Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34469, where the four portraits referred to in that Answer are located; and what proportion of all paintings and portraits in the Palace of Westminster those portraits represent.

    Tom Brake

    The four portraits are located in the following locations:

    • The portraits of Diane Abbott and Paul Boateng hang in Portcullis House.
    • The portrait of Dr Dadabhoy Naoroji is displayed in the corridor leading to the House of Commons Strangers Gallery.
    • The portrait of Baroness Amos hangs in the corridor off Princes Chamber in the House of Lords.

    There are approximately 310 painted portraits in the Parliamentary Art Collection.

    The majority of the painted portraits in the Parliamentary Art Collection are historical ones depicting members of the Royal Family and Parliamentarians pre-1900, of whom few were of black, Asian, or minority ethnic (BAME) origin.

    The Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art is committed to reflecting the diversity of the House today, and to recognising those who have influenced Parliament and contributed to its development in a notable way through the Parliamentary Art Collection. The Committee has agreed to give further consideration to the matter in the current Parliament.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is able to take to redistribute funding from clinical commissioning groups that are over their target allocation.

    Alistair Burt

    Responsibility for clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations rests with NHS England rather than the Department, as set out in The Mandate. These decisions have been taken independently of Government, in order that such an important issue as funding is made objectively and free from perceived political considerations.

    The funding allocated to all CCGs is based on the CCG allocations formula. This is based on advice provided by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA). ACRA is an independent committee and reports jointly to the Secretary of State for Health (in regard to public health allocations) and NHS England in regard to CCG and primary care allocations.

    In regards to determining how quickly to move CCGs from their current allocation to the target allocation determined by the allocations formula, NHS England’s objective is to reduce the ‘distance from target’ so that areas furthest below their target allocation receive the biggest increases, and areas above their target consequently receive smaller increases. This difference in the size of increases is a judgement – it is important to ensure service stability for those areas above target, and that increases for under target areas are not so large that resources are not used efficiently. The approach also takes account of the distance from target in each area for primary care and specialised services so that the overall funding position for the area is taken into account.

    NHS England recently published a technical guide to allocations which sets out all the individual factors used in determining the allocation levels. The guide is available here:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/2016/04/allocations-tech-guide-16-17/#

    “

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications to the NHS Low Income Scheme were granted in each year from 2008 to 2016; and how many apprentices are currently on the NHS Low Income Scheme.

    David Mowat

    The table below shows the number of applications to the NHS Low Income Scheme, and the certificates which were granted, in each year from 2008 to 2016:

    Year

    HC1s Received

    HC2s Issued

    HC3s Issued

    2007/08

    422,652

    240,288

    140,501

    2008/09

    445,608

    252,037

    148,018

    2009/10

    431,129

    243,350

    142,135

    2010/11

    433,075

    249,193

    139,375

    2011/12

    422,591

    246,808

    134,276

    2012/13

    399,375

    229,618

    122,580

    2013/14

    389,324

    225,275

    120,391

    2014/15

    385,131

    214,975

    113,964

    2015/16

    383,487

    225,239

    112,414

    A HC2 certificate entitles the person (and their family) to full remission of the charge, whereas a HC3 certificate provides partial remission and indicates how much of the charge the person must pay.

    Figures for apprentices who hold NHS Low Income Scheme certificates are not available, as information on who is an apprentice is not collected.

    The overall cost to administer the NHS Low Income Scheme in the last three financial years are set out below. These figures represent the direct costs of the NHS Low Income Scheme service in England, Scotland and Wales. The figures do not include overheads associated with the wider infrastructure of the NHS Business Services Authority:

    Year

    Cost (£)

    2015/16

    1,469,034

    2014/15

    1,566,587

    2013/14

    1,594,957

  • Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gill Furniss on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what circumstances documents associated with (a) asylum applications and (b) other forms of visa application are retained by her Department after verification.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Documents associated with an asylum claim will be retained when :-

    1. The claim is ongoing, if a claimant is subsequently granted leave their passports or identifying documents will be returned to them at that point.

    2. When a negative decision is made we will retain documents that may be required to facilitate removal, the power to do this comes from Section17 of the Asylum and Immigration (treatment of claimants Act, etc) 2004.

    3. Any documents verified as being non genuine will be retained for disposal by the National Document Fraud Unit.

    4. In EEA/EU asylum claims if removal, deportation or extradition is being pursued, any documents must be retained until a decision is taken. If removal is not being pursued, for example if the claimant is exercising their free movement rights, any documents should be returned.

    A document that has been submitted with a visa application will be retained for 10 years if the document has been verified as being false and has been relied upon in a refusal decision. If it has been verified as being genuine, copies will be kept for up to 2 years. A copy of the application form is retained electronically with the case record.

  • Yasmin Qureshi – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Yasmin Qureshi – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans for UK personnel to train at or otherwise attend the new General Atomics unmanned aircraft business park being built in North Dakota.

    Penny Mordaunt

    A number of options are being developed to meet the training demand for UK Reaper aircrew in the coming years. It is anticipated that initial training for some UK student aircrew will be conducted under contract by General Atomics at their North Dakota facility.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.122 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of reducing the income rise disregard on the household income of a tax credit claimant family with one earner and two children whose income rose from £20,000 to £25,000 during the year.

    Damian Hinds

    Reducing the income rise disregard to £2,500 brings forward some of the benefits of Universal Credit, so that tax credit entitlement reflects claimant’s recent earnings. It makes the system fairer so claimants on similar incomes will receive similar awards. The effect of reducing the income rise disregard on a family claiming tax credits will depend on the household’s income level before it increased.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Government plans to publish its shipbuilding strategy.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 January 2016 to Question 20545 to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon).

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reasons changes to Crown branches take place outside the scope of formal Crown transformation programmes.

    George Freeman

    The provision of its Crown branches is the commercial responsibility of Post Office Limited.

    Like any commercial organisation, Post Office Limited continually reviews all elements of its business to ensure they are effective and efficient. Changes are essential to ensure the long term viability and competitiveness of any company, whether these are as part of a dedicated transformation programme or in the normal course of operations.

  • Baroness Garden of Frognal – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Garden of Frognal – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Garden of Frognal on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the value of strategic local approaches to play, and the case for local authorities to submit regional play strategies to them for review.

    Lord Nash

    I refer my Noble Lady to the answer given on 8 March to PQ 29737, which I have also set out below:

    The Department for Education recognises that play has an important role in supporting all young children to develop and prepare for later learning.

    Play is covered in the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage framework which states: “Each area of learning and development must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity.”

    The staff working in early years settings as Early Years Educators (level 3) and Early Years Teachers (graduates) are required to have an understanding different pedagogical approaches, including the role of play in supporting early learning and development. The criteria for the Early Years Educator and standards for Early Years Teacher Status qualifications are set by the department.

    Ofsted registers childcare provision on the Early Years Register and the General Childcare Register and conducts a regular cycle of inspection to ensure that provision meets the required quality and safety standards.

    In judging the quality and standards of early years provision, Ofsted inspectors must assess the extent to which the learning and care provided by the setting meets the needs of the range of children who attend, including the needs of any children who have special educational needs or disabilities. At August 2015, 85 per cent of providers on the Early Years Register were rated good or outstanding for overall effectiveness. This is an increase of 11 percentage points since 2012.

    Local Authorities provide and offer Continuous Professional Development and training to early years settings; some of which may include training on play. However, it is not a requirement for local authorities to deliver regional play training as it is already a requirement in the Early Years Foundation Stage to cover play in a setting.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence her Department holds on the relationship between the A-level grades achieved by prospective teachers and their later performance in the classroom.

    Nick Gibb

    Evidence, including a seminal McKinsey study from 2007 (How the world’s best-performing schools come out on top), shows that teacher quality and impact cannot be predicted by a single factor such as A-Level grades, but result from a complex combination of factors including academic achievement combined with characteristics and attributes such as communication skills, willingness to learn and motivation to teach.

    The Teachers’ Standards, developed by a group of leading teachers and heads, clearly define the core elements of effective teaching – including strong subject knowledge and the promotion of scholarship, as well as skills such as classroom management. All new teachers must demonstrate that they are meeting the standards at the end of their initial training.

    It is important that providers of initial teacher training are able to select and recruit candidates on the basis of their potential and their academic achievement to date; this is why we are giving schools much greater say in recruiting and training candidates who can be successful in the classroom. This year, over half of all postgraduate trainees are coming through school-led routes.