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Tag: 2016

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

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they still intend to publish the consultation on the future of Sure Start, which they promised to initiate in July 2015, and if so when.

    Lord Nash

    This Government is committed to improving social mobility and extending opportunity so that everyone has the chance to realise their full potential.

    Our approach to improving life chances will focus on tackling the root causes of poverty such as worklessness, educational attainment and family stability and we will consider future policy on children’s centres as part of this. We will make it clear how stakeholders and members of the public can contribute in due course.‎‎

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent in England on NHS Continuing Healthcare in each of the last five years.

    David Mowat

    Primary care trusts held statutory responsibilities for NHS Continuing Healthcare until 31 March 2013 and the cost of funding such packages was not captured specifically in their audited accounts. From 2009, the Department collected information on the total cost of NHS Continuing Healthcare packages through a financial information management system1. The annual costs (England total) from that date were as follows:

    2011/12 – £2,324,655,000

    2012/13 – £2,762,532,000

    From 1 April 2013, statutory responsibilities for NHS Continuing Healthcare transferred to clinical commissioning groups and to NHS England. The annual costs from that date (England total) are as follows:

    2013/14 – £2,647,176,411

    2014/15 – £2,824,041,529

    2015/16 – £3,062,102,151

    Note:

    1 This is management information and is not audited for Departmental accounts.

  • Baroness Falkner of Margravine – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Falkner of Margravine – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Falkner of Margravine on 2015-12-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the failure of London, Leeds, and Birmingham to maintain nitrogen dioxide levels within legal limits over the past five years, what assessment they have made of whether relaxing emissions standards for cars is compatible with public health and legal requirements to control urban pollution.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government is committed to taking action on vehicle emissions testing that restores consumer confidence and delivers our wider air quality and climate objectives. We strongly support the current Real Driving Emissions agreement, which is expected to significantly reduce average real world NOx emissions from new diesel cars from 2017. It makes type approval requirements for diesel vehicles significantly more stringent by requiring manufacturers to ensure real-world emissions are maintained below 2.1 times the laboratory-testing limit in 2017 and at or below the laboratory-testing limit by 2020 (with a margin for measurement uncertainty). Issues relating to vehicle emissions are considered in the context of the UK Government’s plans for air quality. More detail is set out in the air quality plans published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the 17th December.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-01-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how their work on the governance part of the European Fourth railway package will facilitate UK train operating companies being able to tender for and be awarded rail franchises in a fair and transparent manner.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The government continues to work on the market pillar of the EU Fourth Railway Package, consisting of the proposal to amend Directive 2012/34/EU, the “Governance proposal” and the proposal to amend Regulation EC/1370/2007, the “Public Service Obligations proposal”.

    The government was able to support a General Approach on the pillar at the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council on 8th October 2015. The General Approach text of the Governance proposal includes additional, proportionate provisions to ensure fair and non‑discriminatory treatment of all train operating companies, including safeguards for operators of franchises. Rules on the competitive tendering of franchises are set out in the Public Service Obligations proposal.

    The government continues to work with the Netherlands Presidency of the Council of the EU in their ongoing negotiations of the Package with the European Parliament.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current average waiting time is for an application for leave to remain.

    James Brokenshire

    The average waiting time for a postal leave to remain application during the period of 05 October 2014 to 27 February 2015 was 82 calendar days. These dates have been selected to sit alongside published data and are based on operational performance reporting. The average is based on the average waiting times between the date a postal application is submitted and the length of time taken to despatch the decision to the applicant for all leave to remain routes.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) how much and (b) what proportion of the funding allocated to domestic violence services is specifically allocated to support children living in refuges.

    Karen Bradley

    The previous Government provided £40 million of dedicated funding for domestic and sexual violence services between 2011 and 2015 equating to £10 million per year. This funding was extended until April 2016, supplemented by an additional £10 million for refuges, and a £3.5 million fund to boost the provision of domestic violence services including refuges. We do not hold figures for the amount of funding which is spent on supporting children in refuges. It is for local areas to make decisions on the provision of safe accommodation, including refuges, and the support for victims of domestic abuse and their families. On 8 March, as part of our new Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, we announced £80 million of dedicated funding from 2016 to 2020 which includes support for refuges and other accommodation-based services, helping local areas ensure that victims of domestic violence and their children have the support they need.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Indian government on recent protests and clashes in the Handwara and Kupwara districts in Kashmir.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 April to PQ 34371 and 34380.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent house demolitions in the West Bank; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are concerned by reports that there has been a large increase in demolitions since the start of 2016, compared with the monthly average in 2015. Our Ambassador to Tel Aviv has raised our concerns on demolitions with the Israeli authorities, most recently on 15 May, and urged them to provide a legal route for Palestinians to obtain building permits.

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

    Lord Lingfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lingfield on 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which local authority performance targets for special educational needs teams, or individual staff within those teams, align with current legislation and guidance, in particular in relation to (1) the production of education, health and care plans, and (2) the number of placements in special schools; and what actions they propose to take in response to that assessment.

    Lord Nash

    Local authorities are responsible for fulfilling the statutory duties on special educational needs (SEN) and disability placed upon them by the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice. This legal framework sets out clearly the process and timescales for producing Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans; and the process for determining the school placement of children and young people with EHC plans.

    Local authorities must issue final EHC plans within 20 weeks of commencing an assessment. Data published in May showed that 59.2% of EHC plans were issued on-time, excluding exception cases. Some areas are managing 100%. We have emphasised to local authorities that, where there are delays, they need to communicate clearly about them with families.

    The SEND Code of Practice is clear that EHC plans must be issued in sufficient time prior to a child or young person moving between key phases of education, to allow for planning and, where necessary, commissioning of support and provision at the new institution. The Children and Familes Act 2014 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2014, as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2015, require local authorities to prioritise the review of statements of SEN or Learning Difficulty Assessments (LDAs) for children and young people approaching the end of an educational phase.

    Young people aged 19-25 are only able to draw on high needs funding from the Education Funding Agency where they have an EHC plan. Because some local authorities may not complete all the necessary transfers from LDAs to EHC plans by 1 September, EFA-funded institutions can continue to deliver programmes to 19-25 year olds where the young person has a Learning Difficulty Assessment and is receiving high needs funding, and where the local authority is in the process of an EHC assessment but has not finalised the EHC plan.

    The Department does not set targets for the performance of individual local authorities. The Department monitors very closely nationally-published data on local authority performance on SEN and disability and provides support and challenge as appropriate.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the performance of the Cheshire Patient Transport Service in the last 12 months.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    No assessment has been made. Assessment of the performance of patient transport services in Cheshire is the responsibility of its commissioners and the Care Quality Commission as the regulator of health services in England.