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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents at height in respect of each method of access there have been in each prison in each month since May 2010.

    Andrew Selous

    I refer the Hon Member to the answer for PQ 20749. The table attached provides a further breakdown of the data provided in that PQ.

    The vast majority of incidents at height are minor in nature and resolved quickly and professionally without injury, damage or disruption to the running of the prison. Many are short in duration, lasting less than 15 minutes and the majority occur when prisoners go onto netting on prison wings. Each incident is investigated fully to ensure lessons are learnt and best practice in managing incidents is shared across NOMS.

    These figures show that the Prime Minister and Justice Secretary are right and our prisons badly need reform. We are making progress: we have made it illegal to smuggle new psychoactive substances (NPS) into prisons and have trained over 300 sniffer dogs to detect NPS and are trialling the use of body worn cameras with front-line staff. But the only way to reduce disorder and violence in our prisons is to give those who work in prisons the tools necessary to better reform and rehabilitate offenders.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of cases being dealt with by the courts which could be resolved through a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    No estimate has been made of the number of the cases being dealt with by the courts which could be resolved through a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution.

    The Government however fully supports, and encourages, alternative dispute resolution in a number of ways, including mediation, early conciliation, and other alternatives to court.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he expects to agree a budget settlement for the apprenticeship levy for the devolved nations of the UK.

    Greg Hands

    We have committed to ensuring that the Devolved Administrations each receive a fair share of the levy. Discussions with the Devolved Administrations are ongoing and good progress is being made.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answers of 7 April 2014 to Questions 194734 to 194737, who the 12 bidders were for Brompton Road underground station.

    Mark Lancaster

    The names of the 12 bidders cannot be released as to do so would prejudice commercial interests.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total expenditure from the public purse was for the social fund funeral payments scheme in 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

    Caroline Nokes

    During 2015-16 in Scotland there were around 5500 applications for Funeral Expenses Payments and around 3700 awards granted.

    In 2015-16 across Great Britain £40,025,000 was paid out in Funeral Expenses Payments and repayments totalled £183,000. These figures are given on page 12 of the Social Fund Account 2015-16 (linked to below)

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/535981/social-fund-account-2015-16.pdf

    “

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to hold discussions with parents on the effect on children’s mental health of primary school SATs.

    Edward Timpson

    Good mental health and resilience are a priority for the Department. We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential, both academically and in terms of their mental wellbeing.

    Good schools manage tests appropriately, and there is a lot that teachers can do to help prepare pupils to take tests and exams, and to help parents support their children. Good school leaders know that positive mental wellbeing, as part of a ‘whole-school’ ethos, along with good teaching, supports pupil attainment.

    The Government considers the impact of primary testing on all children as a matter of course, and we listen to the views of parents on an ongoing basis. Tests are an established and valuable part of a child’s education. Tests in primary school are not examinations and should not put pressure on pupils. They are about helping teachers to identify where additional support is needed and ensuring that schools are accountable for the education that they provide.

    We trust primary school teachers to use their experience and professional expertise to administer assessments in a way that does not put undue pressure on pupils. Schools should encourage all pupils to work hard and achieve well, but we do not recommend that they devote excessive preparation time to assessment, and certainly not at the expense of pupils’ wellbeing.

    We know that recent reforms to primary assessment have represented a significant change for schools and these will need time to embed. We are committed to listening to teachers and parents to ensure primary assessment arrangements are proportionate as well as robust.

    To support schools to understand signs of stress and mental ill-health and to provide support to their pupils, the Government has funded MindEd to develop a free, on-line resource for all professionals, including teaching staff, working with children and young people to access information about mental health issues. We also funded the PSHE Association to produce guidance and age-appropriate lesson plans on teaching about mental health in PSHE. In addition we have published guidance on behaviour and mental health, which sets out how schools can identify problems and seek support, as well as a blueprint for effective school-based counselling to help schools provide access to support.

    However, teachers are not mental health specialists and need to know how to help pupils access specialist support. We contributed to a £3 million joint pilot between schools and children and young people’s mental health services to improve local knowledge and develop effective referrals to allow pupils to access timely specialist support where needed.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to meet the requirements of the Equine Identification Regulations in anticipation of requirements arising from EU regulation to monitor the importation and exportation of horses by 1 January 2016.

    George Eustice

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 23 November 2015 to PQ UINs 16593, 16594 and 16595.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 19 November (HL3562), in the absence of centrally collected data on the occupancy levels of registered care homes, on what data the Care Quality Commission relies to discharge its oversight function for the publicly-funded nursing and residential care sectors.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The purpose of market oversight, amongst other things, is to protect people who may be placed in vulnerable circumstances due to the failure of a ‘difficult to replace’ adult social care provider. It does this by monitoring in arrears the quarterly financial returns of those providers captured by the scheme. Since inclusion in the scheme is a reflection of provider size, by definition it is the larger providers that are captured by the scheme and as such market oversight is concerned with the overall consolidated financial performance. Consequently, it would not ordinarily consider occupancy levels for individual registered care homes.

    The types of information the Care Quality Commission collects from registered care providers as part of its Market Oversight Scheme is included in published guidance – Market Oversight of ‘difficult to replace’ providers of adult social care. The guidance is attached.

  • Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wendy Morton on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how she plans to implement the cross-governmental aid strategy.

    Justine Greening

    The UK aid strategy sets out our strategy to defeat poverty, tackle instability and create prosperity in developing countries. Not only is this the right thing to do; it is also strongly in our national interest. For the first time ever, development is becoming a truly cross-Government agenda and I am working with my colleagues to deliver that.

  • 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 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the distinctions between Volkswagen’s practices (a) on the use of defeat devices and (b) in mitigating customer inconvenience in the US and the UK; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the reasons for those distinctions.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government takes the unacceptable actions of Volkswagen extremely seriously and our priority is to protect the public. In Europe, Volkswagen Group has developed a technical solution for the affected vehicles and is testing this with the relevant type approval authorities. For Skoda vehicles this is the UK’s Vehicle Certification Agency. We understand that the company is not in the same position in the USA as there is not yet an agreed technical solution. We are urging Volkswagen to complete swiftly the recall of the affected vehicles in the UK.

    In his appearance before the Transport Select Committee on 25 January, Paul Willis, the CEO of Volkswagen UK, reconfirmed that Volkswagen do not intend to offer compensation in the UK as they do not believe that vehicle owners have suffered a loss. In the USA they have offered their customers up to $1,000 in gift vouchers. It is for Volkswagen to justify to their customers the different approaches that they are taking in different jurisdictions, however the Government expects Volkswagen to treat its UK customers fairly and the Secretary of State continues to press Volkswagen on the issue of this discrepancy in compensation.