Tag: Cat Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if she will ensure that the final determination on fracking applications is made by local authorities.

James Wharton

Local authorities lead the process for the consideration of planning applications for shale gas exploration under the Town and Country Planning regime. Under this regime an applicant has a right of appeal to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in clearly specified circumstances. The Government has taken steps to ensure this locally led regime is effective, as set out in Written Ministerial Statements of 16 September, HCWS201 and HCWS202. Community involvement in planning applications and people’s safety and the environment will remain paramount.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34792, how much of the £10 million allocated to the emergency services from the LIBOR fines will be available to retired emergency service workers.

Mike Penning

The LIBOR funding allocated to support emergency services staff and volunteers was allocated to a variety of charities covering all the emergency services. The Police and Fire Service treatment and rehabilitation centres and the Air Ambulance Services Charity are among the charities in receipt of LIBOR funding and they support retired as well as serving personnel. Information is not held centrally on proportions of funding allocated to each emergency service or to retired emergency services workers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-05-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support he is providing for research into epilepsy medication for pregnant women.

George Freeman

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research is funding a £1.5 million evaluation of the effectiveness, cost effectiveness and acceptability of dose adjustment strategies in antiepileptic drug management in pregnancy. The report of the evaluation is expected to be published in February 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to change how take-away food delivery drivers are regulated.

Mr Marcus Jones

This is not a matter for the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many transgender prisoners received into prison in the last 12 months were placed on the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork system.

Caroline Dinenage

This information is not held centrally. As my Honourable Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation, committed to the House on 20 November, my Department will publish data on the number of trans people in prison in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the cost was to the public purse of settlement agreements for staff from Crown Post Offices which were franchised in 2014 and 2015.

George Freeman

Post Office Limited runs and manages its directly managed Crown post offices. Arrangements for employees of these offices and changes to the Crown network are the operational responsibility of the Post Office.

I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to you on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce the disability employment gap.

Justin Tomlinson

We are committed to halving the disability employment gap. In the last year, the number of disabled people in work has increased by 152,000. At the Spending Review, we announced a real terms increase in funding to help disabled people and people with health conditions to get into work and remain in work. This includes:

• Increasing the reach of Access to Work, providing support to an additional 25,000 people by 2020/21
• The Work and Health Unit which has secured £115million of funding, including at least £40million for a work and health innovation fund. The Work and Health Innovation Fund will pilot new ways to help working age disabled people and people with health conditions get in, stay in, and return to work as well as benefit from improved health outcomes.
• A new Work and Health Programme, restructuring our current provision to focus on providing the best possible support for claimants with health conditions or disabilities, as well as those who are long-term unemployed.
• Engaging employers through our Disability Confident programme to see the business opportunities for employing disabled people.
• Making the best use of the new funding of up to £100million per year that we announced in the Budget 2015 for additional practical support to provide the right incentives and support to enable those who have limited capability, but who have some potential to prepare, for work to move closer to the labour market, and when they are ready, back into work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Government plans to give parents confidence that their child will be accepted by academies that determine their own admissions and ensure that the child’s needs will be met.

Edward Timpson

The law requires all schools, including academies, to comply with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan which names the school.

Where a child or young person has Special Educational Needs (SEN) or disabilities but does not have an EHC plan, academies are required to comply with the Schools Admission Code and the law relating to admissions in considering their parents’ application for a place. Academies must:

• consider such applications on the basis of the school’s published admissions criteria as part of their normal admissions procedures;
• not refuse to admit a child because they do not feel able to cater for those needs; and
• not refuse to admit a child on the grounds that they do not have an EHC plan.

In addition:

• the Equality Act 2010 prohibits all schools from discriminating against disabled children and young people in respect of admissions for a reason related to their disability; and
• where an academy has a pupil with SEN on roll, it must use its ‘best endeavours’ to ensure that the child get the support needed.

The Secretary of State also has powers under each academy’s funding agreement to direct the admission of a child to an academy. This power can be exercised if a school unlawfully removes a child from roll or if a school unlawfully refuses to comply with an EHC plan.

Finally, anyone applying for a place as a mainstream applicant, which includes those with SEN but without an EHC plan, can appeal to an independent appeal panel constituted and operating in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code, if refused admission. The decision of the panel is binding on all parties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Post Office has spent on refurbishing or converting premises of franchise partners for Crown post offices that were franchised in 2014 and 2015 since January 2014.

George Freeman

Post Office Limited runs and manages its Crown post offices. Franchising of these offices is the operational responsibility of the Post Office.

I have asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on these matters. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training is provided to officials of his Department working on the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Programme and the Saudi Arabia National Guard Communications Project on responding to whistleblowers from the private sector.

Mr Philip Dunne

Members of the MOD Saudi Armed Forces Projects (MODSAP) and Saudi Arabian National Guard Communications (SANGCOM) Project attend a mandatory bribery and fraud awareness workshop which explains current legislation in this area, assists members to understand their responsibilities under the provisions of the legislation and identifies areas of risk of bribery and fraud within the workplace. This training highlights the statutory protection against dismissal and victimisation provided to whistleblowers under the provisions of the Public Disclosure Act 1998 and provides advice on reporting suspicious activity.