Tag: Julian Huppert

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the loss of state funding by the ACRE Network on that organisation’s ability to deliver support to rural communities.

Dan Rogerson

We value the work that the ACRE Network does at the local level to ensure the rural voice is heard and to inspire community action. Future funding is being carefully considered and no final decision has yet been made. No assessment has therefore been prepared.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2015-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that students undertaking a level 6 diploma in professional dance are consistently regarded as being in higher or further education for the purpose of housing benefit and access to student loans and financial support.

Nick Boles

An Upper Tribunal of HM Courts and Tribunal Service affirmed in July 2013 that, for the purposes of Housing Benefit, all courses of Level 4 and above were courses of higher education, and students undertaking a Level 6 Diploma in professional dance are not eligible for Housing Benefit. This decision was to be disseminated to all Local Authorities to ensure any Housing Benefit payment discrepancies would cease.

For the purposes of Higher Education student support, a course must be designated in accordance with the relevant Education (Student Support) Regulations. A key eligibility requirement is that a course should lead to an award granted by a body with UK degree awarding powers. These Level 6 Diplomas are not granted by such a body and therefore are not eligible for HE student funding.

The Department continues to provide funding through the Dance and Drama Awards scheme for a small number of dance and drama higher vocational Diplomas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to explore the possibility of resettling Syrians to the UK via private sponsorship from individual British citizens who have expressed interest in offering accommodation to Syrians in need; and what discussions she has had with the Local Government Association on ways in which local authorities can indicate their interest in resettling Syrians in their communities.

James Brokenshire

We have not considered a private sponsorship model for the resettlement of Syrians through the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme. We do not believe this is appropriate given the vulnerabilities of those arriving in the UK as we need to ensure that the correct level of support and accommodation is in place before they arrive in the UK.

After launching the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme last January, the Home Secretary wrote to the Chairman of the Local Government Association on 11 February 2014 encouraging local authority participation and the contents of this letter have been cascaded across local authorities. As the scheme has progressed, we have continued to engage closely with local authorities who have expressed an interest in participation.

Following the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) pledging conference in Geneva on 9 December 2014, a number of additional local authorities have also expressed an interest, and we are in discussions with them. We are grateful to the local authorities who are supporting the scheme, and we remain confident that we can continue to meet the needs of arrivals in the UK under the scheme as planned. We expect the scheme to help several hundred Syrians over three years, and we welcome further offers of support from local authorities as the scheme progresses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2014-06-30.

To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what progress she has made on modernising marriage certificates.

Sajid Javid

I have discussed modernising marriage certificates with the Home Secretary and we are currently considering a range of options. The content of marriage registers has not changed since civil marriage was introduced in 1837, so it’s right that we look at whether it still meets our needs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the availability of a range of housing and care options for people with physical disabilities and learning difficulties.

Norman Lamb

The Department has not made any assessment about the availability range of housing and care options for people with physical and learning disabilities.

A key aim of this Government is to put people with disabilities, including learning disabilities, and the families who care for them, in the driving seat with greater choice and control and able to contribute to and influence decisions which affect their lives, including over where and with whom they live.

The Care Act puts into law a series of reforms to care and support, making it a modern system which is built around people’s individual needs and goals, and which puts them in control of their own care and support. The Act will help to improve care and support for everyone who uses care and support services, by placing personal budgets onto a statutory footing as part of the care and support plan. These reforms will allow people to exercise real choice and control over the care and support they receive, and are supported by new duties around market shaping and information and advice, to ensure that people fully understand the care system and have a wide range of high quality services available in their local area to choose from.

Housing plays a critical role in helping adults with physical and learning disabilities to live as independently as possible. The Department is providing £315 million over five years for the Care and Support Specialised Housing fund. The fund is administered by the Homes and Communities Agency and, within London, by the Greater London Authority. The main aim of the fund is to support and accelerate the development of the specialised housing market for older people and disabled adults, which includes housing for adults who are physically disabled and those with learning difficulties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions his Department has had with providers of residential care for people with physical impairments and learning difficulties on proposals for home closure.

Norman Lamb

The Department has not had any recent discussions with providers of residential care for people with physical impairments and learning difficulties on proposals for home closure.

The new Care Act, which will come into force in 2015, will give local authorities a core duty to promote their local market, with a particular focus on ensuring diversity, quality and sustainability which, importantly, will mean there should be sufficient high quality services available to meet the needs of individuals in their local area.

The Department has worked with stakeholders, including provider organisations, to develop draft statutory guidance to support the implementation of the Care Act. The guidance will describe how local authorities must meet these new duties, including encouraging sustainability through appropriate fee levels. The draft guidance was published as part of a 10 week public consultation on the full package of regulations and guidance under part 1 of the Care Act on 6 June.

The Government believes that people who wish and who are able to live in their communities, rather than in an institutional care setting, should be given the support they need to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many places in residential care homes were available for people with (a) physical impairments and (b) learning difficulties or complex needs in each of the last four years.

Norman Lamb

Information provided by the Care Quality Commission, covering the four financial years to 31 March 2014, has been placed in the Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will consult representatives from the compostable plastic bags industry as part of her Department’s review of industry standards for the biodegradability of plastic material; and on how many occasions (a) Ministers and (b) officials have met representatives of (i) oxo-biodegradable and (ii) compostable plastic bag companies in the last 12 months.

Dan Rogerson

Neither I nor any of my Defra Ministerial colleagues have met representatives of either the oxo-biodegradable or compostable bag industries in the last 12 months.

At the official level, I set up a Stakeholder Advisory Group in September last year, which will be consulted as part of the review of industry standards for the biodegradability of plastic material. The Stakeholder Advisory Group met twice last year and includes Government officials as well as representatives of the Renewable Energy Association (who represent the compostable bag companies), the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association, academics and a number of other industry stakeholders such as the British Plastics Federation and the Plastics and Films Association. We expect that this group will meet on three further occasions this year.

In addition, officials have met representatives of oxo-biodegradable firms on two occasions in the last 12 months to provide feedback on unsuccessful applications for funding under the Small Business Research Initiative. Officials have also met representatives of companies manufacturing compostable bags on three occasions in the last 12 months.