Tag: Stephen Timms

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects Deutsche Bahn to commence operating international services from London St Pancras; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

I recognise the international importance of the HS1 network in allowing high-speed rail services from London to reach Europe, whilst noting that no international services currently serve Stratford International station. Eurostar, in which the government recently sold its 40% stake, accesses the HS1 network on an open access basis and is not subject to the terms of a franchise agreement or a contract let by government. Government has no power to direct or specify that Eurostar stops at Stratford International station. A decision made by Eurostar not to serve Stratford International would be as a result of commercial imperatives and priorities, for example, the potential revenue derived from customers using the station or the increased journey time which a further stop would involve. It would not be appropriate for government to interfere with that decision-making process. I have not received any recent representations on this matter from potential or actual train operators; who in any event, should address their questions to HS1 Ltd, as the infrastructure manager, in the first instance; nor have I held any discussions with Eurostar on the matter of services to Stratford.

Regarding any aspirations of Deutsche Bahn to commence operation of international services from St Pancras International, this is rightly a matter for HS1 Ltd as the infrastructure manager, who I understand have held discussions with a number of potential new entrants, including Deutsche Bahn. It would not be appropriate to comment on any ongoing commercial discussions between those parties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what forecast he has made of the change in population in each London borough up to 2030.

Mr Marcus Jones

The latest Office for National Statistics population projection for London Boroughs are included in the 2012-based Subnational Population Projections for England, which provide figures for years up to 2037. The projections are published at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/snpp/sub-national-population-projections/2012-based-projections/stb-2012-based-snpp.html#tab-Key-Points

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the estimated cost is of payments of universal credit to (a) people already in receipt of universal credit on 1 April 2016 and (b) other claimants in 2016-17.

Priti Patel

The information requested is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps Jobcentre Plus staff are taking to ensure that universal credit applicants are aware that council tax reduction should be claimed separately to universal credit.

Priti Patel

When a Universal Credit claimant attends their first interview with their Work Coach they are asked if they pay council tax and if they are already receiving a reduction. If not, they are advised and signposted to make the claim through their Local Authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer 27 January 2016 to Question 23759, whether there is scope for the Work Coach to pass on details of the claimant’s universal credit application to their local authority in order to begin automatically the application for council tax reduction.

Priti Patel

A process to automate the sharing of data between Universal Credit and Local Authorities to support applications to Local Council Tax Reduction Schemes will be implemented in the next month.

There are no plans to automate applications for Council Tax Reduction through Universal Credit. This must be done separately by the claimant with the Local Authority.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what measures are in place to provide housing support to care leavers; and what additional support his Department plans to provide after April 2017.

Mr Marcus Jones

Ensuring that young people leaving care have accommodation and support that is suitable for their needs is a priority for this Government. The homelessness legislation provides a strong safety net for vulnerable people. Care leavers aged 18-21 facing homelessness have a priority need for accommodation, as do vulnerable care leavers who are older than 21.

We have funded youth homelessness agency St Basils to develop and support the roll-out of the Positive Pathway Framework. This supports local authority children’s services and housing teams and other local partners to work together to prevent homelessness and meet the housing and support needs of vulnerable young people, including care leavers. To build on this, we supported St Basils to develop a specific Care Leavers Accommodation and Support Framework, in partnership with Barnardo’s, in 2015.

We have also invested £15 million in the Fair Chance Fund, a payment by results programme which aims to test new approaches to improving accommodation, employment and training outcomes for vulnerable homeless 18-25 year olds. Over 200 of the young people on the programme have previously been looked after.

We will ensure that vulnerable young people who are in need of support for their housing needs continue to receive it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to publish performance data for academy chains.

Edward Timpson

In March 2015 the Department published a consultative statistical working paper proposing performance measures for multi-academy trusts[1].

In addition, the Department’s school performance tables now allow parents and others to more easily see which academies are within a multi-academy trust and the information for each academy, including their academic performance and Ofsted judgements[2].

Ofsted also carries out focused inspections of groups of academies within multi-academy trusts and these outcomes are published[3].

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-in-academy-chains-and-las-performance-measures

[2] http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/

[3] http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/local-authority-school-improvement-arrangements-inspections-and-focused-school-inspections

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many graduates have begun the Think Ahead programme in each year since its formation; and how many have been enrolled to start in 2016.

Alistair Burt

Conditional offers have been made for the first cohort of 80-100 participants, who will begin the Think Ahead programme in July 2016.

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, what extra training has been provided to Jobcentre Plus staff to enable them to participate in the Jobcentre Plus support for schools initiative.

Priti Patel

Comprehensive training for all Jobcentre Plus staff participating in the Jobcentre Support for Schools initiative has been arranged. This includes instruction facilitated by the Careers Development Institute (experts in the careers sector) covering:

• How careers work in schools is organised, the respective roles of different partners and how schools operate; and

• Insights and key skills required for working with groups of learners in a classroom environment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons sex and relationships education is statutory in maintained secondary schools and not in other secondary schools.

Edward Timpson

Academies do not have to follow the national curriculum but are required to provide a ‘broad and balanced’ curriculum. This allows them to have the maximum possible freedom to personalise learning for all their pupils, including the most able pupils and those needing additional support.

The Government believes that all children should have the opportunity to receive a high quality and appropriate sex and relationship education (SRE). SRE is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools and many primary schools also teach it in an age-appropriate way. The Government also expects academies and free schools to deliver relationship education as part of their provision of a broad and balanced curriculum.

Any state-funded school teaching SRE must have regard to the Secretary of State’s SRE guidance (2000) which makes clear that all sex and relationship education should be age-appropriate and that schools should ensure young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgements and behaviour.