UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report of Ofsted on its inspection of Audenshaw School Academy Trust which took place on 23 and 24 February 2016, if she will make an assessment of the effect on the students for whom pupil premium funding was intended of that funding being saved for a capital project.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The conditions of grant for the pupil premium make clear that its purpose is to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. School leaders are best placed to decide how to spend the pupil premium in line with this policy and the needs of their pupils. Schools are not prevented from using the pupil premium to fund capital projects or from carrying over funding between years.

    The Department for Education supports schools to make evidence-based decisions through the work of the Education Endowment Foundation, established to identify and promote effective practice in raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. The Department does not monitor how Academies and maintained schools spend the pupil premium but instead holds them to account for the outcomes of eligible pupils through the publication of data in performance tables and Ofsted inspection.

    Where concerns are raised about the performance of an academy then they are addressed by the Regional School Commissioner with responsibility for that area. The Department also takes seriously any concerns about the financial management of a school. We are aware of the findings of the Ofsted report on Audenshaw School relating to its use of the pupil premium, following an inspection in February 2016. We are also aware that the Hon. Member, Andrew Gwynne, has met the Regional Schools Commissioner for Lancashire and West Yorkshire, Vicky Beer, on a number of occasions to discuss his concerns about Audenshaw School Academy Trust. The Department has carefully reviewed all the information provided on this matter and has identified no grounds to take further action.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children and young people who are either educated at home or not in employment, education or training are recorded within the statistics and analysis on statements of special educational needs and education, health and care plans in England published on 26 May 2016; and under which categories such children and young people are recorded.

    Edward Timpson

    The number of children and young people with a statement or education, health and care (EHC) plan who are educated at home is not specifically collected in the ‘Statements and EHC plans England: 2016’ publication[1]. However, as these children and young people will be included in the total number of children and young people with statements and EHC plans, local authorities are likely to have included these children and young people in the ‘other arrangements made by the local authority’ or ‘other arrangements made by the parent’ category.

    The number of children and young people with statements or EHC plans who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) is not specifically collected in this statistical first release. Where young people have a statement or EHC plan and are NEET, they will be included in one of the other categories, e.g. ‘other arrangements made by local authority’ or ‘awaiting provision’.

    There is not an exhaustive list of arrangements included in the category of ‘Other – arrangements made by the local authority in accordance with Section 319 of the Education Act 1996 or Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014’. The published SEN 2016 guide for local authorities[2] completing this part of the collection is as follows:

    ‘Section 319 of the Education Act 1996 empowers an authority to provide education for children with special educational needs “other than in school”. This may include education in centres run by social services or at home. Children would not normally be on another school register.

    ‘Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 empowers an authority to provide education for children and young people with special educational needs “other than in school, post-16 institutions, etc”. This may include education in centres run by social services or where the local authority has named home education on an EHC plan.’

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2016

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-educational-needs-survey-2016-guide

    “

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2016 to Question 44365, what assessment the Health and Safety Executive has made on the effect of long shift patterns on the incidence of (a) errors, (b) accidents and (c) injuries in (i) all sectors of the workforce and (ii) the mining industry.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not hold this information. However, HSE recognises that poorly designed shift-working arrangements and long working hours can result in fatigue, accidents, injuries and ill health and has produced guidance for employers on designing and implementing shift-working arrangements:

    (http://www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/topics/fatigue.htm).

    “

  • Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what change there was in the number of firefighter posts in Kent Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.

    Greg Clark

    Information on the number of full time equivalent firefighter posts for each fire and rescue service and for each year, together with greater detail, is available in the Department’s Fire and Rescue Operational Statistics publication (Table 2 for full time equivalent posts) at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-and-rescue-authorities-operational-statistics

    “

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Better Care Fund in reducing delayed discharges from hospitals.

    Alistair Burt

    The Better Care Fund (BCF) aims to incentivise the National Health Service and local government to work more closely together at a local level to provide a joined up health and care service for their local population. Integrating health and social care will take time. Delayed transfers of care per 100,000 (DTOC) is included as a metric for the BCF as it is one of a number of ways to measure the effectiveness of joint working among local partners.

    The results for Q4 2014-15 and Q1 2015-16 data collections can be found on the NHS England website at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/part-rel/transformation-fund/bcf-plan/

    The latest data was published on 26 November 2015.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political, economic and security situation in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    I visited Erbil in December where I met a range of Kurdistan Regional Government ministers and officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, civil society contacts and members of the British military deployment in northern Iraq. I welcomed the recent military progress achieved by the Kurdish Security Forces against Daesh, particularly the liberation of Sinjar in November, and was able to see firsthand the contribution of British military training, equipment and support to counter-Daesh efforts. I encouraged progress on implementation of the economic reforms needed to manage the current economic downturn, as well as a rapid return to negotiations with Baghdad to secure a sustainable revenue sharing arrangement. To members of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and political party representatives, I underlined the importance of all the parties working together to resolve the issue of the KRG presidency peacefully, in the spirit of compromise and respecting democratic principles.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much East Northamptonshire Council received under the New Homes Bonus in each year since 2010.

    Brandon Lewis

    The New Homes Bonus was introduced in 2011. To date the total New Homes Bonus payments allocated to East Northamptonshire District Council is £2,626,043. The annual breakdown is shown in the table below:

    Year 1
    (2011-2012)

    £355,008

    Year 2
    (2012-2013)

    £ 551,047

    Year 3
    (2013-2014)

    £ 311,916

    Year 4
    (2014-2015)

    £306,847

    Year 5
    (2015-2016)

    £492,452

    Year 6
    (2016-2017 – provisional allocation)

    £608,774

    Total

    £2,626,043

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to make available to the Welsh Government funds received as a result of the application to the EU Solidarity Fund announced on 25 February 2016.

    James Wharton

    Decisions regarding the disbursement of any funding will be made once we have received confirmation of whether our application has been successful.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will conduct an assessment of UK science infrastructure to inform departmental decision-making on spending priorities.

    Joseph Johnson

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 April 2016 to Question 32088.

    “

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) his Department and (b) Highways England are improving their assessments of user satisfaction in relation to the strategic road network.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department appointed Transport Focus (TF) as the road user watchdog and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) as the Highways Monitor on the formation of Highways England on 1 April 2015. In addition to reporting from TF and ORR, officials regularly meet with Highways England to discuss all aspects of their performance, including customer satisfaction.

    TF is developing a new Strategic Roads User Survey to measure satisfaction among those using Highways England’s network with input from the Department. It is intended to pilot this throughout 2016 and then launch the new survey during 2017. This will run in parallel with Highways England’s existing National Road User Satisfaction Survey until that ceases in March 2018.