Tag: Steve McCabe

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 29817, whether her Department holds information on the number of children who have been further assessed after the strength and difficulties questionnaire score suggested that there may be a problem with that child’s mental health.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Department does not hold information on the number of children who have undergone further assessment following the completion of a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

The Government has made available £1.4 billion over five years to implement the blueprint set out in Future in mind to transform children’s mental health services, including for those looked after and other vulnerable groups. Together with the Department of Health and working with NHS England and others we are establishing an expert group to develop care pathways that will support an integrated approach to meeting the mental health needs of looked-after children.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2016 to Question 31889, whether local authorities can instruct academy schools to admit children to meet their legal obligation; and whether it is her policy that local authorities will be able to instruct academy schools to admit children to meet their legal obligation under the proposed fully academised system.

Nick Gibb

Academy schools are their own admission authorities as are maintained voluntary aided and foundation schools. Such schools set their own admission policies and can only change them after consulting local people. Local authorities (LAs) can object to the Schools Adjudicator about an admission policy or a reduction in an admission number but cannot determine how many pupils such schools must admit.

LAs are able to launch a competition for a new free school and, in certain circumstances, place children through the local fair access protocol or, where a school does not agree to admit a child, seek to direct admission.

All state-funded schools are required to participate in the local in-year fair access protocol. Protocols allocate places to children who are unplaced by the start of the school year. Legislation also provides local authorities with powers to seek to direct the admission of children to maintained schools for which they are not the admission authority. Academy funding agreements contain similar direction powers.

Directions can be sought when there is no other school place within a reasonable distance or where a looked after child has been refused a place.

The Schools Adjudicator decides directions for maintained schools while the Education Funding Agency decides directions for academies on behalf of the Secretary of State.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of NHS England’s Mental Health Taskforce report published in February 2016; and what governance arrangements have been put in place to support the implementation of those recommendations.

Alistair Burt

The Government is working with delivery partners to carefully consider the Taskforce’s recommendations, and aims to publish an Implementation Plan in the summer that will set out how Government and partners will deliver the recommendations.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect bees from (a) neonicotinoids and (b) other harmful pesticides.

George Eustice

A pesticide may only be advertised, sold, supplied, stored and used if the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued an authorisation. Such authorisations can only be issued if the active substances contained in the product have been approved by the European Commission. Following a thorough risk assessment, HSE imposes conditions on the way pesticides are used to ensure there is no harm to human health and no unacceptable effects on the environment. The assessment considers risks to bees; any pesticides considered liable to harm bees are not authorised.

Neonicotinoids are subject to these rules. The European Commission withdrew approval for the use of three neonicotinoid active substances on a number of crops in December 2013. The UK Government has implemented these restrictions in full.

The National Pollinator Strategy includes actions designed to improve the status of our bees and other pollinating insects, for example tackling the loss of flower-rich habitats. Another action is to promote and increase the uptake of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) by farmers and growers. Increased uptake of IPM will help to achieve a more targeted approach to managing pests, weeds and diseases, with benefits for pollinators.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 32639, how she ensures that those most in need benefit from the Energy Company Obligation and Warm Home Discount; and whether she plans to change how households in fuel poverty are identified.

Andrea Leadsom

Currently, the Warm Home Discount and the Affordable Warmth Group under the Energy Company Obligation are targeted at low income households, using means-tested benefits as the basis for eligibility.

In April this year, Government consulted on plans to enable data sharing between government departments, specified public authorities and energy suppliers with the specific purpose of identifying and targeting assistance at fuel poor households. If successful, these proposals would allow DECC to use government-held data to identify more accurately low income households with high energy costs. This capability could then be used under a future Warm Home Discount.

There will be a reformed domestic supplier obligation (Energy Company Obligation) from April 2017, which will run for 5 years. It will upgrade the energy efficiency of homes and tackle the root cause of fuel poverty. Government will be consulting shortly on proposals for the 2017/18 scheme, including how households in fuel poverty would be identified.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with inflammatory bowel disease as their main disabling condition granted a personal independence payment between April 2013 and October 2015 were (a) new claimants, (b) expiring time-limited claimants and (c) claimants whose circumstances had changed.

Justin Tomlinson

The available data on the number of claimants in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), by main disabling condition and whether they are new claimants or reassessment claimants, are published on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.

Data on the circumstances leading to a reassessment is not published and could only be produced at disproportionate cost.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons he has not yet called for the immediate release of Andargachew Tsege.

James Duddridge

The Government takes the detention and welfare of Mr Andargachew Tsege very seriously. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised Mr Tsege’s case with the Ethiopian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister during his visit to Ethiopia on 1 June 2016. The Foreign Secretary received assurances that Mr Tsege will be allowed access to independent legal advice to allow him to discuss options under the Ethiopian legal system. We judge that an independent lawyer would be best placed to advise Mr Tsege of his options based on points of Ethiopian law. We will continue to press the Ethiopians as necessary to ensure that Mr Tsege has legal representation. Britain does not interfere in the legal systems of other countries, any more than we would accept interference in our judicial system. Our consular role is to ensure well-being and access to legal advice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria his Department uses to decide when and how to negotiate the UK’s tax treaties with other countries.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have responsibility for negotiating the UK’s double taxation agreements, subject to oversight by HM Treasury. HMRC run a periodic consultation exercise to establish the negotiating priorities, which are then approved by ministers. As part of this exercise they consider representations made by UK businesses, non-governmental organisations and government departments, as well as the UK’s diplomatic missions throughout the world. The results of the last such review were published by HMRC on the gov.uk website in November 2015.

Decisions on the negotiation or renegotiation of a tax treaty are taken on the basis of a range of factors including the results of HMRC’s periodic review of the tax treaty network, economic factors, the need to counter avoidance and evasion, and the role of treaties in promoting development. We also receive requests from countries to negotiate with us, and we will endeavour to accommodate them as time and negotiating resources permit. Given the number of treaties the UK already has, most of the programme will involve renegotiating existing agreements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2016 to Question 40131, on Children: maintenance, for what reasons the (a) updating work has taken less time than assumed and (b) setting up of arrears on the CMS system is taking longer than anticipated.

Caroline Nokes

It is not unusual for cost estimates to vary as broad assumptions are replaced by more detailed ones. The cost estimates in the impact assessment were produced before the detailed processes involved were finalised and were therefore subject to change. The changes in cost estimates were not due to any change in the scope or objectives of case closure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2016 to Question 42891, on double taxation: crown dependencies, for what reasons the Government has entered negotiations for a full revision of the treaties with Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

Jane Ellison

Our double taxation treaties with Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man (the Crown Dependencies) date from the 1950s and although we have updated them in part on several occasions many of the provisions are now out of date.

The OECD Model Tax Convention is the starting point for the UK’s tax treaties. This model has undergone many revisions in recent years, most recently in 2014, with further changes to be incorporated arising from the OECD base erosion and profit shifting project. These negotiations will give us the opportunity of incorporating many of these revisions.

HM Revenue and Customs officials began talks with the Crown Dependencies in April this year and will be meeting again with them soon to continue discussions.