Tag: Tom Blenkinsop

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number of children who rely on public transport to get to school in (a) England and (b) the North East.

Caroline Dinenage

The Department for Education does not hold data on the number of children who use public transport for their home to school journeys. While we do oversee the school transport policy and legislative framework which determines the duties of local authorities and we support this through the Local Government Finance Settlement, we do not prescribe the type of arrangements or modes of transport that can be used locally.

The Department for Transport does however, undertake an annual National Travel Survey which includes data on the modes of school travel. The 2015 survey, including regional level data, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-travel-survey-2015

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish the White Paper on supporting people with health conditions and disabilities to get into work.

Priti Patel

As announced in the Spending Review, the Government will publish a White Paper in 2016 that will set out reforms to improve support for people with health conditions and disabilities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that medical assessors and people considering appeals have sufficient knowledge of muscular dystrophy, neuromuscular conditions and other rare and progressive conditions.

Justin Tomlinson

The assessment for Personal Independence Payment is carried out by registered health professionals who have specialist training in assessing the impact of disability and health conditions on an individual’s functional ability, including conditions such as muscular dystrophy, neuromuscular conditions and other rare and progressive conditions.

All health professionals receive comprehensive training in disability analysis which includes a functional evaluation as to how medical conditions such as muscular dystrophy, neuromuscular conditions and other rare and progressive conditions, and the long-term medical treatment of those conditions, affect their ability to perform day-to-day activities. Prior to carrying out an assessment they routinely refresh their knowledge of any condition with which they are not fully familiar.

The Department’s Decision Makers and Appeal Writers receive training in health conditions to assess each case individually using the evidence provided by the claimant and the Health Professional, and can call on additional support from a Health Professional as necessary.

In all Personal Independence Payment assessments consideration is given to whether claimants can complete activities safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period.

We have also worked closely with medical experts and charities to make significant improvements to the Work Capability Assessment, including strengthening the training programme to put more emphasis on making sure that assessors do not just focus on how someone manages on a ‘good day’ but also consider their ‘bad days’ if they have a health issue that fluctuates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department has taken to support the Teesside Carbon Capture Storage Collective since the announcement of the reduction in government funds in that sector.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department of Energy and Climate Change continues to work closely with Teesside, including through providing funding to the Collective for further work on how Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), carbon usage, hydrogen production and other technologies could reduce carbon emissions from industrial processes.

This support follows £1m previously awarded to Teesside as part of the 2013 Tees Valley City Deal, to undertake engineering and commercial studies into the scope for industrial CCS for the Tees Valley industrial cluster, and the October 2015 Tees Valley Devolution Deal, which committed DECC to work with Tees Valley to explore how it can continue to develop its industrial CCS proposals.

Lord Heseltine’s recent report “Tees Valley: Opportunity Unlimited” welcomed the support that the Government is continuing to provide on industrial CCS in the Tees Valley area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports of sexual offences Cleveland Police received in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those reports led to prosecutions.

Brandon Lewis

The number of sexual and violence against the person offences recorded by Cleveland police from 2011/12 to 2015/16 are given in the table.

The Home Office does not hold data on the number of prosecutions resulting from offences recorded by the police. Information on crimes assigned a charge or summons outcome is available from April 2014, when data on outcomes were first collected linked specifically to their associated crimes. Previously, outcomes data supplied by forces related to the volume recorded regardless of when the crime was committed. The new method of collection was implemented to provide greater transparency and highlight how each crime recorded in any period is resolved by the police.

The table shows the proportion of sexual and violent offences that resulted in a police charge or summons in 2014/15 and 2015/16. In addition, it shows the proportion of each offence group that has not been assigned an outcome. This is important to note, in particular for sexual offences, because length of investigations mean that the most recent year has more crimes that have yet to be assigned an outcome than the previous year.

Not all charges or summonses will lead to a prosecution, the Ministry of Justice hold and publish data on prosecutions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider changing adult learning funding to fund British Sign Language courses for families of children who are born deaf.

Robert Halfon

This Department funds British Sign Language (BSL) qualifications in England through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). In the current economic climate, our funding must be focussed where it can have the most impact, so we support young adults aged 19 and over to gain the skills and qualifications they need to get work or to progress in their chosen career.

Learners who need lip reading skills to access work or stay in work are eligible to receive public funding through the Skills Funding Agency, and we are introducing changes that will make BSL qualifications acceptable, for the purposes of apprenticeship completion requirements, as an alternative to Functional Skills English for apprentices whose first language is BSL.

Colleges and training providers are independent and autonomous bodies and are responsible for their course provision. They are required to respond to the needs of learners, employers and communities to ensure that provision meets the need of local people, and we would expect every college or training organisation that receives public investment to consider offering lip-reading and sign language provision if there is a demand for it locally. Our more flexible adult education budget funding rules for 2016/17 enable broader types of learning activities that re-engage people in learning, build confidence, and enhance well-being.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of particle pollutants on children’s health and development in the UK.

Nicola Blackwood

The independent expert advisory Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) published a statement on the evidence linking air pollution to effects on children’s health in 2008. This acknowledged the conclusions of a report by the World Health Organization (2005) of effects on children’s health, including development of lung function, but also noted that the evidence for some effects was from areas where levels of air pollutants were higher than those found in the United Kingdom.

In 2010 COMEAP published a statement on the evidence linking air pollution with childhood asthma. The evidence confirmed that exposure to ambient concentrations of air pollutants is associated with an increase in exacerbations of asthma in those who already have the condition. The evidence for air pollution causing new cases of asthma is less clear. However, COMEAP concluded that it is possible that air pollution plays a part in the induction of asthma in some individuals who live near busy roads, particularly roads carrying high numbers of heavy goods vehicles.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for the replacement of pacer trains that form part of the Northern franchise deal with Arriva Rail North Limited.

Andrew Jones

As we have stated, Pacers will be removed by the end of 2019. It is for the new operator to decide how and when (by that date) this occurs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department make available to people whose mandatory reconsideration and appeal takes longer than seven weeks to resolve.

Priti Patel

Claimants who are found fit for work through the Work Capability Assessment and wish to appeal may be entitled to claim either Universal Credit, Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance during the reconsideration period. Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches work with all such claimants to tailor a package of support commensurate with their individual needs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the report by Lord Heseltine, entitled Tees Valley: opportunity unlimited, published in June 2016, recommendation 6.6.7, whether he plans to devolve responsibility for the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers to the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Nick Boles

The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) is available until the end of the 2016/17 academic year to incentivise smaller employers to offer apprenticeships. The AGE grant will be devolved to The Tees Valley Combined Authority from this August. They will be free to vary the criteria associated with the grant (e.g. size and sector of business) to meet local needs.