Tag: Sharon Hodgson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes

The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.

As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.

The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.

It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many teachers currently work in young offender institutions; and how many of those teachers lack teaching qualifications.

Andrew Selous

The information requested is not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many teachers working in young offender institutions are qualified to work with young people with (a) special educational needs, (b) autism and (c) mental health issues.

Andrew Selous

The information requested is not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many young people in young offenders institutions receive 30 hours education each week.

Andrew Selous

Since 16 August 2015, education providers in public sector Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) are required to provide 27 hours of education a week, which is supplemented by 3 hours of physical exercise. On average, 27 hours of education is being provided in these YOIs.

Although the majority of education time is protected, the number of hours of education actually received by young people is sometimes lower than this due to a variety of necessary interruptions, such as court appearances, family visits, or medical appointments. The number of people in YOIs receiving 27 hours of education each week is not recorded centrally. The Youth Justice Board is currently working with the National Offender Management Service, YOIs and education providers to increase the number of education hours received by young people.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library an explanation of the organisational structure, including current post-holders, of the senior management of NHS England.

George Freeman

An organogram and explanation of the roles of the chief executive and the seven national directors of NHS England is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to address the availability of healthy and nutritious food for children during school holidays as part of its new obesity strategy.

Jane Ellison

Tackling obesity including improving diet and healthy food choices, particularly in children, is one of our major priorities. We will put forward our plans for action in this area in our childhood obesity strategy in the new year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 11372, how many local authorities have used her Department’s eligibility checking system for free school meals.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The department’s records indicate that all English local authorities have used the eligibility checking system for free school meals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 11372, how many additional children are now in receipt of free school meals since the changes made to her Department’s eligibility checking system.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The eligibility checking system has been revised and updated on a number of occasions, for example to reflect that universal credit had been added to the list of entitling benefits in 2012. Since 2010, the number of pupils entitled to, and claiming for free school meals has decreased from 1,212,320 (16.2%) to 1,198,494 (15.1%) in 2015. We expect the proportion of children eligible for, and claiming free school meals to continue to decrease as the economy continues to improve.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which agency is tasked with ensuring that mothers, infants and children are provided with adequate protection and support for appropriate feeding during emergencies; and if he will publish his Department’s policy or guidance documents to outline the steps to be taken in that direction.

Jane Ellison

Local emergency responders including Police, Fire and Rescue Service, Ambulance Service and Local Authorities are required under the Civil Contingences Act 2004 to assess the likelihood and impact of emergencies occurring in their local area, and to put in place appropriate plans to respond to these emergencies. This includes arrangements to evacuate and shelter large numbers of people, including vulnerable groups such as mothers with young infants. The Government publishes guidance on evacuation and shelter for local responders (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/274615/Evacuation_and_Shelter_Guidance_2014.pdf) which includes advice on the care and provision for vulnerable people.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which Minister in his Department is leading on infant feeding policy; for what reasons England has no ministerial infant feeding lead; and for what reasons England does not have a national infant feeding committee with measurable targets as suggested for all member states as part of the WHO Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child Feeding.

Ben Gummer

As Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Care Quality I have responsibility for breastfeeding (also called infant feeding) policy as I am the lead for maternity policy more widely. In addition, for clarity, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health (Jane Ellison) leads on the related area of children’s health and also has responsibility for health visitors.

The Department hosts a National Infant Feeding Steering Group which meets quarterly to promote evidence based policy and practice through communication and information sharing.

The Government is committed to supporting breastfeeding through the Healthy Child Programme. Breastfeeding is included in the Public Health Outcomes Framework so that the improvements can be tracked, and action taken as needed.