Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of recruitment levels of new teachers; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

Teaching continues to be a popular career; there are now more teachers in England’s classrooms than ever before. In November 2014 there were 454,900 full time equivalent teachers, an increase of 5,200 from the previous year and 13,100 from 2010.

Data from the end of the recruitment cycle showed that we exceeded our target for the recruitment of primary teachers, and made good progress in secondary recruitment, including in several key subjects like English, mathematics, physics and chemistry, where recruitment finished ahead of the previous year.

We recognise that teacher recruitment is becoming increasingly challenging as the economy continues to strengthen and competition for new graduates intensifies, which is why we are focused on attracting more top graduates and career changers into the profession, particularly in those core academic subjects that help children reach their potential. We have recently announced a package of generous financial incentives for the next recruitment round; this includes tax-free bursaries worth up to £30,000 and the opportunity to earn a salary whilst training.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of supply teacher recruitment in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

Schools, academies and local authorities (LAs) are responsible for the recruitment and management of their supply teachers. This allows them to manage their resources and staffing structures in a way that meets local needs and priorities without central prescription from government.

Information published from the School Workforce Census does not identify supply teachers specifically.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) complaints and (b) investigations into complaints made by civil servants against special advisers in his Department there have been in each of the last five years; and how many such (i) complaints and (ii) investigations are outstanding.

Jane Ellison

There have been no complaints or investigations into complaints made by civil servants against special advisers in the Department of Health in any of the last five years. None are outstanding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many Diplomatic Service personnel were employed in Asia in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

There were the following number of Diplomatic Service personnel in Asia:

2015 – 419 (total FCO employees – 487)
2014 – 437 (total FCO employees – 519)
2013 – 479 (total FCO employees – 552)
2012 – 471 (total FCO employees – 535)
2011 – 460 (total FCO employees – 535)

The reduction in Diplomatic Service personnel reflects the localisation of support grade roles, which are now filled by locally engaged staff.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many qualified fast-jet pilots were employed by the RAF in each of the last five years.

Mark Lancaster

The number of qualified fast jet pilots in the Royal Air Force, as of 1 January in each of the last five years is shown below, and includes both Regular and Reserve personnel.

2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
720	680	660	670	640

In accordance with Defence Statistics rounding policy, the numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10, with numbers ending in five being rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what research his Department has conducted or commissioned on the economic benefit of major sports teams to local economies; and if he will make a statement.

Tracey Crouch

Sport makes a huge contribution to the UK economy, attracting participants and visitors from the UK and abroad.

The value of sport and physical activity tothe UK economy is estimated at around £40 billion each year, or nearly 3% of UKGross Value Added.Sport related consumer spending was worth around £30 billion in 2012 – over £1 billion of this comes from spending on spectator sports.

Visit Britain’s study on Football Tourism found that total spending by international visitors who attended a football match was £684 million in 2014. Visitors who attended a match had an average spend on average £855 in the UK, compared with an average spend of £628 for those who did not attend a match.

The latest Sport Satellite Account which details these figures can be found at :https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/450258/UK_Sport_Satellite_Account__2011_and_2012.pdf.

Visit Britain’s study can be found via this link:https://www.visitbritain.org/sites/default/files/vb-corporate/Documents-Library/documents/2015-9%20VisitBritain%20Report_Football%20tourism%20scores%20for%20Britain.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the total value of student loans likely to be written off in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson

More people than ever before are now able to benefit from higher education. The student loan system ensures that access to finance should not be a barrier to participation in higher education.

For students starting their Higher Education course prior to the 2020-21 academic year the nominal value of student loans that are written off in each of the next 10 years is forecast as follows:

Financial year	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
Write-off amount (nominal; £m)	220	140	190	230	310	350	390	450	520	520

Source: BIS Student Loan Repayment Model. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10m.

This table includes loans written-off due to any of the following circumstances: a) if the loan borrower started their Higher Education course prior to 2006-07 academic year and has reached the age of 65; b) the borrower has died; or c) the borrower becomes disabled

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 20062, what estimate his Department has made of the total value of student loans likely to be written off in each year between 2025 and 2036; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson

More people than ever before are now able to benefit from higher education, and the student loan system ensures that access to finance should not be a barrier to participation.

For students starting their Higher Education course prior to the 2020-21 academic year the nominal value of student loans that are expected to be written off in each of the financial years 2025-26 to 2036-37 are as follows:

Financial year	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30	2030-31	2031-32	2032-33	2033-34	2034-35	2035-36	2036-37
Write-off amount (nominal; £m)	480	460	480	530	570	610	670	640	710	1,160	1,550	1,660

Source: BIS Student Loan Repayment Model. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10m.

This table includes loans written-off owing to any of the following circumstances: a) if the loan borrower started their Higher Education course prior to 2006-07 academic year and has reached the age of 65; b) the borrower has died; c) the borrower becomes disabled and is permanently unable to work; or d) if the loan borrower started their Higher Education course between 2006-07 and 2011-12 academic years and 25 years have passed since the borrower became eligible to repay.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase retention levels of science teachers in funded secondary schools; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

Teacher retention rates have remained stable for over a decade. The Department does not hold data at subject level on retention rates, but approximately 90 per cent of all teachers are still in service in the year after they qualify, and 72 per cent of those who qualified in 2009 were still in teaching five years later. Over the longer term, over 60 per cent of teachers remain in service 10 years after qualifying.

It is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers. That is why we have made significant policy interventions in the areas that teachers tell us matter most, such as improving pupil behaviour and reducing unnecessary workload. We have appointed behaviour expert Tom Bennett to lead a review to ensure new teachers are fully trained in dealing with disruptive children and to consider all of the challenges of managing behaviour in schools.

We have established three groups to address the biggest concerns that teachers raised in the workload challenge: marking, planning and data management. The groups will create principles for practice and make specific recommendations for action. All three groups are due to report to Ministers in 2016 and we are commissioning a biennial survey to track teacher workload, starting in the spring of 2016.

In 2015, the Prime Minister announced a £67m package that will help us to recruit an additional 2,500 mathematics and physics teachers and to improve the knowledge and skills of 15,000 existing teachers in those subjects.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-12.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from the Living Wage Foundation in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds

The Government receives representations from a wide range of stakeholders on the minimum wage. A list of ministers’ meetings is published on the GOV.UK website.