Tag: Barry Sheerman

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to reduce barriers to officers of local authorities reporting bullying and intimidation by those in senior positions within their local authority.

Mr Marcus Jones

Bullying and intimidation are serious matters and all employers, including local authorities, should have in place arrangements to ensure employees can safely report this behaviour, including by those in a senior position.

My Department does not collect information about incidents of bullying or intimidation of local authority staff, nor have we made any assessment of council codes of conduct to protect officers from such behaviour.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on people who receive disability benefits being able to volunteer without it affecting their entitlement to those benefits.

Justin Tomlinson

Claimants of Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment are free to do paid or unpaid work or volunteering without losing entitlement to their benefit, so long as they continue to meet the entitlement conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support services there are for young people who victims of cybercrime.

Mike Penning

The provision of victim care is a matter for the police and police and crime commissioners, who, since April 2015, have the responsibility for commissioning victim service provision. Where a crime has been reported, the Victims Code (October 2015) sets out key entitlements to victims of all crime. Victims under 18 years of age automatically qualify for enhanced entitlements. The service provider must ensure that this information is passed on as necessary to other services providers with responsibilities under the Code and to victim support services where appropriate.

Through the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP), Government has also invested over £90m over the last five years to increase law enforcement capability and capacity to respond to cyber criminality. This has included funding for bespoke officers within the Regional Organised Crime Units and the Metropolitan Police Service to deliver protective advice and support to victims and those at risk.

It has also included training for all police officers and staff by the College of Policing, which has specific modules on working with young victims. We will look to build on this work over the next five years, as part of the increased investment of £1.9bn to protect the UK from cyber attack.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications of the cancellation of presidential elections in Haiti.

Mr Hugo Swire

The postponement of the second round of the Presidential elections in Haiti is regrettable and given the uncertainty about what happens once President Martelly’s mandate comes to an end on 7th February. The international community is pressing the Haitian authorities to set a date for the postponed second round of the Presidential elections as soon as possible. Our Embassy in Port-au-Prince continues to monitor the situation closely.

We reiterate our support for the EU Election Observer Mission’s view that the first round of the Presidential elections was credible and that a second round with the top two candidates should have taken place. It is therefore important that all sides work together to agree a date for the second round as soon as possible.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to address increasing numbers of ISIS fighters in Kosovo; and what support the UK is offering to authorities in Kosovo to tackle this issue.

Mr David Lidington

We are concerned about the rise of Daesh foreign fighters across Europe, including in Kosovo and are engaging in a range of ways to reduce the risk to the UK. We have encouraged Kosovo to put in place the necessary measures, including legislation and counter-extremism strategies. Last year, Kosovo adopted legislation making it illegal to join in armed conflicts outside its territory and approved a 2015-2020 Counter Extremism Strategy. We, along with other international donors, are identifying areas in the action plan where we can offer support. In addition, our wider assistance to Kosovo targets social exclusion and seeks to promote jobs and growth, which are key to mitigating the risks of marginalisation and radicalisation of Kosovo’s youth. Kosovo is a member of the Global Coalition Against Daesh and, at the UK’s invitation, has joined the Strategic Communications Working Group, which the UK co-chairs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to reduce dangerous drunkenness of passengers on commercial flights.

Mr Robert Goodwill

I and my officials have met and corresponded with industry representatives to discuss the issue of disruptive passengers on a number of occasions over the last year. In particular we have been working closely with airlines, airports, the police and duty free retailers to understand the challenges posed by disruptive behaviour on aircraft and to explore practical steps that can be taken to both reduce the frequency of these instances and to ensure that they are dealt with appropriately when they do occur. We are very supportive of industry’s efforts, including to collating and disseminating best practice and guidance; we will continue to provide assistance where appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the level of vulnerability of people on the autism spectrum to various aspects of cybercrime.

Mr John Hayes

The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a non-ministerial government department, however it is accountable to Parliament via the Home Secretary. As such I have contacted the NCA to inform my answer to you.

During the course of cyber-dependent crime operations over the last five years (including SOCA Cyber and Metropolitan Police Central e-Crime Unit led operations) and based on recorded data following a subject’s arrest we are unable to determine the level of involvement of autistic individuals in cybercrime offences, or the level of vulnerability of individuals on the autism spectrum to various other aspects of cyber crime.

The NCA are now embarking on research in partnership with Academia, Private Industry and Special Interest groups to explore the possibility of links between Autism and cyber-dependent crime. Understanding gained from this research will inform the NCA on best practice for managing operations and educational Prevent activity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the value for money of (a) community schools other than academies and (b) free schools.

Edward Timpson

Since 2010, we have opened around 400 new free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools. These schools offer excellent value for money. They are being built significantly quicker and cheaper than previous school building programmes. The National Audit Office found in its report in 2013 that free schools were built 45% cheaper than other school building programmes. Almost 200,000 new places will be provided. 25% of the free schools inspected by Ofsted have been judged outstanding compared to 20% of all other schools. We plan to open at least 500 new schools during this Parliament.

We monitor the programme’s costs to ensure it continues to offer excellent value. A value for money assessment is made prior to a free school application being approved for the pre-opening stage and again before a capital budget is approved. We consider all aspects of the project, including the size of the school and the location of the site. Sites in London tend to cost more to acquire and this is taken into account when considering the value for money offered by London projects.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) councils and (b) other large employers of homecare workers on the payment of workers for their travel time.

Alistair Burt

It is for providers to ensure that they are complying with legislation and paying workers for the time they are legally entitled to be paid for.

The Care Act 2014 is clear that local authorities should ensure that care workers are paid at least minimum wage, and are paid for travel time between appointments.

We are working with local authorities and the care sector to improve social care commissioning, including supporting the sector to commission in a way that promotes quality, including meeting legal requirements on staff pay in relation to travel time.

There is clear Government Guidance on the issue of payment for work related travel time. It can be found in full on this website:

http://www.gov.uk/minimum-wage-different-types-work/overview

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has plans to regulate the sale of black spot carbon monoxide detectors.

Anna Soubry

We have no plans to further regulate the sale of black spot carbon monoxide detectors.

Carbon monoxide detectors fall under the General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR) 2005 which states any product placed on the market must be safe. Trading Standards will remove products that do not meet the requirements of the GPSR.

These types of carbon monoxide detectors are obsolete and no longer generally available.