Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which office in his Department or its arms length bodies has responsibility for the oversight of outsourcing QTS numeracy and skills tests to Pearson VUE.

    Mr David Laws

    The skills tests for prospective teachers were developed under a contract let by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) to Pearson VUE in 2009. The Teaching Agency took over responsibility for oversight of contract management in 2012 when the TDA was abolished. Since November 2013, responsibility has rested with the Standards and Testing Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Education.

  • Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Priti Patel on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that the Gloria Greenwood murder and trial of the suspects is discussed during any future visit to the UK by government ministers from St Lucia.

    Mark Simmonds

    Consular officials remain in regular contact with the St Lucian authorities about the investigation into Mrs Greenwood’s death. We will continue to use all appropriate opportunities to press upon them the importance we place on bringing this case to trial, including Ministerial visits to the UK and to St Lucia. Consular officials are keeping Mrs Greenwood’s family updated and continue to provide full consular assistance

  • Nic Dakin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will promote the roll-out of the values and behaviours of the six Cs beyond nursing, midwifery and care staff.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    We recognise that the 6Cs – Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage and Commitment – the values and behaviours of the Compassion in Practice, Nursing, Midwifery and Care Staff, Our Vision and Strategy, published in December 21012, to deliver high quality companionate care and to achieve excellent health and wellbeing outcomes, are contributing to improved patient and staff experience and safety.

    Many trusts have signed up and rewritten their organisational strategy around the 6Cs and other health professionals have adopted the 6Cs into their practice across the National Health Service and social care.

    During the past 12, the number of Care Makers – who act as ambassadors for the 6Cs – has continued to flourish and there are currently more than 1,200 throughout England. Care Makers have expanded beyond nursing, midwifery and care family, to include other professions such as allied health professionals, doctors, chaplains and commissioners.

    To ensure that this significant cultural change is developed across all NHS and social care professions, NHS England is hosting an event (on 4 July), for senior leaders from the NHS and social care, clinical and non-clinical, in conjunction with the Clinical Leaders Network. Attendees include patient advocates, representatives from partners including the Hospital Caterers Association and clinical colleagues who have actively engaged with the 6Cs and are eager to promote their spread and uptake among other disciplines.

    The event aims to act as a springboard for individuals and organisations that are interested in listening to and sharing learning and good practice to engage their workforces to embed the values of the 6Cs across all professions and levels in healthcare practice.

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Decision Notice of 14 May 2013 on the extension of the reserved legal activities, what new guidance he has issued on will writing for the legal profession.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    In the Lord Chancellor’s Decision Notice of 14 May 2013, as well as confirming that he had decided not to make will writing a reserved legal activity, he indicated that further efforts should be made to see if alternatives to regulation could be made more effective in improving standards in relation to will writing.

    Since then, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has taken a number of steps, with the intention of encouraging and supporting measures to improve standards, in both the regulated and unregulated legal service sectors.

    In relation to the regulated sector, the LSB has written to the approved regulators, to encourage them to take steps to address concerns about the quality of will writing by authorised persons. In May 2014, the Solicitors Regulation Authority issued guidance for solicitors on will-writing.

    In relation to the unregulated sector, the LSB convened a roundtable with industry stakeholders, including leading will writing trade bodies, in January 2014, to explore ways to improve the coverage and effectiveness of voluntary schemes and codes. At this roundtable, the LSB and stakeholders also discussed how to improve consumer information, to better educate consumers about the differences between regulated and unregulated will providers, and related protections and redress routes.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in (a) York Central constituency and (b) York Unitary Authority area received winter fuel payments in the last year for which data is available.

    Steve Webb

    The information for winter 2012-13 is available on the internet at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/winter-fuel-payment-caseload-and-household-figures-201213

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to reduce the levels of obesity.

    Earl Howe

    We have a well-developed and wide-ranging programme of actions to reduce levels of obesity. These include working with a wide range of partners including Public Health England, NHS England, Government departments including the Department for Education and Department for Transport, and industry through the Public Health Responsibility Deal. Key initiatives include Change4Life, the National Child Measurement Programme, NHS Health Checks, Change4Life Sports Clubs, School Sports Funding and the School Food Plan.

    Our national ambition for a downward trend in excess weight in adults and children by 2020 requires collective action by Government, businesses, health and care professionals, and individuals. We believe the actions we are taking are delivering results with obesity rates levelling off, but we still have much further to go.

  • David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what Government spending was in reform of the process of procurement and across central Government in each year since May 2010.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The Cabinet Office has been working with central Government departments to implement a demanding Commercial Reform agenda which is aimed at leveraging the Crown’s buying power, deriving better value for money and savings for the taxpayer to support deficit reduction and growth. This work has been carried out across departments and costs are not held centrally.

    As a result of our work to date, we have made the way we buy goods and services in central Government quicker, more competitive, more transparent, better value and far simpler than before. This has saved the taxpayer £2.9bn in 2010-11, with a further £3.0bn in 2011-12, £3.8bn in 2012-13 and £5.4bn in 2013-14. These savings are all calculated against a 2009-10 baseline and include both recurring and non-recurring items.

    All of this could have been started before the 2010 General Election. However in May 2010 there was no effective central oversight of procurement, commercial skills were lacking and Government didn’t even know who its strategic suppliers were, let alone how much was being spent with them.

  • David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to record cases of bullying as reported by victims in schools by counts of cyber-bullying and similar sub-categories.

    Elizabeth Truss

    There is no legal requirement on schools to record and report incidents of bullying and we have no plans to introduce one. Schools are free to develop their own approaches to monitoring bullying and exercise their own judgement as to what will work best for their pupils. For some schools, this will involve formal recording of incidents so that they can monitor bullying and identify where it is recurring between the same pupils. Alternatively, some schools may prefer to take a different approach, such as surveying their pupils anonymously to identify trends in bullying, including how safe young people feel at school.

    Schools are held clearly to account by Ofsted for pupil behaviour and safety which includes how they tackle bullying. Inspectors consider the types, rates and patterns of bullying and the effectiveness of the school’s actions to prevent and tackle all forms of bullying and harassment, including cyberbullying.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the release of Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Sha’ar and Naftali Frenkel, who were abducted in the West Bank on 12 June 2014.

    Hugh Robertson

    As of 30 June, we have received no reports that the three kidnapped Israeli teenagers have been released.

  • Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions she has had with the Lord Chancellor on the introduction of section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 in relation to data protection offences; and if she will make a statement.

    Simon Hughes

    I am not aware that any discussions have taken place between the Lord Chancellor and the Home Secretary on the introduction of s77 of the Criminal Justice Act 2008 (CJIA). The Ministry of Justice will liaise with all interested Government Departments before deciding whether to consult on introducing section 77 (CJIA) and commencing the enhanced public interest defence under section 78 (CJIA).