The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the review of the NHS Commissioning Board’s policy on the autonomy of Commissioning Support Units will impact those units’ options for becoming staff enterprises or staff mutuals.
Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England’s Commissioning Committee will shortly be asked to review its current policy on Commissioning Support Unit (CSU) autonomy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-02-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has for the implementation of the recommendations in the School Food Plan (SFP) after the end of the SFP office’s contract with her Department at the end of March 2016.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Actions from the School Food Plan include significant lasting achievements, such as cooking in the national curriculum and the implementation of a set of new school food standards. We are committed to the Plan’s vision of increasing take-up of school meals through improvements to the quality of the food and the dining experience.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-03-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to release files held by the Cabinet Office on the activities of Anthony Blunt and other files on the intelligence services due for release now being sought by historical researchers, in accordance with their obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Public Records Act 1958.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The files will be released in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that local authorities are required to take action on education and early years settings that intentionally exclude disabled children and do not meet their legal duties to such children under the Equality Act 2010.
Edward Timpson
Promoting equality in education settings is a priority for this Government. In combination with our guidance to schools on managing medical conditions, the Equality Act 2010 provides a broad basis for ensuring that disabled pupils are included and supported to achieve their full potential.
The Equality Act requires all schools (whether maintained or academy) to produce an accessibility plan. These plans ensure that all aspects of school life are accessible to disabled pupils. The Act also requires Local Authorities to produce accessibility strategies with the same aims as the school-level plan, but with different coverage. There is no evidence of schools or early years settings systematically refusing to accept disabled children. However, we do take action where individual cases are brought to our attention.
Our Early Implementer Package for the new extended childcare offer will include testing how we can improve access for children with SEN and disabilities. This will provide critical information before the national rollout.
Any exclusions from school must be lawful, reasonable and fair. Schools have a legal duty not to discriminate against a pupil because of a protected characteristic. The statutory guidance on exclusion emphasises the importance of early intervention to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour, including an assessment of whether suitable provision is in place to support any SEN or disability a pupil may have. It also states that headteachers should, as far as possible, avoid excluding permanently any pupil with a statement of SEN.
In certain circumstances, governing bodies must review head teachers’ decisions to exclude and have the power to reinstate a pupil. Where a governing body upholds a permanent exclusion, parents can request that the decision is reviewed by an independent review panel. However, the governing body has the final say on whether the pupil can return to the school. Parents can request that a SEN expert provides impartial advice to the panel.
Parents can also make a claim to the First-tier Tribunal (SEN and Disabilities) when it is alleged that an exclusion relates to disability discrimination. The Tribunal has the power to order the pupil’s reinstatement.
When Ofsted inspect a school and look at the behaviour management policies they can also consider whether the school is disproportionately excluding pupils with disabilities and can use this to inform their assessment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review, or charge others to review, the performance of the trustees of the BHS pension schemes, and whether the current trustees are fit and proper to continue performing that role at BHS and other pension schemes.
Baroness Altmann
The investigation into the BHS pension schemes, including the role of the trustees, is a matter for the independent Pensions Regulator.
The actions of the trustees and competence of the trustees are among the issues that we would expect the Regulator to be considering as part of its investigations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bird on 2016-06-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what amount and proportion of funding from their poverty prevention programmes currently in operation has been allocated to (1) preventing the underlying causes of poverty, (2) dealing with emergency effects of poverty, (3) managing the ongoing effects of poverty, and (4) alleviating the effects of poverty, in (a) each of the last five years, and (b) to date in 2016.
Lord Freud
This Government’s welfare reforms are focused on supporting people to find and keep work whilst ensuring that we are protecting the most vulnerable. At the end of the Parliament we will be spending over £60bn – 3% of GDP – supporting people on low incomes.
We know that work is the best route out of poverty. Evidence shows that almost three-quarters of poor workless families who found full employment escaped poverty; and that the highest poverty exit rate of 75% was for families that moved from part to full employment. The number of children living in workless households is down by 449,000 since 2010
Our new life chances approach to poverty and disadvantage will include a set of indicators to measure progress in tackling the root causes of poverty such as worklessness, educational attainment and family stability.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-09-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the EU referendum result, what action they are taking to protect workers’ rights.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
There is already a range of protections for workers in UK law. It is important to get the right balance between the needs of employers and employees and that remains our position.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2016 to Question 48986, if he will visit the A595 in Copeland before Christmas 2016.
Mr John Hayes
Due to existing diary commitments, it is unlikely that I, as the Roads Minister, will be able to visit the A595 in Copeland before Christmas 2016. Nevertheless, it is my intention to visit roads across the country over the coming months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs brought into the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme have been (a) seized and (b) put through quarantine in each year since 2012.
George Eustice
The Pet Travel Scheme covers pet dogs, cats and ferrets. There are separate rules for the commercial importation of these animals; for example for sale or rehoming.
Any dog, cat or ferret identified as being non-compliant with either Pet Travel Scheme or commercial rules to enter the UK will be placed into quarantine. We hold data on illegally landed animals for the three previous years and do not record the species involved or whether the quarantined animals were a pet travel or commercial movement.
The numbers of dogs, cats and ferrets quarantined were 461 in 2013, 498 in 2014 and 609 in 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of still births; and what steps he is taking to improve communication between coroners and health professionals to inform such steps.
Ben Gummer
On 13 November 2015, the Government announced an ambitious campaign to halve the national rates of maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths and brain injuries in babies by 2030.
To help meet these aims trusts will receive a share of over £4 million of government investment to improve outcomes for women and babies. This includes:
– a £2.24 million fund to help trusts buy monitoring or training equipment to improve safety;
– a £500,000 investment in developing a new system for staff to review and learn from every stillbirth and neonatal death; and
– over £1 million investment to roll out training packages developed in agreement with expertise from the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, to make sure staff have the skills and confidence they need to deliver world-leading safe care.
Stillbirths are certified by a registered medical practitioner if they are present at the stillbirth or examined the baby, or in the absence of a registered medical practitioner, by a midwife. The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 provides the legal framework for the coroners role, which is limited to investigating the cause of deaths. Stillborn babies are not legally classified as having died because they did not show signs of independent life after birth.
Medical professionals will only refer a case to the senior Coroner if there is reason to suspect that a baby’s death may have been violent or unnatural. This includes babies who only briefly showed signs of independent life and/or where there is doubt about whether a child was born alive or was stillborn.
One of the powers available to a coroner is the power to make a Rule 43 report. If the coroner feels that the evidence gives rise to a concern that circumstances creating a risk of other deaths will occur or continue to exist, he/she may make a Rule 43 report, which is sent to the organisation that has responsibility for the circumstances. A recipient of a Rule 43 report must send a written response within 56 days. The response must give details of any action which has been or is proposed will be taken, or provide an explanation when no action is proposed.