Tag: Roberta Blackman-Woods

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to introduce monitoring mechanisms to ensure that increased numbers of construction industry apprenticeships do not have an effect on the quality of apprenticeship training.

Robert Halfon

The training that is delivered for apprentices is monitored by Ofsted and the Skills Funding Agency, which set minimum standards for achievement rates. Both organisations have intervention regimes in place if training falls short of minimum requirements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether prisons record whether inmates are registered as organ donors; and what protocols are in place for donation of organs after a death in custody.

Andrew Selous

The decision to be an organ donor is for prisoners to discuss with their next of kin and to decide whether they wish to add their name to the National Organ Donor Register. Organ donation by prisoners who are transferred to hospital prior to death may be considered in certain clinical circumstances and providing that it does not affect any coroner investigation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to put in place high-quality three year apprenticeships in (a) bricklaying, (b) plastering and (c) other essential construction trades.

Robert Halfon

The current apprenticeships programme has a clear emphasis on improving quality.

There are apprenticeship standards in development for both plastering and bricklaying, and both are intended to be three years in duration. We have a further 25 construction apprenticeship standards in development. We are working with the construction sector to ensure that these apprenticeships are relevant, robust, high-quality and are of sufficient duration for the apprentice to be competent in their chosen occupation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2016 to Question 33183, whether his Department advises prisons (a) to ask prisoners upon induction if they are already organ donors or if they wish to become one and (b) to keep records of which prisoners are registered organ donors; and if he will amend prison service orders to ensure that the organ donors register is taken into account if a prisoner dies in a prison or in a hospital.

Andrew Selous

The Organ Donor Register is a confidential record maintained by NHS Blood and Transplant and patient details are not shared with other organisations; asking prisoners if they are registered could serve to compromise their confidentiality. Joining the Organ Donor Register is a voluntary matter and there are no plans to focus on specific groups such as prisoners. The decision to be a donor is one which prisoners should discuss with their next of kin.

The Government remains fully committed to the strategy agreed in 2013 “Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020” (www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/to2020/) which aims to enable the UK to match world-class performance in organ donation and transplantation.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the possible closure of the Collective Passport Office will have on the ability of pupils from lower income families to afford passports for school trips.

Mr Robert Goodwill

A review of the collective passport is ongoing and an announcement will be made once this has been completed. The collective passport remains available for those who require it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 2.291 of Budget 2016, when his Department plans to begin the consultation process on proposals to increase transparency in the land market.

Brandon Lewis

Government will be consulting on improving the visibility of information relating to options to purchase or lease land during the summer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many stakeholders within the Collective Passport Service were consulted about the possible closure of the Collective Passport Office in Durham.

Mr Robert Goodwill

A review of the collective passport is ongoing and an announcement will be made once this has been completed. The collective passport remains available for those who require it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 1.121 of Budget 2016, HC 901, when his Department will commence working with local authorities to release land capacity for at least 160,000 homes; and when such houses will be built.

Brandon Lewis

A guidance document for local authorities was published shortly after Budget. It set out how the Government will support and empower local authorities to dispose of assets that could be made surplus. This includes a broad range of policy measures, including: the expansion of the One Public Estate programme, funding for Starter Homes, flexibility in the spending of capital receipts, support for new Garden Villages, Towns and Cities, and support from the Homes and Communities Agency. The document can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-assets-disposal-guidance.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of sites for which planning permission for housing development has been granted but where construction has been stalled for more than one year.

Brandon Lewis

I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 30 October 2014, to Question, UIN 207630.

We do not hold the requested figures on planning permission and the length of time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support he has given to commissioners in local government to attend the Commissioning Academy.

Kris Hopkins

The Government worked very closely with the Local Government Association to set up and develop the Commissioning Academy.

Since June 2012, 527 delegates have attended Commissioning Academy programmes. Of these 392 have attended the central Commissioning Academy programmes, including 206 (52%) from 53 local authorities.

A number of other programmes sit alongside the central programme under the Commissioning Academy umbrella. 78 have attended local programmes modelled on the central programme in Norfolk and Staffordshire, with participants drawn from local authorities and other public sector bodies in the local area. In addition, 8 councillors have attended a streamlined programme for local authority elected members.

Feedback from participants has been consistently positive. Independent research by the Local Government Information Unit on the impact of the Academy found that 71.9% of survey respondents felt their involvement in the programme was already having a tangible impact and they were confident it would lead to a positive outcome for citizens.

The Government continues to work with the sector to encourage even greater local authority take up of the programme.