Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will review the affordability of public transport for people in full-time education; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

The legislation which regulates the bus industry does not require bus operators to offer reduced fares to young people. However, bus operators in most areas do offer discounted travel tickets to various groups of young people on a commercial basis. Government recognises the importance of accessible transport to all young people and we are working with the sector to encourage operators to continue to improve their offers.

Whilst there is no requirement for local authorities to provide free transport for 16-19 year olds attending further education, some local authorities do also provide discretionary travel concession schemes for young people.

Current estimates indicate that around 50% of young people aged 16 to 19 receive at least a third off standard bus fares.

In terms of rail services, young rail passengers are able to purchase a 16 – 25 Railcard where they can save a third on most standard class rail fares.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received in the last year from (a) Christian, (b) Jewish and (c) Muslim faith schools on the Counter Extremism Strategy used in schools; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

This Government believes all children should be educated in a safe environment, whether in a school or out of school.

Department officials have briefed representatives of faith schools, including Christian, Jewish and Muslim schools, on matters relating to the Government’s Prevent and Counter-Extremism strategies. The Department received a number of queries from both faith schools and non-faith schools on how to implement the Prevent duty. The Department has issued practical advice to schools to help them understand their role under the new Prevent duty, and also launched a dedicated counter-extremism helpline in 2015 to enable front line staff, governors, and others to raise concerns directly. The Department has combined all its existing advice in the new Educate Against Hate website[1], which was launched by the Secretary of State on 19 January.

The Department recently completed a call for evidence on proposals for the registration and inspection of out-of-school settings providing intensive education which were announced in the Counter-Extremism Strategy. Over 3,000 people, including representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, completed the response form, either online or manually. The Department received a significant number of further representations to the consultation by email and post. All responses and representations are being logged, analysed and verified.

We will be publishing a response to the consultation in due course, in line with Cabinet Office guidance.

[1] http://educateagainsthate.com/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 22794, how many beneficiaries of the Student Opportunity Fund there were in each of the last five years.

Joseph Johnson

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) allocates the Student Opportunity Fund to Higher Education providers as part of the teaching grant. Although the different elements of the fund are calculated on the basis of the number of students within an institution with particular characteristics, institutions have been able to use the funding in whichever way they feel is most appropriate for their students. Therefore, there is no centrally collected data on the numbers of students supported by the fund.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the risk posed to children by domestic violence; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

Data showing the total number of women who have suffered domestic abuse in the last five years is set out in the Crime Statistics published on 11 February 2016: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-violent-crime-and-sexual-offences–2014-to-2015/index.html.

Since the 2004/05 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), the number of women aged 16 to 59 experiencing any domestic abuse in the last year has reduced from 1.71 million to 1.35 million (360,000 fewer victims and a fall of 21%) and the estimate of the number of women experiencing any domestic abuse in the last year is the lowest since the survey began.

Latest data published by the Office for National Statistics from the 2014/15 CSEW additionally show that in 46% of cases of partner abuse, a child was present in the household, of which 20% of children saw or heard the abuse.

Data on children referred to and assessed by local authority children’s social services in England in 2014/15 show that there were 197,700 assessments where domestic violence was identified as a relevant factor. This data is only available for 2014/15.

The Government works closely with charities, academics and statutory agencies to assess and address the impact of domestic abuse on children and wholly recognises the life changing impact domestic abuse can have on the lives of children. That is why we have expanded the Troubled Families Programme for a further five years (2015-2020) to work with an additional 400,000 families, including those affected by domestic abuse.

To further address the impact of domestic abuse on victims and their children, we have introduced a new domestic abuse offence to tackle coercive and controlling behaviour, and in England and Wales we have rolled out Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. Improvements have been made to the police response to domestic abuse, and we are supporting multi-agency working which takes a whole family approach.

We will shortly publish a refreshed cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy setting out how we will do more still to support victims and their children. The Government has already announced £40 million of funding for domestic abuse services between 2016 and 2020, as well as a £2 million grant to Women’s Aid and Safelives to support early intervention programmes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much (a) the Government and (b) each government department spent on (i) arrangements and (ii) hospitality for the Chinese state visit in October 2015.

James Duddridge

The full cost of inward State Visits is borne by a number of different Government Departments. We do not yet have the costs borne by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the 2015 State Visit by the President of China. These will be published on the gov.uk website once available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of how much of his Department’s staff expenditure was specifically related to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

Prior to 1 April 2014 the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was handled alongside a number of other trade negotiations. On 1 April 2014 my Department established a Unit whose primary purpose is to assist with the negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership but which also handles certain other international matters. In April 2014 this Unit comprised 8 staff primarily working on TTIP and 4 working on other international matters. It currently comprises 10 staff working primarily of TTIP and 6 working on other international matters. Staff expenditure for this Unit in 14/15 was £793313, and in 15/16 is projected to be £916007. Total expenditure for this Unit in 14/15 was £886813 and in 15/16 is projected to be £926774.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from Indian intelligence authorities on the subject of Khalistani terror groups and Sikh radicalisation in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes

It would not be appropriate to comment on intelligence matters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff of the National Probation Service have completed Prevent awareness training.

Caroline Dinenage

Working to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP) was developed by the Home Office in 2009. From 2009 to 2014 all probation staff in the former Probation Trusts were to be trained in WRAP.

As part of the Government’s Transforming Rehabilitation programme, the National Probation Service (NPS) and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) were formed on 1 June 2014, and 9,140 staff transferred from Probation Trusts to the National Probation Service.

Since then, all new NPS staff have been receiving Prevent awareness training, and all existing NPS staff have been receiving refresher training.

We are fully committed to ensuring that we have a properly trained workforce within the NPS. Prevent Awareness (WRAP) is one of a number of training programmes delivered to staff in the NPS to provide staff with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively manage offenders and protect the public.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-16.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of immigration on the UK’s GDP in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands

Analysis undertaken by the independent Migration Advisory Committee in 2012 shows that higher levels of net migration will, all else equal, increase the growth rate of the potential labour supply and therefore the rate of growth of overall GDP.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the salary levels of elected mayors of each of the combined authorities; and if he will make a statement.

James Wharton

The Department holds no information about the salary levels of elected mayors of combined authorities.