Tag: Andrew Stephenson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to broaden the range of educational subjects taught in prisons.

Andrew Selous

Education is embedded in a wide range of regime activities which occur within a prison including classrooms, libraries and industries. No data is held centrally on the proportion of space at each prison (and this would incur disproportionate cost to calculate).

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. 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

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effect equipment gifted to the Lebanese armed forces between 2012 and 2015 on that country’s ability to secure its border with Syria against (a) the spread of the Syrian conflict, (b) the movement of Hezbollah fighters supporting the Assad Regime and (c) the movement of Daesh fighters.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK is committed to the security of Lebanon, including helping the Lebanese state secure its borders. From 2012-2015 we used over £30 million to help the Lebanese army raise and equip three Land Border Regiments (LBRs) deployed along the border with Syria. The project provides the LBRs with border towers, non-lethal equipment, mentoring and training. This has had a direct effect in mitigating contagion from the war in Syria. The border regiments successfully repel frequent attacks by Daesh on Lebanese territory. 75% of the Syria-Lebanon border will be under state control by March 2016, and the rest will be further secured with the establishment of a fourth LBR in financial year 2016-17.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were destroyed following violent behaviour in each of the last three years.

George Eustice

The numbers of dogs destroyed as a result of being dangerously out of control (section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991) are not held centrally. Such records would be held by each police force.

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

To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent assessment the Commission has made of the security arrangements for screening mail received by hon. Members of each House of Parliament.

Tom Brake

A procurement process for a new contract for screening mail received by hon. Members is currently underway. A full review of the security arrangements and contract specification forms part of that process. This review is based on advice from the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) as well as on a national standard specification for mail screening (PAS 97:2015).

Following an incident, the Parliamentary Security Department has recently revised and reissued guidance to Members and staff on what to do following receipt of a suspicious letter or package.

We do not comment in public on details of security arrangements. The Deputy Director of Security (Delivery) would be happy to discuss these arrangements in more detail with the hon. Member.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received on the potential introduction of a ban on electrical socket safety covers or inserts.

Margot James

The Department has received representations from FatallyFlawed.org.uk putting forward their view that socket covers should be banned as they believe them to be unnecessary and dangerous due to the safety shutter system installed as standard in UK electrical sockets.

Under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, all products placed on the UK market must be safe and any products that do not comply can already be removed from sale by Trading Standards. There are no reports of injuries or death as a result of the use of socket covers.

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

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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.

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

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