Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authorities her Department has identified as being non-compliant with the statutory requirements relating to the content of the Local Offer since September 2014.

    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

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/472575/Special_educational_needs-_an_analysis_and_summary_of_data_sources.pdf

    [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

    “

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26202, how many items of correspondence his Department has received from the public on the extension of the plug-in grant for motor cycles.

    Andrew Jones

    The last Government announced plans for a new grant to support plug-in motorcycles on 27 March 2015. Since then, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles has answered 38 items of correspondence from 20 members of the public on this issue.

  • Lord German – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord German – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord German on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 March, how long they estimate tolling on the Severn Bridges will have to continue in order to collect the additional £63 million beyond the date of the end of the concession on these bridges.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    This depends on traffic levels and on maintenance costs, both of which may change over time. However our current estimates suggest the £63m could take around 18 months to recoup at the toll levels announced in the recent Budget.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the implications of the leaked documents relating to the operations of Mossack Fonseca for HM Revenue and Custom’s policy on investigating and tackling tax evasion and avoidance using offshore vehicles.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government has introduced tough new powers and game-changing measures to tackle offshore and onshore tax evasion, and as recently as the summer Budget 2015 gave HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) an additional £800 million to invest in expanding compliance and tax evasion work. This is expected to recover £7.2 billion in tax over the next five years.

    The Government is introducing a criminal sanction for corporates facilitating tax evasion, and launching a taskforce, jointly led by HMRC and the National Crime Agency (NCA). Drawing on investigators, compliance specialists and analysts from HMRC, NCA, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), its purpose will be to swiftly obtain and analyse the Mossack Fonseca papers and take rapid action where there is evidence of wrongdoing. The taskforce will look beyond tax into all potential areas of financial crime and other regulatory breaches.

    The taskforce will provide a progress report to the Chancellor and Home Secretary later this year. The report will set out the their initial assessment of the information in the Panama papers and proposed actions for further analysis and strategy for pursuing any evidence found of wrongdoing and regulatory breaches.

    Additional resourcing of £10m will ensure that the taskforce’s work can be done on top of departmental commitments. Where resource is moved into the task force, existing roles will be back filled as soon as possible.

  • Lord Low of Dalston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Low of Dalston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Low of Dalston on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the Department for International Development is taking to encourage other donors to fund the Education Cannot Wait fund at its launch at the World Humanitarian Summit.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK is working closely with UNICEF and other partners to encourage a broad funding base to Education Cannot Wait, including funding from non-traditional donors, private sector and philanthropic organisations. This includes via UK technical support to the fund’s case for investment and other key communication and outreach products, to raise awareness of the fund with others.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their programme and timetable for the reception of 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    We continue to work with local authorities and International Partners to deliver the Government’s commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by the end of this Parliament. We are on track to do this. The number resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the availability of suitable accommodation and support in the UK. Progress on resettlement is indicated in quarterly immigration statistics.

  • Peter Bone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Peter Bone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with Scottish businesses and trade bodies in Scotland about opportunities for overseas trade.

    David Mundell

    Both the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland and I have undertaken a series of visits and meetings over the summer with key sectors of Scottish industry and business. The purpose of these meetings is to understand any concerns and ideas, including opportunities for overseas trade.

    The Scotland Office also works closely with the Department for International Trade, including on initiatives such as the Exporting is GREAT campaign, which toured Scotland in August and September. This campaign exists to inspire and support more first-time exporters to trade overseas and promote the growth it can bring.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to increase access to green space as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.

    James Wharton

    The Northern Powerhouse is about bringing together northern cities and regions to maximise the potential of the North and help drive UK economic growth.

    We will do this by investing in science and technology, transport, digital and innovation, culture and tourism across the region, alongside devolving power to give the North a powerful new voice, investment and decision-making powers to meet these ambitions. Improving the environment could be a consideration in how we take forward these investments and activities.

  • Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish in their list of sponsors of academies the sponsor identification number for each sponsor, and the trust identification number for each academy trust that the sponsor is sponsoring.

    Lord Nash

    The Department has no plan to publish in its list of sponsors of academies the sponsor and trust identification number for each sponsor and trust. The Department regularly publishes a variety of information.

    Information on current open academies, together with their sponsor and trust name, can be found on Edubase online.

    Sponsor information is also available within the Department’s monthly list of open academies and academy projects in development, which can be found on GOV.UK.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answers of 6 July 2015 to Questions 5048, 5049 and 5050, whether bat removal licences have been granted; and whether it is expected that the new premises for Parkfield School at Hurn will be ready for occupation by September 2016.

    Edward Timpson

    The permanent site for Parkfield School will be ready for occupation in September 2016 in refurbished buildings. The occupation of the building will be phased and it is expected that all works, including the new sports hall, will be completed in the spring of 2017. Bat licences and other permissions are in place.