is paid out via the EFA. This capital investment enables local authorities to discharge their duties: to ensure that there are enough school places; to maintain the school estate; to undertake major replacement and refurbishment projects for schools in the worst condition through the Priority Schools Building Programmes; and to facilitate education reform through the Free Schools programme.

    The Memorandum to the Education Select Committee provides a breakdown of expenditure within the Estimate Lines. The EFA’s major programme budget includes an ‘other’ heading that totals £1.6 billion. This heading groups together the smaller school’s programmes, including Universal Infant Free School Meals, Private Finance Initiative funding, Post-16 Free School Meals, Post-16 Bursary Fund, and Post-16 Learner Support.

    The academy schools net expenditure totals £17 billion for programme and capital, the majority being for resource expenditure.