Tag: Lord Hunt of Chesterton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their current plans are to improve and extend the training of entering civil servants following changes to in-house training over the past 10 years; what plans they have to use universities to help provide training for civil servants; and whether they will encourage specialised agencies and departments to provide their own training or to outsource it where appropriate.

Lord Bridges of Headley

There is a comprehensive induction programme for all new civil servants which was introduced in 2015, as well as department and role specific development provided by each department. Senior external recruits also have opportunities to hear from senior officials, network with their peers and get access to a mentor or buddy as part of their induction. As with every learning and development programme, the content and approach to induction is continually reviewed to ensure that it meets current and future needs.

Civil Service Learning (CSL) provides a core suite of learning for all civil servants, for example on leadership and management. The learning and development providers working with CSL are based around consortia containing universities and their business schools. MIT and Cranfield University are helping to develop the curriculum for the Senior Civil Service, and the Open University is a key partner in delivering learning for all other grades. They have also worked with the London School of Economics on a Policy Masters.

Whilst CSL provides learning that meets the needs of all civil servants, specialised agencies and departments do provide their own training. Examples include the Diplomatic Academy run by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and HMRC’s Tax Academy. Professions also provide their own training – for example through the Commercial College and the Government Finance Academy. This provision represents a mix of internal delivery and outsourcing. CSL provides support and guidance on good practice to departments and professions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the average time in post of Trade Ministers of Her Majesty’s Government in (1) the last five years, and (2) the five years before that.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The average tenure of Ministers for Trade & Investment from 2011 until the departure of my noble Friend Lord Maude in March 2016 is 628 days or approximately 1 year, 8 months.

The average tenure of Ministers for Trade & Investment between 2006 and 2011 was 342 days or approximately 11 months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their policy is for the provision of textbooks and exercise books in primary and secondary schools in England; and what assessment they have made of differences in provision between the UK and other European countries.

Lord Nash

Good teaching and high academic standards are strongly associated with adequate provision and widespread use of high-quality textbooks.

Cambridge Assessment’s report, ‘Why textbooks count’, analysed the use of high-quality textbooks around the world. The report found that use of textbooks is common in high performing education jurisdictions. In Finland, 95% of maths teachers use a textbook as a basis for instruction. In Singapore, 70% of maths teachers use a textbook. In England, only 10% of maths teachers use a textbook for their core teaching.

A well-designed textbook provides a coherent, structured programme which supports a teacher’s own expertise and knowledge as well as a pupil’s.

On 26 March 2016, the Department for Education published a report from a review group looking at teacher workload in relation to planning and resources. The group concluded there is a case for schools to place greater emphasis on quality- assured resources, including textbooks, to reduce the time teachers spend on searching for resources.

Good textbooks also have workbooks which support homework in a positive way by providing well-structured practice exercises linked to clear explanations, which parents can understand and use to help their children.

We have been working with textbook publishers with the aim of improving the quality of textbooks available to schools, to better support excellent teaching and teacher professional development. Last year, the publishers produced a set of common guidelines for the production of textbooks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their policy is for ensuring that the UK continues to participate strongly in the design, research, manufacture and financing of Airbus products.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

We work closely with the aerospace industry, through the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP), to help raise the productivity and competitiveness of UK supply chain companies at all levels, includingAirbus at Filton and Broughton and their UK suppliers. This work includes supporting industry’s research, design, development, manufacturing and financing of products. A key aim is to help ensure that UK remains Europe’s leading aerospace nation by securing future work with the world’s large aircraft manufacturers including Airbus.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether UK government agencies were providing remote sensing data to detect, forecast and provide warning of the recent earthquakes in Afghanistan to the affected communities and government agencies.

Baroness Verma

The science is clear on this matter – earthquakes cannot be forecast with any degree of reliability. Remote sensing does exist, but can only operate in extremely technically sophisticated environments, and even then can only provide limited warning of a few seconds or minutes in which to respond. As such the UK Government does not provide remote sensing data to detect, forecast, and provide warning of earthquakes in Afghanistan.

When it comes to other forms of natural disaster, DFID funds a resilience and disaster risk reduction programme in Afghanistan which provides £9.6m over four years (2015-18) to an NGO consortium called Afghanistan Resilience Consortium (ARC). Implementation is focused in the eight northern provinces of Afghanistan which are the most disaster prone.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, following the French Foreign Minister’s visit to Iran, they plan to use the UK’s political and official diplomacy to promote Airbus products and make clear that they are not solely French products, but contain significant components from the UK.

Lord Maude of Horsham

We will continue to promote the UK interests in Airbus in support of their global sales campaigns. We work closely with the Company and the governments of France, Germany and Spain on these campaigns given the shared economic benefits that arise from sales of Airbus aircraft. Because of the significant level of UK products on Airbus aircraft, the company is frequently represented on UK trade missions; it also enjoys the financial support of UK Export Finance and the commercial support of UK Trade & Investment’s overseas network.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-04-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average training period for graduates newly appointed to the UK civil service, and whether that training includes learning about UK government and history.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Civil Service graduate programme is known as the Fast Stream and its average training period is up to four years. The Fast Stream core curriculum includes learning about UK Government and history and the central induction for Fast Streamers also has activities relating to this topic. Graduates can also enter the civil service via direct appointment without being part of a formal training scheme. Those who do so have access to a wide range of training options, including how the UK government operates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, as a contribution to establishing future targets and implementation plans for the reduction of carbon emissions at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015, what policies are being proposed by the United Kingdom delegations to the United Nations specialised agencies responsible for climate change mitigation, including United Nations Habitat, the United Nations Environmental Programme, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Maritime Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Baroness Verma

We recognise the UNFCCC as the only place where a legally binding international agreement could be delivered at the scale necessary to meet the challenge of climate change, given its universal coverage and legitimacy. As such, we are working with countries to intensify domestic preparations for the new deal and want as many as possible to put forward contributions to the UNFCCC by the first quarter of 2015, which set out how they are going to achieve their commitments on post-2020 mitigation. Alongside this we are working closely with UN institutions and relevant international agencies to assess how different international actors can best support an ambitious deal in Paris.