Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional resources are being provided for post-16 students who are required to resit English and mathematics GCSEs.

    Robert Halfon

    Funding for the study of English and maths, including GCSE resits, is provided through the 16-19 national funding formula. The formula incorporates disadvantage funding for providers including a funding uplift of up to £960 per full time student per year to provide for the additional costs incurred for teaching students who have low prior attainment, as indicated by not achieving English and/or maths GCSEs at grade C or above by the end of year 11 (typically age 16). This additional funding is not intended to solely fund maths and English qualifications, but to fund support for students to achieve their learning goals, including maths and English.

    For the past three years the Government has also invested in programmes to support improvements in the teaching of maths and English in Further Education (FE) settings. This year, funding will provide up to 13,000 training opportunities for FE practitioners to improve their subject knowledge and confidence in their teaching of maths or English, fund bursaries for 300 graduates to train to become maths or English teachers in FE settings and further build evidence on evidence of what constitutes effective delivery and teaching of English and maths for students aged 16 to 18 that have not yet achieved level 2 English and maths.

  • Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Competition and Markets Authority is undertaking an investigation into defeat devices used by Volkswagen in emissions tests.

    Anna Soubry

    The Competition and Markets Authority has been considering this issue carefully since it first emerged, including in liaison with government and other agencies nationally and internationally. It has not opened a formal investigation, but is continuing to assess in cooperation with government and other agencies what action it would be appropriate to take and who would be best placed to take it.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recourse or right of appeal is available to a member of the public removed from, or prevented from working with, a local healthwatch by the contractors.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department currently has no plans to undertake an investigation in to the performance of local Healthwatch organisations. In March 2015 the Department published a report commissioned from the King’s Fund – Local Healthwatch: Progress and promise – which set out the progress that local Healthwatch have made since being established in 2013. Transparency about the performance of local Healthwatch organisations is provided through the annual reports which they are required to publish. Reports on how the local Healthwatch network as a whole is operating and the nature of the support needed to deliver their activities effectively are discussed at quarterly public meetings of the Healthwatch England Committee.

    Arrangements for ensuring local Healthwatch statutory activities are delivered in each area are a matter for local authorities. The Local Government Association has published guidance to support local Healthwatch and local commissioners in putting in place good governance arrangements, which includes clarity about the roles of all parties involved.

    Neither the Department nor Healthwatch England are aware of local Healthwatch contractors refusing to engage with the public in their area. Where Healthwatch England is made aware of concerns in relation to local Healthwatch around governance or local relationships with specific individuals or organisations, it seeks to provide support to resolve these where appropriate. Members of the public are able to raise concerns though the complaints process of the local Healthwatch or the commissioning local authority.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the performance of Capita in the recruitment programme to the Regular and the Reserve Forces; what progress has been made in such recruitment; and if he will make a statement.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Since March 2013 the Army has been delivering its recruiting operations with Capita through the Recruiting Partnering Project (RPP). Both the Army and Capita are investing to improve recruiting performance, and over 14,000 Regular and Reserve personnel have joined in the last 12 months.

  • Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) provide information to and (b) consult the (i) local community and (ii) local authority on plans to establish a reception centre for asylum seekers in Goytre.

    James Brokenshire

    My officials intend to provide further information to the local authority shortly. This will build on the information which has already been provided and will include any plans for consultation.

    Should the COMPASS provider elect to progress this option, we will work with the Local Authority to ensure that the appropriate consultation with the statutory agencies and local community is undertaken.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in her Department.

    Karen Bradley

    The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the role of special advisers and describes the range of activities they may undertake. Copies of the Code of Conduct are available in the Libraries of the House and on-line at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468340/CODE_OF_CONDUCT_FOR_SPECIAL_ADVISERS_-_15_OCTOBER_2015_FINAL.pdf

  • James Heappey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    James Heappey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Heappey on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to help support research into the Zika virus.

    Joseph Johnson

    In February we allocated £1 million from the Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund to help urgently tackle the Zika virus; the Medical Research Council (MRC) received over 100 applications for support through its Rapid Response Initiative. To meet this demand, in March we committed up to an additional £2 million, with a further £1 million from the Wellcome Trust, bringing the total that was available up to a maximum of £4 million of funding.

    Today, the MRC has announced that it has allocated c. £3.2 million of this funding to tackle the emerging and unknown threats of this virus. Our commitment to protect the science budget in real terms to the end of the Parliament means we can react quickly to help tackle these life-threatening global challenges.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of progress in implementing the provisions regarding footpaths and bridleways contained in the Deregulation Act 2015.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    We are continuing to work with the Stakeholder Working Group on both the secondary legislation and guidance necessary for implementation of the rights of way provisions in the Deregulation Act 2015. We expect the package of legislation and guidance to be commenced, all on the same date, later in the year. One of the sets of regulations we are introducing is subject to affirmative resolution and therefore first needs to be debated in both Houses. This has added to the timetable.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times the Foreign Secretary’s Advisory Group on Human Rights has met in each year since its formation; and how many of those meetings in each such year (a) he or his predecessor and (b) Minister of his Department attended.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    My Advisory Group on Human Rights has met 11 times since its formation in November 2010 – twice a year, with the exception of 2010, when it met only in December and 2014 when it met only in May. My predecessors or I have chaired every one of these meetings, with the exception of the most recent meeting in April 2016, when the meeting was chaired by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Baroness of Anelay of St Johns.

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

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made on the electrification of the Leeds-Harrogate-York railway line.

    Paul Maynard

    Later this year the rail industry will present its initial advice to Government on investment needs for the national network in the next Control Period (2019-2024), drawing on the outputs of Network Rail’s long term planning process, including its review of the national electrification strategy. Taking account of this advice and other inputs – including from Transport for the North – the Government intends to articulate its emerging priorities for improvement to the national network during 2017.