Tag: Steve McCabe

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 27310, on how many occasions other than cases in which an objection was submitted the Schools Adjudicator has judged a school’s admission arrangements not to be compliant with the Schools Adjudicator’s Code in the last two years.

Nick Gibb

The Schools Adjudicator has the power, under Section 88H of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, to consider objections to a school’s determined admission arrangements. She also has the power, under Section 88I of the Act, to consider whether admission arrangements that come to her attention by other means comply with the School Admissions Code.

Data on the number of cases considered by the Adjudicator and their outcome can be found on page 20 of the Chief Schools Adjudicator’s annual report for 2014/15. The report can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/osa-annual-report.

The Adjudicator does not publish data broken down in the way requested.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-21.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26995, what steps he has taken to support people who have moved home because of flooding and are unable to sell their primary home within the 18-month eligibility period for refund of stamp duty.

Mr David Gauke

The Government has doubled the eligibility period from 18 to 36 months for refunds from the higher rates of SDLT if purchasers move home before selling their main residence. The Government believes that the longer period of time is fairer to purchasers who may, due to circumstances beyond their control, be unable to sell a previous main residence within 18 months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29831, on how many occasions his Department has provided advice and support upon request from local authorities who wish to undertake post-implementation value for money assessments.

Mr Marcus Jones

None. However, carrying out post-implementation reviews is an established practice of good policy making for both local and central government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities applied for monies from the Planning Enforcement Fund; and how many such applications were successful.

Brandon Lewis

The Department received six applications for enforcement grants before the deadline for submitting applications and all were successful.

Two grants were made in the financial year 2014-15 to Staffordshire County Council (£8,010) and Stratford-on-Avon District Council (£3,200).

Four grants were made in the financial year 2015-16 to Bath and North East Somerset Council (£7,993.75), London Borough of Camden (£8,184.50), Chelmsford City Council (£2,755) and South Gloucestershire Council (£3,291.66).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answers of 21 March 2016 to Questions 31227 and 31228, if he will review what guidance is given by his Department to local authorities on public private partnerships.

Mr Marcus Jones

There are no current plans to produce updated guidance for local authorities on public private partnerships. However, my Department continuously reviews developments in the sector and if it is identified that take-up of new public private partnerships by local authorities is increasing, I will reconsider this position.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 33991, what proportion of the 644 teachers and head teachers who responded to the 2013 consultation supported the principle of the assessment reforms.

Nick Gibb

The primary school assessment and accountability consultation in 2013 was an important exercise which contributed to the development of our reforms.

An analysis of the consultation responses is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/new-national-curriculum-primary-assessment-and-accountability.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has conducted on the level of compliance with NICE guidelines on fertility treatment by each clinical commissioning group in England in the last three years.

Jane Ellison

The Government has not made an assessment of the annual cost to the National Health Service of high risk pregnancies caused by patients going abroad for in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Multiple births are the single biggest risk to the health and welfare of children born following fertility treatment and present significant health risks to mothers and babies. Over recent years, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has worked to drive down multiple birth rates whilst maintaining consistent treatment success rates.

To minimise the risk of multiple pregnancies, there has been a growing trend for IVF providers to only transfer one embryo, even when more are available, in patients who have a good chance of successful treatment. Elective single embryo transfer is the most effective way of reducing multiple pregnancies. The HFEA has advised that most clinics have shown significant progress in reducing multiple births without compromising pregnancy rates. In 2008 nearly one in four IVF births resulted in a multiple birth but now, with a concerted multiple births reduction policy, this number is one in six.

Although progress has been made, this number is still higher than the rate in conceptions that do not involve assisted reproduction treatment. The overall goal is to reduce multiple births to one in ten.

The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.

Information about CCGs approach to commissioning or compliance with the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines regarding IVF services is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 33341, when he plans to publish his Department’s analysis of the compliance testing of local authorities with the Local Government Transparency Code 2015.

Mr Marcus Jones

We are considering the work undertaken on the testing of local authorities compliance with the Local Government Transparency Code 2015 in the context of the wider work on strengthening local government transparency, including proposals on changes to the Transparency Code, which is currently out to consultation until the 8 July 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations her Department has made to the European Commission on the proposed reform of the EU Nature Directive.

Rory Stewart

Defra submitted evidence to the European Commission in April 2015 to inform their review of the EU Nature Directives. A Commission delegation then visited the UK in June 2015 to discuss the Directives in greater detail with Government officials, business group representatives and environmental non-governmental organisations. I spoke at EU Environment Council in December 2015 in support of improving how the Nature Directives are implemented and to make clear that the UK didn’t wish to see the Directives renegotiated. Defra’s written evidence and a recording of the December Council meeting are available on the European Commission website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2016 to Question 37443, what guidance her Department provides to school admission authorities on engaging with those people that the Schools Admissions Code requires them to consult.

Nick Gibb

It is for admission authorities to decide, in light of their local circumstances, how best to fulfil the duty set out in the School Admissions Code to consult on their admission arrangements.