Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many three year olds in Ashfield constituency have received the 15 hours free childcare allowance (a) in private, voluntary or independent sector nurseries, (b) in nursery schools or nursery units in infant or primary schools and (c) from childminders registered to provide early years education in each academic year since that allowance was introduced.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Information at constituency level is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations he has made to (a) the Premier League, (b) the Football League and (c) the Football Association to encourage football clubs to offer affordable tickets to supporters.

    David Evennett

    Ticket prices are a matter for clubs, and we therefore welcome the recent announcement by those in the Premier League to cap the price of away tickets to £30 for the next three seasons. In my regular meetings with the football authorities, I will continue to ask that all clubs keep under review ticket prices, as well as ways to ensure greater engagement in clubs by supporters

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers in his Department have had with Hanover Communications International Ltd in the last year on behalf of which clients.

    Joseph Johnson

    Departments publish details of Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries’ meetings with external organisations, and Special Advisors’ meetings with senior media figures. BIS transparency data is published online at www.gov.uk/government/collections/bis-quarterly-publications-april-to-june-2012 and https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bis-special-advisers.

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  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with the Rail North Board.

    Andrew Jones

    Since the start of the new Northern and TPE franchises on 1st April 2016, the Rail North Partnership Director (who is responsible for the management of those franchises on behalf of Rail North and the Department) has had one meeting with the Board of Rail North Ltd at which he presented his monthly report.

  • The Earl of Clancarty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Earl of Clancarty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Clancarty on 2016-07-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 28 June (HL Deb, col 1490) that the military and police need to have adequate resources, how many police staff in the UK are exclusively dedicated to the recovery of stolen art and antiques; whether there are plans to increase that number; and what sources of funding are available for those posts.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Home Office does not hold information on the police workforce engaged in the recovery of stolen art and antiquities. Ultimately decisions on the size, composition and deployment of a police force’s workforce are operational matters for individual chief constables, working with their democratically elected Police and Crime Commissioners. Specific funding is not provided centrally for this area of operations, and it is for the individual forces concerned to decide how best to allocate their available resources according to local and national priorities.

    The 2016-17 funding settlement for the police ensures that the police have adequate funding to do their work. In 2016/17, direct resource funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), including council tax precept, has been protected to at least flat cash levels. This means that no PCC who chose to maximise precept is facing a reduction in cash funding in 2016/17 compared to 2015/16 and the majority are seeing marginal cash increases in their spending power.

  • Baroness Humphreys – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Humphreys – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Humphreys on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of children born between (1) 1 September and 30 April, and (2) 1 May and 31 August, were admitted to academy schools in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

    Lord Nash

    The department does not hold a dataset which contains both a child’s date of birth and the type of school they attend. The amount of data linkage across datasets for separate years that would be required to answer the question would incur disproportionate costs.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many projects, of what value, have received investment through the Pensions Infrastructure Platform in (a) 2015 and (b) since the platform’s launch.

    Greg Hands

    The Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PIP) is a vehicle for encouraging pension funds to invest in infrastructure. It does this by establishing special purpose infrastructure investment funds that are designed to meet the needs of pension funds. The PIP is owned by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) with investment from pension funds.

    Two funds have been launched so far through the PIP. The first fund was launched in 2014 and is managed by Dalmore Capital with a remit to invest in UK PPP/PFI project equity. The fund has currently raised £508m commitments of a £600m target. The second PIP fund is a domestic solar PV fund managed by Aviva, it was launched in February 2015 and has commitments of £131mn and a target of £250mn.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his Department’s Policy paper, UN Human Rights Council: United Kingdom 2017-2019 candidate, published on 9 December 2015, for what reason reference to the prevention of torture included in previous candidature policy papers was omitted from that policy paper.

    Mr David Lidington

    Our UN pledges reflect our enduring commitment to promoting universal human rights. Our work to prevent torture globally is intrinsic to this. Our pledges renew the UK’s commitment to encourage the ratification and implementation of core UN human rights instruments – this includes the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and its Optional Protocol. As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the member for Witney (Mr Cameron) has said, “torture is always wrong”. We continue to call on all states to set up meaningful national preventative mechanisms to put an end to all use of torture and remain committed to torture prevention work globally as evidenced by the launch of the new edition of the Torture Reporting Handbook on 24 September.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans she has to share Government data with (a) Ofgem and (b) energy companies in relation to fuel poverty and energy efficiency.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Government data is currently shared with Ofgem and the licenced electricity suppliers for the purposes of delivering automatic energy bill rebates to customers in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit under the Warm Home Discount scheme. We intend to consult on the future design of the scheme, including the use of Government data, and are considering how good use of data can help us more widely to address fuel poverty.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire in assessing the wellbeing of children and young people when they enter the care system.

    Edward Timpson

    This Government is committed to supporting children in care and the unique challenges that they often face. That is why we’ve put in place a comprehensive package of support, including the introduction of the Pupil Premium Plus and compulsory Virtual School Heads to champion the attainment of children in care. We’ve also changed the rules so foster children can remain at home until 21 and have recognised long-term fostering as a placement in its own right, providing young people with greater stability as they prepare for independence and adult life.

    The Department collects Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) scores for children looked-after for at least 12 months. The data returned by local authorities are based on questionnaires completed by the child’s main carer. SDQs should inform a looked-after child’s annual health assessment.

    In England, 72% of 5-16 year olds, looked after for at least 12 months, have had an SDQ score submitted. In Birmingham, 85% of these children have had an SDQ score submitted. These figures are correct as of 31 March 2015. More information can be found in the Department’s Statistical First Release Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England at 31 March 2015[1].

    The SDQ is an internationally validated screening tool that provides information about the behavioural and emotional health of children. It has been part of the Department’s statistical collection for looked-after children since 2008. Where the SDQ score from the main carer suggests there may be a problem, the statutory guidance Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children[2], which is issued jointly by the Department for Education and Department for Health, makes clear that consideration should be given to further assessment.

    The Department recently supported the research undertaken by the Rees Centre at the University of Oxford on The Educational Progress of Looked-After Children in England: Linking Care and Education Data[3]. This research demonstrates that having a high SDQ score was strongly predictive of poor GCSE outcomes. We are discussing the implications of this research with local authority Virtual School Heads.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2014-to-2015

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-the-health-and-wellbeing-of-looked-after-children–2

    [3] http://reescentre.education.ox.ac.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/EducationalProgressLookedAfterChildrenOverviewReport_Nov2015.pdf

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