Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to improve the retention of students who have the potential to succeed in higher education but face financial difficulties.

    Joseph Johnson

    Continuation rates for students in publicly-funded institutions are at a record high, with 94.3% of young full-time first degree entrants to higher education in English HEIs in 2012/13 continuing after their first year and, 90.0% of full-time first degree starters of all ages in English HEIs in 2012/13 were expected to receive an award or transfer. Improvements in these areas have come at a time of considerable expansion in student numbers and increasing diversity in the backgrounds of students.

    Institutions wishing to charge higher fees must agree access agreements with the independent Director of Fair Access. In these, institutions set out what more they will do to attract students from disadvantaged backgrounds and help them to complete their studies and progress to post-graduate study or employment. In 2016/17, institutions expect to spend £425m on financial support through their access agreements.

    The Higher Education Green Paper set out further steps to encourage universities to improve retention rates, including for students from disadvantaged and under-represented groups, through a Teaching Excellence Framework.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy for the NHS to screen all people over the age of 55 for hearing loss.

    Alistair Burt

    The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the NHS in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy.

    In 2009-10 the UK NSC recommended that routine screening for adult hearing loss should not be offered because of the lack of evidence to warrant a screening programme. In particular:

    – it is not clear what the test should be;

    – there is no agreed time or schedule for carrying out the testing;

    – the acceptability of the test and in particular the treatment (hearing aids) is unclear; and

    – there had been no randomised trials of screening.

    As part of its routine evidence review process the UK NSC has just reviewed its recommendation on screening adults for hearing loss again. Ministers expect to receive a recommendation from the UK NSC shortly.

  • 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 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were wrongly released in each of the last five years; what crime each such prisoner had been convicted of; from which prison each such prisoner has been released; how many such prisoners were released from (a) public and (b) private prisons; what category of prisoner each person wrongly released was; how long it took to return each such prisoner to prison; what further crimes each such prisoner committed while wrongly released; how many such prisoners remained at large in each of the last five years; what crime each at large prisoner was originally convicted of; from which prison each at large prisoner was wrongly released from; whether this was a (i) private and (ii) public prison; and what category of prisoner each at large wrongly released prisoner was.

    Andrew Selous

    The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal College of Nursing on the effect of sugary drinks on obesity.

    Jane Ellison

    There have been no such recent discussions.

  • Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken by the Independent Police Complaints Commission to resolve complaints.

    Mike Penning

    Home Office officials work closely with the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to monitor how they are delivering their objectives. The IPCC provide regular performance information to the Home Office, including information on the timeliness of completed cases, which are scrutinised closely by my officials as part of the business and corporate planning process. The Home office is working with the IPCC to develop appropriate performance measures for 2016-17, including more streamlined public access to IPCC timeliness information.

    On 7 March, the Home Secretary announced plans to reform the IPCC’s Governance, to make it more effective and more responsive to the public. These plans were published on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-the-independent-police-complaints-commission-structure-and-governance We continue to provide additional funding to support the IPCC to expand to deliver an increased volume of timely, high quality investigations. I will ask the IPCC to write to the Honourable Member in response to the request for average times to complete the complaints process, and will ask for this response to be made available in the House Library.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on taking steps to tackle recent reductions in the number of employers posting apprenticeship vacancies.

    Nick Boles

    Latest data shows that whilst the number of employers advertising vacancies has fallen, the number of apprenticeship opportunities posted on the ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ website has increased each year from 71,060 in 2010/11 to 200,460 in 2014/15.

    The Apprenticeship Delivery Board and Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network work with employers to champion apprenticeships and increase the number of places on offer. The Skills Funding Agency also works closely with the National Employer Services Team in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to encourage employers to offer apprenticeships.

    We are launching a new apprenticeships communications campaign in May, jointly designed with DWP, which will promote the benefits of apprenticeships to young people, parents and employers. This will build on National Apprenticeship Week 2016, which saw more than 30,000 apprenticeship places pledged by businesses.

    We also work closely with DWP to ensure that information about apprenticeship vacancies is available to jobseekers through Universal Jobmatch.

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average length is of the transition period for personnel of each of the Armed Forces between a decision of the Medical Board recommending discharge and that discharge taking place; and what support is given to personnel during that period to support the transition to civilian life.

    Mark Lancaster

    This information is not held in the format requested. However, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does hold information on the average length of time between attendance at a medical board and the date of medical discharge for UK Regular Armed Forces personnel.

    For those UK Regulars discharged between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2015, the median averages are as follows:

    Service

    Median average number of days between a medical board and subsequent medical discharge

    Royal Navy

    132

    Royal Marines

    133

    Army

    223

    Royal Air Force

    173

    Those who are medically discharged are entitled to the highest level of resettlement provision through the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), regardless of how long they have served or the nature and cause of injuries. We also offer specialised support for wounded, injured and sick personnel and those with the most complex barriers to employment to ensure they receive the most appropriate support within their recovery pathway. This is delivered through the Defence Recovery Capability and is supported by the Career Transition Partnership Assist (CTP Assist) programme. The purpose of CTP Assist is to deliver an individualised, needs-based service to those Service personnel who face the greatest barriers to employment given their medical condition.

    The MOD Veterans’ Welfare Service (VWS) provides welfare support automatically to those medically discharged, with an ‘on request’ service for all other members of the veterans community.

    The Transition Protocol is an established practice to ensure the effective transition of health and social care for injured Service leavers to local public providers. There is regular and close co-operation between the MOD, the Department of Health, NHS England and the Devolved Administrations in order to ensure that it is working successfully.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department’s policy is on making the pension age for Civil Nuclear Constabulary police officers the same as that for police forces under the responsibility of the Home Office.

    Jesse Norman

    Government policy is for public sector workers to have a normal pension age equal and linked to the state pension age. Parliament defined ‘members of a police force’ in the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 in such a way as to exclude Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers from the special arrangements that were made for Home Office police forces under that Act. A recent High Court judgement confirmed this interpretation. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will work with the Civil Nuclear Police Authority to put in place the appropriate pension arrangements for Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers, within the parameters set out in the legislation.

  • Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding per head has been allocated for childcare in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) the UK in the financial years (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Funding for the free early years entitlements is allocated on a local authority basis. In 2016-17, the relevant hourly funding rates per child were as follows:

    LAs

    Three and Four Year old Entitilement

    Two year old entitlement

    Barnsley

    £3.99

    £4.85

    Bradford

    £5.19

    £4.85

    Calderdale

    £4.15

    £4.85

    Doncaster

    £3.87

    £4.85

    East Riding of Yorkshire

    £4.40

    £4.85

    Kingston upon Hull City of

    £4.20

    £4.85

    Kirkless

    £4.37

    £4.85

    Leeds

    £4.09

    £4.85

    North East Lincolnshire

    £3.72

    £4.85

    North Lincolnshire

    £4.39

    £4.85

    North Yorkshire

    £4.49

    £4.85

    Rotherham

    £4.07

    £4.85

    Sheffield

    £4.51

    £4.85

    Wakefield

    £4.14

    £4.85

    York

    £3.63

    £4.85

    The figures given above relate to England. Childcare policy for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is devolved. In 2016-17, the national average hourly funding rate paid by the Department for Education to local authorities in England, is £4.51 for three and four-year-olds and £5.09 for two-year-olds.

    All funding rates for three and four-year-olds are exclusive of the Early Years Pupil Premium which is an additional funding stream for disadvantaged children.

    The new funding rates under our proposed early years national funding formula from 2017-18, can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/early-years-funding-changes-to-funding-for-3-and-4-year-olds

    “

  • Byron Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Byron Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Byron Davies on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2015 to Question 2354, when the review of the enforcement response to bribery and corruption will be published.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    The UK Anti-Corruption Plan, published in December, announced that Cabinet Office would take forward a review of the enforcement response to bribery and corruption. The review has now concluded and its findings are being considered by Ministers.