Tag: 2016

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the costs will be of the proposed conversion of all non-academies to academy schools.

    Lord Nash

    Taking the Spending Review and the Budget together, we have set aside the funding to support a high quality school system where all schools are academies.

    Through the Budget and the Department for Education’s settlement in the Spending Review there are sufficient resources available to take advantage of the opportunities presented by all schools becoming academies. The Government has allocated £300 million that will be available to support schools to convert and, in particular, support sponsors to turn around failing schools. A further £300 million will be available to support strong and effective multi-academy trusts to grow and improve.

    The Department will be issuing further detail on how funding will support the conversion of all schools to academy status in due course.

  • Baroness Wolf of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Wolf of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Wolf of Dulwich on 2016-06-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 9 May (HL7498), whether the recent inquiry and report by the Quality Assurance Agency on West London Vocational Training has led them to reconsider or amend current measures relating to alternative providers; and if not, why not.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Government has revoked West London Vocational Training College’s designation for student support funding for Higher Education (HE) courses in England with effect from 3 June. Affected students will be supported so they can continue their studies with as limited disruption as possible. The cross-agency action in this case demonstrates the Government’s continuing strong focus on improving quality and value for money across the Alternative Provider (AP) sector.

    Since the 2012-13 academic year the Government has progressively strengthened systems to oversee the specific course designation of APs to secure improved quality and standards, including the introduction of a more rigorous, risk-based approach to quality assurance and annual provider re-designation.

    Further reforms announced in the May 2016 HE White Paper will create a level playing field for all HE providers, supporting greater diversity, innovation and choice for students, whilst preserving quality and value for money.

  • Jeffrey M. Donaldson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jeffrey M. Donaldson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeffrey M. Donaldson on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the (a) criteria by which applicants are selected and (b) names of applicants who applied to host Armed Forces Day in 2017.

    Mike Penning

    Guidance on applying to host the Armed Forces Day National Event is available from the Ministry of Defence’s Ceremonial Events and Commemorations Team whose contact details are on the Armed Forces Day Website: www.armedforcesday.org.uk.

    Applications typically take the form of a letter from the Local Authority Leader /Chief Executive, to the Defence Minister in the House of Lords (Earl Howe). This letter is assessed to gauge the strength of the applicant’s argument as to why they should be selected, and the quality of their proposals for the event. In addition, the following aspects are considered:

    Proximity to previous national events – there would be an aspiration to stage the event in a different region of the country to previous events, in order to capture a fresh local audience.

    Maturity of any existing annual event hosted by the applicant.

    Availability of a suitable venue and infrastructure within the applicant’s jurisdiction.

    Support of local populace for the Armed Forces.

    The applicant’s capacity to administer an event of equivalent scale and significance.

    Financial resource available, and plans to secure adequate sponsorship.

    While it would be inappropriate to name the authorities that lost out to Liverpool City Council in the process of selecting the hosts for the National Armed Forces Day event in 2017, we can confirm that no formal bid was received from any local authority in Ulster.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 22 September 2016 to Question HL1788, how many outstanding family reunion applications there are for unaccompanied children from France; what steps are being taken to ensure those applications are processed quickly; and what steps she is taking to ensure that the UK remains in contact with children with outstanding applications in the event that they are moved away from Calais.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Home Office teams have been deployed to France to work with the French Authorities to speed up the identification and transfer of eligible cases under both the Dublin Regulation and Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.

    More children are arriving to join their family in the UK each day. It is therefore not possible to provide an exact number of outstanding family reunion applications.

    The UK has made clear that the remaining children, including those who do not qualify for family reunion must be looked after in safe facilities. The UK Government is ready to help fund such facilities and provide resources to aid the decision-making.

  • Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2016 to Question 20831, when the DVLA plans to roll out the piloted scheme against non-payment of vehicle excise duty.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is continuing to work with police forces to address the issue of overstaying foreign registered vehicles.

    The pilot that ran between November 2014 and February 2015 is now being taken forward as business as usual. A further seven police forces have requested the DVLA’s devolved powers to enable them to take action against non-compliant vehicles. On average around 100 foreign registered vehicles are impounded each month.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 24387, whether the proposed changes to mitigate the effect of lorry traffic on the hedgehog population in the area of Regent’s Park will require an amendment to the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The identified impact on the Regent’s Park hedgehog population is from the provision of replacement car parking for the Zoological Society of London rather than from lorries accessing the proposed lorry holding area. The measures being considered to mitigate this effect in the Regent’s Park area do not require an Additional Provision to the Bill. Any mitigation measures outside the limits of the Bill would be delivered with the cooperation of The Royal Parks.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Colombian counterpart on reports of threats and human rights violations by the Colombian army and police towards members of the Patriotic March.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Our Embassy in Bogotá met members of the Patriotic March on 20 January 2016 to discuss concerns around these threats and human rights violations. They will continue to monitor the situation closely and will ensure reports of threats against members of the Patriotic March are raised with the Colombian Government.

  • Khalid Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Khalid Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Khalid Mahmood on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage nurseries to teach early language skills.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards for the provision of learning, development and care for children from birth to five year olds that all registered early years providers such as maintained nurseries must follow. Within the EYFS, there are several areas of learning and development that shape the educational programme in the early years settings, one of which is communication and language.

    The EYFS makes clear that children should be given opportunities to experience a rich language environment to help them develop the confidence and skills they need to express themselves and to speak and listen in a range of situations. The EYFS requires practitioners to ensure all children have the opportunities to learn and develop a good standard of English language to ensure they are ready to benefit from the opportunities available to them when they begin primary school.

    We have also worked closely with 4Children to develop the What to Expect, When? guide which illustrates to parents and early years providers the tools they can use to help their children’s language development from birth to five years old, and can be found at: http://www.foundationyears.org.uk/2015/03/what-to-expect-when-a-parents-guide/

    The Department for Education has also awarded £5.3 million to voluntary and community sector organisations of which a number are supporting staff to develop strong pedagogical approaches to language development and early literacy.

    “

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support annual executive pay votes by shareholders, and whether they intend to legislate to stop three-year votes on that issue.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the noble Lord.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of asylum applications over the past 12 months came from Syrian minors, and what percentage of those were accepted.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    In the year ending March 2016, there were 41,563 applications for asylum from main applicants and dependants. Of these applications, 1% (367) were made by Syrian nationals aged under 18 at the time of application.

    In the year ending March 2016, there were 268 initial decisions for Syrian main applicants and dependants, who were aged under 18 at the time of decision. Of these decisions, 94% (253) were grants of asylum or an alternative form of protection.

    Initial decisions may not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period.

    In addition to those asylum seekers who apply in the UK, resettlement schemes are offered to those who have been referred to the Home Office by UNHCR (the UN agency for refugees). The figures above exclude such resettled persons.

    The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on asylum applications and initial decisions within the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics January to March 2016, is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2016.