Tag: Jim Fitzpatrick

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what penalties there are for London airports which breach the noise quota count designated in the Civil Aviation Act 1982.

Mr Robert Goodwill

There have been no breaches of the night noise quotas in the last 10 years. For the night period (23.30 to 06.00), there is a limit on the number of movements (an aircraft landing or taking off) and noise quotas (each aircraft is given a noise quota according to the noise produced) at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted for the summer and winter seasons.

There are, and have been, no penalties for breaching the movement and noise quota limits. Details on these limits are set out in the London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London Stansted Airports Noise Restrictions Notices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how his Department plans to monitor whether higher education institutions comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards disabled students; and what remedies are available to such students in the event that an institution does not comply with those duties.

Joseph Johnson

Higher Education Institutions have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled students and to monitor their compliance with their Equality Act duties. The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011 require institutions to publish information as to their compliance with the general public sector equality duty.

In those cases where a student is dissatisfied with the response from their higher education institution and have completed the institution’s formal complaints procedures, they can take their complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education. The OIA is independent of Government and publishes an annual report setting out its performance in handling unresolved student complaints. In providing remedies, the OIA aims to return students to the position they were in before their complaint. In appropriate circumstances this can include financial payments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to decide on whether to support prosecutions for people suspected of committing electoral or financial fraud in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets; and when he plans to announce that decision.

Mr Marcus Jones

Decisions on whether to charge or to prosecute individuals suspected of electoral and financial fraud in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are matters for the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answers of 5 and 12 January 2016 to Questions 20499 and 20722, what assessment his Department has made of the relationship between trends in the levels of motor accident rates and claims payments since 2006.

Dominic Raab

Government data indicates that claims volumes remain at historically high levels. Over a similar period data from the Department for Transport shows accident rates have fallen by around 25%. This is clear evidence that the system is in need of further reform, which is why on 25 November 2015, in his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced new measures to reduce the cost and number of whiplash claims. The Government will consult on the detail of these reforms in due course and the consultation document will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government’s chief fire and rescue advisor was consulted on changes to policy on fire safety policy for new school buildings.

Brandon Lewis

The Department for Education’s consultation on Fire Safety Design for Schools – Building Bulletin (BB) 100 Revised closed on 15 August and the Department for Education is considering responses.

The Home Office, including the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, will engage with the Department for Education on its proposals on the way forward, ahead of its publication.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the viability of amending the Valuation for Rating (Plant and Machinery) (England) Regulations 2000 in relation to the 2017 business rates revaluation that is being conducted by the Valuation Office Agency; and how that revaluation will affect rooftop solar.

Mr Marcus Jones

Business rates are based on valuations from the Valuation Office Agency and we do not intervene in their independent assessments. Well established principles, as set out in the Valuation for Rating (Plant and Machinery) Regulations 2000, determine when plant and machinery, such as rooftop solar, should be rateable and included in assessments. We have no plans to change these principles. However, we have proposed a £3.4 billion transitional relief scheme to ensure that no ratepayer is unfairly penalised by the 2017 revaluation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times noise quotas at each London airport have been breached in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

There have been no breaches of the night noise quotas in the last 10 years. For the night period (23.30 to 06.00), there is a limit on the number of movements (an aircraft landing or taking off) and noise quotas (each aircraft is given a noise quota according to the noise produced) at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted for the summer and winter seasons.

There are, and have been, no penalties for breaching the movement and noise quota limits. Details on these limits are set out in the London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London Stansted Airports Noise Restrictions Notices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many cases heard by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator were closed within three months in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

Joseph Johnson

Data is not collected in the way the Hon Member has requested. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator has a key performance indicator which tracks cases closed within six months from the receipt of the complaint form. In its most recently published annual report, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator reported that 39 per cent of cases were closed within this period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many deaf children attended mainstream schools in England in each of the last 10 years; and how many such children were taught British Sign Language in each of those years.

Edward Timpson

The number of children with special educational needs (SEN) who have ‘hearing impairment’ listed as their primary need can be found in the annual statistical first release ‘Special Educational Needs in England’ on GOV.UK. Table 1, below, provides collated figures for the last ten years, for pupils attending state-funded primary and secondary schools. These figures include children in resourced provision or SEN units but not children in special schools. There will be children whose primary need is not ‘hearing impairment’ but who, nevertheless, have a hearing impairment. These children are not covered by this information.

From September 2014 the ’SEN support’ category replaced the ’school action’ and ‘school action plus’ categories. Those recoded, in 2015, as having ‘SEN support’ but who were formerly included in the ‘school action’ category will not previously have had a primary type of need recorded. This is likely to have contributed to the large increase – between 2014 and 2015 – in the numbers of children recorded as having a hearing impairment.

The Department does not collect statistics on the number of deaf children in mainstream schools who are being taught British Sign Language.

Table 1:

Year	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
State funded primary schools	6,390	6,570	6,650	6,860	7,230	7,370	7,510	7,610	7,915	9,275
State funded secondary schools	5,510	5,670	5,980	6,350	6,730	7,080	7,125	7,225	7,125	8,705
Total	11,900	12,240	12,630	13,210	13,960	14,450	14,635	14,835	15,040	17,980

The links to published data can be found here:

2015	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2015
2014	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2014
2013	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2013
2012	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2012
2011	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2011
2010	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2010
2009	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151655/http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00196058/special-educational-needs
2008	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151655/http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00195802/pupils-with-special-educational-needs
2007	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151655/http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00195520/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2007
2006	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151655/http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00195201/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2006

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment the Government has made of the auditing sector’s contribution to economic productivity.

Anna Soubry

No such assessment has been made.