Tag: Nic Dakin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 24002, how many steering group meetings of the area reviews of post-16 education and training have taken place in (a) Birmingham and Solihull, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Sheffield City Region, (d) Tees Valley, (e) Sussex, (f) Solent and (g) West Yorkshire since September 2015; and which such steering group meetings regional schools commissioners attended.

Nick Boles

All Wave 1 Area Reviews have held a number of local steering group meetings, of which RSCs are members. Dates of some of the steering group meetings are in the public domain, as are details of membership of the steering groups.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report by Sir Stephen Bubb, Time for Change: the challenge ahead, published in February 2016, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a commissioner for people with learning disabilities.

Alistair Burt

The Department will consider the recommendations made in Time for Change – the Challenge Ahead, as part of development work on our Learning Disability Action Plan and in delivering the commitments we made in the Government’s response to ‘No voice unheard, no right ignored’ consultation published in November 2015. However, new statutory roles and legislation are not necessarily the answer to promoting and protecting the rights of people with learning disabilities and their families.

In the response to ‘No voice unheard, no right ignored’, we set out how we can make more rapid and meaningful progress by ensuring that the rights that exist under current laws and statutes are properly understood, implemented and exercised by those with learning disabilities and/or autism. This work is underway and we have made a clear commitment to consider legislation if the actions we propose do not create sufficient progress.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people had retrospective claims for winter fuel payments agreed for 2013-14.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The majority of Winter Fuel Payments are made automatically from information already held by the Department. We invite claims mainly from men under 65 who meet the eligibility criteria, as the largest group not identified and paid automatically. Claims can be made up to and including 31 March and are not accepted after that date.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his plans are for the body that will replace the BBC Trust.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government will set out its plans for the future of the BBC in a White Paper in the Spring.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of enlisted soldiers attain (a) Level 1 and (b) Level 2 literacy and numeracy skills by the end of their third year of service.

Penny Mordaunt

The Army has traditionally linked the recording and attainment of english and maths qualifications to the point at which an individual is ready for promotion to Corporal or Senior Non Commissioned Officer ranks, rather than as a factor of time. The growth in numbers of personnel joining the Army and pursuing an apprenticeship has changed this approach and simplified the measurement of attainment by time.

Between 1 August 2012 and 31 July 2015 1,028 soldiers gained both Level 1 functional skills (FS) english and maths qualifications; and a further 722 soldiers gained the comparable qualifications at Level 2. This represents 11.8% of those enlisting (14,816) during the same period. This does not include those who gained just a functional skill in english or a functional skill in maths qualification, nor those who already held english and maths qualification on enlistment.

In total 23,699 FS (english and maths) qualifications at Level 1 and 2 were gained by Regular soldiers through apprenticeship and AEC provision in 2014-15. Of these 41% were at Level 1 and 59% at Level 2.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on the range of free services offered by community pharmacies of the planned changes in funding for such pharmacies.

Alistair Burt

We have made no assessment. Information on the range of services individual community pharmacies choose to provide free to their customers beyond those commissioned by the National Health Service is not collected.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans NHS England has to undertake a formal evaluation of the new Cancer Drugs Fund.

Nicola Blackwood

NHS England’s standard operating procedures for the appraisal and funding of cancer drugs from July 2016 (including the new Cancer Drugs Fund) state that NHS England will keep the operational mechanisms of the new arrangements under continuous review. In addition, NHS England will look to undertake a more formal evaluation of the overall operation of the scheme, no later than autumn 2017.

The standard operating procedures are available at:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cdf-sop.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.

Brandon Lewis

Officials in my Department have liaised with the Department for Work and Pensions as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it into the policy process. This has included training officials on applying the Test and disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to embed the Family Test into its policy making.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 16 November 2015 (PQ 15345).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of teaching vacancies at the start of September 2016.

Nick Gibb

The department collects the number of teacher vacancies in November each year. The November 2015 collection is still underway as schools, Local Authorities and Academy Trusts have until the end of January 2016 to provide their workforce data.

The latest available data on the number of vacancies in schools is from the November 2014 School Workforce Census which was published in July 2015 and is available from table 14 at the following web link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014

The published data shows that 0.3% of teaching posts in state funded schools in England were vacant in November 2014.

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