Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) nursery schools, (b) day-care facilities and (c) children’s centres in (i) Birmingham, Erdington constituency, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) the UK have (A) declared insolvency and (B) closed due to funding shortages in each of the last three years.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Nursery Schools

    The Department for Education’s register of educational establishments in England and Wales indicates that from the 31 August 2013 to 31 August 2016 eight maintained nursery schools closed, and 10 amalgamated or merged with another school. No closures were recorded in Birmingham, Erdington or the West Midlands.

    The Department does not collect information on the reasons for the closure of nursery schools. Local authorities have a duty to secure sufficient childcare in their local area. In consultation with their Schools Forum, they are responsible for deciding how best to distribute early years funding across their locality.

    There is a presumption against the closure of any nursery school. The local authority must consult on any proposed closures, clearly demonstrating the rationale for so doing.

    Day-care facilities

    The Department does not collect data on the number of childcare businesses that have closed. The Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey shows that the childcare market continues to expand.

    • The number of registered places in full day care settings rose by ten per cent between 2011 and 2013.
    • The long term increase in the number of full day care providers continued in 2013. In total there were 17,900 full day care settings in 2013 (compared to 17,600 in 2011).

    Children’s centres

    Local authorities have a duty under the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families. The Department does not collect information on the reasons for the closure of children’s centres.

    According to data supplied by local authorities, a total of 259 children’s centres closed in the calendar years, 2013, 2014 and 2015. Forty nine of these closures were in the West Midlands. None of these were in Birmingham.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received on the application of the cap on public sector exit payments to employees of Sellafield Ltd; and if he will make a statement.

    Jesse Norman

    In relation to Sellafield Limited employees, my rt. hon Friend the Secretary of State has received representations, including from employees, employee representatives and Members of Parliament.

    The Government has legislated for a cap on public sector exit payments via the Enterprise Act 2016, as promised in the manifesto. The cap will apply to public sector organisations in line with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) classifications; Sellafield Limited is classified as part of the public sector by the ONS.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what account her Department takes of efforts to eradicate corruption when deciding on the allocation of aid.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID uses a range of criteria, including a country’s efforts to eradicate corruption, to inform its aid allocation decisions. Efforts to eradicate corruption are a key part of the UK’s four Partnership Principles. Our assessment of the government’s commitment to the Partnership Principles influences the extent to which we work with the government of that country and use its systems.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the change in expenditure has been on working tax credits between 2013 and 2015.

    Damian Hinds

    The information requested is available from the HM Revenue and Customs Annual Report and Accounts 2014-15 (Note 6.1 – page 153). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

    “

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the contribution of wider access to efficient refrigerated transport to reducing (a) food waste in developing countries and (b) carbon dioxide emissions.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID is working to support partner countries to tackle poverty and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by building sustainable infrastructure, increasing their access to clean energy and reducing deforestation. DFID recognises the importance of investment in trade and transport logistics to improve efficiency and reduce delays, which have major impacts on reducing carbon dioxide emissions. These improvements will have downstream impacts on many trade related issues including reducing the amount of spoilt goods from transit delays. We are engaged in this area in a number of ways. For example, Trade Mark East Africa is helping to improve the major trade corridors in East Africa to reduce the time and expense of transporting goods. Furthermore, the investment by CDC group into Grindrod, a South African logistics company, is enabling it to expand its transport logistics investments across sub-Saharan Africa. CDC is the UK’s development finance organisation with DFID as its only shareholder.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he expects part two of the Leveson Inquiry to take place; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government has been clear that a decision on whether to undertake Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry will not take place until after all criminal investigations and trials related to Part 1 are concluded.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help the social housing sector maintain and increase the provision of specialist accessible and adapted housing stock for people with disabilities.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government provides direct funding for specialised housing for older and disabled people through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund and the Affordable Homes Programme, making available up to £800 million for specialised housing for older, disabled, and vulnerable people over the next five years, which will deliver over 15,000 specialised homes.

    The Government is also putting more money into the Disabled Facilities Grant to enable older and disabled people to live independently and safely in their own homes for longer. On top of the £1 billion the Government has invested in the grant since 2010, the grant will increase year on year for the next five years rising to over £500 million by 2020. In 2016-17 the Disabled Facilities Grant will grow to £394 million, a 79% increase on the current year.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why nine trusts have not reported a figure for the number of patients waiting for treatment for more than a year even though the figures were available in their own board papers or commissioners’ boards’ papers.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting time statistics are designated as National Statistics. This means that the statistics are produced according to sound methods, and are managed impartially and objectively in the public interest.

    From time to time, for example when there are serious problems with patient administration systems, National Health Service trusts do need to temporarily suspend submissions of data for inclusion in the publication of National Statistics for reasons of data quality and completeness. Nine acute trusts did not submit data on referral to treatment waiting times for January 2016. For this reason, the published data on the number of patients waiting more than a year to start consultant-led treatment for non-urgent conditions may be understated. NHS Improvement is working intensively with these trusts so that they can begin submitting data again as quickly as possible.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what dates the marine offices in (a) Brixham, (b) Leith and (c) Newlyn were closed; and how many Maritime and Coastguard Agency staff were (i) made redundant or (ii) transferred to other marine offices as a result of those closures.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Brixham Marine Office, which was collocated with the Maritime and Rescue Coordination Centre, closed on 31 October 2014 when rescue coordination activity from there stopped. There were no redundancies and two members of staff relocated to other sites.

    Leith Marine Office closed on 13 May 2015. There were no redundancies and one member of staff relocated to another site.

    Newlyn Marine Office closed on 31 April 2015. There were no redundancies and one member of staff relocated to another site.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) temporary staff and (b) consultants his Department has used to support his Office in promoting the Government’s position on the EU referendum.

    John Penrose

    I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex on 11 February to UIN: 26361, and to the hon. Member for Clacton on 18 April to UIN: 33727.