The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January to Question 22232, when he plans to publish the findings of the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study.
Claire Perry
The Study is expected to be completed shortly, and the Government will subsequently consider the timeframe for releasing the study findings, including our response.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress has been made in discussions with the devolved administrations on the drawing-down of funds on apprenticeships when the apprenticeship levy is introduced in April 2017.
Nick Boles
Skills policy is a devolved area so the devolved administrations will continue to have control over how to support businesses through training and apprenticeships.
We are working closely with the devolved administrations to ensure they get their fair share of the levy and can work out how best to use it to complement their own apprenticeships and skills policies.
We have been engaging with skills ministers in the devolved administrations on how to make the levy work for employers and would-be apprentices across the UK and will continue to do so following the elections in May.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 119 of the Teaching excellence framework: technical consultation for year two, published by his Department on 16 May 2016, how the estimates for the performance metrics were reached; whether there is scope for making adjustments to those estimates in the future; whether those estimates will be used as part of formal guidance for the operation of the teaching excellence framework; and if he will publish the methodological framework and evidence for how those estimates were reached.
Joseph Johnson
In developing our proposals for the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) we used a set of indicative metrics, with data constructed using the methods set out in Chapter 2 of the TEF: Technical Consultation for Year Two. The statement that providers will fall into a bell curve was based on observing the number of providers with positive and negative significance flags against the core metrics.
The actual TEF assessments will be made against the most recent data which we anticipate will follow a broadly similar pattern. As stated in the Technical Consultation, we expect the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to construct the guidance to assessors in such a way that will lead to a distribution similar to that set out in paragraph 119; however, assessors will not be obligated to check that the awards follow this distribution, only that they have followed the guidance.
Our consultation response will outline the final metrics and HEFCE guidance will set out the detailed methodology of how the metrics are constructed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 46313, if she will appoint a new Apprenticeships Adviser by the end of 2016.
Mrs Theresa May
I have nothing further to add.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will publish an updated evaluation of the operation of the Homelessness Prevention Grant.
Mr Marcus Jones
Homelessness prevention grant is part of our £500 million investment in local authority and voluntary sector homelessness services. It has helped local authorities to prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless since 2010 and assisted 220,800 in 2014-15 alone.
The Government does not evaluate the effectiveness of local authority grants including the Homelessness Prevention Grant. As democratically elected organisations, local authorities are independent from Central Government and are responsible for managing their budgets in line with local priorities. Since 2010, local councils have had more flexibility over how they spend the money they receive from central government. Together with the money raised through council tax and other local sources, they have considerable freedom to work with their residents to decide how best to spend available resources on local priorities.
My Department regularly engages with a wide range of partners on homelessness prevention. We have received five written representations directly from local authorities on the future of the grant since April 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on recipients of the expiry of the Business Rates Reoccupation Relief scheme at the end of March 2016.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Government is continuing to consider representations, which included business rates reliefs, to inform decisions on reform of the business rates system. The Government has confirmed the review will conclude by the end of the year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, by how much the Government plans to increase the funding per place for apprenticeships.
Nick Boles
At the Autumn Statement, my Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the Government will establish a new employer-led body to set apprenticeship standards and ensure quality. The body will be independent of Government and will also advise on the level of levy funding each apprenticeship should receive. Our expectation is that funding caps will be significantly higher for programmes which have high costs and are of high quality.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust services.
Jane Ellison
The Chief Inspector of Hospitals Inspection within the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in May 2014 rated the Brighton and Sussex University Hospital Trust as “Requires Improvement”. In 2015 the CQC rated the Trust as ‘Inadequate’. The Trust is urgently implementing the action recommended.
In addition, the Trust is actively engaged with the Emergency Care Improvement Programme to ensure that the Trust can deliver the accident and emergency standard by March 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many childcare providers waited longer than 25 weeks to receive registration from Ofsted in each of the last five years.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Registering new childcare providers is a matter for Ofsted. Her Majesty’s chief inspector will be writing to the hon. Member about this matter. A copy of that letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many trailblazer apprenticeship starts there have been in the (a) automotive and (b) aerospace industries to date.
Nick Boles
Apprenticeship starts by standard name are published in a supplementary table to a Statistical First Release:
This table shows starts for apprenticeship frameworks and new apprenticeship standards.
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