Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve awareness of cerebral palsy among pupils and staff working in schools.

    Edward Timpson

    The reforms introduced in September 2014 will ensure that all children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) aged 0 to 25, including those with cerebral palsy, have improved access to the support they need.

    Local authorities are responsible for meeting the educational needs of all children with SEND within their local area. They must co-ordinate education, health and care provision for individual children and ensure that young people and parents are involved in discussions about their individual support and about local provision more generally. Statutory Local Offers published by each local authority must set out what support is available for all children and young people with SEND in their area, including those with more complex needs.

    The reforms detailed in the SEND Code of Practice were drawn up in consultation with a wide range of interested parties, many of whom represented the interests of children and young people with specific impairments. They are intended to improve outcomes for every child or young person with SEND by placing them at the heart of a system designed to respond to their individual needs and aspirations.

    The Department has not assessed the impact of the SEND Code of Practice, or regional variations in provision, on the basis of any specific impairment but is monitoring implementation closely.

    This monitoring includes inputs from annual data collection; termly surveys of local authorities and Parent Carer Forums; and feedback from specialist SEND Advisers and funded voluntary sector organisations. From May 2016, this monitoring will be enhanced by a new joint Ofsted/CQC inspection framework for SEND, which is currently the subject of a national consultation.

    Schools are required by the Children and Families Act 2014 to identify the SEN of the pupils they support and to use their best endeavours to make sure that they get the support they need. Teachers are expected to be able to adapt their teaching to the needs of all pupils, and to have an understanding of the factors that can inhibit learning and how to overcome them.

    To support the school workforce, the Department has funded almost 11,000 SEN Coordinators to attain Masters-level national awards between 2009 and 2014, at a cost of almost £33 million; is funding SEND conferences for school leaders and supporting the development of a ‘SEND gateway’ for education professionals, which offers a wide range of online training and information.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the US administration on the effect on UK citizens seeking to enter the US of recent changes to the US visa waiver programme affecting people who have previously visited Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan or hold dual citizenship of those countries.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    US Congress passed legislation making changes to the US visa waiver programme on 18 December. We had been in close and regular contact with the US administration, as well as members of Congress, while the bill was under consideration but ultimately this was a decision for them. Since then, officials at our Embassy in Washington have been in contact with the US administration as they consider the bill’s implementation, to ensure British travellers understand the impact of the changes, and avoid disruption to their travel plans. As ever, we will keep our Travel Advice under review.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any proposed special advisers have failed security vetting since May 2010.

    Matthew Hancock

    It has been the policy of successive governments not to comment about the individuals subject to security vetting.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 25631, when he expects the investigations into the six social care companies to be concluded.

    Mr David Gauke

    If a worker believes they have not received at least the National Minimum Wage they should contact the Acas helpline in confidence on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) currently fast track for investigation any care worker direct complaints received through the Acas helpline.

    I refer the hon. member back to the answer provided to him to Question 25631 for HMRC’s position on discussing outcomes. I further refer the hon. member back to the answer provided to him by my hon. friend the Minister for Skills (Nick Boles) for detail on naming policy, Question 8685.

    The most recent naming announcement from February is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-national-minimum-wage-offenders-named-and-shamed-february-2016.

    “

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on steps to remove foreign national offenders from UK prisons to their home countries.

    Andrew Selous

    The Secretary of State for Justice and the Home Secretary have regular bilateral meetings where they discuss progress on removal of FNOs. As announced in the Prime Minister’s speech on 8 February, MoJ officials have also been working closely with the Home Office to introduce a legal requirement for defendants appearing in court to provide their name, date of birth and nationality. This will enable earlier identification of foreign national offenders and help with the removals process.

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of selection related to religious beliefs in school admissions on the integration of pupils from different socio-economic, ethnic and religious or non-religious backgrounds in schools; and what steps she is taking to improve such integration.

    Nick Gibb

    It is for the admission authority of each school to set their own admission arrangements, according to their local circumstances. Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, must ensure their admission arrangements comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.

    The Code requires that all admissions arrangements must be fair, comply with equalities legislation, and not disadvantage unfairly a child from a particular social or racial group or a child with a disability or special educational needs. If an objection is made to the Schools Adjudicator, and the arrangements are found to be unfair or fail to comply with the Code, the admission authority must make changes to ensure their arrangements are compliant without undue delay.

    The Equality Act requires public bodies, including maintained schools and academies, to have due regard to the need to foster good relations across all protected characteristics. All schools are legally required to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of their pupils and their effectiveness in this is assessed through inspection. In assessing schools’ effectiveness, inspectors take account of the extent to which pupils have an understanding and appreciation of the range of different cultures within school and further afield as an essential element of their preparation for life in modern Britain.

    The School Admissions Code is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code–2

    “

  • Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the total number of Iraqi civilians killed since the start of the 2003 Iraq war.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government has not made an estimate of the number of Iraqis killed as a result of terrorism and war-related violence since 2003. While the security situation in Iraq has greatly improved since violence peaked in 2006-2007, Iraqi civilians have been victim to Daesh’s atrocities since the summer of 2014. We utterly condemn such violence and call for those responsible to be brought to justice. The UK is committed to supporting the Government of Iraq as it works to defeat Daesh and put Iraq on the path to long-term peace and stability.

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to ensure that regulations governing the exploitation on a significant scale of shale gas by fracking will be robust and will not permit an unacceptable level of self-regulation.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Shale companies need permission from independent expert regulators before any hydraulic fracturing operations can begin:

    – A licence for onshore oil and gas exploration is required from the Oil and Gas Authority

    – Planning permission is required from the local Mineral Planning Authority

    – Permits to operate a site are required from the Environment Agency

    – Safety on a drilling site and standards of well construction are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive

    – A drilling consent is also required from the Oil and Gas Authority

    We are confident that we have a robust regulatory regime in place. The Government will keep the regulatory regime for shale under review as the industry develops to ensure it is proportionate and fit for purpose.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received on the ability of the Pubs Code Adjudicator to enact its role impartially.

    Margot James

    My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received one letter from the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Iain Wright) as Chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and one letter from the hon. Member in his capacity as Chair of the British Pub Confederation. The Department has also received correspondence from members of the Pubs Advisory Service and the British Pub Confederation.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of (1) the recent report by former UK ambassadors to the EU that, if the UK left the EU, access to free-trade deals would be lost with 51 states; (2) whether those states would, as a consequence, lose free access to the UK market; and (3) the overall effect on the UK’s trading balance of those assessments.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis.