Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the success rates of the troubled families programme in reducing re-offending among young adults.

    Greg Clark

    Information published by my Department on 22 June 2015 shows that, during the original Troubled Families Programme (2012 to 2015), 104,733 were turned around through achieving reductions in youth crime, and/or anti-social behaviour, combined with satisfactory levels of school attendance.

    Under the provisions of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, I will be reporting annually on the progress and impact of the new Troubled Families Programme which aims to reach up to an additional 400,000 families.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many rape incidents have occurred in each prison establishment in each month since May 2010.

    Andrew Selous

    NOMs collects data on all sexual assaults, but does not separate these into type of assault. Our annual Safety in Custody Statistical Bulletin contains information on the overall numbers of sexual assaults (see table 3.9 in the link https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/495430/safety-in-custody-assaults-dec-2014.xls).

    We are committed to running safe prisons. We treat any assault extremely seriously and are working hard to reduce levels of violence in our prisons.

    “

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 1.149 of the Budget 2016, how much of the increased funding available to prevent and reduce homelessness is in addition to the funding allocated to his Department in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness. We have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.

    This builds on our Spending Review commitment to increase central government funding to £139 million over the next four years. We announced in the Budget that £10 million of this would be spent to support and scale up innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, particularly in London and that funding for the Rough Sleeping Social Impact Bond announced in the Spending Review will be doubled from £5 million to £10 million.

    We also announced in the Budget an additional £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living. We will re-prioritise money within our existing capital budgets to deliver this accommodation. This will not affect delivery of the Government’s Starter Homes and Shared Ownership programmes.

  • 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 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2016 to Question 30916, for what reasons related party transactions by academy trusts can be classified as irregular or improper by the Education Funding Agency.

    Edward Timpson

    Related party transactions by academy trusts can be classified as irregular or improper if they are not dealt with in accordance with Parliament’s intentions, legislation, the terms of the trust’s funding agreement, the Academies Financial Handbook or the trust’s internal procedures. This includes spending money other than for the purposes intended by Parliament or without the appropriate standards of conduct.

    Academy trusts operate under a robust accountability system which holds them to account for the results they achieve and their use of resources. This includes a requirement to publish audited accounts each year allowing the wider public the chance to hold academy trusts to account to help make sure that spend is securing better outcomes for pupils.

    The 26 related party transactions are irregular and noted in the table below (together with our findings from reviewing 2013/14 financial statements). It is important to note that irregular classification can occur where there is insufficient evidence to form an opinion.

    Concern type

    Summary of concern

    Number of breaches

    At cost

    The trust either confirmed that services from a related party were not provided at cost or there was insufficient evidence of this.

    5

    Off-payroll

    The trust confirmed that they were not compliant with HM Treasury’s off-payroll requirements for a senior member of staff.

    5

    Procurement

    The trust confirmed they did not follow an adequate procurement process for certain purchases from a related party.

    6

    Procurement issues/ recruitment of family

    The trust confirmed they did not follow an adequate procurement process for certain purchases from a familial related party.

    1

    Procurement/ at cost

    The trust confirmed they did not follow an adequate procurement process for certain purchases from a related party. The trust also either confirmed that services from a related party were not provided at cost or there was insufficient evidence of this.

    9

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to minimise the difference between the number of words to which young children in low-income and high-income households are exposed.

    Nick Gibb

    No matter where they live or what their background, every child in this country deserves the opportunity to read, to read widely, and to read well. The Government wants all children to develop a wide vocabulary irrespective of their background. In August 2015, the Secretary of State launched a literacy campaign to make children in this country the most literate in Europe, in the next five years.

    We placed phonics at the heart of the curriculum to give all young children the skills to decode words and provide the foundation for them to read fluently.

    The National Curriculum framework sets a clear expectation that teachers develop pupils’ vocabulary, building on pupils’ current knowledge. This covers both general vocabulary development and the subject specific language that pupils need to be able to use to progress in, for example, mathematics and science.

    Vocabulary development is emphasised and integrated throughout the programmes of study for English and linked to their reading, writing and spelling. Both the reading and writing domains of the English programmes of study emphasise the importance of building pupils’ vocabulary.

    Reading widely and often, together with reading for pleasure is also reinforced throughout the programmes of study, and attention to the quantity and quality of reading will support vocabulary development.

    We are working with The Reading Agency to set up book clubs in hundreds of primary schools across the country; we are supporting their work to enrol 8 year olds in libraries; and we support the voluntary sector’s ‘Read On. Get On’ campaign, which is playing a key role in raising literacy. Our ambition is that children can get to know the classics of English literature whether or not these books are on the bookshelves at home. In February 2016, Penguin Classics launched their ‘Classics in Schools’ initiative to give sets of 100 classics to schools at reduced cost.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with pharmaceutical companies on steps to reduce the cost of cancer drugs for the NHS.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Department has frequent discussions with representatives of the United Kingdom pharmaceutical industry as well as with individual pharmaceutical companies on a range of topics. We want to see the latest and most advanced drugs made available to National Health Service patients in a way that ensures value for money.

  • Rishi Sunak – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rishi Sunak – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rishi Sunak on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve the safety of maternity care.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    In November 2015, the Department announced an ambitious campaign to halve the national rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth, by 2030.

    The Government has already invested in a capital fund for equipment to improve safety and training programmes for staff.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many times each of the three tenancy deposit schemes which hold contracts with his Department to run authorised scheme mediated in disputes between landlords and tenants over deposits in each year since each scheme was put in place; how many disputes have been found in favour of the (a) landlord and (b) tenant; and what the average length of time was for the dispute resolution process to conclude.

    Brandon Lewis

    Under tenancy deposit protection legislation introduced in the Housing Act 2004, all landlords who let out property on an assured shorthold tenancy are required to protect their tenants’ deposits in one of the three Government-approved deposit protection schemes.

    Details of the number of deposits protected under each scheme as at March 2015 are set out below:

    Custodial scheme: Deposit Protection Service: 1,170,564

    Insurance Schemes:

    Tenancy Deposit Scheme: 1,135,769
    Deposit Protection Service: 20,944
    MyDeposits: 738,853

    Whilst the Government has authorised three private companies to provide tenancy deposit protection schemes, we do not have a day-to-day role in the running of the schemes, however, we do maintain an oversight responsibility, and the Department holds quarterly monitoring meetings with scheme providers at which any performance issues can be discussed. Over the period that the schemes have been in operation, they have performed at a consistently high level. We have not issued guidance for the schemes who all engage the services of dispute resolution professionals. However, the majority of disputes are resolved in 28 days, which is the performance target set by the Government.

    The number of adjudications per year for each scheme is set out in the attached table, including the percentage of adjudications awarded to tenants and landlords.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support is available for disabled entrepreneurs.

    Baroness Altmann

    Anyone, including disabled people, can apply for financial and practical help through the Government’s Start Up Loans scheme.

    Access to Work, which helps people with a disability or health condition to stay in work or start work, now features a new specialist self-employment team to support entrepreneurs and the self-employed.

    Unemployed potential entrepreneurs, including those with disabilities or health conditions, can talk to their Jobcentre Plus Work Coach, or where appropriate, Disability Employment Adviser (DEA), regarding national programmes like Work Choice, Work Programme and the new Specialist Employability Support. These programmes offer tailored services which can include practical support and advice for becoming self-employed.

    Work coaches can also refer claimants, including disabled clients, to the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA). Over 73,000 new businesses have started up through the scheme and 20% of NEA business starts have been made by disabled people. Disabled jobseekers who are accepted onto the NEA scheme may also be entitled to receive an Access to Work grant.

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure a conclusion to the case of six former British soldiers held in India on weapons charges; and what support his Department offered to each person so detained.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Ministers have raised this case at the highest levels over thirty times since November 2013: my Right Honourable Friend, the Member for Witney, the Prime Minister, raised it for the third time with Prime Minister Modi, during his visit to the United Kingdom in November. On 11 January, the men were sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and I raised this in my introductory meeting with the new Indian High Commissioner the following day. While we cannot interfere in the Indian legal process, we will continue to offer consular support to all the men and their families and urge that their appeal application be dealt with swiftly.