Tag: Ian Austin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many free schools have been delayed in opening due to the inability to secure a site for the school in each year since 2010.

Edward Timpson

Since 2010, where free schools have opened at a later date, this has been for a variety and often a combination of reasons – it would be misleading to attempt to identify which had been delayed solely or largely due to site issues. In each case the department will have balanced the risk of opening on the original date against all of the elements needed to be in place for a successful school.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by what means she will assess the risk to bee populations when considering emergency applications for the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on crops.

George Eustice

Emergency authorisation is a procedure set out in law which allows for the authorisation of a pesticide product for a period not exceeding 120 days, for “limited and controlled use, where such a measure appears necessary because of a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means”.

All applications for emergency authorisation in the UK, including those for neonicotinoids, are decided according to these criteria following an expert assessment of the scientific data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with groups representing people with rare conditions on the criteria used in personal independence payment assessments.

Penny Mordaunt

We are committed to ensuring that the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment process works effectively across the spectrum of disabilities and health conditions, including rare conditions.

I, along with my officials, meet regularly with disability representative groups, including members of our Implementation Stakeholder Forum which hears views from a wide range of organisations representing and supporting disabled people, including those with rare conditions. We have worked extensively with them to make improvements to guidance, training and audit procedures in order to ensure a quality service for all claimants including those with rare conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much heroin has been given to heroin addicts in line with his Department’s policy set out on page 31 of the Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, published by his predecessor in March 2016.

Nicola Blackwood

As outlined in the Government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, the use of injectable diamorphine as part of treatment for a small cohort of entrenched, long-term opiate users can be effective.

On behalf of the Department, Public Health England managed a pilot programme of supervised injectable diamorphine prescribing at a cost of £2 million per annum. The pilot ran from 2012 to 2015 at: South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in Southwark, London; Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Brighton; and Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust in Easington, County Durham.

Information about expenditure on diamorphine prescribing for the treatment of dependence, sites where it is available outside this pilot, and how much diamorphine has been prescribed to heroin addicts is not collected centrally. The decision to commission and fund the local provision of diamorphine prescribing is for local authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the future viability of care providers after the introduction of the national living wage.

David Mowat

Social care continues to be a key priority for the Government. This is why, against the context of tough public sector finances; the Government has taken steps to protect social care services. The Government is giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of new support for social care by 2019/20. This should mean local government has access to the funding to increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament. This will support councils to continue to focus on core services and to pay fees which reflect provider costs including the National Living Wage.

The spending took into account a range of financial and economic factors, including projections and data on the National Living Wage from the Office of Budget Responsibility and Skills for Care.

The National Living Wage is an important step in rewarding the valuable contribution made by care workers, who often fall into the lowest earning occupations. Out of an estimated 1.16 million workers in adult social care in England, up to 900,000 people are expected to benefit.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities must have regard to fostering an effective workforce with the appropriate capabilities when shaping their local markets. The Act and its statutory guidance make clear that prices and fee rates agreed with providers must reflect these new duties, including the National Living Wage. The Department continues to monitor the whole of the market of care providers and engage with the sector to better understand the challenges they face and support local authorities who purchase services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will introduce further proposals to protect airfields from redevelopment.

Brandon Lewis

National planning policy already requires local planning authorities to take account of airfields’ growth and role in serving business, leisure, training and emergency needs. In March we issued guidance emphasising the need for local planning authorities to have regard to the extent to which an aerodrome contributes to connectivity outside the authority’s own boundaries.

Currently, all airfields, as land that has been previously developed, are regarded as brownfield land.

We will work with the aviation sector to ensure the current policy relating to development on airfields is better understood.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-12-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints were rejected by the Financial Ombudsman Service on the grounds of failure to meet the time limits for such complaints in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015 to date.

Harriett Baldwin

The issues raised are a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) who are operationally independent from Government.

The questions have been passed on to the FOS. The FOS will reply directly to the Honorable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the funding announced on 11 January 2016 by the Prime Minister for careers in this Parliament include the £20 million funding announced for the Careers Service in December 2014.

Mr Sam Gyimah

On 11 January 2016, my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister announced that we are committing £70 million to our careers strategy over this Parliament to continue the transformation of the quality of the careers education, advice and guidance offered to young people. This is on top of the £20 million in 2015-16 announced for careers in the 2014 Autumn Statement.

This £70 million will be spent over the next four years to 2020. We have not yet finalised how much will be spent each year or how it will be allocated but can confirm that there will be continued funding for the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to continue its excellent work. We anticipate that this will include funding to support the Enterprise Adviser Network, the Careers and Enterprise Fund, the Enterprise Passport, the CEC’s research programme and its wider activity to bring schools, colleges, business, and careers and enterprise organisations closer together, and to deliver the new mentoring campaign announced by the Prime Minister on 11 January 2016. We will make further announcements in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what consideration his Department plans to give to local availability of courses in area reviews of further education.

Nick Boles

Government will produce an evaluation of the area review programme and its potential to impact on groups protected by the Equality Act 2010. The reviews do not however, mandate action, and colleges are independent corporations, so it will be for each college’s governing body to assess the potential impact on groups protected by the Act, as part of its decision to accept or reject any recommendation requiring a change to their provision.

Each area review steering group will consider relevant data relating to current courses delivered within their area, assess the relevance of these courses to local learner and employer needs and determine how current and future demand can be best met through the recommendations of the area review.

Individual area reviews are expected to take about four months, the timescale being dependent on the number of colleges and complexity of the local issues involved in each area. The overall review process has been divided into five waves of area reviews and is scheduled to be completed by March 2017

We expect the costs of completing an area review to be met within existing budgets, with minimal additional costs to the colleges, local authorities or LEPs involved. The Departments and their agencies will undertake this work with no additional staffing. Additional costs will be minimal.

The costs arising from the recommendations of each review will be explored as part of the process. We expect the colleges, alongside local authorities and LEPs with devolved skills budgets, to consider how these costs can be met locally. Where there are costs that cannot be met, but which are essential to the successful implementation of the review, we have announced a facility for transitional funding to support this. We will provide more detail in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost per year is of storing the London 2012 Olympics athletics warm-up track.

David Evennett

Parts of the London 2012 warm-up track are being stored free of charge by the London Borough of Newham.