Tag: Laurence Robertson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage the teaching of emergency first aid skills in schools.

Edward Timpson

There is nothing more important than keeping children and staff safe. Schools can teach emergency first aid and life-saving skills through personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, and the best ones already do. The non-statutory PSHE Programme of Study produced by the PSHE Association, teaches young people how to recognise and follow health and safety procedures, ways of reducing risk and minimising harm in risky situations, and how to use emergency and basic first aid. We have put in place a new duty requiring schools to support all children’s medical needs and have set-up a scheme so they can buy defibrillators at a reduced price.

The Department for Education also works closely with expert organisations such as the Red Cross and St John Ambulance who provide learning materials to schools, including life-saving training kits produced by the British Heart Foundation. These kits provide young people with first-hand experience of life-saving skills and we have promoted the use of these via the termly school email and social media channels. The Department is also providing £254,911 in funding for St John Ambulance via the Character Grant, which will select 31,500 pupils for first aid training.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of colleges which are available to carry out Objective Structured Clinical examinations.

Ben Gummer

The Department has not made an assessment of the number of colleges available to carry out Objective Structured Clinical examinations (OSCE).

It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. This may include setting out how training is assessed, for example through OSCEs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce interim payments under the Basic Payments Scheme for farmers who have not received their payments by the end of January 2016.

George Eustice

When part payments have been made in the past this has led to years of confusion for farmers and additional costs in processing and disallowance for the Rural Payments Agency. This is why the RPA continues to focus on making full payments on the remaining claims as quickly as possible.

As at 18 January the RPA had paid around two thirds of eligible Basic Payment Scheme claims received. The Agency continues to focus on making payments on the remainder of claims as soon as possible and remains on track to pay the vast majority of claims by the end of this month.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps has he taken to monitor the conduct of charities when marketing commercial products.

Mr Rob Wilson

This is a matter for the Charity Commission which, as independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, issued a regulatory alert on this topic on 29 February 2016 reminding charity trustees of their legal duties. The alert was published and sent to the 1,700 charities that the Commission identified to have some form of commercial arrangement. It made clear that trustees should review existing commercial arrangements and that failure to meet the relevant requirements could result in regulatory action.

Engaging in commercial activities can be a valuable way for charities to raise funds or generate awareness of its cause. It is the responsibility of the trustees to ensure that where a charity engages in commercial activity, either through a trading subsidiary or through a commercial partnership, they follow the legal framework, they have effective oversight and ensure this activity in the best interests of the charity. This includes protecting the charity’s name and reputation which are valuable assets.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on requiring areas which are bidding for devolved powers to introduce directly elected mayors.

Andrew Percy

The Government is clear that devolution deals are locally-led and bespoke – not one-size-fits-all. The Government has, however, been consistent in stating that the most ambitious deals in terms of the powers and funding devolved will be those that are the most ambitious in their governance proposals, for example those willing to offer a directly elected, single point of accountability by establishing mayoral combined authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the incidence of his Department giving grants to organisations which subsequently use the money to try to influence (a) his and (b) other Government departments.

Alistair Burt

Funding applications from voluntary sector organisations are assessed against a number of criteria, but Departmental policy clearly states that grants will not be awarded if there is any indication within the application that some or all of any funding awarded will be used to support political activities, including political lobbying activity.

It remains an important objective of the Department’s partnership with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector that they contribute their voice and expertise to national policy making and implementation, and grant awards can support this objective.

However, analysis of each individual grant awarded by the Department to ascertain the impact of this objective would be at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reason his Department sets an age limit for the receipt of funding for Masters degrees; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson

The new loan to support Master’s study has an upper age limit to ensure the scheme overall is affordable and offers value for money. The new postgraduate loan will be repaid from earnings on an income contingent basis, in this case 6% of earned annual income above the threshold of £21,000. We are therefore limiting eligibility to cover those likely to continue in employment and enter repayments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will make funds available to help clear up debris from the flooding of farmers’ fields in cases in which those farmers have allowed that land to flood to help avoid flooding elsewhere.

Rory Stewart

Farmers that have allowed land to flood to help avoid flooding elsewhere may be eligible for a Farming Recovery Fund grant. However, farmers will need to demonstrate that that land is being used for agricultural production and that the recent storms have had an impact on their business.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-03-17.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to simplify the declaration of gift aid payments.

Mr David Gauke

The Government has already taken steps to simplify the declaration of Gift Aid payments by publishing a new declaration in October 2015. This was developed following consultation with representatives of the charity sector. The simpler wording of the new declaration will give charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) greater confidence that the donations they receive under Gift Aid will be valid.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of disparities in funding for early-years education across England; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage

This Government recognises that the current funding system for three- and four-year-olds creates unfair and unjustifiable differences between local areas, and between types of providers.

This is why we have recently consulted on our proposals for a national funding formula for the early years. Our proposals will ensure that funding for the early years is based on the costs of meeting the needs of local children, not on historic spending patterns.

It is vital that funding is fairly distributed between different parts of the country and different types of providers, so that providers can deliver both the existing 15-hour entitlement and the extended 30-hour entitlement for working parents, on a sustainable basis.

We are currently considering all responses to the consultation, and are planning to publish the Government’s response in the autumn.