Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations his Department has received on including art and design within the curriculum for STEM subjects.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Department works closely with the Department for Education and Arts Council England to increase access to music and cultural education for every child. This Government has ensured that art and design remain core subjects that must be taught in Key Stages 1-3 as part of the National Curriculum.

  • Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he and his ministerial colleagues have had with the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the creation of a statutory duty on firefighters in England and Wales to respond to flooding.

    Mike Penning

    I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.

    Both the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 detail the roles and powers of fire and rescue authorities, in respect of both emergency response and rescue in a wide range of situations, including from flooding. Fire and rescue authorities are expected to undertake integrated risk management planning, dovetailed with the community risk register overseen by the Local Resilience Forum (a multi-agency grouping of which fire and rescue authorities are key members). Integrated Risk Management Plans identify the full range of risks that an authority’s service is expected to respond to and are subject to consultation. The National Fire Framework published in July 2012 and given statutory effect in August 2012 makes this clear and I believe that fire and rescue authorities are fully competent to deliver on this.

    The Government has had no recent representations on this arrangement and in light of how well fire services have responded to recent flooding suggests there is no need for review.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the effect on victims of her Department not having information about the status and supervision of deported criminals who have been returned to their home countries.

    James Brokenshire

    A victim may contact the Home Office directly or make a request via their Victim Liaison Officer (VLO) for information on the progress of a foreign prisoner’s deportation. The Home Office will inform the victim or their VLO on whether deportation is being pursued or has been enforced.

    Once deported, a foreign criminal is banned from returning to the UK and that information is held on Home Office records. We have robust arrangements in place to identify people of concern before they enter the UK.

    It is not Home Office policy to regularly monitor a foreign national once they have been deported.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to ensure that dualling of the A1079 between Barnby Moor and Wilberfoss goes ahead; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The A1079 between Barnby Moor and Wilberfoss is a local road and as such is the responsibility of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council. I understand that this scheme has been identified as a priority by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, but it will be for the Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership to identify future funding opportunities.

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government with which groups officials from (1) Public Health England, and (2) the Department of Health have met regarding local authorities not meeting their mandatory requirements for sexual health services; what steps that department will take to ensure that local authorities are meeting their mandatory requirements for sexual health services; and what steps they will take if a local authority is found not to be meeting mandatory requirements to commission open-access sexual health services.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Department of Health officials meet regularly with Public Health England (PHE) to discuss progress on sexual health, including the ambitions in the Sexual Health Improvement Framework (SHIF). Since the Framework was published PHE has developed Sexual and Reproductive Health Profiles to support local authorities, public health leads and others to monitor the sexual and reproductive health of their local population and the contribution of local public health related systems. Trends are shown at both England and local authority level for a range of indictors that match the ambitions in the SHIF where data is available. A further annual progress report on the Framework would duplicate this work. Whilst there are no current plans to update the SHIF, in December 2015 PHE published their Health promotion for sexual and reproductive health and HIV, strategic action plan, 2016 to 2019, which complements the SHIF. A copy of the plan is attached.

    Departmental and PHE officials have met with the Local Government Association, English HIV and Sexual Health Commissioners Group, British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health where open access sexual health services were discussed. PHE has undertaken a survey of local commissioning arrangements for sexual health.

    Local democratic accountability is at the heart of the accountability of local authorities for their statutory duty to improve the public’s health. PHE has a specific role in assurance of the ring-fence grant and that local authorities are meeting the grant conditions and the terms of the associated statutory regulations. PHE publishes data on outcomes from services for each local authority in England and can provide support and advice where necessary.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether a property management company will be created for land held as a result of the proposals to transfer land owned by local authorities to the Secretary of State as part of the policy of converting all schools to academies.

    Edward Timpson

    We have no plans to create a property management company to hold land transferred to the Secretary of State as a result of the proposals outlined in our White Paper for converting community schools. Our expectation is that any such land would be held by the Secretary of State to ensure the land is safeguarded for educational use.

    We are separately developing proposals for a new body of property specialists to help meet our commitment to deliver 500 more free schools by 2020. Their focus will be on acquiring sites for free schools; rather than the management of existing school land. Finding sites quickly is often the biggest obstacle to opening new schools, and this proposal will help ensure we have the right people working for us to secure best value for the taxpayer.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he, Ministers or officials of his Department have had with Govia Thameslink Railway on indemnifying Govia Thameslink Railway from losses incurred as a result of industrial action; and what the dates and outcomes of those discussions were.

    Claire Perry

    The Franchise Agreement does not provide any indemnity to Govia Thameslink Railway for any such losses incurred as a result of Industrial Action, and no discussions have taken place.

  • Neil Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Neil Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Carmichael on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children with refugee status in the UK have been granted permission to sponsor family members to join them under the refugee family reunion rules in each of the last three years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Under the Family Reunion Rules, children cannot sponsor family members. Any grant of leave in such cases would be on an exceptional basis outside the Immigration Rules. To obtain the information would involve examining individual case records and would incur a disproportionate cost.

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of savings to businesses in (a) Woking constituency, (b) Surrey, (c) the South East and (d) the UK as a result of the Red Tape Challenge.

    Margot James

    The Red Tape Challenge programme ran until 2015. In the Statement of New Regulation published in December 2014, the previous Government identified over 3,000 regulations to scrap or improve, delivering estimated savings to UK businesses of over £850m per year as a result of the programme. Analysis of the impact of the deregulatory reforms on a geographical basis was not developed.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the contribution of art subjects to ensuring people develop the skills needed for a career in the creative digital economy.

    Nick Gibb

    Both the arts and STEM subjects are important in developing the skills people need for the global economy, including the creative digital economy.

    The national curriculum sets the expectation that pupils study the arts subjects in Key Stages 1 to 3 and the arts are one of four "entitlement areas” at Key Stage 4. Provisional figures show that since 2012, the percentage of pupils for all schools with at least one GCSE entry in an arts subject has increased from 44.4% to 48.7% in 2015.[1] We are reforming all GCSEs and A levels, including STEM and arts subjects, to make them robust and rigorous; to match the best education systems in the world; and to keep pace with universities’ and employers’ demands.

    It is important that pupils are given the information and advice to choose a combination of subjects that will open doors for their future. The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) is an employer-led, independent organisation strengthening links between schools, colleges, employers and careers and enterprise organisations, including in the digital and technological sectors, to inspire young people and prepare them for the world of work.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473178/EBacc_and_non-EBacc_subject_entries_and_achievement.pdf

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