Tag: Gavin Shuker

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is her Department’s policy to publish details of repayments to the public purse made by cancelled or withdrawn free schools.

Edward Timpson

Total pre-opening revenue costs for Luton Girls’ Academy will be published by end March 2016. This will take into account a repayment of grant which was made by the Trust in July 2015.

In line with the Government’s transparency agenda the Department’s policy is to publish expenditure data in a manner helpful to the public. With that in mind we publish the full pre-opening revenue cost of cancelled or withdrawn free school projects once the amount of expenditure, taking into account any repayments, has been finalised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-06-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the weekly cost of the deferment of the opening of St Helena Airport.

Sir Desmond Swayne

The St Helena Airport was certificated by Air Safety Support International on 10 May 2016 and is open.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the compatibility with international law of the arrest and transfer of children from the Occupied Palestinian Territories to Israel.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are clear that Israel has legal obligations as an Occupying Power with respect to the Occupied Palestinian Territories under the Fourth of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. This includes Article 49, which prohibits deportation of protected persons from the occupied territory and Article 76, providing that protected persons convicted of offenses shall be detained and serve their sentences within the occupied territory. We regularly talk to the Government of Israel with regard to the implementation of those obligations and raise our serious concerns, including about the treatment of Palestinian children that are arrested and detained in Israeli prisons. We have been clear with Israel that forcible transfer would be a breach of international humanitarian law and would have serious ramifications on Israel’s international standing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent reports he has received on the practice of restricting staff that have recently been on strike from working overtime on (a) Govia Thameslink Railway and (b) other rail franchises.

Claire Perry

Management of staff is a matter for the rail operators. I have been assured by the operator of the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise that they are not restricting the staff who have recently been on strike action from working overtime.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to improve the frequency of services to Luton Airport Parkway in the 2018 East Midlands franchise specification.

Claire Perry

Detailed work on the 2018 East Midlands franchise specification will begin in the Spring, and as with all franchise competitions, a public consultation exercise will take place later this year to help inform the specification for the next long-term franchise.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to improve access to further and higher education for young Muslims.

Joseph Johnson

We have recently introduced the Higher Education and Research Bill which, subject to the will of Parliament, will permit the introduction of a non-interest bearing alternative to student loans. This would be available to students of all faiths and none and will result in no financial advantage or disadvantage relative to the equivalent loan.

The Government is committed to increasing the number of BME students in higher education by 20% by 2020 and the proportion of apprenticeship starts by people from BME backgrounds by 20% by 2020.

We have also recently announced our intention to introduce a Transparency Duty on higher education institutions to publish more statistical information on the number of students who apply for places, receive offers and drop out from higher education institutions by ethnicity, gender and social background.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many of her Department’s staff of each grade attended the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2016.

Justine Greening

The DFID staffing requirements for this event are yet to be confirmed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Pakistan on increasing trade between the UK and (a) Pakistan and (b) Azad Kashmir.

Anna Soubry

I have held no discussions with the Federal Minister for Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan, about increasing trade between the UK and Pakistan or Pakistan Administered Kashmir.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much was spent on each media type for 2016 Step Up to the Living Wage campaign.

Nick Boles

The total budget allocated for the National Living Wage advertising campaign is £4.95 million. The campaign will run until the end of April and we expect to come in under budget.

A breakdown of anticipated costs for the National Living Wage campaign can be found in the table below:

Advertising design and planning	£497,571
Poster advertising	£751,612.69
TV and video on demand(VOD)	£1,730,387.70
Social media advertising (combined budget)	£354,000
Digital display advertising and pay per click (PPC)	£520,000
Newspaper/magazine advertising	£250,000
National Living Wage website	£21,860
Other elements of the campaign (please specify)	Radio: £299,826 Evaluation £250,000

The Government’s new National Living Wage is a step up for working people, so it is important workers know their rights and that employers pay the new £7.20 from April 1 this year. Britain deserves a pay rise and as a One Nation Government we are making sure it gets one. The campaign will tell people about their entitlements and is targeted at employers, and workers currently earning the National Minimum Wage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the establishment of co-operative schools.

Nick Gibb

The Government’s ambition is to provide an excellent education for all, through an autonomous, self-improving system. Good co-operative schools with strong governance are and will continue to be a part of this system.

As increasing numbers of schools are opting to become academies, we have worked with the Society for Co-operative Schools (SCS) to update our model articles of association for co-operative trusts. This will ensure that co-operative schools are able to convert to academy status and form multi-academy trusts (MATs) using a model based on robust governance structures that also reflects co-operative principles.

The new co-operative model articles will be published shortly.