Tag: Parliamentary Question

Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people in the UK on a tier 2 visa who will not have their visa renewed when new rules requiring them to be paid at least £35,000 per annum or the going rate in the relevant UK Border Agency Code of Practice, whichever is higher.

James Brokenshire

The Government announced in 2012 that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 visa holders who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000. PhD level roles and those in shortage will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold.

Applicants who are not paid the appropriate rate for their occupation, as set out in UK Visas and Immigration codes of practice, cannot be granted an initial Tier 2 visa. The appropriate rate test has applied to settlement applications since 2011.

The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. This is available on the gov.uk website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf.

01/01/2023
Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on community cohesion of the introduction of fixed-term local authority tenancies.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Continuing to provide lifetime tenancies to households that may only experience temporary need compounds the situation that sees 1.2 million households on social housing waiting lists, and 236,000 social tenants forced to live in overcrowded conditions due to lack of suitably sized properties, while 380,000 households occupy social housing with two or more spare bedrooms. This is not a good use of scarce social housing and it is not likely to lead to strong and cohesive communities.

The provisions in the Housing and Planning Bill require that towards the end of the fixed term the landlord must review the tenant’s circumstances. Where they are broadly unchanged, the landlord will be able to grant a further tenancy in the same home.

01/01/2023
Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many children were housed in temporary accommodation for longer than the six-week legal limit in (a) the London Borough of Lambeth, (b) London and (c) England and Wales in each year since 2010-11.

Mr Marcus Jones

We do not collect data on the numbers of children in temporary bed and breakfast style accommodation for longer than 6 weeks.

01/01/2023
Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence her Department holds on the relationship between the A-level grades achieved by prospective teachers and their later performance in the classroom.

Nick Gibb

Evidence, including a seminal McKinsey study from 2007 (How the world’s best-performing schools come out on top), shows that teacher quality and impact cannot be predicted by a single factor such as A-Level grades, but result from a complex combination of factors including academic achievement combined with characteristics and attributes such as communication skills, willingness to learn and motivation to teach.

The Teachers’ Standards, developed by a group of leading teachers and heads, clearly define the core elements of effective teaching – including strong subject knowledge and the promotion of scholarship, as well as skills such as classroom management. All new teachers must demonstrate that they are meeting the standards at the end of their initial training.

It is important that providers of initial teacher training are able to select and recruit candidates on the basis of their potential and their academic achievement to date; this is why we are giving schools much greater say in recruiting and training candidates who can be successful in the classroom. This year, over half of all postgraduate trainees are coming through school-led routes.

01/01/2023

Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what annual reserves the Maritime and Coastguard Agency accrued in fees from ship survey and inspection work in each year since 2000-01.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The income the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has received for marine surveys in each year since 2000-01 is shown below:

Financial Year	£’000
2000/01	3,685
2001/02	3,455
2002/03	3,663
2003/04	3,708
2004/05	3,953
2005/06	4,115
2006/07	4,634
2007/08	4,669
2008/09	5,193
2009/10	5,513
2010/11	5,537
2011/12	5,260
2012/13	5,046
2013/14	5,519
2014/15	4,322
2015/16*	5,085

* Draft Figure (Subject to Audit)

Note that the income earned through fees is used to cover the costs of the work and surpluses are not accrued. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency, as a Government Agency, does not hold annual reserves.

01/01/2023

Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many students on (a) nursing, (b) midwifery and (c) Allied Health Professional courses benefitted from the NHS Bursary maternity award in the last five years for which figures are available.

Ben Gummer

The following table shows the number of students on nursing, midwifery and Allied Health Professional courses who were in receipt of the NHS Bursary maternity award in each of the last three academic years and those who have subsequently returned to their studies following a period of maternity leave. Information prior to 2013/14 is not available.

Academic Year¹	Professional Group	Students in receipt of the NHS Bursary maternity award	Students returning from a period of maternity leave
2013/14	Allied Health Professional	55	49
	Midwifery	99	92
	Nursing	633	558
2013/14 Total		787	699
2014/15	Allied Health Professional	50	40
	Midwifery	80	56
	Nursing	581	444
2014/15 Total²		711	540
2015/16	Allied Health Professional	56	6
	Midwifery	72	4
	Nursing	473	59
2015/16 Total²		601	69
Grand Total		2,528	1,702

Source: NHS Business Services Authority

Notes

¹ Standard academic year (i.e. September to the following August)

² The count for these academic years is as at 14 June 2016. There are likely to be further students who commence, or return from a period of maternity leave after this date

01/01/2023

Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which of the recommendations made by the Ollerenshaw Review of Local Council Tax Support the Government plans to take forward; and when such recommendations will be implemented.

Mr Marcus Jones

Sir Eric Ollerenshaw’s independent review recognised the successful implementation of local council tax support schemes by local government and made a number of recommendations which the government is now considering.

01/01/2023
Stella Creasy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process is by which unaccompanied child refugees are considered for transfer to the UK from refugee camps in Europe; and what the verification process is for confirming the identity and date of birth of an unaccompanied child refugee.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Under the Dublin Regulation, where an unaccompanied asylum seeking child has close family members in the UK, another Member State may make a transfer request for the UK to consider their asylum claim, which is then considered and if verified, accepted by the UK. In addition, we are working closely with the French, Greek and Italian authorities as well as UNHCR, Unicef and NGOs to identify unaccompanied refugee children who do not have family in the UK but who may qualify for transfer under the provisions of S67 of the Immigration Act 2016.

All individuals being considered for transfer will be assessed for age. Where credible and clear documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the interview process to assess age. Once in the UK there is also the option of requesting a further local authority age assessment, which must be case law compliant and approved by two social workers. Basic security checks are conducted on all individuals prior to arrival, with further verification carried out once in the UK.

01/01/2023
Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been referred by the National Crime Agency to regional police forces in (a) 2014 and (b) so far in 2015; and how many of those people are under suspicion of involvement in crimes of child abuse.

Mike Penning

The National Crime Agency does not collect data on the number of people referred to police forces. In respect of child abuse, the NCA disseminates information related to child sexual exploitation to law enforcement partners on a regular basis.

01/01/2023
Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to guarantee that all patients who had their operations cancelled as a result of the proposed industrial action by junior doctors will be offered another date for their operation within the next 28 days.

Ben Gummer

The NHS is making every effort to rearrange treatment for people whose operations were cancelled as quickly as possible.

We recognise that cancellations by the hospital are upsetting and inconvenient for patients, which is why there is a pledge on cancelled operations in the Handbook on the NHS Constitution. When a patient’s operation is cancelled by the hospital at the last minute (on or after the day of admission, including the day of surgery) for non-clinical reasons, the hospital should offer another binding date within a maximum of the next 28 days or fund the patient’s treatment at the time and hospital of the patient’s choice.

For operations that were cancelled before the day of admission, the pledge does not apply. However, the NHS Constitution includes the right “to access services within maximum waiting times, or for the NHS to take all reasonable steps to offer you a range of alternative providers if this is not possible”. Patients have the right to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. If this is not possible, and where patients request it, the organisation responsible for commissioning the patient’s care must investigate offering a range of suitable alternative providers that would be able to see or treat the patient more quickly than the original provider. The commissioning organisation must take all reasonable steps to meet patients’ requests.

01/01/2023