The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many vacancies were identified in free schools in the school census in (a) 2012, (b) 2013, (c) 2014, (d) 2015 and (e) 2016.
Edward Timpson
The school census does not collect information on vacancies in schools.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length time taken to reunite stranded minors with their families in the UK once they have been identified in Calais has been in each of the last three years.
James Brokenshire
There is no official estimate of the number of children in Calais, this is primarily a matter for the French authorities. It is only possible to assess whether an individual has links to the UK that could enable a transfer on family unity grounds once they make an application for asylum in France.
Once an asylum claim is lodged in France the Dublin Regulation procedure requesting the UK to take charge of a child on family unity grounds takes place very quickly, often in a matter of weeks, subject to consideration of the evidence in each individual case. An average time is not available for each of the last three years.
Since February 2016 the UK has accepted 30 family reunification applications from minors in France of which 23 have already been transferred to the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from academics and health experts on the health benefits and disadvantages of vaping.
Jane Ellison
The Department engages with a wide range of interested parties with views on e-cigarettes and vaping. The Department will continue to listen to all parties to inform our decisions as well as drawing on the reports such E-cigarettes – an evidence update published by Public Health England in 2015.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Attorney General, on how many occasions the Law Officers referred a criminal sentence to the Court for Appeal for review on the grounds that it was unduly harsh in the last 12 months.
Robert Buckland
Whilst the Attorney General’s Office can ask the Court of Appeal to review a sentence which is considered to be unduly lenient, the Law Officers have no power to intervene when a sentence is too harsh. Therefore there have been no referrals to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that a sentence was unduly harsh.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that more nurseries employ qualified early years teachers.
Caroline Dinenage
The Government recognises that graduates are an important part of the early years workforce, and that is why in 2013 we introduced the early years initial teacher training programme which leads to the award of Early Years Teacher Status. We have made a significant investment in this programme by providing funding for course fees and bursaries to eligible trainees, and also funding for employers to support trainees.
The number of graduates in the workforce continues to rise, and between 2008 and 2013 the proportion of full day care staff with a degree or higher increased from 5% to 13%. The Government wants to see more trained graduates in the workforce in the future.
The early years workforce strategy is in development this year and will set out how government will help to remove barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff. It will look at the barriers to growing the body of graduates in the workforce in England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans consider the overall health economy of a region including the effect on (a) GPs, (b) hospitals, (c) pharmacies, (d) ambulance services and (e) all other health services.
David Mowat
For their Sustainability and Transformation Plan, local areas, including commissioners, providers and local authorities, have come together to decide how to improve services in the medium and long term. This is a unique exercise in collaboration, with local doctors, hospitals and councils working together to decide the way forward in consultation with local communities. This approach will ensure that all services within a local health economy are considered.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many single parent households there are in the UK.
Chris Skidmore
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 Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of codes of conduct protecting officers of local authorities from bullying and intimidation.
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 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to protect and conserve the UK’s coastlines.
Rory Stewart
This Government is making a record six year commitment to invest £2.3 billion in providing better protection for 300,000 households in England by 2021. We estimate that 45% of this funding will help reduce the risk of coastal flooding or erosion.
Flood and coastal erosion risk management is devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with internet service providers on preventing sexual abuse, cyber bullying and social media abuse of young people on the internet; and whether that industry adheres to a code of good practice on such matters.
Edward Timpson
I co-chair the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), along with from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Home Office and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Internet Safety and Security. UKCCIS is a group of more than 200 organisations drawn from across government, industry, law, academia, and charity sectors that work in partnership to help keep children safe online. The four main internet service providers are executive members of the UKCCIS Board and the Board regularly discuss the best ways to prevent all forms of online abuse.
Under the UKCCIS, the UK’s Communications regulator, Ofcom, is leading a working group to develop best practice guidance for providers of social media for emerging social media platforms to encourage responsible practice from industry, and ensure children using their services are able to do so in a safe and protected way. This guidance will be delivered shortly. All the key players are round the table in this important collaborative project, including Twitter, Facebook, Google, Ask.FM, MindCandy and Microsoft.
The government will continue to work closely with social media companies to make sure they are committed to protecting children who use their platforms.