Tag: Steve McCabe

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to local authorities in instances when a local authority does not issue a final statement of special educational needs within the statutory time limit of 26 weeks.

Mr Edward Timpson

Data is collected annually from all local authorities on the numbers of final statements issued for children with special educational needs (SEN).

Guidance to local authorities on the process and timescales for carrying out statutory SEN assessments and issuing final statements of SEN is provided in the 2001 ‘Special Educational Needs Code of Practice’ and the statutory timescales are also set out in ‘The Education (Special Educational Needs) (England) (Consolidation) Regulations 2001’.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2014 to Question 219579, if he will make it his policy to direct energy suppliers to withdraw charges imposed on customers solely for the purpose of covering the cost of gas metering and billing where a customer does not use that service.

Matthew Hancock

The standing charge element of the bill is commonly associated with covering the costs of, amongst other things, metering and billing as these are costs which the supplier will incur regardless of if any gas is consumed. These costs include the administrative costs of maintaining a customer account and providing bills and the cost of reading the meter and undertaking a periodic safety check. A supplier will also still be required to pay charges to the local gas network company for maintaining the connection and the distribution network which enables supply.

If a customer does not wish to pay a standing charge they can switch to a supplier with a tariff which features a standing charge set at zero.

Ofgem has been clear that consumers in vulnerable situations should not have to pay a standing charge if they are not consuming gas at all and should not have to pay for the removal of their meter, should this be appropriate, and has written to suppliers confirming this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department gives to local authorities and housing associations on emergency access to tower blocks and flats for emergency services.

Stephen Williams

Requirement B5 of the Building Regulations provides for adequate access for the fire and rescue service. My Department publishes Approved Document B which gives detailed guidance on compliance with this requirement and is available on the Planning Portal website.

www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_AD_B2_2013.pdf

Guidance on Fire Safety in Purpose Built Blocks of Flats produced by the Local Government Association, in conjunction with the housing and fire sectors, is available on the Government’s fire safety webpage. Advice on ensuring the provision and maintenance of fire fighting facilities, including, vehicle access for fire appliances, is included within this document.

www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities/fire-safety-advice-documents

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of existing arrangements for grandparents to have access to their grandchildren following the divorce of the parents of those children.

Simon Hughes

When making any decision about a child’s upbringing the court’s paramount consideration will be the welfare of the child.

The Government believes that the existing arrangements for grandparents to spend time with their grandchildren in cases of parental dispute are effective and do not unfairly disadvantage grandparents.

Child arrangements orders are able to deal with all the arrangements needed for a child in a single order, and that could include arrangements for spending time with grandparents where the court is considering this as an issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance he has issued to schools on the role of special educational needs coordinators in decisions on spending the pupil premium.

Mr Edward Timpson

The Department for Education has not issued guidance to schools on the role of the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) in decisions on how to spend the Pupil Premium. We expect that schools will want to involve the SENCO in determining how to use the Pupil Premium to fund support for those pupils with special educational needs who are economically deprived, looked after by the local authority or who have left care via adoption or other routes.

It should also be noted that the draft 0-25 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice states that the SENCO, headteacher and governing body or proprietor should consider their strategic approach to meeting special educational needs in the context of the total resources available to the school, including any resources targeted at particular groups, such as the Pupil Premium. The draft SEND Code of Practice was laid before Parliament on 11 June 2014 and must be approved by Parliament before it comes into force on 1 September 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-02-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints the DVLA has received about delays in completing a review of an individual’s medical information in relation to a driving licence in each year since 2010.

Claire Perry

Specific reasons for complaints about drivers’ medical cases, such as delays, are not available for 2010 to 2013 and are only available for 2014 onwards. For 2014, there were 2275 complaints due to delays in reviewing medical information.

Data on the total number of complaints about medical driving licence issues since 2010 is held, however, and over the last five years this equates to 0.3% of the total number of applications that required a medical investigation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the provision of advice for students with special educational needs.

Mr Edward Timpson

The Department for Education, in partnership with the Council for Disabled Children, has worked directly with a number of young people, including students, with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Their views have helped shape the reforms to the current SEND system to ensure it meets their needs – including how they would like to receive information and advice. Arrangements for providing information, advice and support for young people are set out in the SEND Code of Practice which was laid before Parliament on 11 June 2014.

From this September, local authorities will be required to provide information and advice directly to children and young people with SEND as well as to parents. Staff working directly with children and young people should be trained to support and work in partnership with them. Local information and advice services should direct young people to specialist support to help them prepare for employment, independent living (including housing) and participation in society. It should also provide access to careers advice where needed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-02-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints the DVLA has received about delays in people receiving driving licences in each year since 2010.

Claire Perry

Specific reasons for complaints about drivers’ driving licence applications, such as delays, are not available for 2010 to 2013 and are only available for 2014 onwards. For 2014, there were 2606 complaints due to delays in issuing a driving licence.