The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the potential benefits for bus passengers of municipal ownership of bus companies.
Andrew Jones
There are a few towns and cities that have municipal bus operators, however no analysis has been undertaken by the Department for Transport to understand the potential benefits of those models for passengers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by FALSE on 2016-03-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by the Prime Minister on 9 March that we have to make sure that we get cost-effective electricity and that we go green at the lowest cost” (HC Deb
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The negotiations regarding a Contract for Difference for the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal lagoon remain ongoing.
Tidal Lagoon Power (TLP) have put forward a number of alternative proposals to their 35 year strike price proposal and as these would be a significant deviation from Government policy it is right that we take time to consider these proposals as part of the on-going due diligence process.
Beyond the consideration of TLP’s alternative proposals the independent review, which Government announced on the 10 February, we will consider alternative approaches to financing tidal lagoons more generally, providing an evidence base to ensuring decisions are taken in the best interest of bill-payers – both today and in the future.
While we have made good progress with the TLP the review will need to have been completed before a final decision can be made on the Swansea Bay proposal.
Hinkley Point C would be a good deal for consumers – support for Hinkley would deliver around 7% of the country’s electricity needs with secure and reliable, low-carbon power.
We remain confident that the deal on Hinkley Point C will go ahead. We intend to publish a summary of the Value for Money assessment for Hinkley along with the contracts, once the documents have been entered into.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the change in total traffic volumes across the entire road network over present levels by (a) 2020, (b) 2030 and (c) 2040.
Andrew Jones
The Department’s most recent published road traffic forecast for England was published in 2015.
Compared to the traffic volumes in 2014, the latest year for which traffic statistics are available for England, the Department forecasts that traffic volumes will be:
a) 4-20% higher in 2020
b) 11-38% higher in 2030
c) 15-52% higher in 2040
More detailed information can be found on the Department for Transport pages on GOV.UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-05-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to work to establish a Digital Powerhouse Contract Portal, as recommended in the recent report The Digital Powerhouse: The innovation potential of tech clusters in the North, and to add central government contracts to that portal once established.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
There are no current plans to do this.
The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) have published the attached detailed guidance on the new transparency requirements for publishing on Contracts Finder.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bottomley on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which five clinical events caused the medical director of the East Lancashire Hospitals Trust to exclude Mr Aditya Agrawal.
Mr Jeremy Hunt
This is an employer and employee matter between the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Mr Aditya Agrawal respectively. The Department cannot comment on individual employment matters that are the responsibility of independent organisations, and that are subject to ongoing legal proceedings or on matters relating to individual clinical cases or other personal information. We understand that the cost to East Lancashire Trust of legal proceedings concerning Mr Agrawal is £296,848.42 to date, and that the Trust does not have insurance costs for legal awards in the event of the Trust or one of its employees being subject to legal action for defamation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number of children who rely on public transport to get to school in (a) England and (b) the North East.
Caroline Dinenage
The Department for Education does not hold data on the number of children who use public transport for their home to school journeys. While we do oversee the school transport policy and legislative framework which determines the duties of local authorities and we support this through the Local Government Finance Settlement, we do not prescribe the type of arrangements or modes of transport that can be used locally.
The Department for Transport does however, undertake an annual National Travel Survey which includes data on the modes of school travel. The 2015 survey, including regional level data, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-travel-survey-2015
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of withdrawal of ESOL Plus mandated funding on the ability of refugees in the UK to access ESOL courses.
Nick Boles
The decision to withdraw the 2015/16 ESOL Plus (Mandation) funding was taken in the knowledge that providers could use their adult skills budget to continue to provide ESOL training for jobseekers and therefore mitigate any adverse impact. Our data showed that the numbers of claimants being referred to ESOL Plus (Mandation) provision was significantly lower than originally anticipated.
Adults who are granted refugee status or humanitarian protection become eligible for skills funding through the adult skills budget, as any other English resident and are not subject to the normal 3 year qualifying period.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much and what proportion of his Department’s budget for employment support has been allocated to the Work and Health Programme for each of the next four years.
Priti Patel
In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced a new Work and Health Programme to provide specialist support for claimants with health conditions or disabilities and those unemployed for over 2 years after current Work Programme and Work Choice contracts end.
The Department is currently undertaking its normal prioritisation process to determine how funding secured at the Spending Review is allocated on an annual basis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what amount of additional funding her Department has allocated to Ofsted to carry out local area inspections of provisions for children with special educational needs and disability; and if so, what amount has been allocated for each of the next three years.
Edward Timpson
Local authorities have made good progress complying with the statutory special educational needs duties in the Children and Families Act 2014 since they came into force in September 2014. We continue to monitor progress.
All local authorities have published a Local Offer of the services and support available to children and young people in their area with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Responsibility for publishing and maintaining Local Offers lies with each local authority. The Department supports local authorities to help make sure they meet all statutory requirements for their Local Offer, and that the quality of services continues to improve.
In summer 2014, the Department conducted a review of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans and plan templates from half of local authorities. The majority of the EHC plan templates we reviewed were judged likely to meet the requirements in the SEND Code of Practice. Where changes were needed, this was often due to inaccurate labelling of the required sections. Feedback was provided to individual local authorities alongside information to all local authorities about the key areas for focus. Since September 2014, EHC plans have been continually monitored. Where individual EHC plans are considered not to be fully compliant, advice on improvement is provided to the local authority.
Figures returned by local authorities and published in the Statements of SEN and EHC plans Statistical First Release[1] in May 2015 show that, of the 1,360 new EHC plans issued between 1 September 2014 and 15 January 2015, 64.3% were within the statutory 20 week time limit when excluding exception cases.
The Department for Education is providing specific additional funding to Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to support their inspection of the effectiveness of local areas in fulfilling their new SEND duties. We are in the process of setting individual budgets as part of our internal business planning process.
Ofsted and CQC conducted pilots as part of their wider consultation on their inspection proposals. These pilots explored different approaches to securing evidence in what is a complex area, involving a range of education, social care, and health providers at the local level. Ofsted and CQC will publish their response to the consultation on these new inspection arrangements in spring 2016. In addition, they will evaluate the impact of inspections, which will begin later in 2016.
The Department draws on a wide range of evidence to determine whether the SEND provisions of the Children and Families Act have improved outcomes for children. Our intention is that a combination of local accountability measures; data and analysis; and independent inspection will show how the SEND system is performing and whether outcomes are improving for children and young people.
The SEND inspections will evaluate local areas’ effectiveness in identifying and meeting the needs of children and young people. We will draw on a wide range of statistics[2], including information on educational attainment, absence and exclusions and research into families and young people’s experience of the new system.
A summary of the available data on SEN and disability is available at
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2015
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-special-educational-needs-sen
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent staff are employed within his Department’s Child Maintenance Group’s Financial Investigation Unit.
Priti Patel
Child Maintenance Group currently has 33.01 full-time equivalent staff working within the Financial Investigations Unit.