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 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of qualified teachers.

    Nick Gibb

    Teaching continues to be a hugely popular career. The number of teachers returning to the classroom continues to rise and in 2015/16 we recruited more trainee primary school teachers than our target. We recognise the challenge school leaders face in some parts of the country, and are working to address this with action.

    We are committed to attracting more top graduates into teaching, and have already announced increased bursaries and other financial incentives in those core academic subjects that help children achieve their potential; including tax free bursaries of up to £30,000.

    We have significantly expanded the School Direct teacher training route which gives schools more opportunity to recruit and train their own high-quality teachers and future leaders. This year over 10,000 trainees are starting School Direct courses, up from 9,000 last year.

    We have funded the expansion of Teach First into every region of England. Teach First will have the scope to reach 90 per cent of eligible schools by 2016, boosting our commitment to recruit more top teachers in rural, coastal and disadvantaged areas.

    In addition, the Department recently announced the ‘Supporting Returning Teachers’ pilot, to support secondary schools to improve teacher recruitment in priority subjects by removing the barriers that prevent inactive but qualified teachers from returning to the classroom. As part of this pilot, we are helping schools to provide a tailored package of support for those wishing to return to the profession and offering grant funding of up to £1,900 per teacher recruited.

  • Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to identify the best ways to tackle cultural heritage destruction overseas.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    This Government is committed to the protection of cultural heritage from destruction overseas. That is why we secured £30m of Overseas Development Assistance from 2016 to 2020 for our newly-established Cultural Protection Fund – to create opportunities for economic development through building capacity to foster, safeguard and promote cultural heritage.

    The British Museum’s Iraqi Heritage Emergency Management Programme (announced on the 28th October at the Cultural Protection Summit) is the Fund’s first programme. A period of consultation is now underway with expert stakeholders working in the arts, heritage, museums and development sectors, to help determine its exact scope and identify best practice.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the relative performance at GCSE of (a) pupils who are home schooled and (b) other pupils.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department does not hold information for pupils taking GCSEs who are home schooled. The latest information for other pupils is available from the “Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2014 to 2015” statistical first release available on GOV.UK at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015.

    “

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have about the size of the prison population in Tunisia, in particular about alleged over-crowding in Mornaguai Prison near Tunis; and whether they will assist the government of Tunisia in processing cases and in providing defence counsel.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In January 2016 the Tunisian authorities said that their prisons and detention centres were holding around 170 per cent of their capacity. The UN reported in March 2014 that Mornaguia prison was 25 per cent over its capacity. We have raised with the Tunisian authorities the importance of introducing reforms to the Penal Code. These would help address prison overcrowding.

    We have no current plans to assist the Government of Tunisia in processing cases or providing defence counsel: the focus of our minimum £8 million support in this financial year is on Tunisia’s transition, security capacity building, governance and the economy.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the total gross expenditure on the London Power Tunnels Project is to date.

    Andrea Leadsom

    National Grid has said that as of 1 May 2016 total gross expenditure on the programme of works on the London Power Tunnels Project is approximately £780m.

    Ofgem is responsible for regulating National Grid to ensure that the work they do represents value for money for consumers.

  • 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 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s target waiting time is for a Disclosure and Barring Service local intelligence check to be completed by the Metropolitan Police Service.

    Karen Bradley

    In 2015/16, the Disclosure and Barring Service processed 87% of all applications within 21 days, against a target of 85%.

    Some of the over four million applications received each year need to be referred to one or more police forces for further checks. There is a service level agreement between the Disclosure and Barring Service and police forces in relation to the time taken to complete these local disclosure checks.

    These standards are: –

    85% of police checks must be completed in 14 days;

    90% of police checks must be completed in 18 days;

    95% of police checks must be completed in 25 days; and – 100% of police checks must be completed in 60 days.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Burma about establishing a federal democracy to address the political needs of ethnic nationalities.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not held any discussions with the government of Burma on federal democracy in Burma. The political character of Burma’s state is a sovereign matter for the people of Burma and their democratically elected leaders to decide. However the UK Government is supporting the peace initiative launched by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. We regard this as the best forum in which all parties can express their political grievances and enter into a dialogue about how to reconcile their differences.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether Law Enforcement Adviser, Larry Covington, declared any interests relevant to his employment by his Department.

    James Duddridge

    We do not comment on individual staff matters. There are strict rules about staff declaring outside interests, such as accepting employment or engaging business activities to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest.

  • 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 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17735, what change programmes are underway which are expected to reduce the size of his Department’s civilian workforce.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Defence Equipment and Support and the Trading Funds were included in the baseline workforce calculation.

    The Ministry of Defence is managing a range of change programmes designed to deliver Defence outputs more efficiently and effectively, including Army 2020 and outsourcing logistics to Leidos. A Business Improvement Review has been set up to identify opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of support activities across Defence. This Review will look at the total shape, size and structure of our civilian workforce, the functions and processes that they are engaged in, and how those can be made more efficient.

    The Department expects the civilian workforce to reduce to around 41,000 by 2020. However, the timing and reductions associated with individual programmes are still to be determined and final decisions will be subject to consultation with employee representatives, value for money considerations and, where appropriate, commercial negotiation.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the next allocation round for Contracts for Difference will be technology neutral.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The CFD scheme allows a wide range of renewable technologies to compete for contracts.

    On 18 November 2015, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced the intention to run three more auctions this Parliament, with the first, for the less established group of technologies planned for late 2016.