Tag: Parliamentary Question

Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19906, when he expects to publish Lady Justice Macur’s report.

Caroline Dinenage

The report needs to be considered by law enforcement agencies and the government before it can be published. This includes considering whether redactions need to be made. Lady Justice Macur has recommended that certain material should be considered for redaction.

The work is proceeding at pace with a view to publication as soon as possible.

01/01/2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received from charities on the adequacy of employment and support allowance payments; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve educational standards in Bradford.

Nick Gibb

This Government is committed to educational excellence everywhere. The new powers in the Education and Adoption Bill are designed to help raise standards in underperforming areas such as Bradford, ensuring all failing maintained schools become academies with strong sponsors, and coasting schools are challenged to improve.

The Regional Schools Comissioner has already prioritised Bradford for the Northern Fund and brought two new sponsors into the area.

We have also significantly expanded School Direct and Teach First, to ensure schools in Bradford have access to high-quality teachers. The new National Teaching Service, which will place outstanding teachers and middle leaders into schools which most need additional support to improve their teaching, will begin with a pilot later this year; Bradford will be one of the areas eligible to participate in this pilot.

I recently had the pleasure of being able to see some of the excellent work that is already being done to raise standards in Bradford, when I visited the outstanding Beckfoot School in Bingley, where 46% of pupils achieve the E-Bacc combination of core academic GCSEs.

01/01/2023
Lord Moynihan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moynihan on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government between which dates the current President of the World Anti-Doping Agency was a consultant to UK Anti-Doping; how much he was paid; and what his responsibilities were.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Sir Craig Reedie was appointed a Special Advisor to UK Anti-Doping in 2009. The role was created to provide expert advice to UK Anti-Doping, primarily during its formative phase, as and when required. Under this appointment, Sir Craig Reedie was not commissioned to provide any expert advice and therefore received no payment from UK Anti-Doping. He formally stood down from this role on his appointment to President of the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2014.

01/01/2023
Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what metrics he plans to use to measure the contribution which the apprenticeship levy will make to economic productivity.

Nick Boles

We will evaluate the apprenticeship levy contribution to productivity as part of our wider programme of apprenticeships evaluation. This includes assessing what impact on apprenticeship starts and quality the levy has had, as well as evaluating wage returns of those who have completed apprenticeships. The research paper cited below outlines current evidence on, and the associated methodology used to measure, the economic value of apprenticeships.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-measuring-the-net-present-value-in-england

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01/01/2023
Lord Smith of Finsbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Finsbury on 2016-06-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the delays that occur between the announcement of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant being made and permission to start being given to the recipient organisations.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Heritage Lottery Fund work closely to support grant recipients in meeting the essential requirements prior to works starting. The HLF are not aware of a general problem with delays around the existing permission to start process, though timings can vary.

01/01/2023
Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to restrict the amount spent by local authorities on legal support and advice in special educational needs and disability tribunals.

Edward Timpson

It is up to local authorities to decide how best to spend their Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) budgets, based on an analysis of local need. The reforms in the Children and Families Act 2014 were designed to make the SEND system less adversarial for parents and young people, as well as for local authorities. The process of Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment and plan development is designed to be collaborative, meaning that most disagreements should be resolved early on. Where disagreements persist, we have introduced a requirement to consider mediation, which has often proved effective in reducing the need to make an appeal to the SEND Tribunal. For example, in 2015, 75% of disagreements over EHC plans for which mediation sessions were held did not result in a Tribunal appeal in that year.

The SEND Tribunal aims to be facilitative and accessible, so that it should not be necessary for either parents or local authorities to employ legal support when making or defending an appeal. No additional weight is given to evidence because it is presented by a lawyer and many parents and local authorities successfully pursue their case without legal representation.

The Department is currently conducting a Review of Disagreement Resolution Arrangements, as required by the 2014 Act, which will report to Parliament by 31^st March 2017. The Review is looking at how the system of disagreement resolution is working for children, young people and their families, which includes enquiring about the costs incurred by both families and local authorities.

01/01/2023
David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal British Legion on the Count Them In campaign.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to support the aspiration of the Royal British Legion’s (RBL) ‘Count Them In’ campaign to include a veteran’s marker in the 2021 census to provide information to better support the commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. In June this year I wrote to John Pullinger, the National Statistician, to request that the position set out in the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) response to the census consultation was revisited. Following discussions this has been agreed and further work is being taken forward. The ONS and the MOD have established a working group to review the decision not to record veterans in the 2021 census. To date it has met six times. The working group is developing a number of themes which have allowed us to develop a good understanding of each other’s needs, including those of other Government Departments, Local Authorities and the charitable sector. The latest ONS statement on this issue can be found at the following address: https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/censustransformationprogramme/consultations/the2021censusinitialviewoncontentforenglandandwales/updateonmeetinginformationneedsonthearmedforcescommunityveterans The ONS will be inviting key stakeholders from across Government, Local Authorities and the charitable sector to a meeting this autumn to seek their further input on this issue. In addition, the MOD and the ONS met with the RBL in July this year to explain the work that both Departments are taking forward.

01/01/2023

Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which regulations his Office introduced as a result of EU legislation in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015 to date; which regulations his Office expects to implement as a result of EU legislation in (i) 2016 and (ii) 2017; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such regulation to the (A) public purse and (B) private sector.

Matthew Hancock

No regulations were introduced by the Cabinet Office as a result of EU legislation in 2013 and 2014.

So far in 2015 the Cabinet Office has introduced the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 which have estimated net annual savings of £3.6 Billion. No further regulations arising from EU legislation are planned for introduction in 2015.

Looking ahead to 2016 two regulations are expected to be implemented by the Cabinet Office as a result of EU legislation. These are the Utilities Contract Regulations and Concessions Contract Regulations.

Details of all the estimated costs to the Public Purse and Private Sector are provided in the table below:

Year	Title of Regulation	Cost to Business	Cost to Public Purse
2013	None
2014	None
2015	Public Contracts Regulations 2015	£3.6Billion saving
2016	Utilities Contract Regulations	£0.14M	£0.09M
	Concessions Contract Regulations	£0.3M	£0.85
2017	None

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01/01/2023

Mike Weir – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weir on 2015-12-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will assess the expected cost to UK consumers who elect to cancel booked package holidays to Sharm el Sheikh and other destinations in the Middle East scheduled to depart during the months of December 2015 and January 2016 where such cancellation is not penalty-free; and if he will make it his Department’s policy to issue travel advice which will allow penalty-free cancellation for travel booked to depart during those months.

James Duddridge

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice provides information and advice so that British nationals can make their own better informed decisions about foreign travel. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills is responsible for regulation of the travel industry and it is not the role of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to intervene in the regulation of this market. British nationals who have booked package holidays should contact their travel company if they wish to cancel their booking. These holidays will be subject to the terms and conditions of the booking and the provisions of the Package Travel Regulations, which cover among other things changes between the time of booking and the time of travel. Where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against travel since a holiday has been booked, such as Sharm el Sheikh, it is unlikely that a penalty will be incurred.

01/01/2023