The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department collects statistics for the purposes of monitoring on the types of tickets purchased by bus passengers.
Andrew Jones
The National Travel Survey collects annual statistics from a sample of individuals in England on trips by various modes, including data on ticket types used for bus journeys.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans that the Government’s proposed annual asylum strategy will include third-country asylum application processing arrangements for people who have attempted to claim asylum in the UK at port or in-country.
James Brokenshire
The asylum strategy will outline how we will focus our efforts on the most vulnerable refugees, and how we will take a tougher approach to those whose asylum claim is unfounded or could reasonably have been made in another country. This will include looking again at the end-to-end asylum process from upstream to in-country.
We will publish the strategy annually, as set out in the Home Secretary’s party conference speech. There are no plans to run a formal consultation but officials are engaging with a range of partners in preparing the strategy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the average number of households using smart (a) electric and (b) gas meters was in (i) St Helens North constituency, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) the UK in 2015.
Andrea Leadsom
The Department collects quarterly aggregated data from large energy suppliers on the number of smart meter installations, but does not collect data on the number of households with smart meters.
Data on the number of smart electricity and gas meters installed in Great Britain is set out in the Government’s ‘Smart Meters, Great Britain, Quarterly report to end September 2015’, published on 22 December 2015:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what contribution his Department is making to Government steps to reduce the incidence of serious youth violence.
Andrew Selous
We continue to play an active role in cross-Government work to tackle gangs and prevent youth violence.
Youth reoffending is too high which is why the justice Secretary has asked Charlie Taylor to conduct a review of youth justice. He will report back later this year with recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many property interference authorisations were granted to each immigration removal centre inspected by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners in each of the last five years.
James Brokenshire
There has been no change in Immigration Rules in relation to the use of property interference by immigration officers. Part III Sections 55(1) and (2) of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 amended the Police Act 1997 and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) in 2013 to empower officials within the Home Office exercising immigration functions to seek authority for property interference solely for the purpose of preventing and detecting serious crime. Immigration removal centres themselves cannot seek property interference authorisations.
The Office of Surveillance Commissioners (OSC) scrutinise every application for property interference made by immigration officers upon authorisation and also retrospectively oversee any use of the power to ensure compliance. The OSC publish an annual report, which refers to the overall use of these powers by public authorities including the Home Office.
The Home Office does not provide information on individual Immigration Removal Centres visited by the OSC, or investigations carried out within them.
The Investigatory Powers Bill will replace the current oversight regime with a powerful In-vestigatory Powers Commissioner who will have the support, powers, resources and tech-nical expertise to continue to ensure that these powers are being used fully in accordance with the law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to nationally commission (a) minor ailments services and (b) minor eye conditions services.
George Freeman
There are no plans to commission either service at a national level. Those with a minor ailment may visit a pharmacy, walk in centre or practice nurse for treatment and those concerned they may have a minor eye condition can visit their general practitioner, optical practice or pharmacy.
Services for minor ailments are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups who are also able to commission services from local optometrists to provide treatment for minor eye conditions. This ensures that services are commissioned to reflect local need.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Donaghy on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to eradicate the presence of asbestos on school sites in England and Wales.
Lord Nash
The issue of asbestos in schools is a serious one and the government is supporting those that are legally responsible for managing asbestos in schools.
The Health and Safety Executive, which is the lead regulator on managing asbestos advise that as long as asbestos is in good condition and unlikely to be damaged or disturbed, it is not a significant risk to health to pupils and students during the course of their daily activities. On this basis, the department has provided targeted guidance to schools on the effective management of asbestos in their schools and has recently concluded a voluntary data collection exercise to understand how duty holders are managing asbestos in their schools.
The department directly funds the removal of asbestos through schemes such as the Priority Schools Building Programme and provides capital funding for asbestos management and removal where appropriate for those schools that have identified that asbestos is in poor condition or poses a high risk of deterioration.
The department is not committing to the removal of asbestos in all schools as blanket and accelerated removal of asbestos in schools is potentially more dangerous and may involve greater risk to school children and staff.
It is the aim of the government that, over time, as more school buildings are replaced and refurbished, all asbestos will be removed from schools.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Listowel on 2016-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to continue to improve quality of early education for two-, three- and four-year olds, including increasing graduate leadership.
Lord Nash
The Government wants all children to have access to quality early education, as this makes a difference to their outcomes in later life. That is why we have taken the following steps to support the quality of early years provision:
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) helps early years providers to prepare young children for school and improve their life chances by requiring them to deliver high-quality provision. The 2015-16 EYFS Profile results show that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development continues to increase – 69% in 2016 compared to 52% in 2013.
We work closely with Ofsted to ensure a robust regulatory and inspection framework to drive continuous improvement in quality. The sector has responded positively and the latest statistics show that 86% of early years providers were rated “good” or “outstanding” as of 31 March 2016.
The quality of the workforce continues to improve, with 87% of staff in full day care settings now qualified to level 3. The Department is also developing a workforce strategy that will aim to remove barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff.
The Government recognises that graduates play an important role in improving quality in the early years, and that is why in 2013 we introduced the early years initial teacher training programme which leads to the award of Early Years Teacher Status. We have made a significant investment in this programme by providing funding for course fees and bursaries to eligible trainees, and also funding for employers to support trainees. As such, the number of graduates in the workforce continues to rise, and between 2008 and 2013 the proportion of full day care staff with a degree or higher increased from 5% to 13%.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the value of artwork and antiques held by local authorities.
Mr Marcus Jones
The information requested is not available.
However, the Department does collect information about total heritage assets held by local authorities which includes museum and gallery collections and works of art, as well as historical buildings, archaeological sites, military and scientific equipment of historical importance, historic motor vehicles, recordings of significant historical events etc.
The latest local authority figures that have been published are for 2013-14 and can be found in the drop down table entitled “Capital outturn return (COR5) 2013 to 2014 receipts and fixed assets for England” at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-08.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will encourage the Financial Conduct Authority to bring its investigation into the Connaught Fund to an early conclusion; and if he will make a statement.
Harriett Baldwin
The FCA is an independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry within the framework of statutory objectives and duties agreed by Parliament. Although the Treasury is responsible for setting the legal framework, oversight of business practicesis a matter for the FCA Board.
The Government appreciates the real difficulties and the serious implications the Connaught issue has had for investors and is following the situation closely.