Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the number of small housing applications that are declined on the basis that they are unsustainable.

    Brandon Lewis

    We do not hold information centrally on why permissions for small sites are refused. Each planning application for development is determined in line with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise, taking account of the relevant planning matters and the views of the local community. Small sites play an important contribution to meeting overall housing need. In the year to March 2016, planning permission was granted for 40,000 dwellings on sites of less than 10 units, up 3% on the year to March 2015.

    The planning system has strong levers in place to support the delivery of small sites, including through strong national planning policy and extensive permitted development rights. Through the Housing and Planning Act we have introduced further proposals which will help provide greater opportunities for small-and medium-sized companies to enter the development market, promote custom build development and make effective use of developable land.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the amount in tolls, charges, penalties and fees which remain unpaid by (a) commercial and (b) domestic drivers from outside the UK in each of the last five years.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Government takes recovery of non-payment of tolls, charges, penalties and fees very seriously both by UK and non UK drivers. When it is non-payment from a non UK driver a European debt recovery agency is used to support recovery of outstanding charges.

    It is not possible to identify the amount in tolls, charges, penalties and fees which remain unpaid by (a) commercial and (b) domestic drivers from outside the UK in each of the last five years without incurring disproportionate cost as this information could only be obtained by a search of all tolling, charging, penalty charging and fee systems.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of increasing business rates on retailers’ capacity to tackle low pay.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government recognises that business rates represent a fixed cost which can be more burdensome during times of economic difficulty. It is currently considering the impact of business rates on the retail sector as part of the ongoing business rates review. The review will complete by the end of the year.

    Further, the Chancellor recently set out major plans to devolve new powers from Whitehall to local areas to promote growth and prosperity. This includes giving councils the power to reduce business rates to support businesses in their area.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is planned that RAF pilots will rely upon information provided by personnel on the ground to identify and attack targets territory in Syria occupied by ISIS.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The information used to identify and strike targets is derived from a number of different sources and assessed rigorously for compliance with UK rules of engagement, UK law and international law. It is not our practice to comment in detail on how specific operational targets are derived, as to do so would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on increasing the number of BME police officers.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Since 2013, officials in the Government Equalities Office have been working with the Home Office and police representatives on how best to use provisions within the Equality Act 2010 to help increase the number of BME police officers.

    The officer workforce is more representative in terms of gender and ethnicity than it has ever been. At 31 March 2015, there were 6,979 BME officers representing 5.5% of all police officers (compared with 4.6% in 2010, 3.6% in 2006 and only 2.2% in 2000).

    At 31 March 2015, there were 35,738 female officers, representing 28.2% of all police officers (compared with 25.7% in 2010, and only 16.5% in 2000).

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will announce a public consultation to determine the level of support for including mothers’ names on marriage certificates.

    James Brokenshire

    There is agreement that the names of both parents should be included in the marriage entry. The Home Office has, therefore, been working with all interested parties to consider the most efficient and effective way to achieve this. Doing so is likely to require additional funding and changes to legislation, IT systems and administrative processes. A timetable will be confirmed for changes as soon as there is an opportunity to legislate on this matter.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of teacher recruitment and retention in primary and secondary schools.

    Nick Gibb

    There are now more, better-qualified teachers in England’s classrooms than ever before. We are attracting top graduates and career-changers with generous incentives, including tax-free bursaries worth up to £30,000 and the opportunity to earn a salary whilst training.

    This year, over 1,000 more postgraduate trainee teachers were recruited than in 2014/15. We exceeded our target for new primary teachers and finished ahead of last year in key secondary subjects such as maths and physics.

    Teacher retention rates have remained broadly stable for two decades. 72% of those who qualified in the 2009 calendar year and entered teaching by November 2009 were still teaching five years later.

    It is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers. That is why we have made significant policy interventions in the areas that teachers tell us matter most, such as improving pupil behaviour and reducing unnecessary workload. We have appointed behaviour expert Tom Bennett to lead a review to ensure new teachers are fully trained in dealing with disruptive children and to consider all of the challenges of managing behaviour in schools.

    We have established three groups to address the biggest concerns that teachers raised in the workload challenge: marking, planning and data management. The groups will create principles for practice and make specific recommendations for action. All three groups are due to report to Ministers in 2016 and we are commissioning a biennial survey to track teacher workload, starting in the spring of 2016.

    We have also given schools the freedom to pay the best teachers more, recognising excellence and improving retention.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received about possible revision of the seafarer’s earnings deduction incentive.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Chancellor has not recently received any specific representations about possible revisions to the seafarer’s earnings deduction.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to increase the proportion of men going to university.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone with the potential has the opportunity to benefit from higher education, irrespective of their background or gender.

    In the last academic year we saw record numbers of applicants and entrants to higher education, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

    In our recent guidance to the Director of Fair Access, we asked him to include among his areas of focus support for white working class boys who are among the groups with the lowest participation rates. Universities expect to spend more than £745 million through access agreements agreed with the Director of Fair Access on measures to improve access and success for students from disadvantaged backgrounds – up significantly from £404 million in 2009.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the academy trusts approved to receive the Northern Fund for academy sponsors in the second competition which concluded in February 2016 operated schools which had not been inspected by Ofsted since becoming an academy.

    Edward Timpson

    Nine academy trusts were approved to receive the Northern Fund from the two competitions. All nine trusts (five in the first competition, and four in the second) were operating one or more schools that had not been inspected by Ofsted since becoming an academy at the time decisions were taken to award funding. Equally, all nine trusts had one of more schools that had been inspected at the time decisions were taken to award funding.

    Academy trusts will, at any point in time, be likely to have a mixture of academies, some of which will have been inspected as academies and some not. That is the nature of the inspection arrangements, and is why we considered a broad set of factors, including the overall performance of the trusts, to assess whether the Northern Fund would enhance their capacity and capability to improve underperforming schools.