Tag: Tim Loughton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2015 to Question 8120, what the sensor capability is of the C-130 Hercules; and what the full extent is of its search and rescue resources.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Hercules C-130 aircraft is fitted with radar which can be used to locate vessels in the water. Night vision goggles allow aircrew to conduct visual searches at night. The aircraft is able to provide situational awareness of shipping in the area by interrogating maritime transponder transmissions.

The Hercules C-130 is also able to drop air sea rescue apparatus containing life-rafts and survival equipment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which children’s services departments have (a) been judged as inadequate by Ofsted and (b) had outside commissioners take over responsibility for those services from local authorities in each of the last five years.

Edward Timpson

Since December 2010, Ofsted has inspected local authorities under the following frameworks: Safeguarding and Looked after Children; local authority arrangements for the protection of children; local authority arrangements for children looked after; local authority adoption agencies; and single inspection of services for children in need of help and protection, looked after children and care leavers, including a review of the Local Safeguarding Childrens Boards (LSCB).

During this period, the following local authorities have been rated as ‘inadequate’:

Barnsley, Bexley, Birmingham, Blackpool, Buckinghamshire, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Cornwall, Coventry, Cumbria, Darlington, Devon, Doncaster, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Kingston upon Thames, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancashire, Leicester City, Manchester, Medway, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Peterborough, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Slough, Somerset, Sunderland, Surrey, Sutton, Torbay, Walsall, Waltham Forest, West Berkshire, West Sussex and Wiltshire.

Commissioners have been appointed in Birmingham, Doncaster, Rotherham, Slough, and Sunderland. Depending on the needs in each Council, commissioners have played a range of roles, including establishing chidren’s social care Trusts; exercising executive control over services; and ensuring effective improvement plans are in place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what contingency arrangements his Department has made for the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

Anna Soubry

I refer my hon Friend to the reply given on 14 January by my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister’s answer to UIN 21952.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will support the UK’s wine and spirit industry with further duty cuts in 2016.

Damian Hinds

The government continues to keep all taxes under review and decisions on tax policy are made by the Chancellor as part of the Budget process. Any changes to alcohol duties would need to take account of a wide range of factors, including the Exchequer impact, the impact on businesses, public health and the distributional impact of reform.

The government is committed to supporting the UK wine andspirits industry. The duty onspirits was cut by 2% at March Budget 2015, building on the duty freeze at Budget 2014. The duty on wines below 22% abv has been frozen since March Budget 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on options relating to the future of Channel 4.

Mr Edward Vaizey

My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and sport on a wide variety of issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, by what method his Department assesses the financial returns of the National Citizenship Service; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Rob Wilson

National Citizen Service (NCS) Trust receives an annual grant from Cabinet Office. In line with National Audit Office recommendations, the NCS Trust delivers an Annual Reconciliation Statement setting out how funds have been spent. The Cabinet Office publishes details of NCS funding in its Annual Report and the programme is independently evaluated to assess impact and value for money.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information his Department holds on the powers of appointment of university vice-chancellors for staff working in Confucius Institutes on their university campus.

Joseph Johnson

Universities are autonomous from Government and responsible, by law, for all decisions about who they appoint as staff.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32522, who the 22 Tibetans referred to in that Answer are; and what the response was of the Chinese authorities in the case of each such Tibetan.

Mr Hugo Swire

We included the cases of nine Tibetans detained by the Chinese authorities on a list of cases submitted to the Chinese delegation ahead of the 2015 UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. These included Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and Dhondup Wangchen. In 2014, we included the names of 16 Tibetan individuals on our case list. Three cases, including Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, appeared on both case lists. The UK-China Human Rights Dialogue is a platform for detailed, expert exchanges on human rights issues. We do not make our full case lists public as in some cases the individuals concerned do not want us to. We do not publish Chinese responses to cases raised as we assess this will be counter-productive. We continue to make our concerns about the human rights situation in China, including Tibet, known publicly via other means, such as in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been paid in fines by Network Rail to Govia Thamelink Railway to compensate for poor performance in each of the last three years.

Claire Perry

Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR’s) provision of services for the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise only began on 14 September 2014, with Southern services included from 26 July 2015.

Network Rail’s performance is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), who have agreed a £4.1m package of improvements to be delivered by Network Rail on the Southern part of GTR franchise area in order to address performance issues.

There is a compensation and incentive regime element within the Track Access Agreement between Network Rail and each operator, and this is overseen by the ORR.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to release local authority children’s services departments from their safeguarding children responsibilities.

Edward Timpson

There are no plans to release local authority children’s services departments from their safeguarding responsibilities. The Children and Social Work Bill proposes a power for local authorities to test different ways of working. This power is not about questioning the fundamentals of what local authorities need to do in relation to children’s safeguarding, but about exploring how things could be done better. We are seeking to create a controlled, time-limited space to test new ways of working before seeking to make any wider changes to the legislative framework. Accountability for safeguarding will remain the same even if exemptions are being tested.