Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants from other Departments are working in his Department as of 16 October 2023.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
20 civil servants are working in the Department at the level of director general who are employed by the Cabinet Office as of 30 September 2023.
As of the same date the number of civil servants at the director general level from other Departments working in the Cabinet Office is less than 5 so we are unable to answer this as it would disclose personal data of the civil servants involved.
321 civil servants from other Departments are working in the Cabinet Office and on Cabinet Office payroll, on a Loan or Secondment as of 30 September 2023.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure the UK complies with the undertakings agreed to in the Geneva Agreements with Iran on the sale of civil aerospace parts to Iran.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK, as part of the E3+3, has fully met its obligations under the Joint Plan of Action agreed with Iran in Geneva, including in the area of sanctions relief. The supply of civil aerospace parts to Iran was permitted under EU sanctions prior to the Joint Plan of Action and remains so (subject to the usual export control procedures).
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will amend paragraph 98 of the National Planning Policy Framework to require applicants for onshore wind energy developments to demonstrate an overall national need for renewable energy.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
Inappropriately sited wind turbines can cause significant harm to the local environment. Hence, last year, we changed planning guidance to strengthen the protection of landscape and heritage in relation to onshore wind.
Looking forward, we are keeping planning policy on renewable energy under review and will consider whether any further steps are appropriate in the light of this monitoring. We are open to representations.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to review the boundaries of the county of Lancashire.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
It is not possible to make changes to county areas other than as a consequence of local government structural or boundary changes recommended by the independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England. We have no intention of seeking such change. We are however keen to recognise and acknowledge the continuing role of England's traditional counties in the public and cultural life of the nation and the Government has sought to encourage the marking and continued use of traditional county names and areas irrespective of current tiers of local administration.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which free schools have been approved in each local education authority area excluding London since 2010; and which such schools are (a) non-denominational and (b) of each religious denomination.
Answered by Edward Timpson
There are 174 open free schools in England. Published location information for all these schools is available on the Department for Education's website:
37 of those schools have a faith designation, of which 20 are in areas other than London and can be found in the table below, along with their religious designation.
Name of school | Local Authority | Faith Designation |
Al-Madinah School | Derby | Muslim |
Atherton Community School | Wigan | Christian |
Barrow 1618 Church of England School | Shropshire | Christian |
Becket Keys Church of England School | Essex | Christian |
Grindon Hall Free School | Sunderland | Christian |
Khalsa Secondary Academy | Buckinghamshire | Sikh |
King's School Hove | Brighton and Hove | Christian |
Krishna-Avanti Primary School | Leicester | Hindu |
Leeds Jewish Free School | Leeds | Jewish |
Niskham Free School | Birmingham | Sikh |
Nishkam High School | Birmingham | Sikh |
St Michael's Catholic Secondary School | Cornwall | Christian |
St Anthony's School | Gloucestershire | Christian |
St Mary's Primary School, Dilwyn | Herefordshire | Christian |
Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School | Blackburn with Darwen | Muslim |
The Olive School, Blackburn | Blackburn with Darwen | Muslim |
The Olive Tree Primary School | Bolton | Muslim |
Trinity School | Kent | Christian |
Tyndale Community School | Oxfordshire | Christian |
University Cathedral Free School | Cheshire West and Chester | Christian |
26% of mainstream free schools have a faith designation, as opposed to 34% of all state-funded mainstream schools.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what economic assessment he has made on the effect on tourism jobs in seaside areas and seaside economies of deregulating school holidays.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The Government is giving more schools greater flexibility to adapt the shape of the school year in the interests of their pupils' education.
Whilst this will extend an existing flexibility to a greater number of schools, our advice will continue to include a clear expectation of schools working with each other and the local authority to coordinate dates to avoid unnecessary disruption to parents and their employers.
The Department has consulted with representatives of the tourist industry. Where schools choose to change their holiday dates, following discussion locally with parents and local businesses, there may well be a positive impact on seaside economies. In areas of high-seasonal employment, for example, small variations to term-dates agreed locally may help parents to holiday outside of peak periods.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the extension of the lease for Diego Garcia Airbase.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
We welcome the US presence on Diego Garcia, and we have said we want to see it continue. The current agreement does not conclude until December 2016, and we have not yet held substantive discussions with the US about this subject. I expect my officials to begin doing so later this year.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assistance his Department makes available to schools to survey for and remove asbestos.
Answered by David Laws
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 set out the standards and duties to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises including schools. This includes the need to assess and manage the risks through the formulation of a site-specific asbestos management plan.
On 24 January I announced the 2014-15 maintenance allocations, which are released as a non-ringfenced capital grant. The priorities for its use are decided locally and this can include supporting schools with asbestos issues.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional funding his Department makes available to schools to commission extra-curricular activities and projects.
Answered by David Laws
The two main grants to schools to fund their day-to-day activities are the Dedicated Schools Grant and the Education Services Grant. The Education Services Grant is given to local authorities to provide education services for pupils in maintained schools, and is given directly to academies. When a school receives either of these grants, the funding is not ring-fenced: the school can spend it as it chooses. Schools are therefore free to decide how much of this funding they want to spend on extra-curricular activities and projects.
The Department for Education also provides specific ring-fenced funding, through the primary PE and sport premium, for the improvement of PE and sport in primary schools. Headteachers are free to use this funding, an investment of over £150 million a year to 2015/16, to provide extra-curricular clubs for activity and sport, and for sport-related projects.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to review the list of facilitating subjects for Key Stage 5 performance tables.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The facilitating subjects are identified by the Russell Group of universities as A level subjects that are required more often than others by universities. The list includes English literature along with mathematics, further mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, geography, history and languages (classical and modern).
The Russell Group is an independent organisation; it recently reviewed the list of facilitating subjects and confirmed no change was needed. The Department for Education publishes a measure in the key stage 5 performance tables of the percentage of students achieving AAB grades at A level, including in at least two facilitating subjects.