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Tag: 2016

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of new free schools’ capacity to meet pupil place demand in 2016-17.

    Edward Timpson

    Data reported at May 2015 showed that local authorities (LAs) already had plans in place to deliver more than 80,000 new places in 2016/17, and we know many more will have been planned and delivered since then, including through central programmes.

    Free schools can play an important part in helping LAs meet place pressures, and every free school has been opened in response to either the need to provide extra school places, the need to provide parents with greater choice or the need to provide more high quality school places. 85% of mainstream free schools approved since January 2014 are in areas where there was a basic need for additional school places. An additional group of schools were approved on the basis of more up-to-date LA data on future need for places and where section 106 agreements suggest need related to new housing developments. There are currently 117 mainstream free schools in the pipeline.

    Many local authorities are recognising the opportunity that the free schools programme provides and are encouraging new and existing high quality education providers to apply to set up a new school in their area. We encourage all local authorities to do likewise.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many social workers are working in Lancashire.

    Alistair Burt

    This information is not collected centrally.

    Skills for Care, the partner in the sector skills council for social care, in England, collects information on the number social worker jobs in England.

    Skills for Care estimates shows that there were a total of 390 social worker jobs in Lancashire in local authorities and the independent sector as at September 2015.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his policy is on whether the cost of degree apprenticeships are supported from the proceeds of the apprenticeship levy.

    Nick Boles

    The apprenticeship levy will fund growth in apprenticeships at all levels, including Degree Apprenticeships. Degree Apprenticeships are widening access to the professions and providing higher level technical skills employers need.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-09-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to Question 44728, how many (a) amended and (b) cancelled tax credit claims account for the savings in annually managed expenditure identified.

    Jane Ellison

    Since the contract with Concentrix began in November 2014, Concentrix have amended around 103,000 tax credit claims up to and including 11 September 2016. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Concentrix, acting on HMRC’s behalf, do not separate out the number of awards that are either partially amended or stopped.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information her Department holds on (a) how much methane gas an average shale gas drilling site releases into the atmosphere and (b) what technology reduces the amount of methane gas so released.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Research has shown that the carbon footprint of shale gas extraction and use is likely to be comparable to conventional sources of gas and lower than the carbon footprint of imported Liquefied Natural Gas. [1]

    In order to make sure emissions are minimised, the Environment Agency has made ‘Green Completions’ to capture emissions from operations a requirement for Environmental Permits for shale gas production.

    Additionally, operators must develop a Waste Management Plan setting out how waste gases including fugitive methane emissions will be minimised, managed and monitored, which is submitted to the Environment Agency with permit applications. The Environment Agency will also consider an enclosed flare to provide the best environmental performance for treatment of waste gases from onshore oil and gas operations during exploration.

    We have one of the most robust regulatory regimes in the world for shale gas and we insist on high standards of health safety and environmental protection.

    [1] Mackay-Stone report (requested by DECC), Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Shale Gas Extraction and Use, Sept 2013 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/237330/MacKay_Stone_shale_study_report_09092013.pdf

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  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of walk-in centres on patient waiting times in local A&E departments.

    Jane Ellison

    Decisions about the provision of urgent care centres, including walk-in centres and minor injuries units, are a matter for local commissioners.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to carry out practical tests on the effect of a drone flying into a jet engine.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Commercial aircraft are already rigorously tested to withstand collisions with small objects, such as birds, but my Department and the Civil Aviation Authority are working with the aviation sector, including manufacturers, airports and airlines, to ensure our understanding of the potential hazards to aircraft remains up-to-date. This activity is also helping to provide real life evidence of drone risks and the options for preventing collisions.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.249 of the Budget 2016, when and how the Government plans to consult on the priorities and delivery models of the Shale Wealth Fund; and how much of that fund he expects to be allocated to (a) Lancashire and (b) Burnley.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government will be consulting on the priorities and delivery models for the Shale Wealth Fund later this year. Details on how the government plans to consult on the Shale Wealth Fund will be announced in due course.

    The Shale Wealth Fund is projected to deliver up to £1 billion of investment in the North and other shale producing areas over the next 25 years. This will provide additional funds over and above industry schemes and other sources of government funding. Further detail on how these funds will be allocated will be addressed when the government consults on the priorities and delivery models of the Shale Wealth Fund.

  • Ronnie Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ronnie Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Campbell on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many fatalities have occurred on the railway network in Great Britain since 2014.

    Claire Perry

    Rail is a safe mode of travel and the frequency of train accidents involving passenger or workforce fatalities in the UK is at its lowest ever level with 2015-16 being the ninth year in succession without any such fatalities.

    The following non-crash related fatalities have occurred on the rail network since 2014:

    2014/15

    2015/16 (provisional)

    Passengers

    3

    6

    Workforce

    3

    0

    Public (non-trespass)

    12

    8

    Public (trespass)

    25

    30

    Suicide

    289

    252

    Total

    332

    296

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what requirements his Department places on local authorities to demonstrate that their Local Plans will meet identified national house-building need.

    Brandon Lewis

    This Government does not set national housing targets. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that Local Plans should meet the full, objectively assessed needs for housing in the housing market area, as far as is consistent with the policies set out in the Framework. As part of this, local authorities should identify, and update annually, a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years of housing against their housing requirements. Local authorities also have a duty to cooperate on strategic planning priorities such as providing the homes that are needed.