Tag: Steve McCabe

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what background checks are carried out when a qualified teacher from (a) outside and (b) inside the EU applies to teach in England.

Mr David Laws

The School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009, the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2014 and the Non-maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2011 require schools to carry out specific checks before they may appoint an individual, including from abroad, to work at the school.

The regulations require schools to check: the identity of the individual; that the person meets any relevant staff qualification requirements; and that the person has a right to work in the UK. In addition, the school must obtain an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Certificate and where relevant a check of the children’s barred list. For those appointed into a teaching position, schools must ensure that the individual is not prohibited by the Secretary of State for Education from carrying out teaching work in England.

Where the person to be appointed has lived outside of the United Kingdom the regulations require further checks to be made and that the school must have regard to statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State when deciding what those additional checks should be.

The Department’s ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (KCSIE) statutory guidance makes clear that all schools and colleges have a duty to carry out mandatory safer recruitment checks that help to identify individuals who are not suitable to work with pupils. This guidance also signposts Home Office advice about obtaining criminal record information from overseas police forces and certificates of good conduct.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authorities in England use external contractors to assist with the delivery of childcare services excluding fostering and adoption.

Mr Edward Timpson

Through its Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme, the Government is supporting local authorities to take new approaches to maximise the capacity and skills brought to bear in improving services for the most vulnerable children. Part of that work involves giving local authorities greater freedom to test new delivery models and harness external ideas and expertise by allowing them to delegate children’s social care functions to external providers.

In November 2013 we gave all local authorities the power to operate in this manner. So far five providers have registered with Ofsted as performing these functions on behalf of local authorities.

Local authorities also make widespread use of contractors in the provision of children’s services such as residential care and foster care.

The Government does not collect data on local authority spend on external contracts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department offers on compensation available when police officers force entry into residential properties.

Mike Penning

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act Code of Practice B governs the searching of premises and the seizure of property from those premises by police officers. This includes the conduct of officers executing a search warrant (see paragraphs 6 to 6.15) and a note on compensation matters (see note 6.A). A copy of the PACE Code of Practice B can be found at GOV.UK.

The execution of a search warrant is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of the force concerned and so too is the consideration of damage claims which, as PACE Code B makes clear, will depend on the circumstances in each case.

The Department does not hold or collect data concerning the number of awards of damages paid out by police forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what meetings Ministers in his Department have had on the outsourcing of local authority children’s services since May 2010.

Mr Edward Timpson

Through its Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme the Government is supporting local authorities to take new approaches to maximise the capacity and skills brought to bear in improving services for the most vulnerable children. Part of that work involves giving local authorities greater freedom to test new delivery models and harness external ideas and expertise by allowing them to delegate children’s social care functions to external providers.

Ministers have regular internal and external meetings to discuss this policy in particular and approaches to delivering children’s social care more widely.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued on the use of reasonable force in the execution of a search warrant.

Mike Penning

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act Code of Practice B governs the searching of premises and the seizure of property from those premises by police officers. This includes the conduct of officers executing a search warrant (see paragraphs 6 to 6.15) and a note on compensation matters (see note 6.A). A copy of the PACE Code of Practice B can be found at GOV.UK.

The execution of a search warrant is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of the force concerned and so too is the consideration of damage claims which, as PACE Code B makes clear, will depend on the circumstances in each case.

The Department does not hold or collect data concerning the number of awards of damages paid out by police forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has contributed funds to assist local authorities in the payment of external contractors to deliver childcare services excluding fostering and adoption.

Mr Edward Timpson

Through its Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme, the Government is supporting local authorities to take new approaches to maximise the capacity and skills brought to bear in improving services for the most vulnerable children. Part of that work involves giving local authorities greater freedom to test new delivery models and harness external ideas and expertise by allowing them to delegate children’s social care functions to external providers.

In November 2013 we gave all local authorities the power to operate in this manner. So far five providers have registered with Ofsted as performing these functions on behalf of local authorities.

Local authorities also make widespread use of contractors in the provision of children’s services such as residential care and foster care.

The Government does not collect data on local authority spend on external contracts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many awards of damages have been awarded in respect of cases in which police officers from each police force caused substantial damage during the execution of a police raid or warrant in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act Code of Practice B governs the searching of premises and the seizure of property from those premises by police officers. This includes the conduct of officers executing a search warrant (see paragraphs 6 to 6.15) and a note on compensation matters (see note 6.A). A copy of the PACE Code of Practice B can be found at GOV.UK.

The execution of a search warrant is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of the force concerned and so too is the consideration of damage claims which, as PACE Code B makes clear, will depend on the circumstances in each case.

The Department does not hold or collect data concerning the number of awards of damages paid out by police forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much local authorities have spent on external contractors employed to deliver childcare services, excluding fostering and adoption in (a) 2014 to date and (b) each of the last three years.

Mr Edward Timpson

Through its Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme, the Government is supporting local authorities to take new approaches to maximise the capacity and skills brought to bear in improving services for the most vulnerable children. Part of that work involves giving local authorities greater freedom to test new delivery models and harness external ideas and expertise by allowing them to delegate children’s social care functions to external providers.

In November 2013 we gave all local authorities the power to operate in this manner. So far five providers have registered with Ofsted as performing these functions on behalf of local authorities.

Local authorities also make widespread use of contractors in the provision of children’s services such as residential care and foster care.

The Government does not collect data on local authority spend on external contracts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department takes to promote the use of IT facilities in public libraries by participants in the Work Programme for job search and preparation; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey

Work Programme providers have flexibility to innovate and to design support that addresses the needs of individuals and the local labour market, rather than having to follow one size fits all processes. It is at the discretion of providers whether they choose to advise individuals to use any particular public facilities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people working (a) at No. 10 Downing Street and (b) on the Prime Minister’s staff since May 2010 have not been required to undergo security vetting; how many such staff have undergone security vetting; and what the job titles and responsibilities are of all such staff.

Mr Francis Maude

Attendance at internal meetings is not normally disclosed.

It has been the policy of successive governments not to comment about staff subject to national security vetting.