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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ian Mearns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Mearns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will update the actuarial analysis used for the Risk Protection Arrangement to include the effect of the recent storms in the assessment of exposure to risk.

    Edward Timpson

    All claims received up to 31 March 2016, including those arising from the recent storm events, will form part of the next actuarial analysis of claim experience and will inform the assessment of risk to the Risk Protection Agreement. Our next actuarial analysis exercise will be finalised in July 2016.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2016 to Question 30916, for what reasons related party transactions by academy trusts can be classified as irregular or improper by the Education Funding Agency.

    Edward Timpson

    Related party transactions by academy trusts can be classified as irregular or improper if they are not dealt with in accordance with Parliament’s intentions, legislation, the terms of the trust’s funding agreement, the Academies Financial Handbook or the trust’s internal procedures. This includes spending money other than for the purposes intended by Parliament or without the appropriate standards of conduct.

    Academy trusts operate under a robust accountability system which holds them to account for the results they achieve and their use of resources. This includes a requirement to publish audited accounts each year allowing the wider public the chance to hold academy trusts to account to help make sure that spend is securing better outcomes for pupils.

    The 26 related party transactions are irregular and noted in the table below (together with our findings from reviewing 2013/14 financial statements). It is important to note that irregular classification can occur where there is insufficient evidence to form an opinion.

    Concern type

    Summary of concern

    Number of breaches

    At cost

    The trust either confirmed that services from a related party were not provided at cost or there was insufficient evidence of this.

    5

    Off-payroll

    The trust confirmed that they were not compliant with HM Treasury’s off-payroll requirements for a senior member of staff.

    5

    Procurement

    The trust confirmed they did not follow an adequate procurement process for certain purchases from a related party.

    6

    Procurement issues/ recruitment of family

    The trust confirmed they did not follow an adequate procurement process for certain purchases from a familial related party.

    1

    Procurement/ at cost

    The trust confirmed they did not follow an adequate procurement process for certain purchases from a related party. The trust also either confirmed that services from a related party were not provided at cost or there was insufficient evidence of this.

    9

  • 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 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to minimise the difference between the number of words to which young children in low-income and high-income households are exposed.

    Nick Gibb

    No matter where they live or what their background, every child in this country deserves the opportunity to read, to read widely, and to read well. The Government wants all children to develop a wide vocabulary irrespective of their background. In August 2015, the Secretary of State launched a literacy campaign to make children in this country the most literate in Europe, in the next five years.

    We placed phonics at the heart of the curriculum to give all young children the skills to decode words and provide the foundation for them to read fluently.

    The National Curriculum framework sets a clear expectation that teachers develop pupils’ vocabulary, building on pupils’ current knowledge. This covers both general vocabulary development and the subject specific language that pupils need to be able to use to progress in, for example, mathematics and science.

    Vocabulary development is emphasised and integrated throughout the programmes of study for English and linked to their reading, writing and spelling. Both the reading and writing domains of the English programmes of study emphasise the importance of building pupils’ vocabulary.

    Reading widely and often, together with reading for pleasure is also reinforced throughout the programmes of study, and attention to the quantity and quality of reading will support vocabulary development.

    We are working with The Reading Agency to set up book clubs in hundreds of primary schools across the country; we are supporting their work to enrol 8 year olds in libraries; and we support the voluntary sector’s ‘Read On. Get On’ campaign, which is playing a key role in raising literacy. Our ambition is that children can get to know the classics of English literature whether or not these books are on the bookshelves at home. In February 2016, Penguin Classics launched their ‘Classics in Schools’ initiative to give sets of 100 classics to schools at reduced 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 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with pharmaceutical companies on steps to reduce the cost of cancer drugs for the NHS.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Department has frequent discussions with representatives of the United Kingdom pharmaceutical industry as well as with individual pharmaceutical companies on a range of topics. We want to see the latest and most advanced drugs made available to National Health Service patients in a way that ensures value for money.

  • Rishi Sunak – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rishi Sunak – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rishi Sunak on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve the safety of maternity care.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    In November 2015, the Department announced an ambitious campaign to halve the national rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth, by 2030.

    The Government has already invested in a capital fund for equipment to improve safety and training programmes for staff.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children in England were diagnosed as anaemic or iron deficient in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    There are no figures available centrally for how many children in England were diagnosed as anaemic or iron deficient in each of the last 10 years.

    However, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) UK report has figures for the proportion of children in the United Kingdom with haemoglobin concentrations below a certain level that indicate anaemia, but are not necessarily diagnosed.

    Lower limits for haemoglobin have been set by the World Health Organization and are endorsed by the Scientific Advisory Committee for Nutrition.

    The figures below for the UK cover years 1, 2, 3 and 4 (combined) of the NDNS Rolling Programme (2008/09 to 2011/12).

    The estimated proportion of children in the UK with a haemoglobin concentration below the lower limits was:

    Age Group

    % below the lower limits

    1.5 to three years

    12.9

    four to ten years (boys)

    3.1

    11 to 18 years (boys)

    1.8

    four to ten years (girls)

    5.7

    11 to 18 years (girls)

    7.4
  • Stephen Twigg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Twigg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Twigg on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is planning to publish an LGBT Theory of Change.

    Grant Shapps

    A document describing “DFID’s approach to LGBT rights” will be published on UK Government website by the end of 2015. A theory of change will be available with this.

  • Lord Hay of Ballyore – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Hay of Ballyore – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hay of Ballyore on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to promote equal pay for women in the workplace.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Unequal pay for equal work is unlawful, and it has been for over 40 years. We have made changes that require employment tribunals to order any employer who loses an equal pay case to carry out an equal pay audit.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have signed revised claimant commitments as part of the universal credit in-work conditionality pilots.

    Priti Patel

    National roll-out of the In-Work Progression Randomised Control Trial commenced in December 2015 and is likely to be completed in summer 2016. We are unable to provide the information requested at this early stage.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what happens to gifts that ministers receive in their official capacity; where they are kept; and how they are eventually disposed of.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Gifts may be accepted in line with the provisions of the Ministerial Code

    Retention and disposal arrangements are a matter for individual Departments. Departments may dispose of gifts after a suitable period of time has elapsed.