Tag: 2016

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29811, on further education, if she will publish the minutes of each of those meetings.

    Nick Boles

    Minutes of the steering group meetings are not published as they are a series of internal discussions during which local stakeholders review post-16 provision in their area and work towards a set of recommendations. As such, each local steering group has space and autonomy to develop their proposals and discuss local issues effectively.

    The Department is committed to making the outcomes transparent, and once each review reaches its conclusions, there will be a summary report published at the end of each Area Review process.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how his Department plans to assess for payment of the apprenticeship levy companies whose paybill during the financial year in question varies above or below the £3 million published threshold for paying that levy.

    Greg Hands

    The Government plans for assessment of the levy is set out in the latest guidance published by the Department of Business Innovation and skills "Apprenticeship levy: how it will work" in the section "Calculating what you pay" available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-levy-how-it-will-work/apprenticeship-levy-how-it-will-work. The levy allowance will operate on a monthly basis and will accumulate throughout the year.

    “

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the additional cost relative to the previous system of additional entitlements to free school meals created by new eligibility criteria under universal credit.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We will continue to ensure that children from the poorest families benefit from a free school meal. My Department is continuing to work closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to consider eligibility criteria for free school meals following the introduction of Universal Credit. In the meantime, any child in a family in receipt of Universal Credit will continue to be entitled to free school meals.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress has been made on the accelerated decommissioning programme for nuclear waste in the UK.

    Jesse Norman

    The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA’s) strategy was last updated and published in April of 2016. Progress is monitored in the NDA’s annual report and accounts, supplemented with quarterly progress reports on its business plan, as well as regular updates for priority programmes and major projects. All these documents are available on the NDA’s website.

    Some of the highlights include good progress on priority projects, such as regular retrieval of waste from legacy facilities at Sellafield, removal of all spent nuclear fuel from the Oldbury nuclear power station and the ongoing defueling of the nuclear power station at Wylfa on Anglesey following its closure in December 2015.

  • Nigel Huddleston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Nigel Huddleston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Huddleston on 2016-10-24.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to increase the number of women on boards and at senior executive levels of FTSE companies.

    Caroline Dinenage

    We have more women on boards than ever before and no all-male boards in the FTSE 100. We have established the new, independent Hampton-Alexander Review which will have a particular focus on improving gender representation in the all-important executive layer of the FTSE companies.

    I fully endorse the business-led target of 33% women on FTSE 350 boards by 2020 and would like to go further.

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

    Lord Northbourne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Northbourne on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the majority of secondary schools meet the objective of instilling self-confidence and social and emotional skills in their pupils.

    Lord Nash

    All schools should equip young people with the necessary skills to leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) education has a vital role to play in this and we want all schools to put it at the heart of their curriculum.

    This includes developing character traits like self-confidence, motivation and resilience. These traits support academic attainment, are valued by employers, and encourage young people to make a positive contribution to British society. Many schools are already doing this. The 27 schools and organisations that were winners of character awards in 2015 demonstrated excellence in the area. We will continue to support schools in developing these traits in pupils without prescribing compulsory measures. In order to do this, we are investing £5 million in character education, including £3.5m of grants for 14 projects and £1m to the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to build evidence and expand research into the most effective character education.

    Last September, Ofsted introduced a common assessment framework for the inspection of schools, early years and further education and skills remits. There is an overall effectiveness judgement underpinned by four graded judgements, one of which is a new judgement on personal development, behaviour and welfare. This aspect, therefore, will be graded and reported on in all school inspections.

    Additionally, before making the final judgement on the overall effectiveness of all schools, Ofsted inspectors must evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This means that when judging the effectiveness of leadership and management, inspectors will consider the design, implementation and evaluation of the curriculum, ensuring breadth and balance and its impact on pupils’ outcomes and their personal development, behaviour and welfare.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with the US administration on the siting of a US drone operation centre at (a) RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk and (b) other UK locations.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK and US have routine discussions on all aspects of US visiting forces in the UK.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS transplant centres there are for the transplantation of stem cells for people with blood cancer or blood disorders; how much funding has NHS England provided to such centres in each year since 2009-10; and in the latest inspections by the Joint Accreditation Committee for the International Society for Cellular Therapy and the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (JACIE), on how many of the standards set by JACIE was each entre found (a) compliant and (b) non-compliant.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England commissions stem cell transplant activity for adults and children from 46 providers and have provided the following information on funding.

    Total funding for stem cell transplantation was £163 million in 2013/14 and £170 million in 2014/15. Services are commissioned within this budget based on need rather than as individual services. Stem cell transplantation is subject to local pricing and so it is not possible to provide information about funding by provider as this is commercially sensitive.

    NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised care involving adult bone marrow transplantation that includes care up to 100 days after transplant. The costs of care up to 100 days post-transplant are included within the overall budget for stem cell transplantation. NHS England does not hold data on the funding of care beyond this 100 day period.

    The Department does not hold information on funding provided for these services before the creation of NHS England in 2013.

    The Joint Accreditation Committee for the International Society for Cellular Therapy and the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (JACIE) is an independent organisation and the Department does not hold data related to JACIE compliance.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent violence in Israel and the West Bank on relations in that region.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are deeply concerned by the recent violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which has had a negative impact on relations. Since the start of the current violence, Ministers and officials have spoken regularly to both the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority on the urgent need to de-escalate the tensions. The current violence underlines that a just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed in HM Revenue and Customs’ Criminal Finance Intelligence Operations branch in each year since 2009-10; and (a) how much was recovered by that branch, (b) how many bank accounts were closed by that branch and (c) how many referrals to the Crown Prosecution Service were made by that branch in each of those years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The information is not held in the form requested.

    The Criminal Finance Intelligence Operations team in HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was formed on 1 April 2015 and so statistics for periods before this are not available.

    The team is an intelligence gathering operation. The intelligence they gather assists others in HMRC to recover funds and refer cases onto the Crown Prosecution Service.