Tag: 2016

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy to oppose the provisional implementation of the EU-Canada trade agreement when it is discussed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in June 2016.

    Anna Soubry

    The EU–Canada Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) will deliver jobs and growth for the UK, with independent analysis suggesting the deal could be worth up to £1.3 billion per year to the UK economy.

    We expect CETA to be a “mixed” agreement, covering areas of both EU and Member State competence. In this case, the EU Council could decide to provisionally apply the parts of CETA which fall within EU competence. The Government supports this approach as it will allow the UK to benefit from provisions such as reduced duties on imports and exports as soon as possible. This has been discussed with the European Commission on a number of occasions, most at the Trade Foreign Affairs Council that took place in Brussels this month. The Council will negotiate which provisions of CETA should be applied provisionally by the EU once the final text has been received.

  • Jason McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jason McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jason McCartney on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that local authorities provide sufficient short breaks to children with life-shortening conditions in England.

    Edward Timpson

    Since 2011, local authorities have been under a duty to provide a range of short breaks services and to publish a local Short Breaks Duty Statement showing what services are available, how they are responding to the needs of local parent carers, and how short breaks can be accessed, including any eligibility criteria. Local authorities are responsible for funding this short breaks provision.

    Between April 2011 and March 2015, the government made available £800 million to local authorities for short break provision, along with an additional £80 million of capital funding for equipment and infrastructure.

    Between April 2015 and March 2016, we awarded £250,555 to the Short Breaks Partnership (a consortium made up of Contact a Family, the Council for Disabled Children, Action for Children, and KIDS) to provide information and advice to those involved in designing, commissioning, providing, and taking up short breaks for disabled children. The Department for Education has allocated £200m funding over the next 4 years to support innovation and improvement to children’s social work practice. We are currently considering how we can use some of this funding to support local innovative approaches to short breaks for disabled children and their families and for making services more accessible.

    The Department’s Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Advisory Team is continuing to offer support and challenge to local authorities to help make sure they meet all of their statutory requirements and that quality continues to improve. From this summer, there will be opportunities through the new Ofsted/Care Quality Commission SEND inspections framework for local areas to consider how well they are providing for the education, health and care needs of those with SEND, including their need for short breaks services. In addition, Together for Short lives, the UK charity for children and young people with life limiting conditions, received £551,029 from the Department for Education over a 3 year period – between April 2013 and March 2016, to help ensure children and young people with life limiting conditions benefited from the SEND reforms.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she expects the Dormant Assets Commission to report.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The Commission on Dormant Assets is expected to report its findings and recommendations to Government in December 2016.

  • – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether members of the political cabinet” have access to (1) matters covered by the Official Secrets Act 1989

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Paragraph 4.8 of the Cabinet Manual sets out that political Cabinets are convened by the Prime Minister, but they are not attended by officials. Sensitive papers, such as those covered by the Official Secrets Act 1989, are not distributed to political Cabinets.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 25004, (a) for how many days (a) HMS Daring, (b) HMS Dauntless, (c) HMS Diamond, (d) HMS Dragon, (e) HMS Defender and (f) HMS Duncan were deployed on operations and (b) in which theatre they were so deployed in (i) 2011, (ii) 2012, (iii) 2013 and (iv) 2014.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The information requested is provided below. In answering this question, I have defined ‘deployed on operations’ as times away from UK waters for extended periods.

    In 2011, the Type 42 Destroyers were deployed on operations. No Type 45 Destroyer was deployed away from the UK.

    2012

    Ship

    Deployment

    Number of Days

    HMS DARING

    Operation Kipion: Gulf Region

    210

    HMS DAUNTLESS

    Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South)

    209

    HMS DIAMOND

    Operation Kipion: Gulf Region

    191

    2013

    Ship

    Deployment

    Number of Days

    HMS DRAGON

    Operation Kipion: Gulf Region

    254

    HMS DARING

    Global Deployment

    277

    2014

    Ship

    Deployment

    Number of Days

    HMS DIAMOND

    Operation Recsyr: protecting and escorting ships transporting chemicals from Syria

    163

    HMS DEFENDER

    Operation Kipion: Gulf Region

    193

    HMS DRAGON

    Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South)

    198

    When not deployed on operations, all Type 45 ships would have undertaken activities such as sea trials, training, engagement, provisioning or been in a maintenance period.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that all supply agencies offer supply teachers’ pay and conditions at the same rate as national teachers’ pay.

    Nick Gibb

    Schools and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers which includes deciding whether to use private agencies to recruit and manage them. If a supply teacher is employed by a private agency, this is a private commercial arrangement between the school and the agency, and the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) does not apply. The agency can also decide the rate of pay and conditions of employment.

    If agencies do not appear to be complying with legislation they can be investigated by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EASI). The EASI is part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and has powers to investigate agencies for possible breaches of the law and to prosecute them where there is sufficient evidence. The EASI works with agencies, employers and workers to make sure that employment rights are complied with, particularly for vulnerable workers.

    Conditions for agency workers have been improved through the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) and supply teachers are entitled to the same pay and employment conditions they would be entitled to receive if they were employed directly by a maintained school or academy. This is subject to a qualifying period of 12 continuous calendar weeks working in the same role with the same school or local authority. The Regulations can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employing-agency-supply-teachers

    “

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether regulations are in place to ensure that (a) town councils, (b) parish councils and (c) local communities have access to itemised expenditure on any associated administrative, legal, design, preparatory or maintenance works associated with individual highways infrastructure works within their areas on which Section 106 contributions have been spent.

    Brandon Lewis

    Section 106 agreements are negotiated and agreed between a local planning authority and a developer and/or landowner along with other interested parties in the land, such as mortgage providers. National planning policy makes clear that Section 106 requirements, modifications and discharges should be transparent and available for inspection.

    Local planning authorities are expected to use all of the funding they receive through planning obligations in accordance with the terms of the individual planning obligation agreement. This is to ensure that new developments are acceptable in planning terms; benefit local communities and support the provision of local infrastructure.

    Planning decisions should be based on Local Plan policy unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Representations from interested third parties may constitute material considerations. Town councils, parish councils and local communities can influence infrastructure and other considerations in Local Plans through the consultation process.

    The Community Infrastructure Levy was introduced to provide a faster, fairer and more transparent approach to collecting developer contributions toward infrastructure. The Government launched a review of the Levy in 2015. This review will consider a range of issues, including the relationship between the Levy and Section 106 planning obligations.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will place in the Library copies of his letter to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield of 4 May 2016 on local government and ethical procurement.

    Matthew Hancock

    I will place this correspondence in the Library as requested, following the end of the pre-referendum period.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which power stations are equipped with black start capability; and how many such stations are in each constituent part of the UK.

    Andrea Leadsom

    National Grid is responsible for maintaining a Black Start capability for the Great Britain national electricity transmission system and contracts with certain large power stations to provide this service within defined geographic zones.

    For both security reasons and due to commercial sensitivities, information on which power stations have black start contracts is not publicly available.

  • Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in relation to the sub-national population and household projections, if he will review with the Office of National Statistics, the methods of recording and counting of students as an element of the population in local authority areas having significant student populations.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    DCLG uses the Office of National Statistics (ONS) population projections to produce the household projections. Students are not counted as a separate population in the ONS mid-year population estimates or the ONS population projections. The ONS maintains responsibility for how these statistics are produced, and DCLG have no plans to review the methods used to produce these statistics.