Tag: David Anderson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of developing zero subsidy Contracts for Difference auctions for the electricity supply market; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

Stakeholders have suggested the concept of a market stabilising Contracts for Difference (CfD) and we are listening to ideas from industry about how this can be achieved and how we can best ensure a level playing field between renewable and other generation technologies. We are still working up ideas and would welcome continued input from stakeholders.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department knew of any restrictive covenant on the use and disposal of HMP Holloway, the land upon which it is situated or its buildings before publication of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Andrew Selous

We will consider what impact the existence of any restrictive covenant would have on any future closures and new prison sites. Providing a list of restrictive covenants on the use and disposal of each prison in England and Wales could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Prime Minister, whether any person or body has sought disclosure of his Department’s legal advice on the drone strike that killed Reyaad Khan for purposes related to the Inquiry by the Intelligence and Security Committee into that matter.

Mr David Cameron

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Ms West) on 21 January 2016, UIN 22720.

By long-standing convention under successive Governments the Law Officers’ advice is not published. The legal basis for the airstrike against Reyaad Khan is set out in the Government’s Memorandum to the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

The Government’s legal position in relation to UK airstrikes against Daesh in Syria is reflected in my response to the Foreign Affairs Committee Report on the extension of offensive British military operations to Syria.

The current Memorandum of Understanding together with the Justice and Security Act 2013 provides the necessary scope for the ISC to conduct robust oversight of those matters that are within its statutory remit.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason statutory guidance Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015) does not apply to higher education institutions.

Edward Timpson

Higher education institutions are not covered by the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years for good reason.

The new system of Education Health and Care (EHC) plans has a strong focus on the outcomes sought for children and young people with SEND. The Code of Practice defines the attainment of a place in higher education as a successful outcome.

Local authorities are not responsible for the education of young people in higher education. The sector has its own support system in the form of the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). It would not be sensible for these systems to overlap. For example, it would not be reasonable to hold a local authority to account for securing special educational provision for a young people in an independent higher education institution.

In the academic year 2013/14, the last year for which full figures are available, DSA totalling £152.7m was provided to 68,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Government also currently provides annual funding to publicly funded institutions, through the Disability element of the Student Opportunity Funding of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) grant, to help them recruit and support disabled students. This funding rose to £20 million for 2015/16, an increase of £5 million on the previous year.

The Code of Practice provides guidance on the transition to higher education. It says that good transition planning should include:

• sharing the EHC plan with the university (with the young person’s consent);
• ensuring the young person is aware of DSA and has made an early application, so that support is in place when their university course begins; and
• ensuring the continuity of health and care services where these continue to be required by the young person.

In addition we are working with those conducting DSA assessments to ensure that they understand EHC plans and how they can assist and inform assessments.

As independent and autonomous bodies, higher education institutions are entirely responsible for addressing any issues of discrimination that might come to their attention. The Government provides a legal framework for individuals, which protects their right not to be discriminated against – primarily through the Equality Act 2010. Through the Equality Act, higher education institutions are prohibited by law from discriminating against students with protected characteristics, such as disability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress he is making on improved access to specialist psychology support for people with muscle-wasting conditions.

Jane Ellison

NHS England commissions specialised neurological services at a national level, including those with muscle-wasting conditions. The relevant service specification sets out what designated specialised providers must have in place to offer evidence based safe and effective care. Patients should have access to a multidisciplinary team (MDT) to assess, diagnose and provide support. The MDT will include neuromuscular consultants, neuromuscular physiotherapists, psychologists, specialist nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and other health professionals.

The specification also sets out that neuromuscular clinics need to identify those at risk of respiratory problems and refer for specialist respiratory assessment and monitoring.

The specification can be found at the following link:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdf

A separate specification covers services for children:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/e09-paedi-neurology.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has sought from or been given permission by the Italian government for use of the Sigonella air station in Sicily.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK Government has permission to operate from Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella. We make frequent use of it, for example in 2015, three Merlin helicopters were based there as a part of Operation WEALD, which provided search and rescue capability in the Mediterranean.

We are currently operating from NAS Sigonella as part of a NATO anti-submarine warfare exercise, Exercise DYNAMIC MANTA.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence her Department holds that increasing the national expectations in writing from 4b to 5c will improve the outcomes in writing for children at the end of Key Stage 2.

Nick Gibb

The Government has set a more a challenging expected standard for assessment at the end of Key Stage 2 (KS2) to reflect the high expectations set by the new national curriculum. The curriculum standards align with the highest performing jurisdictions internationally and have been raised because too many children who met the old expected standard at the end of primary school did not go on to achieve at least five good GCSEs.

The new expected standard is not, however, equivalent to the old level 5c for KS2 English writing or any other subject. While there will be no need to make comparison to the old national curriculum levels once the new system is established, we have been clear that the new expected standard is broadly equivalent to 4b.

The Standards and Testing Agency published exemplification materials for KS2 writing in early February to support teachers in making their teacher assessment judgements. These were developed in consultation with a number of teacher panels and are real examples of work by pupils currently in year 6. The materials show two examples of pupils assessed as working at the expected standard: one shows work that has met the expected standard and is broadly equivalent to the old 4b, while another shows work at the higher end of the expected standard. We have published these two different examples to show the breadth of competence covered by ‘meeting the expected standard’. I have asked the Standards and Testing Agency to issue further guidance to schools shortly to clarify the assessment arrangements and eliminate any misunderstandings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information her Department holds on the number of ultra-super critical coal-fired power stations in other countries that are (a) generating electricity and (b) under construction.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department does not hold this information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has conducted research on the potential effect on levels of exposure to electromagnetic emissions of multiple autonomous vehicles operating in the same area.

Andrew Jones

All new vehicles are required to comply with United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) Regulation 10, which governs the level of electromagnetic emissions from individual vehicles.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, in what ways Government aid to Ethiopia assisted in improving democracy and human rights in that country in 2015-16; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd

A stable, secure and prosperous Ethiopia is critical to millions of poor Ethiopians and the UK’s national interest. UK support to Ethiopia, since 2010, has, for example, helped reduce poverty and child mortality by a quarter. Despite Ethiopia’s remarkable progress against the Millennium Development Goals, we have concerns about their progress on civil and political rights. The UK’s aid relationship with any government is based on an assessment of commitment to our partnership principles, including to human rights and international obligations.

DFID has supported Ethiopian civil society organisations to respond to the development priorities of poor people and to hold Government to account. In 2015-16 we have developed the capacity of institutions central to upholding accountability including; the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority, the Office of the Federal Auditor General and the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.