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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether local authorities are obliged to provide free school transport to (a) all eligible children and (b) eligible children who receive the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance.

    Nick Gibb

    Local authorities have a statutory duty under section 508B of the Education Act 1996 to make suitable travel arrangements for all eligible children attending their nearest suitable school. This includes children with special education needs (SEN) or a disability or mobility problem (including temporary conditions) if their SEN or disability or mobility problem means that they could not reasonably be expected to walk to the school. Being in receipt of the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (a benefit with different eligibility criteria and assessment process administered by the Department for Work and Pensions) does not necessarily confer eligibility for free home to school transport but neither does it preclude it if the conditions above are met.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32522, who the 22 Tibetans referred to in that Answer are; and what the response was of the Chinese authorities in the case of each such Tibetan.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We included the cases of nine Tibetans detained by the Chinese authorities on a list of cases submitted to the Chinese delegation ahead of the 2015 UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. These included Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and Dhondup Wangchen. In 2014, we included the names of 16 Tibetan individuals on our case list. Three cases, including Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, appeared on both case lists. The UK-China Human Rights Dialogue is a platform for detailed, expert exchanges on human rights issues. We do not make our full case lists public as in some cases the individuals concerned do not want us to. We do not publish Chinese responses to cases raised as we assess this will be counter-productive. We continue to make our concerns about the human rights situation in China, including Tibet, known publicly via other means, such as in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average conviction rate has been in England and Wales in each of the last three years; and what that rate has been where the offender is someone brought back to the UK under a European Arrest Warrant.

    James Brokenshire

    The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on conviction ratios, and these were last published on the 19th May 2016 (Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly Update to December 2015 (annual edition) at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015).

    The statistics on conviction ratios can be found at Table Q3.3 (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/524269/overview-tables.xlsx) and percentages for all offences were 81.8% in 2013, 83.0% in 2014 and 83.7% in 2015.

    In relation to the European Arrest Warrant, this information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The National Crime Agency publishes statistics on the operation of the European Arrest Warrant and these can be found here:

    http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/european-arrest-warrant-statistics

  • Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many deaths of cyclists on roads there were in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside, (c) the North West and (d) the UK in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Jones

    The table below provides the number of cyclists killed in road traffic accidents on public roads in a) St Helens North, b) Merseyside, c) the North West of England and d) Great Britain.

    St Helens North

    Merseyside

    North West

    Great Britain

    2011

    0

    0

    13

    107

    2012

    0

    4

    10

    118

    2013

    0

    1

    9

    109

    2014

    0

    2

    13

    113

    2015

    0

    3

    7

    100

    The Department does not hold data for Northern Ireland, therefore the table includes statistics for Great Britain rather than the United Kingdom.

    These statistics come from police reported data on personal injury accidents on the public highway. The Department does not collect information about accidents that were on private roads, car parks or off-road.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are in place to improve and roll out (1) training of specialist physical educational teachers, and (2) physical literacy in primary schools.

    Lord Nash

    We are determined to ensure all children receive high quality physical education (PE) in order to keep fit, active and healthy, whilst also developing a lifelong participation in physical activity and sport.

    PE is a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the national curriculum. The programme of study sets the expectation that schools should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way that supports their health and fitness. Through the primary PE and sport premium, primary schools have already received over £450million of ring-fenced funding to provide additional and sustainable improvements to their PE and sport provision. In an independent evaluation, 84% of schools reported an increase in pupil engagement in PE during curricular time and in the levels of participation in extra-curricular activities.

    Since the introduction of the primary PE and sport premium there has been an increase in the number of schools with a specialist PE teacher from 30% before the premium to 46% in 2014/15. Eighty-one per cent of schools also reported that the funding was used to up-skill and train existing staff in 2014/15. From September 2017, the funding will be doubled to £320million per year and schools will continue to have the freedom to spend the funding based on the needs of their pupils.

    The Government does not prescribe specific subject content for initial teacher training (ITT). All ITT courses must be designed so that teacher trainees can demonstrate by the end of their training that they meet all of the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level. This includes demonstrating good subject and curriculum knowledge by having a secure knowledge of the relevant subject(s) and curriculum areas.

    To improve the quality and consistency of initial teacher training, in July 2016, the Government published a new framework of core content for ITT. The new framework emphasise the need for all ITT providers to audit trainees’ subject knowledge early in their training and make provision to ensure that trainees have sufficient subject knowledge to satisfy the standard by the end of their training.

    In the new Sport Strategy, the government has committed to support children and young people to develop the confidence and skills to take part and to be positive about sport and activity. As part of this work, we will be exploring how to increase physical literacy standards in primary schools.


  • Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support children and young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder in the education system.

    Edward Timpson

    The Children and Families Act 2014, which came into force in September 2014, introduced significant reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) system. The new statutory framework ensures that support is focused on needs and aspirations, enabling all pupils, including those with autism, to achieve better outcomes in education and adult life.

    Changes to the SEND system since September 2014 include the publication of ‘local offers’ of SEND services by local authorities; the introduction of streamlined education, health and care needs assessments and plans; and new statutory protections for young people aged 16-25 in further education.

    The Act also makes provision to ensure that parents, children and young people are able to access impartial information, advice and support about the SEND system through a local, dedicated and easily identifiable service. Among other things, this service offers help in preparing for meetings with schools, health professionals, or other agencies.

    The Department’s Free Schools programme has seen nineteen special free schools open across the country. This includes several free schools that are specifically for children with Autism, such as the Rise free school in Hounslow, the Lighthouse free school in Leeds, and the National Autistic Society’s Church Lawton free school in Cheshire. There are a further eleven special free schools due to open in the future, five of which will specialise in provision for children with autism, including the Heartlands Autism free school in Haringey and a second National Autistic Society free school, the Vanguard free school in Lambeth. The other six will also offer some places for children with autism.

    The Department has contracted with the Autism Education Trust (2015-16) to deliver autism training to education professionals. The Trust has now trained almost 80,000 education staff since 2012. The Department is also providing grant funding for two additional projects (2015-16): a project by the National Autistic Society to provide information and advice to parents and professionals on exclusions; and a project by Ambitious about Autism on strategies for supporting the transition from school to college.

  • Lord Cotter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Cotter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Cotter on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to implement the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015’s mandatory referral scheme.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The referral scheme is not yet up and running but the Government is committed to delivering this policy which will help small and medium sized enterprises access the finance they need to grow and expand.

    Since the Government announced the Finance Platform policy it has consulted, passed primary legislation and is now close to making secondary legislation.

    The British Business Bank is currently undertaking a due diligence process on Finance Platforms that have expressed an interest in becoming designated and will advise HM Treasury on designation in the Spring; with the policy expected to ‘go live’ later in 2016.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he expects to spend the £25 million funding for ex gratia payments to victims of contaminated blood in the 2015-16 financial year.

    Jane Ellison

    The £25 million, announced by the Prime Minister in March 2015 to support transition to a reformed scheme, will remain available in 2016-17. We are assessing what can be allocated above and beyond that. We expect to announce our plans for that money once we have a better understanding of what wider scheme reform might comprise following the outcome of consultation.

  • Mrs Sheryll Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mrs Sheryll Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Sheryll Murray on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support UK fishermen (a) in general and (b) in the under 10 metre fleet.

    George Eustice

    UK-led Common Fisheries Policy reforms have given UK fishermen a more sustainable long-term future.

    The inshore fleet will particularly benefit from an extra 1,000 tonnes of quota this year. This comes on top of the permanent transfer of under-used quota to the Under-10s, which was worth an extra 678 tonnes in 2015.

    In addition, over £100m of European (EMFF) Funding is now available to support the UK catching, processing and aquaculture sectors.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the completion of projects funded in Wales by EU structural funds in the event of the UK leaving the EU.

    Stephen Crabb

    The Government’s view is that the whole of the UK – including Wales – will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU.