Tag: Baroness Coussins

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2015-11-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to reverse the shortfall of 21 per cent in the number of modern foreign language teachers, as calculated by the Department for Education’s initial teacher training census for 2014–15.

Lord Nash

To support recruitment to languages Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in 2016/17, we have increased the bursary rates for postgraduate languages trainees on fee-based courses. Trainees with 2:1 degree classification will now receive £25,000 (up from £20,000 in 2015/16 in 2015/16) and those with a 2:2 will receive £20,000 (up from £15,000 in 2015/16).

We offer potential languages trainees a range of support. The Premier Plus programme is available to candidates wanting to teach languages. This service includes support from a dedicated advisor; access to exclusive events; and regular communications with important news and application hints and tips. Languages candidates are also eligible for the funded School Experience Programme, helping them gain classroom experience to assist with their ITT application. Before they begin their training, languages applicants may benefit from funded Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses, through which they can improve either their first or their second additional language. Bursary support is also available for applicants undertaking an SKE course.

Furthermore, we want to attract qualified languages teachers who wish to return to the profession. We have recently launched a new pilot programme designed to help schools to attract and support returning teachers; this includes funding for returning language teachers. We will be undertaking a national marketing campaign to support this initiative.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2016-06-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to arrange for a meeting between the President of Colombia and representatives from non-governmental organisations in the UK concerned with human rights in Colombia, when the President makes his State Visit to the UK in November.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The upcoming State Visit is an excellent opportunity to continue our engagement with the Government of Colombia on a varity of issues. We are working closely with Buckingham Palace and the Colombian government on the details of the President’s programme, which will be developed over the next few months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2015-11-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will extend the current additional financial incentives for modern foreign language teachers in secondary schools to language specialists entering the teaching profession in primary schools.

Lord Nash

Financial incentives for initial teacher training (ITT) are designed to attract applicants to certain subjects. We have increased bursaries for secondary languages ITT trainees for 2016/17 in response to growing demand.

We have no current plans to extend these generous financial incentives for secondary language trainees to primary trainees. Primary ITT courses continue to be popular with applicants, and we are confident that we can recruit enough trainees nationally to meet need at the bursary rates announced for 2016/17.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2015-11-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of recording and monitoring the number of teachers leaving the profession centrally alongside the number of new recruits already collected on the planning of teacher supply in modern foreign languages; and whether they plan to begin recording and monitoring those figures.

Lord Nash

The numbers of teachers leaving and joining the profession in each secondary subject, including Modern Foreign Languages (MFL), are already factors in the department’s modelling of future demand for secondary teachers.

The department uses the Teacher Supply Model (TSM) to estimate the demand for the number of qualified teachers within state-funded schools in England each year using a range of assumptions, including projections for the numbers of pupils in schools and the number of teachers expected to leave the sector.

To estimate the demand for teachers in specific secondary subjects, the TSM uses the latest data on secondary subject take-up, defined by hours taught, and projected pupil numbers at Key Stages 3 to 5. It also takes into account the different age and gender demographics of current teachers for the different secondary subjects, plus the historical rates at which teachers left the profession by subject group. For modelling purposes, the leaver rates are estimated separately by age and gender groups, and in each case vary by groups of subjects.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2015-11-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will continue to fund the Routes into Languages programme after the current funding expires in July 2016.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

This programme is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE). HEFCE will review its spending priorities (including for Routes into Languages) in the light of its grant settlement from Government, following the Spending Review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2015-12-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) Afghan interpreters, and (2) members of their immediate families, have been relocated to the UK under (a) the ex gratia redundancy scheme, and (b) the intimidation policy.

Lord Bates

Up to the end of November, 230 Afghan locally engaged civilians along with 297 members of their families have been relocated to the UK under the ex gratia redundancy scheme.

No locally engaged civilians have been relocated to the UK under the current intimidation policy. One former staff member was relocated to the UK under a previous version of the policy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the allegation that up to 300,000 forced sterilisations took place in Peru between 1996 and 1998, in the light of the Presidential Decree in November 2015 that there should be a Registry of Victims.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Former President Alberto Fujimori’s National Family Planning Programme (Programma Nacional de Planificación Familiar) was carried out in Peru from 1996 to 1998. More than 2,000 complaints were brought against the government alleging individuals had been unaware of the permanent nature of these operations or had been financially compensated for being sterilised.

An independent Congressional Committee set up to investigate the programme in 2002 established that 346,219 women and 24,535 men had been sterilised from 1993 to 2000. The committee recommended that victims of forced sterilisations be compensated and the responsible parties subject to legal proceedings.

In January 2014, after nearly 10 years of investigations, the Peruvian Public Prosecutor’s Office brought charges against some health professionals involved in the programme; no charges were brought against the government.

On 6 November 2015, a Supreme Decree was published which mandated the creation of a central register of “victims”. This aims to provide free legal advice, psychological support and medical attention to those affected. The Ombudsman will represent individuals in courts and seek reparations for those individuals found to be victims of irregularities in the implementation of this programme.

This Government is working towards eliminating all forms of violence against women. This is part of our work to promote the golden thread of democracy, rule of law, free media and open, accountable institutions. Our Embassy in Lima continues to monitor developments on this issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2016-01-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will intervene in the case of Momand Qais, an interpreter for the UK armed forces in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2009, whose application for asylum has been rejected, together with his appeal against that decision.

Lord Bates

The Home Office does not comment publicly on individual cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to ensure that treatment for bladder cancer under the NHS is accessible equally by all patients irrespective of home address.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England is not aware of any general variation in access to bladder cancer treatment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the BCG vaccine treatment of bladder cancer.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We have made no such assessment.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for providing best practice guidance for the National Health Service.

NICE published a clinical guideline in February 2015 on the diagnosis and management of bladder cancer which outlines the circumstances in which the Bacille Calmette‑Guérin (BCG) vaccine should be used to treat bladder cancer. A copy of the clinical guideline is attached.

A bladder cancer quality standard was also published by NICE in December 2015 which refers to BCG treatment for bladder cancer. A copy of the quality standard is attached.