Tag: Andrew Stephenson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the quality of educational facilities in HM Prison Holloway; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Selous

At HMP Holloway there are currently approximately 120 places in a morning session and the same in an afternoon session for women to attend education courses. Women may attend in one or two sessions each day depending on the type of course they are on. In addition there are approximately 40 places available to attend Physical Education provision and approximately 60 places in vocational training areas.

The Secretary of State for Justice announced on 8^th September a review of the quality of education in prisons, chaired by Dame Sally Coates. The review will examine the scope, quality and effectiveness of current provision. It will consider the scope and range of the current curricula and identify the most effective teaching and delivery models. Stakeholders are being consulted and a Call for Evidence has been issued. The review is expected to report in the spring of 2016. A copy of the terms of reference are lodged in the library of the House and at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-prison-education-terms-of-reference

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the financial savings to schools in (a) Pendle, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West as a result of its memorandum of understanding with Microsoft announced on 13 January 2016.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Due to this agreement with Microsoft, which runs until June 2018, schools stand to save an estimated £30 million. The agreement also gives them greater flexibility in their use of Microsoft software.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on Lyme disease laboratory tests in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison

As services for the treatment of Lyme disease are commissioned locally information on the costs associated with laboratory testing and treatment of late stage Lyme disease is not collected centrally. Nor is information collected centrally on the average time to diagnose cases of Lyme disease.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing a clinical guideline on Lyme disease and reports progress on its website. NICE recently consulted on a draft scope for the guideline, and expects to publish final guidance in July 2018.

Public Health England and NHS Choices publish information on their websites to raise awareness of Lyme disease and encourage timely medical consultation because early diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease is the best way of limiting complications from infection. Given the need to maintain public awareness these or similar mechanisms are expected to continue beyond 2018. Increased awareness is likely to encourage early consultation but no information on the time taken to seek medical advice is available.

There are no plans to set targets for diagnosis and treatment as most cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed empirically by general practitioners using their clinical judgement rather than relying on a laboratory test, thus treatment can start immediately. Diagnosis of patients with late or complicated Lyme disease can be difficult and the National Health Service will continue to provide care taking account of the existing evidence base.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on preparing a response to the consultation on the post-implementation review of the coroner reforms in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Phillip Lee

The post-implementation review of the coroner reforms consultation closed on 31 December 2015. A response to the consultation will be published in due course.

We received 214 responses to the review from current coronial officer holders. No respondents indicated that they were former coroners.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) educate bus passengers about over-staging and (b) help them to report cases of over-staging.

Andrew Jones

The destination printed on a bus ticket should not have any effect on the amount of reimbursement that the bus operator receives for carrying concessionary passengers.

This is because reimbursement paid to operators is not based on the full commercial adult fare for a typical journey, but on the average equivalent full fare – taken from a “basket of fares” – that each concessionary traveller would have paid in the absence of the scheme.

Reimbursement payments are also subject to audits of ticket sales data and, if required, ‘on-bus’ surveys of patronage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many deaths in (a) Pendle, (b) the North West and (c) England have been caused as a result of people taking legal highs in each of the past three years.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Government plans to use the fines collected in Lancashire for parents taking their children out of school early in 2014-15.

Nick Gibb

Revenue from penalty notices (fines) is payable to the local authority in respect of pupils registered at school in their area, or in the case of an unregistered pupil, for whom they have arranged alternative provision.

Regulations provide that the local authority can retain revenue from their penalty notice scheme to cover the cost of issuing or enforcing notices, or the cost of prosecuting recipients who do not pay. All revenue not used for these purposes must be paid to the Secretary of State.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the level of truancy was in Pendle in the last three years.

Nick Gibb

Information on pupil absence, including authorised and unauthorised absence, is published at school, local authority, regional and national level in the “Statistics: pupil absence”[1] series. Parliamentary constituency level information is not available.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-pupil-absence

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many parents were fined for taking children out of school early or for their children’s truancy in Pendle in each of the past three years.

Nick Gibb

The Department for Education does not hold information on the number of penalty notices (fines) issued to parents for school attendance offences in Pendle.

The department collects and publishes local authority level annual data on the number of penalty notices issued to parents, for offences relating to Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996. The department does not collect data regarding fines issued by the courts on this matter. The most recent data published by the department is for the academic year 2012/13.

The number of penalty notices issued in Lancashire in 2011/12 and 2012/13 can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parental-responsibility-measures-academic-year-2012-to-2013

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding her Department has made available for the maintenance of waterways in (a) Pendle, (b) the North West and (c) England in 2015-16.

Rory Stewart

The Government provides grant-in-aid funding to the two largest navigation authorities in England and Wales: the Canal & River Trust (CRT) and the Environment Agency.

Under the terms of the grant agreement, for 2015-16, the CRT will receive a total of £49.546m for the navigations it owns in England and Wales. The distribution of maintenance funding across CRT’s waterways is a matter for CRT.

The Environment Agency does not own or manage any navigations in Pendle or the North West.