The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what happens to horses seized under the Control of Horses Act 2015.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Under the Control of Horse Act 2015, if a horse that has been detained for a minimum 96 hours has not been claimed by the owner it may be sold, rehomed with charities or, where other options are not available, euthanised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2016-05-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether UK cluster bombs have been sold to the government of Saudi Arabia; and if so, when.
Earl Howe
The Governments of the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed an agreement in August 1986 that covered the supply of BL-775 cluster munitions to the Royal Saudi Air Force. The last of these were supplied in early 1989. We are not aware of the sale of any other UK cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2015-01-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the conclusions of the report by the National Federation of Gypsy Liaison Groups Civil Society Monitoring on the Implementation of the National Roma Integration Strategy in the United Kingdom in 2012 and 2013, launched on 2 December 2014; and what steps they plan to take in response to that report’s recommendations.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
I refer the noble Lady to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Housing and Planning (Brandon Lewis) on 5 January 2015, UIN reference 218133, and my answer to the noble Lord Avebury on 11 November 2014, Column WA36.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2015-01-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report by the National Federation of Gypsy Liaison Groups, Civil Society Monitoring on the Implementation of the National Roma Integration Strategy in the United Kingdom in 2012 and 2013, and the report Overcoming barriers by Ofsted, what plans they have to encourage local authorities to appoint leaders to drive forward strategies to improve outcomes for Roma school students.
Lord Nash
Local authorities have an important role to play in promoting better outcomes for Roma pupils. They are best placed to determine how to organise their local arrangements to support these pupils and should consider issues highlighted in the reports referred to by the noble Lady.
To support local authorities, the Department for Education funded two local authorities to trial a ‘virtual headteacher’ for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils, with responsibility for supporting schools to promote better outcomes for this group. The effective practice identified has been circulated to every local authority.
The Department will work with its Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Education Stakeholder Group, chaired by the noble Lady, to discuss ways for all the parties to encourage local action to improve provision and pupils’ outcomes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the recommendations made in the report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons of February 2014 reviewing the monitoring of Gypsy, Romany and Traveller prisoners.
Lord Faulks
I welcome the report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, People in Prison: Gypsies, Romany and Travellers.
Meeting the needs of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) prisoners has traditionally been challenging due to very low declaration rates. To address this, and to improve the support received by them, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has carried out work to increase the confidence of these prisoners to declare their ethnicity.
In March 2014, NOMS implemented a new tool to monitor various outcomes for prisoners against a range of protected characteristics, including GRT prisoners. This has proved to be successful and declaration rates have increased. The tool allows NOMS to better understand where gaps in services for GRT prisoners are, and for services to be commissioned where appropriate.
NOMS has worked closely with organisations such as the Friends Family and Travellers and the Irish Chaplaincy in Britain to provide information to staff and prisoners regarding best practice when working with GRT prisoners.
The Youth Justice Board (YJB) commissioned and jointly published (with HMIP) the report: ‘Children and Young People in Custody 2012-13: An Analysis of 12-18 year olds’ perceptions of their experience in secure training centres’. This was the first published annual summary of children and young people’s self-reported experiences and perceptions from surveys carried out with young people in each of the four Secure Training Centres (STCs). The YJB will continue to commission these reports and monitor the findings from this survey in future years to gain a better understanding of the representation GRT young people within STCs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have called in the approval of planning permission for a site for Travellers in Brighton, granted by the South Downs National Park; and if so, when they will make a decision.
Baroness Stowell of Beeston
This application remains under consideration by the Secretary of State in response to a request by the hon. Member for Hove (Mike Weatherley) for the application to be called in. The consideration is being made against the Secretary of State’s policy, as set out in a Written Ministerial Statement on 26 October 2012, Official Report, Column 72W. The Secretary of State is very selective about calling in applications and will generally only do so if they raise issues of more than local importance. I will arrange for departmental officials to let the noble Lady know the outcome in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2014-06-16.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria with respect to good design they intend to establish in their new plans for the Highway Agency.
Baroness Kramer
It is government policy that our major road improvements should follow good design principles. For example, in "Action for Roads" we made it clear that any improvements to the network must be made in a way that supports the nation’s overall quality of life. This means that our strategy for roads, and detail requirements will need to:
We are establishing the first Roads Investment Strategy, which includes a performance specification for the new strategic highways company. This will aim to ensure that the company’s design and delivery activities align with the overall goals that government has for the Strategic Road Network (SRN). Good design, including how the SRN interfaces with built environments and impacts on quality of life, will need to be an important element of both the process and the implementation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2014-04-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Nash on 27 March (WS 53–4) on primary and 16 to 18 assessment and accountability, how the progress which is to be measured will be disaggregated into ethnic groups.
Lord Nash
The detail of the new accountability measures has yet to be fully developed. However, we expect to mirror current practice and to publish information on attainment and progress by ethnic group at national and local authority level rather than at school or college level.
A new web portal, which is under development, will improve access to 16-18 performance data including the core demographic information such as ethnicity which is currently available for primary and secondary schools.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they have spent the 69 million euros, as reported in Appendix 5 of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Status Report of 2013, earmarked for the implementation of the Roma Strategy.
Baroness Stowell of Beeston
The United Kingdom is advancing Roma integration within broader social inclusion and integration policies. This is fully in line with commitments we have made at European Union level, and is the best approach in a diverse and decentralised country like the UK.
On Page 32, the Status Report highlights that the Government is providing “approximately 72 million euros” for new and refurbished authorised traveller pitches in England, through the £60 million Traveller Pitch Funding programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish their report on pilots of a virtual head teacher system expressly aimed at redressing the inequalities in education experienced by Gypsies and Travellers.
Lord Nash
Two local authorities, Kent and Cambridgeshire, have been involved in piloting the role of a virtual head teacher who helped schools to engage with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) pupils to improve their school attendance and attainment. These local authorities are currently finalising their summaries of the projects. The Department for Education will work with these authorities and the GRT education stakeholder group, chaired by the noble Lady, to determine the most appropriate way to disseminate the outcomes of this work.