Tag: Stephen Timms

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many BDUK funded (a) ducts and (b) poles are currently being accessed by communications providers other than BT.

Mr Edward Vaizey

BT and other suppliers with funding from BDUK are obliged to provide wholesale access to all new ducts and poles built using public subsidy, in line with the requirements of the BDUK European State aid approval.

Communications providers report on the details of the infrastructure they access to local authorities and devolved administrations, who are responsible for managing Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) contracts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-09.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the change in average annual earnings in each year to 2020.

Harriett Baldwin

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has adopted the independent Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic and fiscal forecasts as the UK’s official forecasts since the Office’s creation in 2010. Information about the estimates used by the OBR in their forecasts can be found in the OBR’s ‘Economic and fiscal outlook’.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support best practice from successful academy chains being passed on to other academy chains.

Edward Timpson

We are building a school-led system which is focused on building on the expertise and knowledge of our best school leaders and most successful Multi Academy Trusts. There is a range of routes through which academy chains can and do learn from each other.

The Department has a number of system leadership routes, including Teaching Schools and their alliances, and National Leaders of Education, which enable school leaders and our most successful schools to be at the forefront of sharing best practice.

Around half of nearly 700 teaching schools are academies. A similar proportion of over 1000 National Leaders in Education are also drawn from academies.

Regional Schools Commissioners also facilitate sharing of best practice, including through regional events, informal networking opportunities and targeted development activity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-01.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how long in advance of the date of the closure will HM Revenue and Customs staff in each office earmarked for closure be informed of their future employment options.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has already commenced a discussion process with staff in offices identified for closure. HMRC has given a commitment to staff that they will have a one-to-one meeting with their manager to discuss their options at least one year ahead of their office closure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 29565, in which areas the Jobcentre Plus support for schools initiative will be initially rolled out.

Priti Patel

Jobcentre Plus Support for Schools will be rolled out to 10 Jobcentre Plus Districts over the course of the current (15/16) academic year:

• Birmingham & Solihull

• Black Country

• Cumbria & Lancashire

• Durham & Tees Valley

• East London

• Essex

• Merseyside

• North East Yorkshire & the Humber

• South Yorkshire

• West Yorkshire

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30367, on vocational guidance, whether schools in Jobcentre Plus Districts in which Jobcentre Plus Support for Schools is being rolled out will be contacted by Jobcentre Plus or the Careers and Enterprise Company.

Priti Patel

Initial contact is planned to be through the Careers & Enterprise Company to keep communications and contact lines in one co-ordinated process. However, some schools, on hearing about Jobcentre Plus Support, have made direct approaches to JCP to request inclusion in the initiative.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March to Questions 30367, on vocational guidance, whether he plans that Jobcentre Plus or the Careers and Enterprise company will contact those schools.

Priti Patel

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 March 2016 to question UIN 32032.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on supporting all new armed forces recruits who arrive without A* to C passes in GCSE English and mathematics to gain such qualifications; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence does not make financial provision to improve the Functional Skills (FS) of recruits before they are selected to join the UK Armed Forces.

For those who join the UK Armed Forces, there are clearly identified routes to ensure acceptable levels of FS. Over 95% of all recruits, no matter what their age or prior qualifications, enrol in an Apprenticeship Programme each year. Apprenticeships ensure that Service personnel (SP) will gain level 2 in literacy and numeracy – which is the equivalent to GCSE level. The Armed Forces also offer courses in a wide range of skills, such as engineering, information and communications technology (ICT), construction, driving, and animal care.

All recruits aged under 18 receive key skills education in literacy and numeracy, should they need it, and all are enrolled onto apprenticeships. The Armed Forces remain the UK’s largest apprenticeship provider, equipping young people with valuable and transferable skills for life. Ofsted regularly inspects our care of newly joined young recruits, and we are very proud of the standards we achieve.

Since September 2012, Defence has adopted FS qualifications (FS (English) and FS (Mathematics)) as the accredited measures of literacy and numeracy skills for all SP accessing in-Service literacy and numeracy provision. Defence FS provision will be (in most cases) a blend of in-house and external provision. FS provision and qualifications have been available and publicly funded in England since September 2010, with the single Services funding the following elements:

Specialist manpower. Sufficient in-house specialist practitioners to meet the FS requirements that are not met from external or Skills Funding Agency and Education Funding Agency funded providers and, co-ordinate the delivery of that provision across their Service.

FS staff training. Training for in-house specialist practitioners and support staff to meet the required professional standards, where this is not externally funded.

Trainee costs. All direct and indirect costs incurred by Initial Training Establishments, where training has to be extended to cover FS provision to meet the minimum FS Entry Level 3 standard, by the start of Phase 2 training.

FS resources. FS support materials, essential ICT, audio-visual equipment and associated consumables, and any other essential resource costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse has been of removing to India by sea those people who have been refused leave to remain in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire

The mode of transport for persons for persons subject to enforced removal from the UK is not published within official national migration statistics. To establish this figure over a 5 year period would require a manual examination of records within the Home Office Case Information Database (CID) which could only be done at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2016, to Question 35962, what estimate he has made of the number of tenants with spare rooms who have moved to smaller accommodation following removal of the subsidy.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested is not available.