Tag: Roberta Blackman-Woods

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 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 6 of the March 2016 Locally-led Garden, Towns and Cities prospectus, when he will introduce legislative proposals to update the New Towns Act 1981.

Brandon Lewis

The government will introduce legislation to update the New Towns Act 1981 at the earliest legislative opportunity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what exemptions there will be from the Government’s proposed enforced sale of high-value council homes.

Brandon Lewis

Through regulations, government has the power to exclude categories of housing when calculating local authority’s payment in respect of their higher value vacant housing. During the passage of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, government committed to exclude housing that is in a National Park or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and confirmed that it would consider other suggestions that had been made during the passage of the legislation and by stakeholders for excluding other categories of housing.

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 where planning permission for housing development has been granted but construction has not yet started.

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 Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has undertaken a post-legislative analysis of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

Mr Rob Wilson

The Cabinet Office asked Lord Young of Graffham, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Enterprise, to conduct a review of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

The report, published on 13 February, shows the Act is having a positive effect where it is taken up. It finds that a number of local authorities have taken a leading role in implementing social value and names Durham Council as an example.

The report makes a number of recommendations. The Government is considering these to ensure that the Act fulfils its full potential.