Tag: Nic Dakin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the staffing complement is of the office of each regional schools commissioner; and what the staff grade is of each post in each such office.

Edward Timpson

At present, each RSC office employs between 8 and 10 members of staff. In line with the Department’s commitment to greater transparency, staffing structure information for each RSC office, including staff count for each grade, pay scale and location, is published on GOV.UK at: http://reference.data.gov.uk/gov-structure/organogram/?pubbod=department-for-education

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve air quality on streets near schools.

Rory Stewart

Since 2011 we have committed over £2 billion to increase the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, green transport initiatives and supporting Local Authorities to take action. The UK air quality plan for reducing nitrogen dioxide emissions, published on 17 December last year, sets out a comprehensive approach that will reduce health impacts and meet our environmental and legal obligations.

Local Authorities are responsible for reviewing and assessing air quality under the Local Air Quality Management system. There are many schools located in local Air Quality Management Areas and Local Authorities are responsible for mitigation of pollution in these areas. Where new schools are planned in polluted areas, Local Authorities can require an assessment of pollutant levels and measures to be included to reduce the impact of pollution levels as planning conditions.

Local Authorities are key to achieving improvements in air quality and we are taking a number of steps to support them. Defra’s Air Quality Grant Programme, the Department for Transport’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund and the Clean Vehicle Technology Fund are some of the resources available to Local Authorities to take action.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Government is taking to strengthen the Northern Ireland economy.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

The Government’s long-term economic plan is strengthening the Northern Ireland economy.

Last year legislation was passed to allow the devolution of corporation tax rate-setting powers.

This could bring benefits for an estimated 34,000 companies of all sizes in Northern Ireland.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations her Department received on exempting the armed forces from providing recruits under the age of 18 with the minimum standards required under the Education and Skills Act 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Boles

The Education and Skills Act 2008 requires young people to participate in education or training until they are 18. Young people can participate through full-time education, work combined with part-time education or training, or by undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship.

The 16 and 17 year olds joining the armed forces are under a contract of employment but they are not exempt from their duty to participate. Most of these young people meet their duty to participate by undertaking an apprenticeship.

We have agreed with the Ministry of Defence that serving in the armed forces is a valid and valuable career route which provides relevant training for young people.

Apprenticeships are embedded across initial training in the armed forces, with over 95% of all young recruits (no matter what their age or prior qualifications) enrolling in an apprenticeship each year.

All apprenticeships require a minimum of 280 Guided Learning Hours (GLHs) within a 12 month period. The same GLH requirement applies to the small number of young people in the armed forces who are not on an apprenticeship.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 2.28 of the White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, published in March 2016, with which (a) individuals, (b) organisations and (c) universities she has had discussions regarding the establishment of centres for excellence in initial teacher training.

Nick Gibb

The Government’s White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, confirmed that we intend to use a new set of quality criteria to determine how initial teacher training (ITT) places are allocated to training providers in future, ensuring that training is concentrated with the highest-quality providers. On the basis of these criteria, which will include factors such as the quality of trainees recruited, the quality of the training programmes, and the quality of outcomes for trainees, we will designate some providers as Centres of Excellence. We expect to set out further details of the quality criteria that will apply for the 2017/18 training year, and which providers will be designated as Centres of Excellence, when we confirm the methodology for allocating places, which is currently under discussion.

The Department for Education has actively been engaging the ITT sector in discussions about the proposals in the White Paper, including the establishment of ITT Centres of Excellence. Engagement to date has included a series of roundtable discussion events for university- and school-led providers and their representative bodies, such as the Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) and the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT).

We expect to confirm the allocations methodology for 2017/18 after further consultation with providers and their representative organisations over the summer, in time for the start of recruitment in the autumn term.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have to report on the outcome of the process to consider the future of the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Nicola Blackwood

A new approach to the appraisal and funding of cancer drugs in England, including a revised operating model for the Cancer Drugs Fund, came into force on 29 July 2016.

This was subject to full public consultation and all of the documentation, together with a summary of the consultation responses, can be found at:

www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/cdf-consultation

Further information is available on NHS England’s website 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 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what type of assessment his Department has made of whether the use of French steel for successor Trident submarines meets the Government’s procurement guidelines.

Mr Nick Hurd

The Government wants UK companies to be successful in public procurement, and has published guidelines for departments to apply on major projects when sourcing and buying steel. These requirements, which were introduced after the procurement for the Successor Programme had started, ensure social and economic factors can be taken into account when Government procures steel.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has provided to the Baker Dearing Trust in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Boles

The Baker Dearing Educational Trust’s annual accounts are published each year. They show that the Baker Dearing Educational Trust has received grant funding to provide pre-approval support to groups that wish to apply to the Department to open a University Technical College as set out in the table below:

Calendar Year	Funding Received
2011	£151,923
2012	£150,095
2013	£153,458
2014	£213,191

Between 1 January 2015 and 30 September 2015, the department paid the Baker Dearing Educational Trust grant funding of £116,912. The Baker Dearing Educational Trust’s accounts for 2015 will be published in due course.

The first grant to the Baker Dearing Educational Trust in April 2011 was awarded directly to the trust. Subsequent grants have been awarded after a competitive tender process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to embed the Family Test into its policy making.

Mr Robert Goodwill

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2015 to Question 18680, for what reasons her Department does not hold information on (a) the number of academies in England that were in deficit and (b) the total deficit of those academies in each year since 2009-10.

Nick Gibb

The Department for Education does not hold this information in the form requested and it could be calculated only at disproportionate cost.

Academy trust accounts have only been consolidated into those of the department from 2012-13 (academic year 2011/12). Analysis of academy trusts in deficit before then would require reviewing individually each trust’s accounts.