The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times the West Coast Mainline through Eddisbury has been realigned due to subsidence or other geographical movement in the last five years; and what the cost of such realignment has been.
Claire Perry
No realignment work has been carried out as a result of subsidence or geographical movement on the West Coast Main line through Eddisbury in the last 5 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-05-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to protect the identity of RAF unmanned aerial vehicle operators.
Earl Howe
Reaper Force personnel are briefed in line with their specific situation and, as with all RAF personnel, they receive periodic training on personal security. This includes, for example, briefing on social media profiles. Mechanisms exist to ensure that specific threats, and the necessary responses to them, are communicated in a timely fashion.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve under-performing schools in the East Midlands.
Edward Timpson
Eighty two percent of all schools in the East Midlands region are rated as Good or Outstanding by Ofsted, but there remain pockets of underperformance, and we are taking a range of actions to tackle them. The Education and Adoption Act gives us powers to intervene more quickly in failing schools and to tackle for the first time schools that have been coasting. Where a maintained school is judged inadequate by Ofsted it will immediately receive an academy order, leading to a sponsor taking responsibility for improving standards. The Act also provides consistent powers to take action in inadequate academies and the Regional Schools Commissioner for the East Midlands and Humber will not hesitate to intervene when academies under-perform.
We are also creating Achieving Excellence Areas in areas such as the East Midlands to create rapid and sustainable improvement. Further details are set out in: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educational-excellence-everywhere
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many times he has met with Guy Verhofstadt to discuss the UK’s exit from the EU.
Mr David Jones
The Prime Minister has been clear we will not give a running commentary on Brexit negotiations. We will ensure that we engage closely with all relevant interlocutors.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will discuss with (a) EU partners and (b) the World Food Programme to ensure food supplies to people affected by the famine in Ethiopia.
Grant Shapps
We are extremely concerned about the impact of the current drought on the food security situation in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has shown great strides in development but remains fragile in the face of extreme climate events such as El Nino. The Government of Ethiopia is fully engaged and prioritising efforts to address the needs, having spent many years building up crisis response systems. The international community is working in support of the Government and the UK along with the EU, is one of the leading donors to the response. We are in daily contact with the World Food Programme (WFP) which is delivering supplies to people affected in support of the Government. A joint Government-UN assessment has just taken place and we are also assessing that food supplies reach those affected. We have also recently provided additional funding to WFP’s relief programme.
DFID’s Permanent Secretary Mark Lowcock visited Ethiopia from 9-12 November, and discussed the situation with senior members of the Ethiopian Government and partners. We are urging others to do more to support the Government response to the crisis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many parents have taken their children off the school roll after being threatened with prosecution for their child truanting in (a) academies and (b) local authority schools in the last three years.
Nick Gibb
The Department for Education does not hold information on the number of parents that have taken their children off the school roll after being threatened with prosecution for their child truanting.
The department holds information on penalty notices for unauthorised absence at local authority level. The most recently published information is available in the “Parental responsibility measures: academies year 2012 to 2013”[1] report.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authority has taken the longest amount of time to assess and decide on an Education, Health and Care plan.
Lord Nash
Information on statements of special educational needs and statutory Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans maintained by local authorities is collected in the annual SEN2 data return from local authorities in January each year. The latest available data shows there were 4,205 statutory EHC plans maintained by local authorities, as of January 2015.
The Department does not collect information on which local authority has taken the longest amount of time to assess and decide on an EHC plan. Data is collected in the annual SEN2 return on the number of EHC plans which were issued within the 20 weeks set out in regulations.
Of the new EHC plans issued in 2014, 64.3% were within the 20 weeks when excluding exception cases. Including exception cases; 61.5% were issued within the 20 weeks. However, these figures cover EHC plans issued in the first four months of the transitional period where local authorities are beginning to implement the new reforms within 20 weeks.
This information was published in the statistical first release ‘Statements of SEN and EHC plans: England 2015’, in May 2015. Data for January 2016 is expected to be published in May 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the government of Bangladesh to improve (a) working conditions, (b) safety standards and (c) pay in clothes factories used by international companies in Bangladesh.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UK, through FCO and DFID is encouraging the government of Bangladesh to improve working conditions and safety standards in the garment sector in a number of ways.
The UK actively lobbies the government on these issues through the 3 + 5 mechanism that was established as part of the Sustainability Compact.
We are also working with the Government of Bangladesh to improve the framework within which factories operate. As part of our Garments sector programme, we are building the capacity of the government to significantly improve factory regulation and inspection by strengthening the Department for Inspection of Factories and Establishment. Through our support, this Department will have a 575 member cadre of professional labour inspectors, who among other things, will ensure that factories are safe and that they pay workers their salaries and overtime payments according to the law. The UK has also helped fund building, fire and electrical safety inspections in 1500 garment factories.
In 2013, as a result of lobbying from major stakeholders including the UK, Bangladesh raised the minimum wage for the country’s garment workers by 77 percent to 5,300 taka (£42) per month.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to healthcare professionals involved with children with mental health problems on whether they have a responsibility to inform parents that their child may be eligible for disability living allowance.
Alistair Burt
The Department of Health has not issued guidance to healthcare professionals on informing parents of their children’s eligibility for disability living allowance.
The Department for Work and Pensions provides information on benefits, including Disability Living Allowance (DLA), in a range of formats at:
This includes information relating to DLA for children and includes links to benefit eligibility calculators that will signpost the user to further information about DLA for children.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been spent advertising the Fit for Work programme since that programme went live.
Justin Tomlinson
The cumulative cost of marketing and advertising to Health Management Ltd (HML), which delivers Fit for Work in England and Wales, has been £1,865,414 since the programme went live. The Scottish Government is responsible for delivering Fit for Work in Scotland, and has spent £27,708 on marketing activities and a further £187,679 on its website.