Tag: Baroness Whitaker

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2016-07-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have instructed Government Car Service drivers to turn off their engines while waiting in New Palace Yard to reduce air pollution, and if not, whether they intend to do so.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Government Car Service drivers are regularly reminded of the need to turn off the engine when parked to reduce air pollution and save fuel. A new reminder will be sent out immediately with particular reference to New Palace Yard and the Parliamentary Estate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2015-10-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which European Union directives apply to urban air pollution; and how each is enacted in United Kingdom law.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

There are two main pieces of European legislation applicable to urban air pollution:

• The Ambient Air Quality and Cleaner Air for Europe Directive 2008 (“the Directive”) applies to urban air pollution. It has been transposed in England by the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively, the Directive has been transposed by the Air Quality Standards (Scotland) Regulations 2010, the Air Quality Standards (Wales) Regulations 2010 and the Air Pollution and the Air Quality Standards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010. The regulations reflect the legally binding limits set by the Directive for concentrations in outdoor air of major air pollutants that impact public health such as particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). The Directive requires the undertaking of air quality assessments and the reporting of findings to the European Commission annually. The UK has statutory monitoring networks in place to meet the requirements of the Directive, with air quality modelling used to supplement the monitored data.
• The National Emission Ceilings Directive (2001/81/EC) (NECD) sets limits on total annual emissions of key air pollutants (sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and ammonia) to help reduce transboundary air pollution. The NECD is transposed into UK law by the National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2002.

There is also further legislation aimed at delivering specific reductions in emissions from certain areas of the economy, which for competitive or single market reasons has been set at European level. This includes:

• The Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU)
• The Sulphur Content of Liquid Fuels Directive (1993/32/EC)
• Petrol Vapour Recovery Directive (94/63/EC)
• The Quality of Petrol and Diesel Fuels Directive (98/70/EC)

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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 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.

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:

• Be designed to minimise environmental impacts and, where possible, tackle existing problems.

• Build on existing cooperation with organisations like Natural England to find the best solutions to environmental challenges.

• Continue to work in a planning framework which protects the wider environment.

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.