Tag: Ivan Lewis

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of planned future budget reductions on the ability of the Greater Manchester police to fund implementation in Manchester of national projects.

Mike Penning

As the Chancellor announced at the Spending Review no Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) will receive a reduction in cash funding if they choose to maximise their precept over the Spending Review period.

It is an operational decision for chief officers, working with their PCC, to determine how best to allocate their available resources taking into account local and national priorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of civil service redundancies in the last 12 months on the effectiveness of departments’ work.

Matthew Hancock

To remain the best in the world, the Civil Service needs to respond to both the challenges and opportunities of our times.The Civil Service continues to require new and different skills to respond to the fiscal environment, global competition and changes in technology, whilst at the same time delivering better services more efficiently: in short, doing more for less.

The size of the Civil Service has already reduced by 20% since March 2010 and has helped save taxpayers £2.8bn over the last Parliament. Despite this reduction in numbers, employee engagement rates were higher in 2015 than in 2010 and departments have successfully maintained delivery of our public services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to increase school capacity and alleviate pressure on secondary schools for additional places.

Edward Timpson

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them to do this is one of the Government’s top priorities. That’s why we have committed to investing £23 billion in school buildings up to 2021, to create 600,000 new school places, open 500 free schools and address essential maintenance needs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to extend Clean Air Zones to more cities.

Rory Stewart

The Air Quality Plan we published last December set out a comprehensive plan for reducing levels of nitrogen dioxide through a new programme of Clean Air Zones, alongside national action and continued investment in clean technologies.

We are working closely with the cities of Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton, where we are requiring Clean Air Zones to be introduced. Other local authorities can introduce Clean Air Zones should they wish to do so using their powers under the Transport Act 2000.

We will consult on a framework for Clean Air Zones later this year which will set out the important principles that need to be consistent from city to city. Setting out the principles in this way will support both those authorities required by Government to implement a Clean Air Zone and those who, after analysing their own situation, consider a Clean Air Zone to be an appropriate measure to bring in.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessments she has made of the potential effect of planned future budget reductions on the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority on its response to future flooding.

Mike Penning

The Government commissioned Sir Ken Knight to carry out an independent review of the scope for fire and rescue authorities across England to improve their efficiency. His report, Facing the Future, published in 2013, provided a wide-ranging analysis of costs and benchmarking between fire and rescue authorities on a range of measures of financial performance.

We have delivered a sustainable finance settlement and there is no question that fire and rescue authorities will continue to have the resources they need. The number of incidents attended by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority is 27 per cent lower than five years ago, and injuries requiring hospital treatment are 59 per cent lower.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the level of human trafficking and exploitation in the UK.

Karen Bradley

The Government is taking significant steps forward in tackling the abhorrent crime of modern slavery. We passed the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 which gives law enforcement agencies the tools they need to tackle human trafficking and modern slavery, places a duty on large businesses to report on the actions they are taking to prevent modern slavery in their global supply chains and ensures that perpetrators can receive suitably severe sentences of up to life imprisonment.

We have also enhanced support and protection for those victims of this crime. We have extended the definition for those who are entitled to support under the government-funded victim care contract and we are piloting a new model of the National Referral Mechanism to ensure we have the right processes in place for identifying and supporting victims.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of efforts by the Nigerian government to tackle Boko Haram.

James Duddridge

We welcome the successes achieved by the Nigerian armed forces against Boko Haram, which have resulted in the group being pushed out of key towns in North East Nigeria. However, Boko Haram continues to present a serious threat to security in North East Nigeria and the wider region.

The United Kingdom is providing a substantial and increasing package of military, intelligence, development and humanitarian support to help Nigeria and the region in the fight against Boko Haram. We support Nigeria’s plans to host a high-level Regional Security Summit in Abuja in May. This will bring together regional leaders and international partners, including the United Kingdom, to reaffirm their shared commitment to the fight against Boko Haram.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the maximum overall annual amount which could be raised if each local authority imposed the maximum social care levy.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Department estimates that if all local authorities who deliver social care were to choose to use a two per cent precept this would total £393 million in 2016-17. If similar flexibilities were used in full in subsequent years, this would rise to around £1.8 billion in 2019-20. Local authorities will be required to provide confirmation that the additional revenue has been used for Adult Social Care in addition to confirming the amounts of expenditure in statistical returns. In addition, the Secretary of State will take account of local authorities’ actions when setting referendum principles in future years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Government plans to announce the outcome of proposals to assist unaccompanied refugee children from conflict regions.

James Brokenshire

As announced on 28th January, the Government is working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to lead a new initiative to scope the extent of the need to resettle in the UK unaccompanied refugee children in the exceptional cases where it is in the child’s best interests to do so. Discussions with UNHCR are ongoing. It is important that any proposal is considered carefully to ensure it is in the best interests of the children.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce the incidence of gender segregation in some Muslim independent schools.

Nick Gibb

Independent schools have to meet the standards set in regulations. If segregation results in disadvantage for pupils of one gender, either directly or through inappropriate modelling of gender roles through staff segregation visible to pupils, then it is likely that the standards have not been met and regulatory action by this Department will follow. If there is a possibility that staff segregation disadvantages staff of one gender and there may be a direct breach of the Equality Act 2010, we will not hesitate to make a referral to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.