Tag: Nic Dakin

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

To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the proposed changes to the Landfill Communities Fund on the restoration and repair of listed church properties and church buildings.

Mrs Caroline Spelman

The Church of England has engaged with the recent consultation from the Treasury over the future of the Landfill Communities Fund. Local churches are able to apply to the fund to support restoration, extension and repair projects.

Local parishes have benefitted from this generosity since its creation in 1996. Over its lifetime the scheme has enabled churches across the country to benefit from an approximate £75 million worth of repairs. As part of its submission the Church of England asked the Treasury to consider reducing the administrative burdens on applicants to the fund.

The Church has since received assurances that the scheme will continue and we await with interest further detailed announcements from the Treasury regarding the operation of the fund.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29811, on further education, if she will publish the minutes of each of those meetings.

Nick Boles

Minutes of the steering group meetings are not published as they are a series of internal discussions during which local stakeholders review post-16 provision in their area and work towards a set of recommendations. As such, each local steering group has space and autonomy to develop their proposals and discuss local issues effectively.

The Department is committed to making the outcomes transparent, and once each review reaches its conclusions, there will be a summary report published at the end of each Area Review process.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 2.30 of her Department’s white paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, published in March 2016, what evidence her Department is taking into account to decide which (a) metrics and (b) other factors will be used to decide which providers are awarded multi-year allocations of initial teacher training places.

Nick Gibb

As set out in our recent White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, we plan to introduce ‘Centres of Excellence’ in Initial Teacher Training which will receive multi-year allocations. We are currently engaging the sector and working to establish the criteria for determining which providers will be designated as a ‘Centre of Excellence’. At this stage, no firm decisions have been taken.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on ensuring that all science-related government contracts and outsourced activities are awarded to organisations that demonstrate a commitment to high professional standards and invest in the professional development of their scientific workforce; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

All procurement processes must identify key objectives, performance indicators and critical success factors and ensure these are reflected in the tender documents against which organisations are invited to bid. Where appropriate, specific ongoing training and development needs can be included as specific terms in the final signed contract.

The Department awards research contracts through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Contractual conditions require that the research is carried out by appropriately experienced, qualified and trained personnel with all due skill, care and diligence.

The NIHR Faculty includes all of the people funded through NIHR contracts who work in the national health service, universities and registered charities in England. The NIHR Faculty offers career pathways in research and provides training and development opportunities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to accelerate family reunification for unaccompanied refugee children in Europe.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government began work to implement the ‘Dubs amendment’ immediately after the Immigration Bill gained Royal Assent. Over 30 children who meet the criteria in the Immigration Act have been accepted for transfer since it received Royal Assent in May, the majority of these have already arrived in the UK.

We continue to work with the French, Greek and Italian authorities and others to speed up existing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary for unaccompanied children. We have seconded a UK official to Greece, we have a long-standing secondee working in Italy and will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.

We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe. We also continue to consult local authorities about the transfer unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, where it is in their best interests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of any correlation between the size of a school sixth form and the grade awarded by Ofsted for its sixth form provision.

Robert Halfon

The Department for Education has not made any assessment of the correlation between the size of a school’s sixth form and the grade awarded by Ofsted to that school with respect to its sixth-form provision. We continue to monitor school and sixth form performance on an ongoing basis using a range of metrics, including Ofsted inspection outcomes, minimum standards and performance table data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the accessibility of the Sevenoaks Annex of Weald of Kent Grammar School to school-age people living in the community served by the original school.

Edward Timpson

Departmental advice for academies wishing to make a change to their existing arrangements is available on GOV.UK.

The new annexe will serve the same age range as the existing site of Weald of Kent Grammar School, which is 11-19. The admission arrangements apply across the whole school. It is the responsibility of the academy trust as the admission authority to ensure that admission arrangements are compliant with The School Admissions Code.

The newly expanded school will better meet the needs of school-age people in the community that it serves, with over 41% of students at the existing site already travelling from the Sevenoaks area.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Government is taking to tackle low pay in Northern Ireland.

Mr Ben Wallace

Tackling low pay is part of the Government’s plan to move to a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society.

100,000 low-paid people in Northern Ireland, 13 per cent of the workforce, will directly benefit from the National Living Wage from April next year.

A full-time worker on the current National Minimum Wage will be £1,200 better off as a result.

The Government’s plan is working. Official figures published last week show that weekly earnings for full-time employees in Northern Ireland were up 5.4 per cent over the year. The highest growth rate of all regions in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academies were in deficit in each year since 2009-10; and what the total deficit was in academies in each such year.

Edward Timpson

The Department does not hold this information in the form requested. Academies are operated by the legal entity of academy trusts, many of which operate multiple academies across multiple local authorities. As such, it is not possible to give local authority figures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects A-Levels in (a) French, (b) German, (c) Spanish, (d) Religious Studies and (e) Geography to be approved by awarding bodies for teaching from September 2016; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.