The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2016 to Question 40016, on unmanned air vehicles, if he will place in the Library a copy of the memorandum of understanding between his Department, the Home Office, the Civil Aviation Authority and the police.
Mr John Hayes
A copy of the memorandum of understanding will be placed in the House library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure UK support for energy in developing countries is directed towards low carbon technologies.
Grant Shapps
DFID supports the development and deployment of low carbon energy technologies through the International Climate Fund (ICF). Since 2011, the ICF has provided access to low carbon energy to more than 2.6 million people.
On October 22nd I launched the Energy Africa campaign which will accelerate access to clean energy across sub-Saharan Africa via the market-based delivery of solar household systems providing the poorest with lighting, phone charging and other critical household electricity services. In addition, through the research we fund, we make a significant contribution to affordable clean energy solutions to meet the needs of the 1.1 billion people who currently lack electricity globally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what costs his Department has incurred as a result of its policy change on (a) criminal court charges, (b) secure colleges, (c) the Saudi Arabian prison contract and (d) the closure of Just Solutions International.
Andrew Selous
I refer the honourable member to the answers given to PQ 19256 on 14 December 2015 (part a) and 13074 on 7 December 2015 (parts b, c and d). The closure of the JSi brand was also met from within the National Offender Management Service’s existing resources.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) sexual harm prevention orders and (b) sexual risk orders have been made by courts in England to protect children aged 16 and 17.
Karen Bradley
The Home Office does not collate central figures on the number of Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and Sexual Risk Orders issued in England. Figures collated by the police for management purposes, and provided to the Home Office, on the overall number of orders show that in the period between 8 March and 29 September, 2,425 full and 40 interim Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and 32 full and 13 interim Sexual Risk Orders were issued in England and Wales. This data is not broken down by age.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to ensure adequate funding of flood alleviation schemes planned for the River Spen in Cleckheaton and Liversedge.
Rory Stewart
The Environment Agency plans to undertake investigative work to identify and assess options to further reduce flood risk within the constituency. Depending on the outcome of this work, the Environment Agency has earmarked approximately £1 million of capital funding in the period 2021/22 for works to further reduce flood risk in Cleckheaton and Liversedge.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many co-commissioning pilots aimed at improving clear access routes between schools and specialist mental health services have been launched in each (a) year since 2010 and (b) month of 2015-16 to date.
Alistair Burt
On 3 December 2015 the Education Secretary announced 22 pilot areas across the country would develop better joint working arrangements to support timely and appropriate referrals to services and implement a joint training programme for named contacts in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and schools.
To take forward these actions, the Department and NHS England are working together to test the named lead approach and to trial a joint training programme for them. The training workshops element of the pilot began in November 2015 and it is expected that all of the workshops will be delivered by the middle of March 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to (a) announce the criteria and (b) begin the bidding process for allocating the funding available through the Pothole Action Fund.
Andrew Jones
The Pothole Action Fund is worth £250 million over the next five years to local highway authorities in England, outside London. On 7 April the Government announced the share each local highway authority will receive from the £50 million available for 2016/17. Funding is allocated according to the size of the road network the local highway authority is responsible for.
Further details can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cash-for-councils-to-fill-almost-1-million-potholes
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what monitoring her Department undertakes of the (a) allocation, (b) spending and (c) outcomes of pupil premium funding at (i) maintained schools and (ii) academy trust schools.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The conditions of grant for the pupil premium make clear that its purpose is to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. School leaders are best placed to decide how to spend the pupil premium in line with this policy and the needs of their pupils. Schools are not prevented from using the pupil premium to fund capital projects or from carrying over funding between years.
The Department for Education supports schools to make evidence-based decisions through the work of the Education Endowment Foundation, established to identify and promote effective practice in raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. The Department does not monitor how Academies and maintained schools spend the pupil premium but instead holds them to account for the outcomes of eligible pupils through the publication of data in performance tables and Ofsted inspection.
Where concerns are raised about the performance of an academy then they are addressed by the Regional School Commissioner with responsibility for that area. The Department also takes seriously any concerns about the financial management of a school. We are aware of the findings of the Ofsted report on Audenshaw School relating to its use of the pupil premium, following an inspection in February 2016. We are also aware that the Hon. Member, Andrew Gwynne, has met the Regional Schools Commissioner for Lancashire and West Yorkshire, Vicky Beer, on a number of occasions to discuss his concerns about Audenshaw School Academy Trust. The Department has carefully reviewed all the information provided on this matter and has identified no grounds to take further action.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the (a) minutes and (b) agendas of the Regional School Commissioners Strategy Forum are published; and if she will make a statement.
Edward Timpson
The minutes and agendas of the Regional School Commissioners (RSC) Strategy Forum are for internal use and are not published.
The RSCs meet monthly for the RSC Strategy Forum. The dates on which these meetings have taken place are as follows:
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RSC Strategy forum dates |
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16/09/2014 |
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14/10/2014 |
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11/11/2014 |
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16/12/2014 |
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06/01/2015 |
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10/02/2015 |
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10/03/2015 |
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02/04/2015 |
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21/04/2015 |
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14/05/2015 |
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23/06/2015 |
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14/07/2015 |
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18/08/2015 |
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09/09/2015 |
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06/10/2015 |
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11/11/2015 |
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09/12/2015 |
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13/01/2016 |
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10/02/2016 |
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09/03/2016 |
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06/04/2016 |
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04/05/2016 |
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08/06/2016 |
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06/07/2016 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Selous on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department takes to ensure that benefits paid to benefit appointees are used in the best interests of the benefit recipient.
Penny Mordaunt
The Secretary of State confirms that a claimant requires an appointee if we receive unequivocal medical evidence as to the claimant’s capacity to manage their benefit claim or if, as in the vast majority of cases, the visiting officer, through a series of questions relating to the comprehension of claiming and managing a benefit award, will reach a conclusion as to their capacity to act for themselves. This is specifically a benefit-related capacity assessment and not a mental capacity assessment.
Once someone has been appointed, they will remain in that role until (a) they wish to relinquish it (b) they themselves lose capacity (c) the claimant regains capacity or (d) they abuse their position by not acting in the best interests of the claimant and the appointment is revoked. This latter requirement is stressed to the prospective appointee when the appointment is being considered and they are required to sign form BF56 to confirm that they understand their responsibilities. The Department also has a review system in place.
The vast majority of revocations of an appointeeship occur because of information received from a third party alleging financial abuse which is subsequently confirmed on investigation.