Tag: Lord Storey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the difference between the academic performance of adopted children and that of their peers in (1) GCSEs, and (2) A-levels, over the last five years.

Lord Nash

Estimates of GCSE attainment of former looked after children who have been adopted were published for the first time this year. The statistics were published as experimental statistics because we estimate that they are based on around 30% of all children adopted from care[1]. The estimates show that 22.8% of former looked after children who have been adopted achieved 5 or more A*-C GCSEs or equivalent, including English and mathematics in 2015. This information is published on GOV.UK in the statistical first release “Outcomes for looked after children by local authorities in England: 31 March 2015”[2].

Nationally, 57.1% of children in state funded schools achieved 5 or more A*-C GCSEs or equivalent, including English and mathematics in 2015. These figures are published on GOV.UK in the statistical first release “Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England, 2014 to 2015”[3].

Information on attainment at Key Stage 5 for former looked after children who have been adopted is not available.

[1] These figures were based on children who are identified as adopted (requiring declaration by the parents) in the school census, matched to key stage 4 data

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/outcomes-for-children-looked-after-by-las-31-march-2015

[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-07-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what policies are in place to ensure that newly arrived asylum seekers placed in Home Office initial accommodation have immediate access to the education system.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The issue of education provision for children seeking asylum is an important one and the Home Office makes every effort to ensure that families with children who claim asylum support have access to education at the earliest opportunity.

To enable access to education, internal checks are in place to triage applications involving children of school age for priority dispersal from initial accommodation facilities into permanent accommodation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-10-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what regulatory requirements are currently applicable to digital radio stations.

Lord Ashton of Hyde

There are extensive regulatory requirements covering digital radio.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-11-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intended to carry out a review of the Enterprise Zones established in the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

DCLG publishes national and regional performance data collected from Enterprise Zones on a quarterly basis. This data includes jobs attracted as well as investment and the number of business established.

Based on the most recent quarterly monitoring returns, Enterprise Zones have attracted 20,676 jobs including construction jobs, and 566 businesses. This shows a 9 percent increase in jobs growth and a 5 per cent increase in new businesses on the previous quarter. This data is self-reported but all efforts have been made to ensure its accuracy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role local authorities and school governors have in agreeing annual school budgets.

Lord Nash

Maintained schools receive a delegated budget from their local authority. Local authorities are required to maintain a scheme for financing schools that sets out the framework for the financial relationship between them and the schools they maintain. This requires that the school’s formal annual budget plan must be approved by the governors. This approval is undertaken on the basis that the budget is being used for the purposes of the school.

Under the scheme for financing schools, a local authority’s responsibilities are to review schools’ budget plans; to carry out high level monitoring of school budgets; to agree a deficit reduction programme with schools in deficit; to challenge excess surplus balances held by schools without good reason; to intervene in schools for which there are financial concerns.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what regulations are in place to ensure that school dinners are of the highest nutritional value possible.

Lord Nash

As a cornerstone of the government’s commitment to healthy eating in schools, new school food standards came into force from January 2015. These standards regulate the food and drink provided both at lunchtime and at other times of the school day, including food and drink provided in vending machines.

The standards ensure that children are eating nutritious food at school by setting out clear, easy to follow guidance based on food groups and by giving school cooks the flexibility to create their own meals. The standards severely restrict foods high in fat, salt, and sugar, including high sugar drinks. The regulations permit only healthy drinks with an emphasis on water, milk and fruit juice (with 5% or less added sugars).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of (1) maintained schools, (2) faith schools, and (3) academies, were rated as outstanding following an Ofsted inspection in 2014–15.

Lord Nash

This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support the British Embassy in Doha, Qatar, has given, or plans to give, the Patterson family whose daughter Lauren Patterson was murdered in Qatar in 2013, in the light of the decision by the Court of Cassation in Doha on 1 February 2015 to reject the guilty verdict against Badr Hashim Khamis Abdallah Al-Jabar.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Consular officials have been in regular contact with Ms Patterson’s family, and have provided assistance since her death in 2013, including raising the case with the Qatari authorities and accompanying the family to meetings and court. Since the hearing on 1 February, officials have been in contact with Mrs Patterson and her Qatari lawyer, who is awaiting written copies of the court’s judgment before advising the family on next steps. We will continue to provide support to the family and raise the case with the Qatari authorities as appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average number of GCSEs grades A to C, including Maths and English, gained by pupils in the English Core Cities in (1) 2012, (2) 2013, (3) 2014, and (4) 2015, and what were the individual figures for Liverpool in each year.

Lord Nash

The information requested is not available in the required format.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-04-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the levels of public duty costs allowance for former Prime Ministers are determined.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Public Duties Cost Allowance (PDCA) was introduced to assist former Prime Ministers, still active in public life, with the costs of continuing to fulfil public duties. The PDCA is set in line with the annual Parliamentary Staffing Allowance allocated to Members of Parliament as determined by IPSA. In addition, former Prime Ministers are entitled to claim a pension allowance to contribute towards the pension costs of their staff. This is limited to a maximum of 10% of their staff salary costs.

The Government is currently considering the decision of the First-Tier Tribunal.