Tag: Caroline Ansell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure the maximum take-up of the pupil premium; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The pupil premium provides schools with additional funding to improve the progress and attainment of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, with £6.25 billion provided to date. Pupil premium allocations to schools are mainly based on the number of pupils on roll at the time of the January school census who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the preceding six years.

We are working to encourage all families who meet the current criteria toregisterfor free school meals. The Department’s eligibility checking system has made it much easier and quicker to check which families are entitled to free school meals.

The Department has also published a registration form to help schools to identify pupils who are entitled to free school meals and the pupil premium. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-and-pupil-premium-registration-form.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure the routine use by his Department of the family test; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis

Officials in my Department have liaised with the Department for Work and Pensions as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it and encourage routine use of the Test. This has included training officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect on Eastbourne’s local economy of potential reductions in connectivity of future rail projects along the South Coast; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

No plans for reducing rail services to/ from Eastbourne are being considered by the Government or rail industry.

In developing its successive rail investment strategies and specifying rail franchises, the Government carefully considers the impacts on local economies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Network Rail on improved responsiveness for emergency repairs; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

I have regular discussions with senior Network Rail and rail industry colleagues about the need to improve performance across the network, which includes improving the recovery time from incidents. I have been paying particular attention to performance on the Govia Thameslink Railway network, and response times are being reviewed with the operator and Network Rail colleagues in order to improve response times when possible.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the owners of Heathrow Airport on ensuring that that airport meets UK and EU air quality standards; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

Defra’s Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with Heathrow Airport.

Defra officials met with representatives from Heathrow Airport and the neighbouring Local Authorities to discuss the Heathrow Air Quality Action Plan as it was being developed. Since the Plan has been implemented regular meetings have taken place to understand the impacts of actions on local air quality.

Defra officials have also been in contact with Heathrow regarding the preparation of the Draft Air Quality Plan which sets out actions required to meet the EU limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) in the Greater London Urban Area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Attorney General, what training the Law Officers’ Departments have provided to staff on the family test; what other steps he has taken to raise awareness of the family test among staff of the Law Officers’ Departments; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Buckland

The Government Legal Department provides training to all lawyers within the Government Legal Service, Attorney General’s Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, and hosted a training session on the legal implications of The Family Test in May 2015. While training places were prioritised for lawyers advising the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), all government lawyers were eligible to apply.

In addition, the training committee within the DWP legal advisers will consider the inclusion of further training on The Family Test in response to any further needs identified.

The Serious Fraud Office and Crown Prosecution Service are not directly involved in frontline policy development and whilst they are aware of the published DWP guidance on applying the test, no specific training has been deemed necessary at this stage. However, they would of course apply the test should the need arise.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with train operating companies on improving the claim process for compensation for delays; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

We urge passengers to claim the compensation they are entitled to. When delays occur, we expect operators to make sure their passengers are informed about how to apply for compensation.

We are committed to improving compensation for delayed rail passengers. As the Chancellor stated in his Autumn Statement, we are committed to reducing the time threshold for which passengers can claim from 30 minutes to 15 minutes.

We welcome the trial by c2c of automatic compensation to be introduced on the c2c franchise for registered customers if their train is delayed by more than 2 minutes. We welcome the introduction of automatic compensation on Advance tickets bought online, currently available on Virgin Trains West Coast and to be introduced as part of the Northern and TPE franchises and we encourage operators to make sure passengers across the country benefit from schemes like this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to improve air quality at Heathrow Airport; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

Defra officials met with representatives from Heathrow Airport and the neighbouring Local Authorities to discuss the Heathrow Air Quality Action Plan as it was being developed. Since the Plan has been implemented regular meetings have taken place to understand the impacts of actions on local air quality.

The Government has also recently consulted on plans to improve air quality in the UK. The plan for the Greater London Urban Area sets out actions required to meet the EU limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) by 2025.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what training his Department has provided to staff on the family test; what other steps he has taken to raise awareness of the family test among staff of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

The Family Test was announced by my Rt. hon Friend the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills welcomed the introduction of the Family Test and has taken steps to embed it by building it into the Department’s Public Sector Equality Duty commitments. This has included training officials on applying the test, disseminating learning materials and best practice.

The Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance, published by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Life Chances Strategy will include the provision of funding to support positive family relationships; whether funding under that strategy will include families with teenage children; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel

This government believes that families play an essential role in improving the life chances of children of all ages. As the Prime Minister announced in his speech on 11^th January, funding for relationship support is being doubled in this Parliament with an extra £35 million to support family relationships. More details will be set out in the forthcoming Life Chances Strategy.