Tag: Thangam Debbonaire

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to improve the broadband speed in the Bristol West area.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Over 1,450 businesses in Bristol and the surrounding area have taken a broadband connection voucher to improve their broadband connectivity. In addition, through the Super Connected Cities Programme, my Department has provided £1.56m to Bristol City Council to install general purpose ducting which will provide broadband connectivity to businesses in the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone. This funding has also enabled over 70km of ducting to be made available to two commercial suppliers to provide ultra-fast broadband across the city.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will introduce a ban on unstaffed tanning salons in England similar to that introduced in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Jane Ellison

The Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 came into force on 8 April 2011 in England and Wales and the purpose of the Act is to prevent people under the age of 18 from using sunbeds on commercial premises, by making it an offence for sunbed businesses to allow people access under the age of 18 to sunbeds on their premises.

Local authorities are responsible for enforcement of the Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010. Authorised officers have the right to enter premises believed to be sunbed businesses to carry out inspections, whether in response to a complaint or to check awareness and compliance with the Act. Some local authorities require sunbed outlets to operate under license.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on the use of teargas against refugees and migrants at the Macedonian border.

James Brokenshire

We continue to work closely with our European partners to address all aspects of the current migration situation as it continues to develop, including regular bilateral and multilateral discussions. There have been no specific discussions on the use of tear gas.

Public order is a matter for national governments and we expect all our international partners to ensure that migrants’ human rights are fully respected.

We are clear that protection in the region of origin is often the best solution, including for refugees, and that those reaching the EU should claim asylum in the first Member State they enter (as per EU rules) rather than seeking to travel further across Europe to their destination of choice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 8 of the Culture White Paper, published in March 2016, when his Department will require funded bodies in the arts and culture sectors to publish their strategies for increasing diversity.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Government believes that diversity is essential to the success of the cultural sectors. Arts Council England (ACE), as a funded body of the DCMS, published their Equality Action Plan in the summer of 2015. They also publish equality data annually. All National Portfolio Organisations and Major Partner Museums have submitted equality action plans to the Arts Council.

In addition, ACE launched their Creative Case for Diversity that requires National Portfolio Organisations to evidence how they contribute to diversity. This information will be used to assign a performance rating. Management agreements for other funded bodies are being renegotiated presently and will take into account the Government’s aspiration on diversity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on meeting the health and social care needs of older people who need affordable and accessible homes where they can live independently but with support when needed.

Brandon Lewis

Decisions on how to meet the health and social care needs of older people who need affordable and accessible homes and monitoring the supply of such accommodation are best made by local authorities. Government believes that local planning authorities remain best placed to determine the extent to which provision of more accessible housing is necessary and appropriate in their local area, and have appropriate powers to introduce development plan policies to meet these needs, having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework, Planning Guidance and other relevant matters.

The National Planning Policy Framework & Planning Guidance requires local authorities to plan for a mix of housing based on current and future demographic trends, and the needs of different groups, including elderly people, in their area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the number of police call-outs of reductions in staffing in (a) mental health units, (b) hospitals and (c) social care services.

Mike Penning

Decisions on the deployment of a police force’s workforce in relation to local requirements are operational matters for individual chief constables, working with their Police and Crime Commissioners. However, a range of initiatives at both local and national level including the Crisis Care Concordat partnership arrangements and street triage scheme have already helped to reduce inappropriate mental health demands on the police.

The use of police cells in England as places of safety under the Mental Health Act, for example, reduced from 8,667 instances in 2011/12 to 3,996 in 2014/15. Legislative changes being introduced in the Policing and Crime Bill currently before Parliament, to prohibit the use of cells as places of safety for children and further limit their use for adults, as well as reductions in detention periods, will ensure progress in maintained.

In addition, the Government has committed to invest an additional £1 billion in mental health services by 2020 to ensure improved mental health support in the community and for people in Accident and Emergency, as well as crisis response provision and treatment options for both adults and children. In the last Autumn Statement, the Government also gave local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of ne support for social care per year by 2019/20.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the modal age is of girls experiencing female genital mutilation; whether and how this modal age has changed over the last 15 years; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.

As set out in the new statutory multi-agency FGM guidance, FGM is usually carried out between infancy and the age of 15, however the age at which it is carried out varies enormously according to the community.

We will not stop FGM until we have changed attitudes within communities. We are working closely with community organisations, faith groups and survivors through the FGM Unit which is carrying out an ongoing programme of outreach with local community groups and professionals across England and Wales.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to determine how many trade negotiators his Department will require in the next six months.

Greg Hands

The Department for International Trade already has a strong and capable trade policy team which has more than doubled in size since 23 June. Over the coming months we will be developing that team to build the world class negotiating strengths needed to deliver the best outcomes for the UK. They will have the depth and breadth of expertise to handle the full range of sectoral and cross-cutting issues that arise in trade agreements, supported by analysts and lawyers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to prevent illegal timber entering Europe.

Rory Stewart

Defra is committed to tackling the trade in illegal timber. We implemented the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it an offence to place illegally logged timber on the EU market for the first time, and the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation, which aims to combat illegal logging and improve the supply of legal timber to the EU. The EU FLEGT Regulation establishes Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between the EU and timber producing countries. Once VPAs have been agreed, timber producing countries will issue exports with a ‘FLEGT licence’ which verifies the timber’s legality.

The Government’s Timber Procurement Policy also requires Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies to procure timber and timber products that are both legal and sustainable.

Domestic forests provide about 20% of the UK’s timber needs. They are managed in accordance with the UK Forestry Standard, the reference standard for sustainable forest management in the UK. Moreover, about 85% of UK timber production is independently certified, providing additional assurances of sustainability. We are strongly supportive of initiatives such as Grown in Britain, which create new sustainably managed woodland to increase the supply of British timber destined for use by local people and businesses. Timber and wood products labelled with the Grown in Britain logo are from trees and forests assured as compliant with the UK Forestry Standard.

I welcome the fact that UK companies and other bodies are making similar commitments to trade in both legal and sustainable timber by signing up to WWF’s Forest Campaign.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of (a) morale in the teaching profession, (b) long-term prospects for teacher recruitment and retention and (c) the potential effect of increases in pupil numbers on (i) morale and (ii) recruitment and retention in that profession.

Nick Gibb

Teaching continues to be a popular career choice. The Government is working with the profession to raise the status of teaching and is attracting the brightest and best to a career in the classroom, with the result that record numbers of highly-qualified graduates and experienced career changes are now teaching in schools.

On retention, latest statistics (School Workforce Census, November 2014) show that teacher retention one year after qualifying has remained stable, at around 90 per cent, for the past two decades. In addition, 72 per cent of those who qualified in 2009 were still in teaching five years later and the long-term retention rate is also stable, with over 60 per cent of teachers remaining in the classroom 10 years after qualifying.

The Department for Education is continually working to grow a strong pipeline of teachers and has developed a package of measures to support both the recruitment of new trainees (who account for around a half of all new entrants to the state-funded sector each year) and the retention of existing teachers.

Latest figures show there are a record number of teachers, with a record number coming back to the profession. The Initial Teacher Training census, published in November 2015, shows that three per cent more people started postgraduate teacher training than in the previous year. We recognise, however, that as the economy improves and the labour market strengthens, teacher recruitment is becoming increasingly challenging for some schools – particularly in some areas of the country and in some shortage subjects. That is why we are offering a range of bursaries and scholarships worth up to £30,000 tax-free to trainees in 2016/17. In addition, we are launching the National Teacher Service, as well as expanding the Teach First and School Direct programmes which will mean more great teachers in every corner of the country.

In terms of the long term recruitment of teachers, we use the Teacher Supply Model (TSM) to estimate Initial Teacher Training place requirements in England each year to meet the state-funded sector demand for qualified teachers. Forecasts are related to a range of factors including year-on-year pupil population growth rates, teacher leaving rates, and curriculum changes.

The 2016/17 version of the TSM, which was used to inform the 2016/17 ITT recruitment process, along with a user guide explaining the methodology in detail, is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-supply-model

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