Tag: 2016

Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to improve transport links between Woking and London since 2010.

Claire Perry

In March 2015, I announced a £50 million investment to deliver improvements across the South Western franchise before the end of the current franchise in 2017. This package of improvements included an additional Monday to Thursday late night service from London to Woking, and new ticket machines at Woking and London Waterloo Stations.

An additional 108 carriages are being added to the South Western franchise which should all be in passenger service by March of this year, with a further 150 carriages on order and due to arrive in 2017. These additional carriages provide additional capacity across a number of the routes operated, including those serving Woking.

The Department is running a competition to award the next South Western franchise, which is expected to start in 2017. The detailed franchise specification will be finalised following analysis of the responses to the public consultation, which closes on 9 February. It is expected that bidders will be asked to make proposals to provide capacity where it is needed most.

With regard to road links, Highways England is currently making improvements to the nearby M3 by constructing a smart motorway between junctions 2 and 4a (13.4 miles/21.6km). The aim of smart motorways is to help relieve congestion by using technology to control traffic flows, to assist in the management of incidents and provide information to road users. They deliver these benefits at a significantly lower cost than conventional motorway widening and with less impact on the environment during construction. This is achieved by converting the existing hard shoulder to a permanent running lane. Work started in November 2014 and is expected to be completed towards the end of June 2017.

01/01/2023
Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what bonus payments Highways England (a) staff and (b) Board members are entitled to receive.

Andrew Jones

Highways England renumeration scheme allows for performance related pay, as was the case with the Highways Agency. There is no automatic entitlement. Entitlement to a payment under this plan for staff (including Board members) is subject to corporate performance against pre-determined targets, aligned to the delivery of the Roads Investment Strategy, and individual performance. Performance related pay could be up to 20% of base salary, but this would only be in the case of outstanding performance by both the individual and Highways England.

01/01/2023
Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what requirements or guidelines her Department issues on the reference or inclusion of digital and online resources in the curriculum (a) in general and (b) for students without access to broadband at home.

Nick Gibb

The National Curriculum, introduced from September 2014, focuses on the essential knowledge that teachers should teach, not on how they should teach it.

Schools are best placed to decide which resources meet their needs and to secure these accordingly. Wherever possible, the development of new resources and training should be sector-led, with schools prioritising their use of funding in their budgets in order to best exploit the opportunities offered by the new National Curriculum.

The Government is in favour of schools embracing digital technology in order to improve educational outcomes. We want to see schools making informed decisions about what and how technology will best meet their specific needs, keeping in mind that pedagogy should drive the use of technology.

Where teachers use digital resources in the curriculum, we would expect them to take into account the circumstances of all pupils and make appropriate provision for those without access to broadband at home.

01/01/2023
Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the estimated value is of his Department’s shareholding in NATS Holdings.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The most recent valuation in the Department for Transport’s accounts is £425m.

01/01/2023

Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many students on (a) nursing, (b) midwifery and (c) Allied Health Professional courses successfully returned to their studies after benefitting from the NHS Bursary maternity award in the last five years for which figures are available.

Ben Gummer

The following table shows the number of students on nursing, midwifery and Allied Health Professional courses who were in receipt of the NHS Bursary maternity award in each of the last three academic years and those who have subsequently returned to their studies following a period of maternity leave. Information prior to 2013/14 is not available.

Academic Year¹	Professional Group	Students in receipt of the NHS Bursary maternity award	Students returning from a period of maternity leave
2013/14	Allied Health Professional	55	49
	Midwifery	99	92
	Nursing	633	558
2013/14 Total		787	699
2014/15	Allied Health Professional	50	40
	Midwifery	80	56
	Nursing	581	444
2014/15 Total²		711	540
2015/16	Allied Health Professional	56	6
	Midwifery	72	4
	Nursing	473	59
2015/16 Total²		601	69
Grand Total		2,528	1,702

Source: NHS Business Services Authority

Notes

¹ Standard academic year (i.e. September to the following August)

² The count for these academic years is as at 14 June 2016. There are likely to be further students who commence, or return from a period of maternity leave after this date

01/01/2023

Robert Neill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Neill on 2016-09-06.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the statutory instruments relating to clause 196 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 will be laid before the House.

Mr David Gauke

Government is committed to making the process of compulsory purchase orders clearer, fairer and faster. The Housing and Planning Act and the Neighbourhood Planning Bill will enable us to lay the legislation to insist that public bodies pay interest on payments of compensation that are paid late. The Regulations to set this level of interest will be laid at least 21 days before the substantive commencement of sections 192 to 198 of the Housing and Planning Act. This is likely to be in spring 2017.

01/01/2023
Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian passports have been returned to the Syrian government on the basis that they have been reported stolen by that government.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Home Office does not currently return Syrian passports to the Government of Syria.

01/01/2023
Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with opposition politicians and groups in Bahrain.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We engage with a broad range of political groups in Bahrain to encourage their participation in inclusive political dialogue. I had the opportunity to do so during my recent visit to Bahrain in June 2015.

01/01/2023
Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which body or bodies establishes the final criteria for qualified teacher status; what are those criteria; and where they are made available.

Lord Nash

The National College for Teaching and Leadership publishes the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) criteria. These set out entry, training, management and quality assurance criteria with which all accredited providers of ITT must comply with.

The Teachers’ Standards were published in 2011 and apply to all teachers regardless of their career stage. They define the minimum level of practice expected of teachers. For the purpose of the award of qualified teacher status (QTS), they constitute the ‘specified standards’ within the meaning given to the phrase in Schedule 2 of The Education (School Teachers’ Qualifications) (England) Regulations. As such, they are used by accredited providers of ITT to assess trainee progress and attainment during, and the end of, a training programme.

The ITT criteria and Teachers’ Standards have been attached to this answer.

01/01/2023
Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of North Koreans who work in Russia as labourers or who have entered Russia to escape North Korean human rights violations; and of the potential contravention of Russia’s international obligations and violation of human rights should North Koreans be repatriated from Russia to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We estimate that there are approximately 20,000 – 35,000 workers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the Russian Federation. We do not hold detailed information on the number of DPRK refugees currently in the Russian Federation.

01/01/2023