Tag: 2016

  • Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the minimum required number of trained special educational needs support staff within a school.

    Lord Nash

    In order to be awarded qualified teacher status (QTS), all teacher trainees must satisfy the Teachers’ Standards, which include a requirement that they have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with SEN, and are able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.

    Schools are responsible for deciding what external support to seek and for setting their own priorities for the continuous professional development of their staff. The SEN and Disability code of practice makes it clear that high quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN. Schools should review, and, where necessary, improve teachers’ understanding of strategies to identify and support vulnerable pupils and their knowledge of the SEN more frequently encountered.

    The SEN and disability local offer, published by each local authority, must include arrangements in schools for securing expertise among teachers and other professionals to support pupils with SEN or disabilities. This should include professional development to secure that expertise.

    All mainstream schools, including Academies and free schools, and mainstream nursery schools are required to designate a member of staff, a SENCO, to co-ordinate provision for pupils with special educational needs. That person must be a qualified teacher. If that person has been a SENCO for less than twelve months, he or she must achieve a National Award in Special Educational Needs Co-ordination within three years of appointment.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for the BBC’s service licences being reviewed and strengthened by an independent regulator at an early date.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    These issues are being considered as part of Charter Review. The Government will set out its proposals in the forthcoming White Paper.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his plans are for the body that will replace the BBC Trust.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government will set out its plans for the future of the BBC in a White Paper in the Spring.

  • MiDavies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    MiDavies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by MiDavies on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of people in Wales are involved in regular sport.

    Alun Cairns

    Sport is a devolved matter in Wales and is therefore the responsibility of the Welsh Government.

    However, the Sport Wales’ Active Adult Survey 2014 found that 72% of adults in Wales had participated in sport and physical recreation within the previous four weeks of being surveyed.

    Furthermore, their School Sport Survey 2015 found that 48% of children in Wales were participating in sports three or more times a week.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many child refugees have been accepted by the UK under the Immigration Act 2016.

    Mike Penning

    The Government is firmly committed to bringing vulnerable unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, in accordance with the Immigration Act 2016. Over 20 children who meet the criteria in the Act have been accepted for transfer from Europe since Royal Assent, the majority of who have already arrived in the UK.

    We are in active discussions with the UNHCR, UNICEF and NGOs, in addition to the Italian, Greek and French governments, to strengthen and speed up mechanisms to identify, assess and transfer children who meet the criteria to come to the UK where this in their best interests.

    As is required by the Immigration Act 2016, we are consulting with local authorities to confirm available capacity and to ensure appropriate support systems are in place.

    We cannot put a fixed number on arrivals at this point. The legislation is clear that consultation with local authorities is needed before any figure is set. It is vital that their capacity and ability to help is taken into account. We must also ensure that we are able to continue to fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many breaches of animal welfare regulations (a) in slaughterhouses and (b) during transportation his Department recorded in each of the last six years.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The new legislation Welfare at Time of Killing implemented in Wales in 2014 and in England in 2015 introduced new welfare reporting requirements. In addition, during 2015/16 the Food Standards Agency (FSA) introduced new animal welfare measures in slaughterhouses which included increased consistency of reporting of transport related breaches. Both these factors are likely to have contributed to the increased instances recorded in the previous two years.

    The FSA does not record the numbers of individual animals which died as a result of transportation to slaughterhouses. The FSA records the number of instances that animals were found to be Dead on Arrival (DOA). The number of DOA instances for the last six years are set out in the following table:

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    144

    64

    5

    16

    28

    265

    The FSA does not record the number of individual animals involved in a welfare breaches in slaughterhouses or during transportation. The FSA records the number of instances of breaches. The number of critical welfare breaches in slaughterhouses and transportation for the last six years are set out in the following tables:

    Slaughterhouses

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    158

    132

    65

    113

    217

    234

    Transportation

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    394

    342

    308

    535

    1,488

    2,097

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will disclose a summary of his Department’s legal advice to the (a) Joint Committee on Human Rights and (b) Intelligence and Security Committee relevant to the drone strike that killed Reyaad Khan on 21 August 2015.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer on this subject given to him by the Prime Minister on 25 January 2016, UIN 23433.

  • Lord Hain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Hain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hain on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to making concessions on the provisions in the Trade Union Bill that the Welsh Government has argued relate to powers devolved to Wales, in particular (1) clause 3 regarding the 40 per cent threshold, (2) clauses 12 and 13 regarding facility time, and (3) clause 14 regarding check-off.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Ministers have engaged with the Devolved Administrations on the Trade Union Bill.

    As part of our engagement, Nick Boles, the lead Minister for the Trade Union Bill, has received four letters from Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services in the Welsh Government on 20 November 2015, 18 January 2016, 27 January 2016, and 9 February 2016. These letters related to specific aspects of the Bill and on the Welsh Government position on their applicability in Wales. On 5th February 2016 Nick Boles had a telephone conversation with Leighton Andrews on the Bill; and on 4 March, he replied to the letters and has placed a copy of the correspondence in the Library.

    The Trade Union Bill relates to employment rights, duties and industrial relations, all of which are reserved.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the proportion of the working population in Southampton which was working in small retail outlets over the last three years.

    Anna Soubry

    Official statistics are not sufficiently detailed to answer this question directly. However a rough estimate may be possible by combining sources.

    The ONS Business Registers and Employment Survey shows that the retail sector accounted for 10 – 11% of employment in Southampton in each year between 2012 and 2014.

    Furthermore BIS Business Population Estimates suggest that across the UK as a whole small firms (those below 50 employees) account for around 29% of employment in the retail sector.

    Applying this assumption we could estimate that small retailers accounted for around 3% of employment in Southampton in 2012-2014.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons the Government decided to reduce the allocation of top-up funding for provision for children with special needs.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We have not reduced the allocation of top-up funding for children with special educational needs (SEN). We announced in December that we would provide an additional £92.5 million nationally for high needs in 2016-17. Bristol City Council’s share of this additional funding is £750,000.

    It is for local authorities to determine how best to use their high needs allocation, after consultation with local providers.