Tag: Naz Shah

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children attending a breakfast club in secondary schools in (a) England, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) Bradford in last 12 months for which figures are available.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The most recent results of the Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey suggest that in England in 2013, around 591,200 school-aged children under eight attended before school care in a typical term-time week. However, it is not possible to identify within this total the number of children who attended provision in primary and secondary schools separately. In addition, the survey sample sizes do not allow for an estimate for Yorkshire and the Humber, or LA level estimates, nor does it collect information about secondary age children.

The findings of the Survey can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2013

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how she plans for the £10 million increase in funding to expand breakfast clubs in schools announced in paragraph 1.95 of Budget 2016 to be distributed; and how her Department plans to monitor the spending of that funding.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Chancellor announced in the recent budget that funding from the new sugar levy would be used in part to expand breakfast clubs in up to 1,600 schools from September 2017. We are currently refining the details of how this scheme will operate and further details will be announced in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of additional breakfast club places which will be created by the £10 million increase in funding announced in paragraph 1.95 of Budget 2016 in (a) England, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) Bradford.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Chancellor announced in the recent budget that funding from the new sugar levy would be used in part to expand breakfast clubs in up to 1,600 schools from September 2017. We are currently refining the details of how this scheme will operate and further details will be announced in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the affordability of motor vehicle insurance in the UK.

Andrew Jones

The Autumn Statement 2015 announced the government will bring forward measures to reduce the excessive costs arising from unnecessary whiplash claims. As the industry is competitive we expect average savings of £40 to £50 per motor insurance policy to be passed onto customers. Some insurers have already committed to pass on all savings to consumers as a result of the proposed changes.

The Department for Transport has also held a number of recent meetings with the motor insurance industry, for example to discuss young driver safety and technology measures which can reduce the cost of insurance

The pricing of individual insurance products is a commercial matter for insurers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of criminalising forced marriage.

Karen Bradley

We made forced marriage a criminal offence in 2014 to better protect victims and send a clear message that this abhorrent practice will not be tolerated in the UK.

The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) (a joint FCO and Home Office Unit) leads the Government’s forced marriage policy, outreach and casework. It carries out a range of awareness raising work, including a comprehensive programme of outreach, new e-learning for professionals, and the launch of short film aimed at deterring potential perpetrators. For the financial years 2014-16, the Home Office has allocated £200,000 to the FMU.

Statistics on the number of cases of forced marriage investigated by the police are not collected centrally. The Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) most recent violence against women and girls report shows that the volume of referrals from the police to the CPS with a forced marriage element is going up: from 67 in 2013-14, to 82 in 2014-15. In addition, to date over 1,000 Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been issued to prevent marriages from taking place and to assist in repatriating victims.

We are encouraged by the first conviction secured in June last year, but there is still work to be done. We want to see more victims having the confidence to come forward and being identified by the police. As part of the wider work to improve the police response to so-called ‘honour’ based violence, we will continue to work with the partners to review the implementation of the new legislation and lead efforts to tackle this barbaric crime.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on raising the profile of forced marriage as a criminal offence in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

Karen Bradley

We made forced marriage a criminal offence in 2014 to better protect victims and send a clear message that this abhorrent practice will not be tolerated in the UK.

The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) (a joint FCO and Home Office Unit) leads the Government’s forced marriage policy, outreach and casework. It carries out a range of awareness raising work, including a comprehensive programme of outreach, new e-learning for professionals, and the launch of short film aimed at deterring potential perpetrators. For the financial years 2014-16, the Home Office has allocated £200,000 to the FMU.

Statistics on the number of cases of forced marriage investigated by the police are not collected centrally. The Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) most recent violence against women and girls report shows that the volume of referrals from the police to the CPS with a forced marriage element is going up: from 67 in 2013-14, to 82 in 2014-15. In addition, to date over 1,000 Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been issued to prevent marriages from taking place and to assist in repatriating victims.

We are encouraged by the first conviction secured in June last year, but there is still work to be done. We want to see more victims having the confidence to come forward and being identified by the police. As part of the wider work to improve the police response to so-called ‘honour’ based violence, we will continue to work with the partners to review the implementation of the new legislation and lead efforts to tackle this barbaric crime.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on people accessing services of a contract being terminated early by the Skills Funding Agency due to the provider being at risk of failure.

Nick Boles

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) does not terminate contracts on the grounds of a provider being ‘at risk of failure’. When the Skills Funding Agency terminates a provider’s contract early, whatever the reason for the termination, it ensures that an alternative provider is in place to enable employers and learners to continue their programme if they wish to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department takes to limit the effect on service users of contracts with sub-contractors being terminated early due to the provider being at risk of failure.

Nick Boles

Where a subcontractor is impacted by the Skills Funding Agency’s (SFA) decision to terminate a provider contract, the SFA ensures that the learners can remain in their programme of learning either through the subcontractor or through a transfer to another provider depending on the circumstances of the termination. However, the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) does not terminate contracts on the grounds of a provider being ‘at risk of failure’.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many contracts have been terminated early by the Skills Funding Agency due to the provider being at risk of failure in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.

Nick Boles

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) does not terminate contracts on the grounds of a provider being ‘at risk of failure’.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of how many apprenticeships were lost as a result of the early termination of contracts by the Skills Funding Agency because the provider was at risk of failure in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.

Nick Boles

The Skills Funding Agency has not estimated the number of apprenticeships that have been lost as a result of early termination of contracts in 2013, 2014 and 2015 because the Skills Funding Agency ensures that an alternative provider is in place to enable apprentices to continue their programme should they choose to do so.