Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) applicants to (b) successful applicants to and (c) successful graduates from the Troops to Teachers scheme in each year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

For Cohort One (January 2014), 293 applications were received and 41 trainees began the programme.

For Cohort Two (September 2014), 196 applications were received and 52 trainees began the programme.

For Cohort Three (September 2015), 62 applications were received and 51 trainees began the programme.

For Cohort Four (September 2016), recruitment is still underway.

The first cohort of trainees completed the training programme in December 2015. 29 trainees completed the programme and achieved Qualified Teacher Status.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the funding available to the Waste and Resources Action Programme in each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

The current 2016/17 grant agreement for the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is £13m.

Future year’s allocations have yet to be finalised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of existing public transport infrastructure for people with sight and hearing loss; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

Accessible public transport is vital in enabling people who are visually or hearing impaired, as well as other disabled people, to live and work with independence and dignity.

The Department has committed to publishing an accessibility action plan to improve access to public transport and contribute to halving the employment gap between non-disabled and disabled people.

Throughout its development we are working with the Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) and organisations representing the interests of disabled people, including those who are visually and hearing impaired, helping us to understand what works well, and what barriers still remain.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many houses were built on green belt land in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis

The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold information on the numbers of planning applications made in the Green Belt.

The department’s Land Use Change Statistics estimate that 3% of new residential addresses created in 2014-15 were in the Green Belt; unchanged from 2013-14. This equates to an estimated 3,900 homes – 2.9998% of the total homes built in the Green Belt in 2013-14, and 4,600 homes – 2.9997% of the total homes built in 2014-15.

The figures in the 13/14 publication are the first in the new series and so are not directly comparable to the previous Land Use Change Statistics which last published data covering the year 2011. Figures for 2011 and prior are available from the department’s website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/land-use-change-statistics-in-england-2011

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2016 to Question 40279, what forecast the Oil and Gas Authority has made of the proportion of UK energy consumption to be supplied by other countries in each of the next 10 years.

Andrea Leadsom

The Oil and Gas Authority does not produce a forecast of the proportion of UK energy consumption to be supplied by other countries.

However, as indicated in the answer to Question 40279, the Oil and Gas Authority publishes projections of UK oil and gas import dependency (defined as net oil and gas imports as a percentage of UK oil and gas demand).[1]

These projections for 2016-2026 are given in the following table.

Year	Oil and Gas import dependency (%)
2016	43%
2017	44%
2018	44%
2019	45%
2020	46%

[1] Oil and Gas Authority (February 2016), Production Projections https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/503852/OGA_production_projections_-_February_2016.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of NHS efficiency savings on waiting times in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

The Government has fully funded the National Health Service’s Five Year Forward View, so that the NHS will receive £10 billion more in real terms by 2020-21 than in 2014-15. This additional funding, alongside measures to improve efficiency and reduce waste will enable delivery of the Government’s mandate to NHS England.

The Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2016-17 sets out objectives to 2020. These include the objective that it should support the NHS to maintain, and where possible improve, performance against core standards in line with the NHS Constitution, and the objective to balance the NHS budget and improve efficiency and productivity.

At the same time, the Government is addressing the longer term issues that lead to increased demand by more strongly coordinating health and social care, increasing access to the services seven days a week, reducing unwarranted variations in performance between providers, and supporting the public and patients to take the right steps to look after their own health.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff of his Department will be based in (a) Brussels and (b) Strasbourg; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker

A number of staff have joined the Department from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the UK Permanent Representation to the EU (UKRep) will report through DExEU as well.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic effect of High Speed 2 on the local economy in Coventry; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

Much of the research on the impacts of HS2 on specific areas of the UK so far has focussed on the HS2 named cities such as Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and London. However, to build an understanding of the potential for HS2 to contribute to balanced economic growth in the UK, The HS2 Phase 2 West Midlands to Crewe Economic Case, published in 2015, apportioned the estimated social benefits of the project to different regions. The West Midlands was estimated to receive 14% of the benefit of the full ‘Y’ network in 2037. Coventry, located close to the planned HS2 Birmingham Interchange station, can be expected to benefit from faster journey times through the high speed network as well as released capacity on the classic network.

Early research published in the HS2 Regional Economic Impacts report in 2013 attempted to estimate the gross GVA effects of HS2 on the West Midlands economy in 2037 and produced an illustrative estimate of between £1.5bn and £3.1bn of additional output per annum (in 2013 prices). We continue to refine the methodology of how we assess regional economic impacts and build evidence on the contribution which HS2 could make to creating sustainable and balanced economic growth.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what his policy is on the export of UK arms to Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Garnier

The Government’s policy has always been to rigorously assess all licence applications on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Export Licensing Criteria. A licence would not be granted if to do so would be a breach of the Criteria, including if there was a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.

The framework for arms export licensing remains as set out in the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, known as the Consolidated Criteria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent research her Department has commissioned on the effect of academic selection at age 11 on the educational attainment of children from the poorest backgrounds; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

The Department has reviewed a wide range of external research and evidence on the impact of academic selection, including research on the impact of selection on the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

The evidence shows that grammar schools provide a good education for those who attend them. Grammar school pupils outperform those of similar ability in comprehensive schools and they also make more progress than other pupils with similar primary school results. Nearly 78 per cent of high ability pupils achieve the English Baccalaureate at grammar school, compared to just over 52 per cent at comprehensive schools, and the attainment gap for disadvantaged students in grammar schools is practically eliminated

This evidence is based on the existing system of grammar schools. We are proposing significant changes to the requirements placed on selective schools to ensure that they raise standards for all pupils as part of a diverse schools system.

Our proposals will help deliver a school system that works for all children and offers parents genuine choice by increasing the number of good and outstanding school places.