Tag: Barry Sheerman

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s policy is on accepting refugees fleeing war zones; and whether that policy has changed since the EU referendum.

Mr Robert Goodwill

There have been no changes to the policy on how we consider claims for asylum following the result of the referendum. Each asylum claim lodged in the United Kingdom is carefully considered on its individual merits based on the evidence submitted by the applicant, regardless of where the individual originates from.

However, we are under no obligation to consider asylum claims lodged outside UK territory and it is not appropriate to do so. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.

We continue to operate several resettlement schemes providing safe and legal routes to the UK for the most vulnerable refugees, including Gateway, Mandate, the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme and the Vulnerable children at risk schemes. In addition, we support the principle of family unity and have several routes to enable refugees and their families to be reunited.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority on the expansion of Israeli settlements into (a) Susiya, (b) Umm al-Hiran and (c) other areas occupied by Palestinian Bedouins.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The increase in Israeli demolitions and illegal settlement expansion remains an area of serious concerns for the UK Government. On 7 September, during a meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Lieberman in London, I raised our concerns about settlements and demolitions. I also issued a statement on 2 September stating that the UK Government was deeply concerned by reports regarding over 450 new settlement units in the West Bank.

And as I told the House recently, our Embassy in Tel Aviv has repeatedly raised our opposition to demolitions with the Israeli authorities, including our specific concerns about Susiya, and urged them to provide a legal route for Palestinian construction. On 18 August officials from the British Consulate General in Jerusalem, along with an official from our Embassy in Tel Aviv, visited Susiya again to highlight our serious concern and demonstrate our continuing support for the village. Our officials most recently raised Susiya with Defence Minister Lieberman on 24 August.

Umm al-Hiran is in Israel. The UK has been encouraging the Israeli authorities and Bedouin communities to find a satisfactory solution to Umm al-Hiran, respecting the equality of all of Israel’s citizens in a way which avoids forcible relocations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with Huddersfield and Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Groups on NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans.

David Mowat

This is a matter for the local National Health Service and key stakeholders.

Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) proposals are currently at a draft stage. No changes to the services people currently receive will be made without local engagement. If final plans propose service changes, formal consultation will follow in due course in line with good practice and legislative requirements. All STP areas will submit an updated plan to NHS England in October, with appropriate formal public engagement and consultation. Many areas are already publishing summaries as part of their engagement programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that private higher education providers that have attained degree powers and university status provide an education of a sufficient quality.

Joseph Johnson

Private higher education providers can obtain Degree Awarding Powers (DAPs) and University Title (UT) if they meet the criteria. The criteria are set out in departmental guidance, and are the same for publicly-funded and private providers. For DAPs they include criteria around Governance and Academic Management, and Academic Standards and Quality Assurance. For UT they include good governance criteria such as quality assurance and academic standards, and criteria on student numbers.

Higher education providers that are publicly funded can obtain DAPs on an indefinite basis. All other organisations, including private providers, can be granted DAPs for a fixed term period of six years. The decision to renew degree-awarding powers after each term rests with the Privy Council and is subject to the organisation meeting the criteria for the renewals set out in our guidance. All holders of DAPs are expected to subscribe to the Quality Assurance Agency and the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.

A change in control at the provider may trigger a review to check that the provider in question continues to meet the criteria for UT, and remains the same cohesive academic community that was granted DAPs.

The current departmental guidance is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/higher-education-market-entry-guidance

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authority staff report bullying and intimidation each year.

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 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether sixth form colleges participating in the first wave of area reviews will be able to apply for academy status.

Nick Boles

Sixth form colleges participating in the first wave of area reviews will be able to apply for academy status.

The Joint Area Review Delivery Unit will work with sixth form colleges in the first wave of reviews to ensure that they have the opportunity to apply as part of the review in their area, and to prepare applications in advance of the publication of detailed criteria in February 2016.