Tag: Parliamentary Question

Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2016 to Question 31889, whether local authorities can instruct academy schools to admit children to meet their legal obligation; and whether it is her policy that local authorities will be able to instruct academy schools to admit children to meet their legal obligation under the proposed fully academised system.

Nick Gibb

Academy schools are their own admission authorities as are maintained voluntary aided and foundation schools. Such schools set their own admission policies and can only change them after consulting local people. Local authorities (LAs) can object to the Schools Adjudicator about an admission policy or a reduction in an admission number but cannot determine how many pupils such schools must admit.

LAs are able to launch a competition for a new free school and, in certain circumstances, place children through the local fair access protocol or, where a school does not agree to admit a child, seek to direct admission.

All state-funded schools are required to participate in the local in-year fair access protocol. Protocols allocate places to children who are unplaced by the start of the school year. Legislation also provides local authorities with powers to seek to direct the admission of children to maintained schools for which they are not the admission authority. Academy funding agreements contain similar direction powers.

Directions can be sought when there is no other school place within a reasonable distance or where a looked after child has been refused a place.

The Schools Adjudicator decides directions for maintained schools while the Education Funding Agency decides directions for academies on behalf of the Secretary of State.

01/01/2023
Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the Housing and Planning Bill on housing associations that manage properties on behalf of councils.

Brandon Lewis

The Housing and Planning Bill intends to reduce the regulatory controls for private registered providers of social housing with the aim to reclassify housing associations as private organisations.

Through the Bill, the Secretary of State will have the power by affirmative regulations, to make provision for the purpose of limiting or removing the ability of local authorities to exert influence over private registered providers of social housing, through the nomination of board members and acting as shareholders. We will be discussing the potential impact of these regulations with some housing associations and local authorities, in advance of regulations being introduced later in 2016.

01/01/2023
Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve the standard of housing for service personnel.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence is committed to improving the quality of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) provided to our Service personnel. 88% of SFA currently meet or exceed the decent homes standard. If a property fails to meet the standard, it will either be upgraded or disposed of.

Since financial year 2010-11 investment in housing has resulted in:

The separate installation of some 12,000 kitchens, bathrooms, or central heating systems and the insulation of 16,692 lofts.

01/01/2023
Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to ask energy suppliers to reconsider the use of income-differential tariffs.

Jesse Norman

Energy supply companies are required to ensure customers are on the cheapest tariff that is in line with their preferences and specifically, as to their chosen payment method and to the type of tariff (fixed term or variable) they prefer.

01/01/2023
Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to embed the Family Test into its policy making.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Officials in my Department have liaised with the Department for Work and Pensions as the lead Department for the Family Test on cross government activity to embed the Test into the policy process. This has included training officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevant learning materials and best practice.

01/01/2023
Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many kinship care households they estimate will be affected by the combined impact of the proposals in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill to limit child tax credit to two children and to reduce the benefit cap in each year between 2016 and 2021; what is their estimate of the cost of exempting kinship care households from those measures; and what impact assessment has been carried out as to how many potential kinship carers may be unable to afford to take on the children as a result of those measures and any consequential cost to the state of such children remaining in the care system.

Lord Freud

It is fair that families on benefits have to make the same financial decisions as families supporting themselves solely through work. These measures are being actively discussed in the Committee stage of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill (as the Minister informed the House) and there will be further discussion at the Report stage.

01/01/2023
Meg Hillier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to enable special circumstances to be taken into account when making the decision to withhold pension credit to people who are away from their homes for a period of more than four weeks.

Justin Tomlinson

It is the intention to amend the Pension Credit temporary absence from Great Britain rules from April 2016. The temporary absence rules allow entitlement to Pension Credit to continue where under normal conditions it would not do so.

We are planning for a general rule which will allow Pension Credit to remain payable for absences not exceeding four weeks. We intend to have exceptions to the general rule to cater for bereavement or medical treatment. Where the absence from Great Britain is in connection with a bereavement concerning a partner or close relative then entitlement to Pension Credit may continue for absences not exceeding eight weeks. Where the absence from Great Britain is in order to receive medical treatment then entitlement to Pension Credit may continue for absences not exceeding 26 weeks.

These changes do not affect the Pension Credit rules covering absences from home within Great Britain.

01/01/2023
Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission a review into the effectiveness of NHS England in discharging its duties in implementing the Rare Diseases Strategy.

George Freeman

There are no plans to commission a review into NHS England’s implementation of the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases. The UK Forum for Rare Diseases has been established to monitor implementation of the strategy across the United Kingdom. We have received a copy of the Forum’s first progress report on implementation of the strategy and this will be published on 29 February 2016 – UK Rare Disease Day.

01/01/2023
Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in (a) Leeds and (b) Yorkshire have been diagnosed with autism.

Alistair Burt

This data is not collected centrally.

01/01/2023

Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy schools have been found to have failed to keep records of eligibility for free school meals in each of the last three years.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) undertakes academy trust funding audit visits as part of its assurance regime, which includes free school meals. It has found the following instances where full records have not been kept:

Assurance plan year	Total trusts where instances of pupil ineligibility were identified
1 July 2015 – present	Currently underway, therefore no information
1 July 2014 – 30 June 2015	0
1 July 2013 – 30 June 2014	9

In addition we have received one instance where we have confirmed ineligibility of funding and are taking swift action to resolve issues.

01/01/2023