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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce costs incurred by schools which were built under the Private Finance Initiative.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities are responsible for their own Private Finance Initiative contracts and are encouraged to seek savings in the context of those contracts.

    The Department is working closely with Her Majesty’s Treasury to develop guidance to demonstrate how local authorities may make savings.

    The Department continues to work closely with local authorities to assist in identifying and securing savings.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities’ children’s social work services have been rated inadequate; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    The following local authorities are currently rated as ‘inadequate’ under Ofsted’s Single Inspection Framework:

    Birmingham, Bromley, Buckinghamshire, Coventry, Cumbria, Darlington, Doncaster, Dudley, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancashire, Leicester City, Manchester, Norfolk, Reading, Rotherham, Sandwell, Slough, Somerset, Sunderland, Surrey, Torbay, Wandsworth, West Berkshire and Wirral.

    The Government does not use set criteria to require local authorities to contract out their statutory children’s social care services.

    The Department for Education has statutory powers to intervene in local authority children’s services under section 497A of the Education Act 1996. This legislation allows the Department to remove day-to-day operational control of children’s services from the local authority, for a period of time, if the Secretary of State believes that the local authority is failing to secure its relevant statutory functions by delivering children’s services to the required standard.

    As a matter of policy, the Government has decided that any authority rated by Ofsted as ‘inadequate’ across all the key judgements in any one Ofsted inspection is deemed to be failing ‘systemically’, and any authority that is rated inadequate twice overall in any five year period is deemed to be failing persistently.

    In these circumstances the Secretary of State appoints a children’s services commissioner to review services and then provide advice to the Secretary of State on whether they should remain in local authority control.

    Once the Secretary of State has received the commissioner’s advice, she will decide whether to direct the authority to enter into a contract with a third party – for instance a Children’s Services Trust – to deliver those services on its behalf.

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount received by his Department in VAT payments from further education and sixth form colleges in (a) the UK, (b) the North West and (c) Warrington in each of the last five years.

    Mr David Gauke

    No estimate has been made. Data is not available on the VAT received from further education and sixth form colleges in the United Kingdom, the North West or Warrington in the last five years.

  • Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord MacKenzie of Culkein on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have received advice from the Council of Deans of Health about the future funding of nursing and midwifery students.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department of Health (DH) received joint correspondence from the Council of Deans of Health and Universities UK about a number of issues relating to healthcare education funding in England.

    The Council of Deans of Health and Universities UK also wrote a joint letter to DH and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Ministers on 7 August 2015 requesting a meeting to discuss a redesigned system. DH and BIS Ministers agreed to a joint meeting, which took place on the 2 December.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-01-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps in the business rates review to make specific provision for the retail industry.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is considering the impact of business rates on all business sectors including energy intensive industries, manufacturing industries and the retail industry as part of the business rates review. The review will be fiscally neutral and will report at Budget 2016.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel regarding the deaths of two people killed during protests in Gaza in mid January.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are deeply concerned by the recent violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and deaths and injuries of both Palestinians and Israelis during this time. Since the start of the current violence, Ministers and officials have spoken regularly to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority on the urgent need to de-escalate the tensions. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv most recently raised concerns over the use of force by Israeli security forces with Israeli officials on 3 February.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Attorney General, what steps the CPS has taken to ensure that administrative errors do not prevent victims from giving evidence at trial.

    Robert Buckland

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does all that it can to make sure that administrative errors do not prevent victims from giving evidence at trial.

    The CPS introduced a national standard operating practice for magistrates’ court activity in May 2015. The process is digital and task-based and is designed to ensure consistency of approach and timing of activity in managing casework which will further reduce the risk of administrative errors being made. Testing of Crown Court standard operating practice commenced at the beginning of February 2016.

    Joint police/CPS Witness Care Units (WCUs) provide a single point of contact for victims and witnesses and ensure they have access to tailored support to make sure they are able to attend court and give their best evidence. Most WCUs use the Witness Management System (WMS) to record the contact they have with victims and witnesses. WMS is a bespoke IT system designed to support WCUs in managing their cases, thereby reducing the risk of administrative errors.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2016 to Question 30738 on employment: telephone services, what the equivalent data is for each of the last five years.

    Nick Boles

    The attached table shows the total number of enquiries made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (PWRH) by trade sector and whether the call relates to Employment Agency Standards, the Agricultural National Minimum Wage (NMW), Gangmasters Licensing Authority, Health and Safety Executive or NMW issues, where call topic information is collected, between 2009/10 and 2014/15.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many court buildings have been sold in (a) Lancashire and (b) Burnley.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Two court buildings in Lancashire have been sold since the creation of HM Court Service in 2005. Neither of these were in Burnley.

    Prior to 2005 magistrates’ courts were the responsibility of locally managed magistrates’ courts committees.

  • Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements they have in place to publish the details of police, law enforcement specialists and other relevant civilian experts in service in UN operations and at the UN Headquarters.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The National Police Chiefs’ Council has established the new Joint International Policing Hub to triage requests for international police assistance through a single point. The Hub joins up the police at a national level and with Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is intended to promote the UK model of policing by consent. Decisions on who to recommend to deploy, and where, lies with Chief Constables, in conjunction with their Police and Crime Commissioners.

    As the first professional body for all of policing in England and Wales, the College of Policing develops standards and guidance for policing. The College is considering flexibility and the structure of entry, exit and re-entry of officers. It is also considering routes for officers to gain external experience, such as secondments, as part of the Leadership Review.

    The Government has no plans to publish the details of police, law enforcement specialists and other relevant civilian experts in service in UN operations and at the UN Headquarters. Any personnel deployed as part of a national contingent are listed on the UN website: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/contributors/2016/apr16_4.pdf