The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many free schools were closed in each year since 2011.
Edward Timpson
Out of 308 free schools that have opened since 2011, four have closed. One free school closed in academic year 2013/14 and three closed in 2014/15.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what establishment types and educational provision arrangements are included within the category of other arrangements made by local authority used in the statistics and analysis on statements of special educational needs and education, health and care plans in England published on 26 May 2016.
Edward Timpson
The number of children and young people with a statement or education, health and care (EHC) plan who are educated at home is not specifically collected in the ‘Statements and EHC plans England: 2016’ publication[1]. However, as these children and young people will be included in the total number of children and young people with statements and EHC plans, local authorities are likely to have included these children and young people in the ‘other arrangements made by the local authority’ or ‘other arrangements made by the parent’ category.
The number of children and young people with statements or EHC plans who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) is not specifically collected in this statistical first release. Where young people have a statement or EHC plan and are NEET, they will be included in one of the other categories, e.g. ‘other arrangements made by local authority’ or ‘awaiting provision’.
There is not an exhaustive list of arrangements included in the category of ‘Other – arrangements made by the local authority in accordance with Section 319 of the Education Act 1996 or Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014’. The published SEN 2016 guide for local authorities[2] completing this part of the collection is as follows:
‘Section 319 of the Education Act 1996 empowers an authority to provide education for children with special educational needs “other than in school”. This may include education in centres run by social services or at home. Children would not normally be on another school register.
‘Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 empowers an authority to provide education for children and young people with special educational needs “other than in school, post-16 institutions, etc”. This may include education in centres run by social services or where the local authority has named home education on an EHC plan.’
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2016
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-educational-needs-survey-2016-guide
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, by what date his Department plans to complete its longitudinal study into former employees of SSI UK; what the likely outcome of that study will be; and if he will make a statement.
Damian Hinds
The study has been commissioned. The timing and content are being considered. The honourable member for Redcar and other members of the SSI taskforce will be informed when more information is available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether preliminary impact assessments were carried out on the effect of the current HM Revenue and Customs Location Strategy on local tax compliance, across all heads of duty, the Scottish economy, equal opportunities in Scotland, the environment, and the individual staff whose offices are to be closed and what those assessments have indicated.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Location Programme is the result of an extended period of consultation and deliberation. The Department has taken account of a number of criteria in reaching its decisions, including the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, the cost of buildings and asset value, and the need to retain the staff and skills it needs to continue its transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.
HMRC’s modelling estimates that the majority of staff in Scotland live within Reasonable Daily Travel of Glasgow or Edinburgh. Reasonable Daily Travel is calculated in line with established HR policies and procedures. Every worker at HMRC will have a one-to-one meeting with their manager to discuss their individual circumstances.
HMRC conducted high level People Impact and Equality Assessments to inform its planning. The Department plans to update these once discussions have been held with its staff.
Activities of trade union representatives are governed by long-standing agreements with departments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the cost was to the public purse of indemnification of franchise partners to meet the costs for staff from Crown Post Offices who transferred into their employment in 2014 and 2015.
George Freeman
Post Office Limited runs and manages its directly managed Crown post offices. Arrangements for employees of these offices and changes to the Crown network are the operational responsibility of the Post Office.
I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to you on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to obtain a special status for UK agricultural products from specific geographical origin within the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.
George Eustice
Negotiations on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) concluded in 2014 and the agreement is expected to come into force in early 2017. CETA represents a good outcome for the UK. Economic analysis suggests the UK could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this agreement.
Our most important GI (Geographic Indication) product, Scotch Whisky, will receive greater protection in the market and the agreement removes both tariff and non-tariff barriers to British food and drink exports to Canada.
We will be working with the EU Commission, other Member States, the UK food industry and trade organisations to extend GI recognition under CETA for EU protected food name products not included in the initial negotiating list. In particular for UK products where exports to Canada have substantially increased since the CETA negotiations started in 2011.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Aldous on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of supported housing in helping people who are fleeing domestic abuse.
Mr Marcus Jones
We understand the importance of ensuring that those people living in supported accommodation, including refuges, who are generally the most vulnerable members of our society, receive appropriate protections.
Domestic Abuse is a devastating crime and the Government is determined to ensure that no victim is turned away from the support they need. The Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy set out our ambition to improve services for women suffering from domestic abuse, committing to a new Statement of Expectations to set out for the first time what we expect from local areas. To support this, we are launching a new two year fund for refuges and other forms of accommodation based support and to help local areas take the steps they need to meet the National Statement.
We have commissioned an evidence review of the supported housing sector which we expect to report shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase recruitment of teachers of priority subjects in secondary schools.
Nick Gibb
Teaching is a hugely popular career with more teachers in schools than ever before and record levels of top graduates entering the profession. To support recruitment in 2016/17 we have increased postgraduate bursaries, which put a premium on degree class, to attract top graduates in priority subjects such as physics, mathematics and modern foreign languages. Prestigious scholarships, worth £30,000 for physics and £25,000 for mathematics, chemistry or computing, are also available to talented graduates with a first or 2:1 degree who are passionate about their subject and have the potential to be inspirational teachers. We are also continuing to fund Teach First and their mission to get the best graduates into challenging schools.
In addition, we are spending £67 million on a programme of measures to improve the knowledge of the existing mathematics and physics teaching workforce, and increase the number of new mathematics and physics specialists who enter the profession through initial teacher training every year. This package aims to recruit up to 2,500 new teachers and train up to 15,000 existing teachers over the next five years. It also includes programmes to encourage the brightest A level students and undergraduates into teaching; salaried part-time and abridged courses for career changers; a salaried route for post-doctoral mathematics and physics researchers; and support for qualified teachers wishing to return to the profession.
Our marketing campaign, Your Future | Their Future, includes targeted subject specific advertising through a range of media. Those who wish to teach secondary priority subjects are eligible for our enhanced Premier Plus service, which provides support from a dedicated adviser to guide them through the application process. Those applicants who would benefit can also access funded courses to boost or refresh their subject knowledge to a level that will allow them to teach the subject. Officials from the Department also attend more than 35 graduate recruitment events each year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to improve air quality.
Rory Stewart
The national air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide, published in December last year, set out a range of measures that we are implementing to improve air quality. In the plan the Government announced that we will be mandating the introduction of Clean Air Zones in five key cities (Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton). We will be consulting later this year on a Clean Air Zone framework, to provide consistency and certainty, together with draft secondary legislation to mandate the implementation of Clean Air Zones.
Later this year, Defra will also consult on proposals to reduce pollution from electricity generating plants with high nitrogen oxide emissions that are not currently regulated. The proposals would extend set emission limit values on relevant air pollutants, with a view to having legislation in force no later than January 2019, and possibly sooner.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the relative merits of changing the (a) subsidy structure and (b) tariff rate with reference to the administration of the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive for biomass combined heat and power generators.
Jesse Norman
The Government has made changes to the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme Regulations 2011, and these amendments came into force on 1 August 2016.
The changes were made to ensure appropriate value for money for the taxpayer. The decision to make the changes was informed by market intelligence, scheme data and consultation responses.