Tag: Danny Kinahan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of (a) special needs students and (b) higher skills learners in horticultural training.

Edward Timpson

We want all young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), whatever their chosen career path, to be well prepared for adult life. As we have made clear in the SEND Code of Practice, the vast majority of young people with SEND are capable of sustained employment with the right preparation and support. Study programmes for individual young people with SEND should be tailored to their individual aspirations and abilities.

Our reforms to technical and vocational education incentivise schools and colleges to teach only those qualifications that meet rigorous quality criteria, develop the skills and knowledge that employers need, and enable young people to progress into employment. For 16-18 year olds this includes eight qualifications in horticulture that will equip them to apply for a range of jobs in the sector.

However, we want to go further to reform technical and professional education to develop a world-leading system. In November 2015, the Government announced reforms to technical and professional education that will simplify the skills system and ensure it is owned, understood and valued by employers. This Government will simplify and streamline the number of qualifications so that individuals have a clear set of routes which allow for progression to higher level skills. This will make it clearer to young people how they can gain the skills necessary to access different occupations, including horticulture related occupations. An independent panel, chaired by Lord Sainsbury, is developing proposals for these reforms and will report to Government in the spring‎ of 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many compensation claims against prison staff were made by prisoners in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous

NOMS defend robustly all claims brought and successfully defend two thirds of claims brought by prisoners. It is not possible accurately to separate prisoner compensation claims against prison staff from other similar claims (e.g. assaults by other prisoners).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-06-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the £15 million tampon tax fund has been allocated in the UK.

Mr David Gauke

The Tampon Tax Fund supports women’s charities that are making a significant impact in the lives of women and girls in the UK, including health, wellbeing and education initiatives, and services for vulnerable women. The bids selected represent a range of different initiatives to benefit women across the whole of the UK.

In total, 25 charities have been allocated funding so far. This includes £5.2 million of funding allocated to Comic Relief and Rosa, to disburse funding over the coming year to a range of grassroots women’s organisations across the UK, in recognition of the high number of applications received.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons people who are from or live in Northern Ireland are required to complete a counter terrorist check as part of an application to join the armed forces.

Mark Lancaster

Every eligible applicant, irrespective of their background, residency or nationality undergoes appropriate security vetting as part of the selection process to join the UK Armed Forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive about shortages of GPs.

David Mowat

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has not had any discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive about shortages of general practitioners (GPs).

Health is a devolved subject; therefore GP recruitment in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to support the development of a sustainable and integrated small-scale renewables sector in Northern Ireland.

Andrea Leadsom

Energy policy is devolved in Northern Ireland. I support the development of renewables in Northern Ireland but it is for Ministers in Northern Ireland to decide on what support mechanisms they deem appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the benefits to the construction industry of rectifying the six calculation errors made in the home energy efficiency calculation software known as SAP referred to in the letter to the Prime Minister from BDP Limited, dated 12 November 2015.

Andrea Leadsom

When proposals are made to change the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP), the revised draft specification is accompanied by a draft Impact Assessment during public consultation. Any future proposals would therefore include an assessment of the impact on business.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve outcomes for people with rarer cancers.

Jane Ellison

Health is, of course, a devolved matter; however, ensuring the National Health Service is able to support the use of effective treatments for rare cancers, is a key priority. The four United Kingdom health departments and Cancer Research UK are jointly funding a network of 18 Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres. These are driving the development and testing of new anti-cancer treatments to deliver real benefits for patients, including those with rare cancers.

In England, the Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, in July 2015, and made many recommendations relevant to rarer and blood cancers, focussing on improving access to diagnostic testing, and increasing patient access to the most advanced treatments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from the Kurdish Region in Iraq (a) applied for and (b) were refused entry clearance to the UK in the last six months for which figures are available.

Karen Bradley

For the purposes of this answer, ‘people from the Kurdish region of Iraq’ has been interpreted to mean people making visa applications at the Visa Application Centre in Erbil, UKVI’s application point in the Kurdish region. It is possible for people not ordinarily resident in the region to apply in Erbil, and for people from the region to apply at other locations, but worldwide data specific only to people from the Kurdish region could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The most recent figures available are from April 2015 to September 2015 and show A) the number of Entry Clearance applications made via the Visa Application Centre in Erbil, Iraq, to be 1790 and B) the number of refusals 1165. * The figures quoted are not provided under National statistics protocols but have been derived from local management information. They are therefore provisional and subject to change.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with universities on the wide implementation of the Race Equality Charter Mark.

Joseph Johnson

The Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) is a higher education sector body that supports equality and diversity for staff and students across the UK. They developed and launched the Race Equality Charter (REC) in January 2016, with the aim of improving the representation, progression and success of minority ethnic staff and students within higher education. Institutions can apply for a Bronze or Silver REC award, depending on their level of progress.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has set a goal of increasing by 20% the number of BME students in higher education by 2020. In guidance to the Director of Fair Access, which we published on 11 February, we ask him to maximise the contribution of Access Agreements towards this ambition.