Tag: 2016

  • Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of his Department’s progress on improving municipal statutory notices since his Department’s press release, Councils and media invited to bring statutory notices into 21st century, published on 23rd December 2014.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Statutory Notices Pilots project is now complete. We are currently in the process of giving careful consideration to the findings of the final reports of the 24 pilots, before drawing any conclusions and deciding what action, if any, to take.

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for the security of the UK of the proposed takeover of ARM Holdings by the Japanese company Softbank; and if he will make a statement.

    Margot James

    I can confirm that the takeover of ARM as currently proposed does not undermine the UK’s national security.

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

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children who receive free school meals in (a) Woking constituency, (b) Surrey, (c) the South East and (d) the UK have participated in higher education in each year since 2010.

    Joseph Johnson

    Information is given on the number and percentage of students completing Key Stage 5 study (A level and other Level 3 qualifications) in mainstream state-funded schools and colleges, before progressing to study at a UK higher education institution for at least two terms the following year, in each of the last five years for which information is available. Free school meal eligibility is as recorded when students were in Year 11.

    The table below show figures for the Woking constituency for the years 2010/11 to 2014/15. Numbers of pupils are shown rounded to the nearest ten, in line with how published information was shown in these years. Percentages are calculated using unrounded figures.

    In each of the last five years, ten students in the Woking constituency (rounded to the nearest ten), who had been eligible for free school meals in Year 11 and completed Key Stage 5 study, progressed to higher education. This compares to between 180 and 250 students who had not been eligible for free school meals. In 2014/15, this represents 34% of free school meals students and 50% of other students who had completed Key Stage 5 study. Due to the small numbers of students involved, these proportions have varied year on year.

    Comparable information on pupil destinations for b) Surrey, c) the South East and d) England is published annually at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations

    Woking constituency

    Number of students completing KS5

    Number at UK Higher Education Institution

    % at UK Higher Education Institution (calculated on unrounded figures)

    (rounded to nearest 10)

    (rounded to nearest 10)

    FSM

    Non-FSM

    FSM

    Non-FSM

    FSM

    Non-FSM

    2014/15 (2013/14 KS5 cohort)

    30

    510

    10

    250

    34%

    50%

    2013/14 (2012/13 KS5 cohort)

    20

    370

    10

    180

    32%

    49%

    2012/13 (2011/12 KS5 cohort)

    30

    450

    10

    200

    31%

    45%

    2011/12 (2010/11 KS5 cohort)

    20

    450

    10

    230

    61%

    52%

    2010/11 (2009/10 KS5 cohort)

    30

    490

    10

    220

    41%

    45%

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve police responses to sexual assaults and rapes at universities.

    Karen Bradley

    Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes which we remain committed to tackling. We expect every report of rape to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity, and every investigation and every prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

    We continue to work with the police to look at ways to improve their response to rape and sexual assault. We have supported the publication of data on rape for every police force in the country as a basis for improving recording and investigations of this crime. The Rape Action Plan, led by the Crown Prosecution Service and the National Policing lead for rape, ensures that investigators and prosecutors have both the right tools for handling these cases, and referrals from the police to prosecutors are improved to increase successful prosecutions.

    We want victims to have the confidence to report these crimes to the police, knowing they will get the support they need and that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice, no matter where the offence takes place. Police recorded rape increased by 43% (to 31,621 offences) in the year ending June 2015 compared with the previous year. We do not hold figures on the number of rapes in England and Wales that took place in universities. This significant rise in the reporting of rape is the result of a renewed focus on the quality of crime recording and a greater willingness of victims to come forward. These can only be positive developments in our fight to end abuse.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, by what date it is planned that 100 per cent of residents of (a) Calder Valley and (b) West Yorkshire will have access to superfast broadband.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Based on current delivery plans, it is estimated that 91% of premises in Calder Valley and 93% in West Yorkshire will have access to superfast broadband by the end of March 2018. Additional funding sources, including West Yorkshire’s share of the £129 million of early gainshare funding that BT will return in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, will allow coverage to be extended further in Calder Valley and the rest of the area covered by the West Yorkshire broadband project.

    In addition, the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation will give people the legal right to request at 10Mbps connection, no matter where they live, by the end of this Parliament.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Statement of 10 February 2016, HCWS520, when he expects the Review of the Homes and Communities Agency to be published.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Spending Review underlined the priority this Government attaches to our ambition to build a million homes this Parliament and to double the number of new homeowners. Building on the successful contribution the Homes and Communities Agency made in the last Parliament, the Review will ensure that they are well-placed to deliver the Government’s objectives.

    In line with Cabinet Office guidance, the Review will consider a range of options in looking at how the Agency can operate in the most effective and efficient way.

    We will be seeking evidence from a wide range of sources, including the Agency itself, and will provide an opportunity for interested stakeholders to contribute views. Once this evidence has been collected and conclusions drawn, the Review will report as soon as possible.

  • Baroness Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Cox on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks of the Minister of State for the Department for International Development, Mr Desmond Swayne, on 16 March (HC Deb, col 937), whether non-state actors can be guilty of genocide, subject to a referral to the International Criminal Court from the United Nations Security Council.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Under Article IV of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article III of the Convention shall be punished whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals. Any member of Daesh who has committed an act of genocide is therefore liable to prosecution. Individual criminal responsibility, rather than by organisations or groups, is determined by courts. The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor has set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her press statement of 8 April 2015.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the normal functioning of parliamentary ratification processes in developing countries of the EU bringing forward the deadlines for ratification of EU Economic Partnership Agreements.

    Lord Price

    The EU has not brought forward the deadlines for ratification of Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) partners. EU Regulation 1528/2007 of 20 December 2007 states that ratification of the agreements should take place “within a reasonable period of time.” I expect the parliamentary ratification processes in developing countries to function as normal in relation to these agreements.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many free schools have opened in areas where there are surplus places in the age range covered by the school in each year since 2010.

    Edward Timpson

    Every free school has been approved for opening in response to either the need to provide extra school places for the future, the need to provide parents with greater choice or the need to provide more high quality places. Of the open mainstream free schools reported in School Capacity data in May 2015, all of which were approved prior to January 2014, seven in ten were approved in areas where there was a basic need for additional school places.

    85% of mainstream free schools approved since January 2014 – the majority of which have not yet opened – are in areas where School Capacity data showed there was a basic need for additional school places. The remaining 15% were approved on the basis of more recent local authority intelligence of future need for places; in areas where there was a need for additional high quality places or to create additional choice or diversity.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason her Department has increased the small claims limit for minor whiplash claims.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    The government remains concerned about the number and cost of low value personal injury claims and has announced robust new measures to tackle them – including raising the small claims limit for personal injury claims to £5,000. This change has not yet been made.