Tag: 2016

  • Baroness Meacher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Meacher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Meacher on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that preventing groups and organisations from objecting to school admissions arrangements will have on overall levels of compliance with the School Admissions Code.

    Lord Nash

    The Government’s proposed changes are intended to ensure that the Adjudicator is able to focus on any concerns which parents may have about the fairness of the admission arrangements of their local school, and that adjudications are not delayed by the need to consider large numbers of objections referred by interest groups from outside the area.

    The Department does not believe that preventing other organisations from submitting objections will have a detrimental impact. The Government will be conducting a full public consultation in due course and will give careful consideration to all the views expressed in that consultation.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials in the private offices group are employed on temporary contracts.

    Matthew Hancock

    At 31 January 2016, the Private Office Group in my department employed no officials on temporary contracts.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the role of the local authority in terms of (a) child protection, (b) safeguarding and (c) other duties for schools which become academies; and who will finance those roles.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities’ responsibilities in relation to child protection and safeguarding are unaffected by schools becoming academies, as they are not dependent on the type of school which a child attends. Details of the role we expect local authorities to play are set out in the statutory guidance “Working together to safeguard children 2015”[1]. Ofsted also inspects local authorities’ children’s social care services against the rigorous ‘Single Inspection Framework’, which includes a review of the effectiveness of the Local Safeguarding Children Board.

    The White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere,[2] sets out the education functions which we expect local authorities to provide when schools have become academies. These are focussed on supporting the interests of pupils and parents rather than services related to maintaining schools.

    Local authority funding for children’s social care is administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government. As part of our ongoing National Funding Formula consultation[3], we are proposing to create a new central schools block, which will fund a range of education services that local authorities carry out for all pupils and parents, regardless of whether they are in a maintained school or an academy.

    [1]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419595/Working_Together_to_Safeguard_Children.pdf

    [2]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508447/Educational_Excellence_Everywhere.pdf

    [3] https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/schools-national-funding-formula

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to create a Best Practice Tariff or similar sustained improvement incentive for sepsis.

    Ben Gummer

    In 2015/16, NHS England introduced an incentive payment (a national Commissioning for Quality and Innovation measure) to encourage the timely recognition and treatment of sepsis for emergency admissions. In 2016/17 this was extended to include in-patients who deteriorate in hospitals. NHS England will continue to review the best way of incentivising high performance in recognising and treating sepsis promptly and appropriately.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to reduce his Department’s vacancy rate.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is developing a Resourcing Strategy that will include targeted recruitment over the next few years including apprenticeships, graduate recruitment, loans from other Government Departments and increasing the use of secondments from the private sector. These interventions, along with having clear workforce plans across the organisation, including undertaking more internal managed moves to deliver priority work, will help reduce the Department’s vacancy rate.

  • Richard Bacon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Richard Bacon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Bacon on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much to date the NHS has paid BT for licensing, deployment and support of acute IT systems in London.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Information regarding payments made by National Health Service trusts to BT is not held centrally by the Department.

    The Department, to the end of financial year 2015-16, has paid BT £1.1 billion for services it delivered to acute and community and mental health trusts in London under the BT Local Service Provider contract. This contract has now closed.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of adding a five years sunset clause to the proposed Great Repeal Bill governing the expiry of EU legislation which has entered the statute book.

    Mr David Jones

    The Government has committed to introducing a Bill in the next parliamentary session which will repeal the European Communities Act 1972. The principle of the Bill is about creating legal certainty for the UK on exit day and we will set out its content in due course.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on what local government services can be funded by the two per cent social care precept.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Chancellor’s Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 (Cm9162), presented to Parliament on 26 November 2015, makes clear that the two per cent social care precept must be spent entirely on adult social care.

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

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken better to enforce compliance with the Schools Admissions Code among religiously selective schools, in the light of the findings of the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign and British Humanist Association, An Unholy Mess.

    Lord Nash

    Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.

    Where an objection is made to the Schools Adjudicator, if the arrangements are found to be unfair or fail to comply with the Code, the admission authority must make changes to ensure their arrangements are compliant without undue delay. Where an admission authority fails to implement decisions of the adjudicator, the Secretary of State may direct the admission authority to do so.

    We continue to keep the Code under review, and, where we consider any changes are necessary to make the admissions system work more effectively for parents, these will be subject to a full public consultation.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on the economy of the UK leaving the EU.

    Mr David Gauke

    As the Chancellor has said, a UK exit from the EU would be a long, costly and messy divorce. The finance Ministers and central bank governors of the G20 concluded at the weekend that a British exit would cause an economic shock not just to the UK but to Europe and the world. What people are asking for in this referendum campaign is a serious, sober and principled assessment from the Government setting out the facts. The Treasury will publish a comprehensive analysis of our membership of a reformed EU and the alternatives, including the long-term economic costs and benefits of EU membership and the risks associated with an exit before 23 June.