Tag: David Simpson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on preventing unhealthy eating among children of primary school age.

Jane Ellison

No recent formal discussions with Department for Education (DfE) Ministers have taken place on preventing unhealthy eating among children of primary school age.

Department of Health and DfE Ministers have discussed the issue informally and officials meet regularly to discuss progress on delivering of the School Food Plan.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what additional support her Department is providing for Royal Navy personnel assisting with the aftermath of the Caribbean tsunami.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The Royal Navy is not responding to a tsunami in the Caribbean.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which high-speed rail projects are planned to be completed in 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

In 2015 we expect the High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Bill for HS2 Phase One to continue its progress through Parliament. We will continue to review and refine proposals for the Phase Two route from West Midlands to Manchester, Leeds and beyond to ensure they bring the best solution in terms of connectivity and economic growth for the regions. Any further announcements and decisions on the Phase Two route are currently expected to be made in 2015 but could come later.

It is also expected that in 2015 we will commence ground investigation works enabled by the HS2 Preparation Bill (2013).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the outcomes were of her visit to New York and Washington in February 2015 to brief US administration representatives on the progress of the Stormont House Agreement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

I updated a number of key figures in the US Administration, in Congress and in the Irish-American community on the Stormont House Agreement. It is evident from these meetings that there is strong US support for the Agreement, and ongoing interest in its implementation, including the devolution of corporation tax powers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which high-speed rail projects are planned to commence in 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

In 2015 we expect the High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Bill for HS2 Phase One to continue its progress through Parliament. We will continue to review and refine proposals for the Phase Two route from West Midlands to Manchester, Leeds and beyond to ensure they bring the best solution in terms of connectivity and economic growth for the regions. Any further announcements and decisions on the Phase Two route are currently expected to be made in 2015 but could come later.

It is also expected that in 2015 we will commence ground investigation works enabled by the HS2 Preparation Bill (2013).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the use of renewable energy in Northern Ireland.

Amber Rudd

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State met with the Northern Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment Arlene Foster on 2 February. They discussed the future of the renewable electricity support scheme in Northern Ireland.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is offering to the Nigerian government in response to the recent killings by Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Mr David Lidington

The UK has taken an active role in leading international support to Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram. We are providing a substantial package of UK military, intelligence and development support, which includes training and advice to Nigerian units deploying against Boko Haram, intelligence support and support to the Nigerians in bringing increased development and prosperity to the North East. We are also working closely with our international partners to support the large numbers of people displaced by the conflict in the North East.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what his Department’s expenditure was in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Wales in 2014.

Amber Rudd

The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s expenditure for the financial year 2013-2014 was in (a) England £2,445.6m, (b) Scotland £437.2m, (c) Northern Ireland £1.8m and (d) Wales £117.4m.

Expenditure that is incurred for the benefit of the UK as a whole and cannot be disseminated by individual country or region is excluded from these amounts.

The figures are published annually and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2014

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress the Government has made on its work to provide justice for the victims of the 1976 Kingsmill Massacre.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

The Kingsmill attack was a horrendous sectarian atrocity. I understand how the pain of such an attack never diminishes for the families of the victims. I hope that the ongoing Coroner’s inquests will help provide the answers the families are seeking about the deaths of their loved ones.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure a high standard of teaching in numeracy and literacy.

Elizabeth Truss

We have published a more rigorous curriculum for English and mathematics. The new national curriculum sets expectations that match those in the highest-performing education jurisdictions in the world, challenging pupils to realise their potential in an increasingly competitive global market. It increases the level of demand from an early age, with greater emphasis on arithmetic, including learning times tables to 12 x 12 by age 9 and removing calculators from key stage 2 tests in mathematics, and on phonics, grammar and vocabulary development in English. GCSEs in English language and mathematics are also being reformed to be more challenging and give stronger guarantees of literacy and numeracy, with the mathematics GCSE in particular covering more than the current GCSE.

We are confident that our reform to the national curriculum will give teachers greater flexibility and freedom, which will help to raise standards and expectations for all pupils. It has been significantly slimmed down and will free-up teachers to use their professional judgement to provide support that best meets the needs of their pupils.

We have invested in and reformed initial teacher training (ITT) to focus on attracting the very best graduates with the right qualities for teaching into the profession through making more scholarships available; using bursaries to attract more of the most talented graduates in key subjects such as maths and physics and supporting the expansion of the highly-successful Teach First programme. Teach First is now the largest graduate recruiter in any sector in the United Kingdom.

In 2013/14, we recruited 96% of the overall number of trainees we set out to recruit and the proportion with first-class or 2:1 degrees has risen 3 percentage points (74%) – a record compared to last year (71%). We have raised the bar for entry into ITT by making skills tests tougher, limiting candidates to two re-sits and making passing the tests in literacy and numeracy a requirement before entering, rather than exiting, ITT.

Sir Andrew Carter has been appointed to lead an independent review about the effectiveness of ITT. As part of this, the review will look at ITT courses for both primary and secondary teaching to consider how well trainees are equipped to become outstanding teachers.