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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a national pay scale for teaching assistants.

    Nick Gibb

    The government believes that decisions on the use, deployment, and pay of teaching assistants are best made in a way that reflects local needs.

    Support staff rates of pay are determined by employers: in maintained schools, these will be set by the local authority; in Academies and Free Schools, these will be set by school or the Trust.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) what the average waiting time was for checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service to be completed and (b) how long on average the Police National Computer search took in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14, (v) 2014-15 and (vi) 2015-16 to date.

    Karen Bradley

    The following table shows, for each year from November 2010 to October 2015, both the average end-to-end turnaround time for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates and the average time to complete the Police National Computer (PNC) stage.

    The PNC stage has been defined as the time spent in DBS between receipt of an application and – in the case of Enhanced Disclosures – its despatch to local police forces; or – in the case of Standard Disclosures – its assembly for return to the applicant. During this period, DBS conducts a search of the Police National Computer, followed by internal checks to ensure both the accuracy and quality of certificates.

    Time Period

    Average End to End Turnaround (days)

    Average PNC Stage Turnaround (days)

    Nov-10 to Oct-11

    16.22

    1.72

    Nov-11 to Oct-12

    10.85

    2.25

    Nov-12 to Oct-13

    10.23

    1.54

    Nov-13 to Oct-14

    13.63

    2.42

    Nov-14 to Oct-15

    14.28

    2.86

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the four desks allocated in his Department’s main building to the Defence Police Federation are being withdrawn; whether those allocated to Defence trades union representatives are also being withdrawn; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    The decision to ask the Defence Police Federation to relocate their Head Office function was made as part of our plans to make more efficient use of Ministry of Defence (MOD) Main Building and will generate substantial savings. An offer of alternative office accommodation at the MOD Police Headquarters has been made to the Defence Police Federation. This follows the standard approach taken by Home Office police forces where local Police Federation officials are collocated at the Force Headquarters for business reasons.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the degree to which religious selection in schools leads to intakes that are socio-economically unrepresentative of their local area, and of the effect of the complexity of admission arrangements employed by religiously selective schools on the representativeness of such intakes.

    Lord Nash

    It is for admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, to set and determine admission arrangements that comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law. The code requires that all admissions arrangements must be fair and do not discriminate against pupils based on their social background, ethnicity or disability.

    The Schools Adjudicator investigates any objections raised in relation to schools’ admissions arrangements. Where an objection 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 within two months. Where an admission authority fails to implement decisions of the adjudicator, the Secretary of State may direct the admission authority to do so.

  • Kelly Tolhurst – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kelly Tolhurst – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with her EU counterparts on citizenship-for-investment schemes.

    James Brokenshire

    We are monitoring such schemes and are in contact with other EU Member States where appropriate. Every country has the right to decide its own citizenship laws, but we would object if another Member State made changes that could lead to abuse of free movement rights.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to the funding formula for GP surgeries on surgeries in (a) Huddersfield and (b) Kirklees.

    Alistair Burt

    Approximately 55% of general practitioner (GP) practices operate under General Medical Service (GMS) contract arrangements. Typically, at least half of the money that a GMS practice receives is in the form of the ‘global sum’, derived through the Carr-Hill Formula.

    The formula, as agreed with the British Medical Association (BMA) before the introduction of the 2004 GP contract, is used to allocate the global sum and related payments on the basis of the practice population, weighted for factors that influence relative needs and costs.

    There are indications that the formula does not work as effectively in areas with demographically atypical populations, such as new towns or areas with high student populations. NHS England is working with the BMA’s General Practitioners Committee, NHS Employers, the Department and academic partners on the review to develop a formula that better reflects the factors that drive workload, such as age or deprivation. As part of this work, the effect of any changes on practice funding in specific areas such as Huddersfield and Kirklees will be considered. It is intended that the review of the Carr-Hill formula will inform the 2017-18 GP contract.

    A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified one item of correspondence received since 1 May 2015 from university health centres. There has also been a Ministerial meeting related to areas with demographically atypical populations, in this case new towns. It was not possible to identify correspondence received from GP surgeries with atypical patient profiles. This represents correspondence received by the Department’s ministerial correspondence unit only.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2016 to Question 33944, whether the decision not to change statutory guidance on post-16 transport to education and training will be subject to review as area reviews of further education progress.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Area reviews of post-16 education are focused on meeting the needs of learners in each area, and because they are overseen by steering groups including Chairs and Principals of colleges as well as local authorities, they are well placed to do this. The steering group’s discussions and recommendations are based on the best available evidence, including an analysis of local economic and educational needs and the mapping of current curriculum provision and travel to learn patterns. Recommendations made by the steering group, including mergers, should improve access to better quality teaching delivered by sustainable institutions focused on meeting learner need.

    Local authorities are members of area review steering groups and have statutory responsibility for transport to education and training for 16- to 19-year-olds. We expect local authorities to make reasonable decisions about the support they offer based on the needs of their young people, local transport infrastructure and the resources they have available. Authorities will need to take account of the recommendations arising from each area review and the impact on transport for learners. We will reflect this in the next version of the post-16 transport statutory guidance which we plan to update in the autumn.

    Most young people already have access to some kind of discount or concession on bus or train travel, either from their local authority, local transport providers, or from their school or college, and we would expect this to continue following any changes to post-16 provision as a result of area reviews. The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund will continue to be available to support those young people who most need it, with the costs of attending post-16 education or training such as transport and meals.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-06-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they estimate the Cardiff Rail Operating Centre will be commissioned.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Cardiff Regional Operating Centre opened in 2010 and has been signaling trains since that date.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will pay the outstanding payments to farmers affected by storms Eva and Desmond last December.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    More than 1,000 applications for funding under the Farming Recovery Fund have been approved by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

    Farmers have until the end of December 2016 to carry out the restoration work and then submit a claim for payment to us. RPA aims to process and made payments within a month of receiving a fully completed claim.

    To date the RPA has received 358 claims for payment and 268 of these have been paid.

    RPA is waiting for the remaining 750 claims to be submitted, the majority of which are expected in October and November.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13044, what assessment she has made of reasons for the delays in constructing reactors in China as requested in that question.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Whilst being a minority partner in the Taishan project, EDF expect Taishan to start generating power before the EPR at Flamanville in France, which EDF have estimated will be by the end of 2018.