Tag: Oliver Colvile

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what improvements to WiFi coverage on trains are being made by Great Western Railways.

Paul Maynard

First Great Western InterCity and Thames Valley trains have been fitted with on-train Wi-Fi. Following the Direct Award Great Western Railway is fitting free Wi-Fi to all Super Express Trains, Electrical Multiple Units and long term diesel trains remaining in the fleet.

The fitted trains include the new AT300 trains providing London to South West services. Great Western Railway state in their ‘Annual Stakeholder Report 2015-16’ that this work will be completed by December 2018.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who is on the board of the Dormant Assets Commission, announced on 19 December 2015.

Mr Rob Wilson

Nick O’Donohoe, outgoing Chief Executive of Big Society Capital, was announced as Chair of the new Commission on Dormant Assets on December 19 2015. The Commission is still being set up and I expect the appointments of commissioners who will work with the Chair to be finalised shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-05-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect that the proposals in the Education excellence everywhere White Paper, Cm 9230, will have on (a) Church of England and (b) Roman Catholic schools.

Edward Timpson

We value the important and longstanding role played by the Church of England and Catholic Church in our education system. Around 1,200 Church schools have already become academies. The White Paper is clear that Church schools’ role and their religious character will be protected as more become academies. We continue to work closely with the National Society and Catholic Education Service and recently published Memoranda of Understanding to provide a strong basis for our ongoing relationship with Church schools and their dioceses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for Zimbabwe’s political and economic future in the event of the death of President Mugabe.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Zimbabwe faces enormous political and economic challenges. A peaceful transition to a leader willing to make reforms could move Zimbabwe towards a more democratic, prosperous future. The UK does not support parties or individuals, but rather the implementation of policies that could lead to eventual normalisation of Zimbabwe’s international relations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to improve employment and careers advice.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Government has introduced a number of measures to improve employment and careers advice. We have established The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) to strengthen links between employers, schools and colleges, and careers and enterprise organisations to inspire young people and help them take control of their own futures. The CEC is rolling out the Enterprise Adviser Network, which connects employees from firms of all sizes to schools through a network of volunteer enterprise advisers. The Company has also launched its £5m Careers & Enterprise Fund to scale up good ideas and fill gaps in provision.

The Prime Minister recently announced a new campaign to encourage a new generation of high quality mentors. The campaign, which will be led by the CEC, will aim to increase the number of business and professional mentors working with teenagers who are under-achieving or at risk of dropping out of education.

The Government is also introducing a new initiative which will see Jobcentre Plus staff offer support, where schools request it, to supplement careers guidance and to help schools deliver their statutory duty to provide high quality, independent and impartial careers advice. Jobcentre Plus staff will focus support on those students at risk of not participating in education, employment or training. The scheme will be aligned with the CEC’s Enterprise Adviser network and will be rolled out later this academic year.

Building on these measures, we want to go further to improve careers education and guidance for all young people. We will launch a careers strategy in the spring of 2016, which will set out the government’s vision for careers education and how we will get there by 2020.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to consult on levels of bursaries and salary support for trainee clinical psychologists for the 2017-18 cohort.

Ben Gummer

Health Education England (HEE) funding for trainees in clinical psychology is currently determined at a local level based on local need and is subject to annual workforce planning. For 2016-17, HEE will fund those commissions set out in the HEE Commissioning and Investment Plan for 2016-17. HEE’s plans for training clinical psychologists remain unchanged from 2015-16 with 526 commissions proposed for 2016-17. HEE will set out its plans for 2017-18 training commissions in its next annual Commissioning and Investment Plan or Workforce Plan for England which is expected to be published in December 2016 prior to the start of the financial year.

The Government is currently consulting on the implementation of the education funding reforms for pre-registration undergraduate and postgraduate nursing, midwifery and allied health courses which are currently funded through both HEE funded tuition, a National Health Service bursary and reduced rate loan for maintenance. Respondents to the consultation may wish to raise issues relating to the funding for courses operating outside of this model, such as clinical psychology training programmes. The Government will consider these in the context of its consultation response.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that police have better training for people in custody suites suffering with mental health issues.

Brandon Lewis

It is the role of the College of Policing to set the standards for training and professional development for police forces in England and Wales. The College has recently published Authorised Professional Practice on mental health. This guidance will support all police officers, including custody staff, in responding effectively to people suffering with mental health issues. It is the responsibility of Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, to ensure officers and police staff receive appropriate training and that they have regard to this Authorised Professional Practice when discharging their responsibilities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Sir Peter Hendy’s work to re-plan the Network Rail enhancements programme in Control Period 5, 2014-19, takes account of maximising the journey time benefit for the South West peninsula by use of the new high-speed AT300 trains which are due to be introduced in December 2018.

Claire Perry

Sir Peter Hendy has been asked to review Network Rail’s enhancement portfolio, so that works may be delivered over a more realistic timeframe. The terms of reference are clear that work is to be prioritised to take “particular account of interfaces with other infrastructure programmes and the need to deliver the required passenger and freight benefits, franchise or rolling stock commitments”. Sir Peter Hendy is due to report later in the Autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much real estate the Government owns in Plymouth.

Matthew Hancock

The Government owns the following properties in Plymouth:

• Buildings : 8 Freeholds, 21 leaseholds and 8 Private Finance Initiatives
• Land: 7 freeholds and 4 leaseholds

Details available at the following website: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/epims.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to ensure levels of bursaries and salary support for trainee clinical psychologists for the 2017-18 cohort are adequate to ensure a diverse future workforce.

Ben Gummer

Health Education England (HEE) funding for trainees in clinical psychology is currently determined at a local level based on local need and is subject to annual workforce planning. For 2016-17, HEE will fund those commissions set out in the HEE Commissioning and Investment Plan for 2016-17. HEE’s plans for training clinical psychologists remain unchanged from 2015-16 with 526 commissions proposed for 2016-17. HEE will set out its plans for 2017-18 training commissions in its next annual Commissioning and Investment Plan or Workforce Plan for England which is expected to be published in December 2016 prior to the start of the financial year.

The Government is currently consulting on the implementation of the education funding reforms for pre-registration undergraduate and postgraduate nursing, midwifery and allied health courses which are currently funded through both HEE funded tuition, a National Health Service bursary and reduced rate loan for maintenance. Respondents to the consultation may wish to raise issues relating to the funding for courses operating outside of this model, such as clinical psychology training programmes. The Government will consider these in the context of its consultation response.