Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by John Pugh, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
John Pugh has not been granted any Urgent Questions
John Pugh has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
A Bill to establish the right of schools and academies to challenge the timing and format of schools inspections; to appeal against the outcomes of such inspections; to make provision about increasing accountability and quality assurance within the school inspection system; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to require public sector bodies to include in their annual reports and similar documents their responses to suggestions and proposals made by public sector employees for the efficiency and improvement of their service.
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to amend the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 to require the Local Government Boundary Commission to respond to public representations requesting principal area boundary reviews; and for connected purposes.
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to require the Government to publish a list of the powers of local councils and a code of conduct defining the degree of autonomy attached to those powers and areas where a council may act autonomously; to create a mechanism to identify and adjudicate on breaches of the code by either central or local government; and for connected purposes.
John Pugh has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
In 2015 responsibility for construction, maintenance and refurbishment was held by the Parliamentary Estates Department. The Pass Office database shows that 2,529 CTC (Counter Terrorist Check) clearances were conducted on those working in PED in 2015. Of these, 366 were non-UK nationals. This equates to 14.47% of all those given security clearance for work in the department in 2015.
The Pass Office database shows that the Palace of Westminster holds security clearance and passes for a total of 779 pass holders whose jobs relate to catering and cleaning purposes. 330 of these are not UK nationals. This equates to 42.36%.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. However, there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. However, there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
Replacing maintenance grants with loans will reduce grant expenditure by around £2.5bn per year by 2020-21 and therefore make a substantial contribution to reducing the deficit. From that new baseline position, entirely replacing the new, larger maintenance loans with grants would increase grant expenditure – and the deficit – by around £8bn per year.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has requested local authorities in England to annually measure, and report on their websites, greenhouse gas emissions data for their own estate and operations. A collation of the data extracted from local authority websites for the years 2008/09 to 2012/13 can be found on gov.uk:
From 2013/14 DECC ceased to collate and publish the data on gov.uk.
The Government has a long standing relationship with partners in the Liverpool City Region which has seen the successful negotiation of three landmark deals.
In 2012, The Liverpool City and Liverpool City Region Deals created a £75 million Mayoral Investment Fund to support economic development to build a further 12 new schools and £5m support to organise the 2014 International Festival for Business.
Building on the two deals, Liverpool City Region saw the agreement of a £232m Growth Deal in July 2014. According to estimates by the Local Enterprise Partnership, by 2021 the Growth Deal will bring to Liverpool City Region, up to 10,000 jobs, 10,000 new homes and up to an additional £30m into the Liverpool City Region economy from public and private investment.
We are engaged in an on-going dialogue with the partners about the delivery of these three deals.
The Law Officer's Departments do not directly employ any staff to clean its estate. All cleaning services are provided via a national facilities management contract or via managed service agreements.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. There are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
The Government monitors cross-cutting issues in a number of ways.
The Prime Minister has created seven Implementation Task Forces to monitor and drive delivery of the Government’s cross-cutting priorities. These task forces bring together Ministers and officials to track progress, spot and resolve issues, maintain momentum and ensure accountability and ensure that departments deliver to time.
In addition, internal Single Departmental Plans also require departments to set out their contributions to cross-cutting issues and ensure consistent milestones and metrics for joint areas of work.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
The commercial archaeology market supports c.3,000 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) posts annually in England. It is difficult to estimate the additional workforce requirement over the next five years, given the number of unknowns. Historic England is working with employers to support the delivery of the skills required, for example through apprenticeships.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
As well as clear information about broadband speeds, consumers also need to understand costs to exercise effective choice. We expect the Advertising Standards Authority, following research it published in January, to produce new standards to make advertised broadband prices clearer by the end of May.
Funding decisions for the arts are made independently of Ministers by Arts Council England (ACE). Earlier this week, ACE announced an increase in the proportion of spend on regional arts and major partner museums.
There are 85 non-Christian state-funded faith schools, which represents 1.2% of all state-funded faith schools. This data is derived from Table 2c in Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, 2016, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2016
Statistics on truancy are published by the Ministry of Justice in the “Criminal justice statistics outcomes by offence data tool”, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015.
The number of defendants proceeded at court for the offences of truancy (parent failure to secure attendance of child) was 20,808 in England and Wales in 2015. The number of offenders found guilty was 15,649. Similarly, the number of offenders sentenced was 15,649; out of these, 12,095 offenders were sentenced to a court fine, and 8 offenders were given an immediate custody sentence.
The average level of fine for truancy was £184 in 2015. The lowest fine was up to £25, and the highest fine was over £750 and up to £1,000.
The average custodial sentence length for truancy was 1.3 months in 2015, and all custodial sentences given were for 3 months or less.
The Department for Education is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and other government departments to consider new criteria for determining entitlement to benefits-related free school meals as the rollout of Universal Credit progresses. We will communicate our proposals in due course. There are no plans to change the criteria for determining eligibility for pupil premium.
The Department for Education is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and other government departments to consider new criteria for determining entitlement to benefits-related free school meals as the rollout of Universal Credit progresses. We will communicate our proposals in due course. There are no plans to change the criteria for determining eligibility for pupil premium.
The Department for Education is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and other government departments to consider new criteria for determining entitlement to benefits-related free school meals as the rollout of Universal Credit progresses. We will communicate our proposals in due course. There are no plans to change the criteria for determining eligibility for pupil premium.
Qualifications should not generally be needed within an apprenticeship as the end-point assessment will provide definitive evidence of whether the apprentice has acquired full occupational competence. Not mandating qualifications in standards unless absolutely necessary ensures that individual employers have the freedom to choose the most appropriate training to enable their apprentices to achieve this.
Qualifications can only be specified in the standard if they are either a legal requirement, needed for professional registration or where an apprentice would be at a significant disadvantage as they try to progress in their career without it.
The Institute for Apprenticeships will take over responsibility for ensuring the quality of Apprenticeships standards from April 2017 and will advise the Government on policy implications or trends emerging through the standards approvals process.
All approved apprenticeship standards, including those that do not contain mandated qualifications, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/apprenticeship-standards.
Qualifications can only be specified in the standard if they are either a legal requirement, needed for professional registration or where an apprentice would be at a significant disadvantage as they try to progress in their career without them. The rationale for restricting the inclusion of qualifications is that the end-point assessment will provide definitive evidence of whether the apprentice has acquired full occupational competence thus negating the need for on-programme qualifications. Not mandating qualifications in standards unless absolutely necessary also ensures that individual employers have the freedom to choose the most appropriate training to enable their apprentices to achieve full competence.
This means that Trailblazers that would like qualifications in their standards but can’t meet one of the criteria are advised not to include them, and Trailblazers that submit standards including qualifications without providing the evidence that their inclusion meets one of the criteria are either rejected or approved subject to the removal of the qualifications.
However, with over 215 Trailblazers having developed or developing nearly 500 standards, we do not hold information about the number of times this kind of advice has been provided.
All approved apprenticeship standards, including those that do not contain mandated qualifications, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/apprenticeship-standards.
Qualifications can only be specified in the standard if they are either a legal requirement, needed for professional registration or where an apprentice would be at a significant disadvantage as they try to progress in their career without them. The rationale for restricting the inclusion of qualifications is that the end-point assessment will provide definitive evidence of whether the apprentice has acquired full occupational competence thus negating the need for on-programme qualifications. Not mandating qualifications in standards unless absolutely necessary also ensures that individual employers have the freedom to choose the most appropriate training to enable their apprentices to achieve full competence.
This means that Trailblazers that would like qualifications in their standards but can’t meet one of the criteria are advised not to include them, and Trailblazers that submit standards including qualifications without providing the evidence that their inclusion meets one of the criteria are either rejected or approved subject to the removal of the qualifications.
However, with over 215 Trailblazers having developed or developing nearly 500 standards, we do not hold information about the number of times this kind of advice has been provided.
All approved apprenticeship standards, including those that do not contain mandated qualifications, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/apprenticeship-standards.
Qualifications can only be specified in the standard if they are either a legal requirement, needed for professional registration or where an apprentice would be at a significant disadvantage as they try to progress in their career without them. The rationale for restricting the inclusion of qualifications is that the end-point assessment will provide definitive evidence of whether the apprentice has acquired full occupational competence thus negating the need for on-programme qualifications. Not mandating qualifications in standards unless absolutely necessary also ensures that individual employers have the freedom to choose the most appropriate training to enable their apprentices to achieve full competence.
This means that Trailblazers that would like qualifications in their standards but can’t meet one of the criteria are advised not to include them, and Trailblazers that submit standards including qualifications without providing the evidence that their inclusion meets one of the criteria are either rejected or approved subject to the removal of the qualifications.
However, with over 215 Trailblazers having developed or developing nearly 500 standards, we do not hold information about the number of times this kind of advice has been provided.
The Department has not yet published exclusion information broken down by ethnic group at local authority level for the 2014 to 2015 academic year. It will be published in due course.
The information is available at national level in the ‘Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England: 2014 to 2015’ National statistics release[1].
The Government is committed to ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to progress and succeed at school. There are a number of factors that influence the educational outcomes of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils and the Department is exploring the drivers for improving attainment. The Department will share its plans in due course.
It is disappointing that AQA has taken the decision to withdraw from offering these subjects at A level. Neither subject, however, is a pre-requisite for degree level study, and both are taken by a relatively small number of students.
The option for AQA or another exam board to develop A level specifications for these subjects in future will also remain open. We are in discussion with the exam boards on this issue.
It is disappointing that AQA has taken the decision to withdraw from offering these subjects at A level. Neither subject, however, is a pre-requisite for degree level study, and both are taken by a relatively small number of students.
The option for AQA or another exam board to develop A level specifications for these subjects in future will also remain open. We are in discussion with the exam boards on this issue.
The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) comprises the core academic curriculum: English, mathematics, the sciences (including computer science), history or geography and a language. The subjects are closely based on the facilitating subjects at A level, which the Russell Group of universities say keep a wide range of degree courses open to students.
The Government believes that, alongside the EBacc, all pupils should have access to an excellent, well-rounded education and the arts are central to this. All schools, including academies and free schools, must provide a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils. We expect all schools to offer a wide range of options alongside the EBacc which has been designed to be limited in size so that there is flexibility for pupils to take additional GCSEs that reflect their own individual interests and strengths.
We are considering the responses to the consultation on the implementation of the EBacc, including those from the Bacc for the Future campaign, and we will publish the government response in due course.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. However, there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. However, there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
Information is given on the number and percentage of students completing key stage 5 study (A level and other level 3 qualifications) in mainstream state-funded schools and colleges, and progressing to study at a UK Higher Education Institution for at least two terms the following year; in each of the last four years for which information is available. Free school meal eligibility is as recorded when students were in year 11.
The tables attached show figures for the six local authorities in the Liverpool City Region: a) Halton, b) Knowsley, c) Sefton, d) St Helen’s, e) Wirral, and f) Liverpool. Comparable figures for g) the North West and h) England are given for context. Numbers of pupils are shown rounded to the nearest ten, as published. Percentages are calculated on unrounded figures.
Information on pupil destinations at local authority, regional and national level is published annually on gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations
The information requested is not held centrally.
We do not recognise the term ‘National Schools Database’ but interpret it to mean one of two things:
The welfare of children unassigned to maintained schools or home educated is a Local Authority responsibility.
The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010 were replaced by the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, which came into force on 5 January 2015.
58 fee paying independent schools have been registered since 1 January 2015. Not all of these have been inspected since registration. The normal procedure is for an independent school to be inspected in their first year of operation.
14 schools have had a standard inspection since registration, and two schools have had material change inspections. Three of the standard inspections do not yet have a report available due to them having taken place very recently.
Of the 11 inspection reports available, only one shows a failure to meet standard 5.
All schools will have been inspected prior to registration and judged likely to meet all of the standards. Schools are not permitted to register unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that the school is likely to meet all of the standards on registration.
The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010 were replaced by the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, which came into force on 5 January 2015 and set out more demanding standards that independent schools must meet. Standard 5 places requirements on schools on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
The Department commissions Ofsted or one of the approved independent inspectorates to inspect independent schools and report on whether or not they are meeting the standards. Where a school fails to meet the standards, the Department issues a statutory notice requiring an action plan to rectify the failings. In nearly all cases the school improves to meet the standards and regulatory action can stop. However, in rare cases where a school fails to make the required improvements the Secretary of State can take enforcement action: to impose a relevant restriction or to remove the school from the register of independent schools. More information on how the Department regulates the independent sector is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulating-independent-schools
Since 2015, the Secretary of State has taken enforcement action against two fee-paying independent schools for a failure to meet standard 5. Both schools were also failing to meet a number of the other standards.
Information on the number of permanent exclusions in state-funded primary schools is published at national and regional level in the Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England[1] series. Information on the number of permanent exclusions in primary academies from 2010/11 to 2013/14 inclusive can be found in Table 18a of the 2013/14 release and Table 16a of the equivalent release for earlier years.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions
Information on the number of permanent exclusions in state-funded primary schools is published at national and regional level in the Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England[1] series. Information on the number of permanent exclusions in primary academies from 2010/11 to 2013/14 inclusive can be found in Table 18a of the 2013/14 release and Table 16a of the equivalent release for earlier years.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions
Information on the number of permanent exclusions in state-funded primary schools is published at national and regional level in the Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England[1] series. Information on the number of permanent exclusions in primary academies from 2010/11 to 2013/14 inclusive can be found in Table 18a of the 2013/14 release and Table 16a of the equivalent release for earlier years.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions
It is a criminal offence to operate an unregistered independent school. The Department for Education has recently published policy setting out our approach to prosecution which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulating-independent-schools.
We have also agreed additional resources for Ofsted to pursue cases.
The responsibility for ensuring that a child of compulsory school age receives a suitable full-time education rests with the child’s parents, either by the child’s attendance at a registered school or otherwise. ‘Otherwise’ can include education at home or attendance at settings which are not schools. If the local authority is not satisfied that a child is receiving suitable education, it has a duty to make a school attendance order.
Local authorities’ safeguarding duties apply wherever children are educated, whether in registered schools or elsewhere.
The Department also recently completed a call for evidence on proposals for the registration and inspection of out-of-school settings providing intensive education which were announced in the Counter-Extremism Strategy. Over 3,000 people completed the response form, either online or manually. The Department received a significant number of further representations to the consultation by email and post. All responses and representations are being logged, analysed and verified.
In line with Cabinet Office guidance, we will be publishing a response to the consultation in due course.
A list of approved academy sponsors is published by the Department for Education on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-sponsor-contact-list. A hard copy provided at attachment 1.
The Department does not specifically collect information about the involvement of members of the House of Lords in academy sponsorship.
Local authorities were responsible for the local delivery of the Building Schools for the Future programme (BSF). They planned, procured and continue to manage the BSF school buildings, including ICT contracts. Advice and guidance on ICT Contracts was provided to local authorities by Partnerships for Schools: http://www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/library/BSF-archive/BSF-ICT.html
We are currently investigating 21 institutions that may be operating as unregistered independent schools in England and have not applied for registration. However, this number often changes as new settings are established and existing ones close, or are confirmed not to be operating as schools. We have taken robust steps to tackle unregistered schools and improve safeguarding which includes being clear it is a criminal offence to operate an unregistered independent school. All these institutions have been warned that it is a criminal offence to operate as an unregistered school. We are asking Ofsted to visit and to prepare cases for prosecution as necessary.
We do not hold data on the numbers in Wales as the Department is not the regulatory body for independent schools in Wales.
The role of Regional Schools Commissioners is to work with school leaders to promote and monitor academies and free schools. The list of their responsibilities does not include unregistered pupils or home education.
In 2013-14, 42,050 full-time equivalent teachers left service from state funded schools in England. Of these teachers, 10,500 retired with an award of pension benefits. In the same year 44,900 teacher entered the profession. In 2012-13, there were 44,400 entrants and 39,050 leavers, of which 11,230 retired.
There is no fixed retirement age for teachers but the normal pension age for Teachers’ Pensions is either 60 or 65 depending on when the teacher last entered the profession.
Information on the number of teachers entering and leaving service from state funded schools in each year is published in table C1b of the additional tables in the School Workforce in England Statistical First Release, November 2014. The table shows entrants and leavers for each year from 2010-11 to 2013-14. This publication is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014
The final politics A level content will give all students the opportunity to study the core ideas of feminism, and will set out the female theorists whose work students should study. The consultation on the draft politics A level content closed on 15 December 2015; awarding bodies are currently making changes to the content to respond to the views expressed. The Government will publish its response to the consultation shortly.
The Government is committed to achieving educational excellence everywhere so that children in every part of the country, regardless of their background and circumstances, have access to an outstanding education.
Free schools benefit from the ability to act quickly to improve standards. The Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) for the South West is responsible for taking action to improve underperforming free schools in the region. Where a free school is identified by Ofsted as under-performing the RSC takes swift action, working with the school to develop robust plans for improvement including, for example, appointing strong new sponsors to run the school.
These are matters for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.
These are matters for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.
These are matters for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.
The Department for Education does not hold information on the reason for a penalty notice (fine) being issued to a parent or guardian.
The department collects and publishes local authority level annual data on the number of penalty notices (fines) issued to parents in England, for offences relating to Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996. The most recent data published by the department is for the academic year 2012/13.
Information on the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals, and all other pupils, who achieve five or more GCSEs including English and mathematics is published at national and regional level as part of the “GCSE and equivalent attainment by pupil characteristics: 2014” statistical first release. [1]
[1] 2013/14 revised regions level tables can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/402634/SFR06_2015_National_and_LA.xls. (Table 1 and Table 5 for national and regional figures respectively)
The data provided to the Department by schools in the November 2014 School Workforce Census shows that 52 head teachers in academy schools in England were paid a salary of £142,500 or more.
Of the other roles within the scope of the School Workforce Census, there were fewer than five teachers in academies receiving a salary of £142,500 or more.
The data provided to the Department by schools in the November 2014 School Workforce Census shows that 52 head teachers in academy schools in England were paid a salary of £142,500 or more.
Of the other roles within the scope of the School Workforce Census, there were fewer than five teachers in academies receiving a salary of £142,500 or more.
Information on pupil absence in schools in England is available in the ‘Statistics: pupil absence’ series[1].
National absence figures between 2009 and 2014, can be found through the link to ‘Pupil absence in schools in England: 2013 to 2014’ in the spreadsheet named ‘National tables: SFR10/2015’.
Table 1.1 provides absence information across the first five half terms between 2009 and 2014.
National absence figures between 2005 and 2009, can be found through follow the link to ‘Pupil absence in schools in England, including pupil characteristics: academic year 2009 to 2010’.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-pupil-absence
As of 29 October 2015, there are 1,093 English schools which provide some form of secondary education and are part of academy trusts with more than one school.
The number of penalty notices issued to parents for offences relating to Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996 in each academic year since 2004/05 is set out online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parental-responsibility-measures-academic-year-2012-to-2013.
The most recent data published by the Department for Education is for the academic year 2012/13. The department does not collect data regarding fines issued by the courts on this matter.
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on criminal justice system outcomes by offence in England and Wales. This information can be viewed at the following link under the offence category “112A Education Acts”:
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014
Funding for children’s services – including funding to support adoption functions – is paid through the Early Intervention Grant (EIG), which is discernible within the Business Rates Retention Scheme. With this funding, local authorities are expected to respond to their core duties. The EIG is non ring fenced, in order to give local commissioners the freedom and flexibility to respond to locally determined demand. Local authorities have a duty to provide adoption services, so are therefore expected to pay for adoption services through their EIG, including when delivering their adoption functions through a regional adoption agency.
The government will work with local authorities and voluntary adoption agencies to deliver regional adoption agencies. This year, we are providing up to £4.5million of start-up funding to support early adopters to accelerate the development of the new arrangements. In addition, we are also providing £30m which can be used by local authorities over the next twelve months to cover the fees incurred when children are placed with an adopter recruited by another local authority or voluntary adoption agency. This will remove a financial barrier and make it easier for children waiting for adoption to be matched with approved adopters, wherever in the country they may be.
We would expect regional adoption agencies to lead to financial savings to local authorities over time. Savings could be made through: economies of scale; reducing the length of time children spend in care waiting for adoption; and reducing the number of children who are not adopted because parents could not be found for them.
The Government's position on the change in employer contribution rate for the Teachers' Pension Scheme was published in the Teachers' Pension Scheme Valuation Report (Actuarial Valuation as at 31 March 2012), which is available here:
The position for non-teaching staff is less clear-cut as they are covered by the Local Government Pension Scheme, which consists of around 90 different funds, and thus the change in employer costs as a result of recent reforms will vary from fund to fund.
The expected changes in National Insurance for employers as a result of moves to a single tier state pension were set out in the impact assessments for Pensions Act 2014, which are available here:
Academy trusts that have a funding agreement published pre-July 2010 are required to publish an annual prospectus, which includes details of the curriculum offered. Since July 2011, the funding agreement with each academy or free school has included a requirement to publish details of their curriculum.
This information is not held. The cleaners for Defra’s Westminster estate are provided by Interserve (Facilities Management) Ltd. The contract with the supplier requires them to follow all the appropriate checks when employing non British nationals, but the supplier has advised that they do not keep internal statistics about employees being British or non-British.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
The sugar regime is one of the most heavily regulated and distorting elements of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The agreement, as part of the 2013 reforms, to end sugar beet quotas in 2017 is an important step towards removing these distortions.
During negotiations of the reforms the UK Government argued for a fair and balanced outcome for all parts of the sugar industry. Disappointingly, there was insufficient support from other Member States to secure the necessary changes on imports to allow the cane sector to compete on a level playing field with the beet sector. However, we remain committed to working with the European Commission to address this issue through forthcoming EU trade agreements.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
There will be no substantive impact on existing DFID programming. It is right that we work with communities in the UK taking refugees as we do elsewhere in the world, but of course, we will stay within ODA rules.
I refer the hon. Member for Southport to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak on 13 October, UIN 47419, 47396.
I refer the hon. Member for Southport to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak on 13 October, UIN 47419, 47396.
Following the Metrojet crash, the Foreign Office travel advice was changed so that direct air services between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh airport were halted.
We look forward to achieving the return of flights, once we can be assured of there being the necessary secure and sustainable security situation. UK aviation security experts continue to work closely with their Egyptian counterparts on the ground, sharing their expertise in establishing effective security arrangements. It would not be appropriate to provide details on the specific security measures being taken.
The Department does not directly employ any cleaning staff on its Westminster estate. All cleaning staff are employed and managed under outsourced estates and facilities contracts. Information on nationality in such situations is not held by the Department.
Many staff self-declare their nationality on the staff system. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks and copies of this evidence are held on file for the duration of the person’s employment and for a further two years after they cease working for the department.
Benefit Cost Ratios are calculated at many points in time during the lifecycle of a project including to inform a number of specific decision points. Due to changes in appraisal guidance benefit cost ratios calculated at different points in time may not be directly comparable.
The benefit cost ratios for major rail projects with a value over £1bn and currently in delivery are set out in the table. These are based on the BCR at final business case stage or more recently published information where available. The benefit cost ratio of these and other rail schemes will have changed since these assessments were undertaken.
Scheme | Benefit Cost Ratio (excluding Wider Economic Impacts) | Date of Appraisal |
Crossrail | 1.97 | Jul-11 |
IEP | 2.7 | Jan-12 |
Thameslink | 1.42 | Mar-13 |
The latest central case estimate of the benefit cost ratio for the full HS2 Y-network, dating from November 2015 is 2.2. Excluding wider economic impacts (WEIs) it is 1.8.
The benefit cost ratio for Crossrail was assessed in July 2011 and was estimated at 3.09. Excluding wider economic impacts the benefit cost ratio was estimated to be 1.97.
The Todmorden curve was a locally promoted scheme that received funding through the Regional Growth Fund, the Department does not hold the information requested on this scheme.
Depending on the franchise, we measure the level of services provided by the performance against the set benchmarks (capacity, cancellations and delay minutes), and/or the Public Performance Measure. Some franchises are also measured against the National Passenger Survey results.
Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles have the potential to play an important role in decarbonising road transport, alongside battery electric vehicles. Government began work with industry in 2012, in the “UK H2 Mobility” programme, to develop a roadmap on hydrogen for transport.
In March last year we announced £6.6m investment in 12 initial hydrogen refuelling stations. We are working with stakeholders on options to support the wider roll-out of hydrogen in transport.
The Department for Transport currently operates a number of schemes that makes funds available to enhance facilities at stations.
The Access for All programme and the Small Schemes fund provide improvements in accessibility. The National Stations Improvement Programme and Stations Commercial Project Facility are designed to deliver enhancements to passenger facilities. The New Station Fund has been established to help fund the construction of new stations.
We are committed to improving services for passengers across the North of England. Pacers fall short of passengers’ expectations. As the Prime Minister has said, we will be asking bidders for the Northern franchise to propose plans to phase these outdated trains out. All franchise competitions are evaluated for quality as well as cost.
In presenting his Autumn Statement to Parliament, the Chancellor said that in the new Northern and TransPennine Express franchises Pacers would be replaced and that new and modern trains would be introduced.
The Government has confirmed that it will guarantee funding for European Social Fund and other EU Structural and Investment Fund projects, even where they continue after we have left the EU. Funding for these projects will be honoured, if they provide good value for money and are in line with domestic spending priorities. As a result, stakeholder organisations will have certainty over future funding and should continue to bid for competitive EU funds while the UK remains a member of the EU. Each Government Department will take responsibility for the allocation of money to projects in line with these conditions and the wider rules on public spending.
In the longer term we will want to consider the future of all programmes that are currently EU funded. Leaving means we have the opportunity to make our own decisions about how best to deliver on the policy objectives, previously targeted by EU funding.
The full detail of the Government announcement can be found at the following website link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/further-certainty-on-eu-funding-for-hundreds-of-british-projects
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
Since 1998 the Department for Work and Pensions occupies space provided through a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) known as the PRIME Contract which expires on 31 March 2018. Under the terms of this PFI Contract the Department leases fully serviced accommodation from our private sector partner Telereal Trillium. This Contract provides a variety of facility management services including the provision of cleaning, provided by Engie.
This is a long-standing position in bereavement benefits. It will continue under the new Bereavement Support Payment, the provisions of which were debated by this House during the passage of the Pensions Act 2014.
Those who are divorced have access to income-related benefits in the same way as other lone parents .
Information on mandatory reconsiderations of benefit decisions was released on 17th December 2014. This was an ad-hoc release of experimental statistics on MR requests made between 28thOctober 2013 and 31st October 2014.
The available data can be found here:
The Department and National Health Service organisations have been working closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office and the British Medical Association to support TPP to take appropriate action to respond to the TPP SystmOne data sharing issue. This work should be fully implemented by the summer. There is no evidence that records have been lost, mislaid or misused. However, there are already a number of mitigations in place to prevent potential misuse of information:
- Users’ access to records is role based and requires a smart card or password to access the system;
- All record accesses and all registrations are audited and visible to the general practitioner; and
- Patients (via SystmOnline) can now have visibility of when and where their records have been accessed.
This information is not held centrally. It is the responsibility of local National Health Service organisations to make decisions on the commissioning and funding of any health care treatments for NHS patients, taking into account safety, clinical and cost-effectiveness and the availability of suitably qualified/regulated practitioners.
The Department uses an outsourced provider for cleaning services. The provider employs one British and 11 non-British nationals to clean the Westminster estate of the Department.
Nationality and identity details of appointees to the Department are thoroughly checked at the time of recruitment. However, ’nationality’ is not a mandatory field in the Department’s Business Management System where the details of staff are registered. This means that some staff have not declared with respect to nationality.
All the figures given in the table below are of those civil servants employed by the Department in the Westminster area as of 6 October 2016. These figures do not include contractors, consultants and temporary agency workers or the staff of the Department’s service companies.
Nationality | Headcount | Proportion |
British | 771 | 80% |
Other nationalities | 60 | 6% |
Not declared | 132 | 14% |
Total | 963 | 100% |
The following table shows the number of full time equivalent health visitors employed in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England in each of the last three years.
Full time equivalent figures are used as this is the most accurate measure of service capacity.
30 June 2014 | 30 June 2015 | 30 June 2016 |
8,887 | 10,042 | 9,491 |
Source: NHS Digital NHS Hospital and Community Health Service monthly workforce statistics
Officials meet regularly with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS England to discuss medicines pricing and funding.
The Department funds the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to increase the volume of applied health research for the benefit of patients and the public, drive faster translation of basic science discoveries into tangible benefits for patients and the economy, and develop and support the people who conduct and contribute to applied health research. NIHR cancer research expenditure has risen from £101 million in 2010/11 to £135 million in 2014/15 (the latest available figure). Most of this investment (£111 million in 2014/15) is in cancer research infrastructure where spend on specific disease areas such as brain tumours cannot be separated from total infrastructure expenditure. This infrastructure including NIHR biomedical research centres and the NIHR Clinical Research Network.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. It is an independent research funding body which receives its grant in aid from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The MRC supports research through a range of grants and personal awards to scientists in universities, medical schools and other research institutes and welcomes investigator-initiated research proposals in all areas of research relevant to human health. Between 2010/11 to 2014/15 the MRC spent £10.9 million supporting research into brain and pituitary tumours, spanning basic discovery science, translational projects to progress treatments to clinics and early clinical trials.
More brain tumour research is needed and, as announced on 18 April, Official Report, columns 258-59WH, I will be convening a working group of clinicians, charities and officials to discuss how working together with our research funding partners, we can address this.
Improving early diagnosis of cancer is a priority for this Government. We have seen an increase of over 25% in general practitioner (GP) referrals for Magnetic Resonance Imaging for potential brain tumours, from 31,000 in 2012-13 to over 50,000 in 2014-15.
In order to continue to support GPs to identify patients whose symptoms may indicate cancer and urgently refer them as appropriate, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated suspected cancer referral guideline in June 2015. The guideline includes new recommendations for brain tumours in adults and children and young people. NICE noted that more lives could be saved each year in England if GPs followed the new guideline, which encourages GPs to think of cancer sooner and lower the referral threshold.
Following publication of the updated guideline, the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) has worked in collaboration with Cancer Research UK (CRUK) on a programme of regional update events for GPs to promote the new guideline. RCGP and CRUK have also worked to develop three summary referral guidelines for GPs to enable them to adopt the guideline. The British Medical Journal has published two summaries including one for children and young adults and Macmillan Cancer Support has produced an updated Rapid Referral Toolkit. All the summary guidelines and the toolkit are available on the Cancer Research UK website at:
NHS England’s Accelerate, Coordinate, Evaluate (ACE) pilots are exploring new models for delivering a diagnosis quickly and effectively, including piloting a multi-disciplinary diagnostic centre, which we hope will be particularly effective for patients with vague or unclear symptoms, although these pilots are primarily aimed at adults in the first instance.
More generally, improving early diagnosis of cancer was clearly highlighted as a strategic priority in Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes A Strategy for England 2015-2020, published in July 2015 by the Independent Cancer Taskforce.
We do not measure waiting times for a GP appointment. However, the GP Patient Survey shows variation between different demographic groups in patients’ experience of being able to book an appointment.
The Government is committed to improving access to GP services and ensuring that patients can access evening and weekend appointments by 2020.
The Access to Health Records Act 1990 provides certain individuals with a right to apply for access to a deceased person’s health record. Record holders are entitled to recover their costs in relation to providing copies of records, and while there is no limit on this charge it should not result in a profit for the record holder. We have no plans to review these arrangements.
The annual National Health Service General and Personal Medical Services workforce census, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows the numbers of general practitioners (GPs) working in the NHS in England at 30 September each year. The latest available statistics are as at 30 September 2014 and were published on 25 March 2015. The percentage of GPs (excluding Registrars and Retainers) aged 50 years and over as at 30 September 2014 is 39%.
The following table, taken from the National Diabetes Audit 2012-13, Report 2: Complications and Mortality, shows the total number of emergency hospital finished consultant episodes (FCE) and National Diabetes Audit (NDA) related emergency hospital FCEs in England and Wales from 2012-13.
Complication | Number of Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)/Patient Episode Database for Wales (PEDW) emergency episodes1 | Number of NDA related emergency episodes2 | NDA related emergency episodes as a proportion of HES /PEDW emergency episodes |
Angina | 486,941 | 114,599 | 23.5% |
Myocardial Infarction (heart attack) | 178,284 | 34,790 | 19.5% |
Heart Failure | 578,883 | 136,911 | 23.7% |
Stroke | 235,333 | 38,911 | 16.5% |
Major Amputation | 3,727 | 1,385 | 37.2% |
Minor Amputation | 4,327 | 2,672 | 61.8% |
Renal Replacement Therapy (ESKD) | 72,318 | 22,831 | 31.6% |
Notes:
A Finished Consultant Episode (FCE) is the time a patient spends in the continuous care of one consultant. If a patient transfers from one consultant to another within a single hospital provider spell, for example moves to a ward with a specific speciality and is treated by a new consultant, one Consultant Episode will end and another one begin. So patients may have more than one finished consultant episode during a single hospital stay.
1. HES/PEDW FCE are all episodes for the relevant complication between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013. This may include multiple episodes for one patient.
2. NDA episodes are from all patients registered with general practitioner (GP) practices that participated in the audit in the audit period 2011-12, please bear in mind that participation for the 2011-12 audit was 87.9 per cent of all eligible GP practices and there was a large variation across clinical commissioning groups and local health boards.
It shows that, with the exception of stroke, people with diabetes account for at least one fifth (and up to three fifths) of all emergency episodes for each of the complications.
There is sound evidence that achieving National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended diabetes treatment targets reduces complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, amputation and premature death. Improving the delivery of these continues to be important in ensuring that people with diabetes receive the best possible care and so reduce their risk of developing complications.
Furthermore, NHS England have prioritised prevention of diabetes and are working together with Public Health England and Diabetes UK to establish a national diabetes prevention programme, making us the first country to implement such a programme at scale, modelled on national and international proven experience. This should help reduce people’s risk of developing diabetes and therefore subsequently requiring hospital treatment for complications from the disease.
The Department interprets the two questions as relating to the NHS Injury Cost Recovery scheme. The Department implements the recovery of National Health Service treatment costs though this scheme for patients injured as a result of third party negligence.
Reimbursement of NHS treatment costs are sought for every notification received as a result of a personal injury compensation claim. Therefore, there is no financial loss attributable to the failure to claim.
To ensure the NHS maximises on its entitlement to claim reimbursement, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Compensation Recovery Unit, who administer the scheme on behalf of the NHS, undertake a substantial amount of compliance work with key stakeholders within the insurance industry. DWP inspectors also have the right to examine the records of compensators to verify that they are complying fully with provisions of the legislation.
The Department interprets the two questions as relating to the NHS Injury Cost Recovery scheme. The Department implements the recovery of National Health Service treatment costs though this scheme for patients injured as a result of third party negligence.
Reimbursement of NHS treatment costs are sought for every notification received as a result of a personal injury compensation claim. Therefore, there is no financial loss attributable to the failure to claim.
To ensure the NHS maximises on its entitlement to claim reimbursement, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Compensation Recovery Unit, who administer the scheme on behalf of the NHS, undertake a substantial amount of compliance work with key stakeholders within the insurance industry. DWP inspectors also have the right to examine the records of compensators to verify that they are complying fully with provisions of the legislation.
Missionaries and aid workers temporarily based outside the United Kingdom, who retain housing and other links to the UK may, depending on all their circumstances, still be considered ordinarily resident in the UK. They would therefore retain full entitlement to free National Health Service hospital treatment.
For those who are not ordinarily resident in the UK at the time NHS hospital treatment is provided to them, they will be charged for that treatment under the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2011, as amended, unless an exemption from charge category applies. There are currently exemptions for people acting as missionaries overseas for an organisation principally based in the UK; those working in posts overseas that are funded in part by the UK Government in accordance with arrangements with the Government of some other country and former UK residents of 10 years or more who are now employed overseas provided the period of employment has lasted no more than five years.
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) last reviewed the policy on testicular cancer in 2006 and recommended against a screening programme as this condition was more commonly detected through self-examination and that a systematic population screening programme would not be beneficial.
The UK NSC advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. Using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation, it assesses the evidence for programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria.
The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) are expecting to publish final 2013-14 hospital episode statistics for admitted patient care in January 2015. This will include data to allow analysis of procedures on hips and knees. The processing of annual hospital episode statistics has been transferred in-house to the HSCIC from the previous third-party supplier, and additional time is needed this year to test and assure the new arrangements.
The Department has set up Health Education England (HEE) to deliver a better health and healthcare workforce for England. It is responsible for the education, training and recruiting for values of doctors.
HEE is responsible for ensuring a secure workforce supply i.e. balance against demand and not a growth or reduction in the National Health Service workforce.
HEE published its national workforce plan for England on 17 December 2013 which increased training places for clinical radiology by 1.3% to a planned level of 1067. The plan forecasts that this level will be sufficient to grow the consultant workforce by 23% in 2020.
Post graduate training for radiologists in England is commissioned locally by the 13 Local Education and Training Boards (LETBs) of Health Education England (HEE). HEE conducts a twice yearly stock-take of its LETBs seeking the number of radiologists in training. The last data available (April 2014) shows 952 individuals in radiology training at the time of the survey.
As cleaning services in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's buildings are provided by an external contractor, we do not hold information in the form requested.
This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose. More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
The cleaning service at HM Treasury is provided through a service contract, let by the landlord for 1 Horse Guards Road (Exchequer Partnership). HM Treasury does not directly employ cleaners.
There are no plans to review the payments made by the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. The Scheme closed to new claims on 31st December 2015. However, the annual payments to With-Profits annuitants will continue unaffected for the duration of their annuity.
Investment fund allocations agreed as part of devolution deals will be paid out annually by the Department for Communities and Local Government as a cash grant, via Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003.
The Government has agreed mayoral devolution agreements worth £30m a year for 30 years with combined authorities in Greater Manchester, Sheffield City Region, The North East, and Liverpool City Region. The Government has also agreed a mayoral devolution agreement worth £15m a year for 30 years with Tees Valley and an agreement worth £36.5m a year in the West Midlands. These are all subject to 5-yearly gateway assessments to confirm the investment has contributed to growth.
These agreements are another significant step in the Government’s ambition for the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine respectively.
The Government has no plans to change the funding available to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme.
To date the Scheme has paid out over £1 billion to around 900,000 policyholders.
The Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) published in November 2014, provides country and regional level splits of identifiable public expenditure over a five-year outturn period from 2009-10 to 2013-14 and is available using the link below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2014
Table A.2 supplies information on ‘total identifiable expenditure on services’ on a per head basis. This table includes figures for Scotland and each region of England.
With regard to contributions over the last three years, the annual determination of funding to local government is set out in the local government finance settlement which is laid before the house and published on GOV.UK each year.
The final settlement for 2015/16, including the settlement for each local authority, can be found online: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2015-to-2016.
Determinations for future years will be set as part of the spending review process.
Population estimates for Greater Manchester are provided by the ONS which can be found at the following website: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl=Population+Estimates.
With regards to future years, on 3 November 2014, the Government signed an historic deal with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, whereby Greater Manchester will create the first directly elected metro-wide Mayor outside of London with control of a reformed earn back deal totalling £900 million over 30 years and control of a £300 million housing investment fund.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority will also be given new powers to support business growth, skills and employment, transport, and planning. In February, GM and NHS England also agreed to arrangements which will bring together £6bn of NHS and social care budgets so that joint planning of these services can deliver better care for patients.
The government also announced at Budget 2015 that it will, subject to the formal approval of GMCA, pilot a scheme in Greater Manchester and Cheshire East to enable the retention of 100% of any additional business rate growth, starting in April 2015.
We are working across Government to identify and develop options to shape our future immigration system.
Parliament will have an important role to play in this and we will ensure businesses and communities have the opportunity to contribute their views.
We are working across Government to identify and develop options to shape our future immigration system.
Parliament will have an important role to play in this and we will ensure businesses and communities have the opportunity to contribute their views.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
The Home Office does not employ cleaning staff. The cleaning of the Home Office estate is outsourced. The contract requires that all contracted staff have undergone the necessary pre-employment checks and have the right to work in the UK.
The available information for England and Wales from the Home Office Homicide Index is shown in the attached table and shows the numbers of homicide offences where the court decides that, acting on medical evidence, the suspect should be the subject of a hospital order.
The data does not specifically identify those suspects requiring psychiatric treatment for a clinical illness.
Data is based on the number of offenders whose court proceedings have been completed. Due to the time it can take for cases to pass through the criminal justice system, there is likely to be an increase in the number of people convicted of homicide and given a hospital order for recent years when updated figures are published in 2017.
In addition, the National Confidential Inquiry, based at Manchester University, publishes an annual report on suicide and homicide of people with mental illness, using information from the Homicide Index and Hospital Trust records. The most recent report is available at:
http://research.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/cmhs/research/centreforsuicideprevention/nci/reports/
On 1 April 2015, in line with wider public service pension reform, new career average pension arrangements were introduced for police officers and firefighters. These changes have put pension arrangements on a sustainable footing for the future, setting a fair balance of costs between public servants and other taxpayers, while continuing to provide good pensions for police officers and firefighters which reflect their roles.
No assessment has been made of the reasons for the recent reduction in the number of prosecutions for mobile telephone use while driving. Enforcement of this offence is an operational matter for the police. However, there may be a number of reasons, including drivers being more aware of the law, police deciding to prosecute drivers under more serious offences and officers choosing alternative methods of law enforcement, such as fixed penalties.
The Home Office does not hold data on the number of police within different forces who are suspended or are not on active duty as a result of investigation or complaint procedure.
From 2015/16, forces will be asked to provide returns that will include data on officer misconduct and whistle-blowing. This collection will include the number of recorded allegations of misconduct and gross misconduct; outcomes of disciplinary proceedings arising from those allegations; and the number of criminal investigations against those serving with the police. The Home Office intends to publish these data in due course once they are available.
This information is not held by the Ministry of Defence. Cleaning staff are provided through a Private Finance Initiative Contract with Modus
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
The Department for Communities and Local Government shares its Westminster office space with the Home Office. I refer the hon Member to the answer to PQ number 47565.
All government departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
The department does not hold this information. The department published an estimate of the number of leasehold dwellings in 2014. As Table 1 (see link below) shows, in 2012-13 there were approximately 1.3 million leasehold properties that were not flats. The remaining 2.8 million leasehold dwellings were flats.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/342628/Residential_Leasehold_dwellings_in_England.pdf
We have maintained homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, through the provisional local government finance settlement totalling £315 million by 2019/20.
We have increased central government funding for homelessness programmes to £139 million over the Spending Review period.
There were 103,430 children and expected children in temporary accommodation arranged by local authorities in England as at 30 September 2015. The Department does not produce forecasts of homelessness.
My rt. hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced on 16 December that we have delivered on the promise to resettle 1,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees before Christmas. We can also confirm that as of the beginning of December 2015, 55 local authorities across the UK had signed up to participate in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and made confirmed offers of places.
In order to help protect the privacy of those arriving, we will not be giving a running commentary on location or numbers of persons resettled. Notwithstanding, the Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics. The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release in February 2016 and will cover the period October-December 2015. This adheres to the standard practice for the release of information about the work of the Department, ensuring statistics are published properly in a way which is open and accessible to all.
The Department for Communities and Local Government contributed £75 million in economic development funds as part of the Liverpool City Deal, with payments to Liverpool City Council on 30 April 2013 (£60 million) and 1 May 2014 (£15 million).
The independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England may undertake a principal area boundary review at the request of a local council or the Secretary of State, or on their own initiative.
We are ready to have conversations with any area about their proposals for devolving powers and for the strong and accountable governance to support such powers, including governance proposals involving changes to local authority boundaries.
The Local Government Boundary Commission is a Parliamentary body independent of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Any representations or petitions about the Commission’s work should be made directly to the Commission.
The Government has introduced the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill that will enable the devolution of powers to local areas to drive economic growth. The Government welcomes proposals for increased powers and greater freedoms to maximise economic growth from all parts of the country and I met with the Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership on Friday 3 July to hear how this opportunity can build on the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal and Lancashire Growth Deal.
Details of Ministers’ meetings and those of the Permanent Secretary with external organisations are published on-line here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-data
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dclg-permanent-secretary-data-2014#history
There has been one public consultation, “What can a mayor do for your city?”, seeking views from 12 major English cities including Liverpool. The consultation together with the Government’s response can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/what-can-a-mayor-do-for-your-city--3
The Government will empower the towns and counties of this country by extending the City Deal programme we ran in the last Parliament to cover counties and towns too. I look forward to discussing proposals from councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships that build on their strengths.
The final local government finance settlement for Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council for 2015-16, which was announced on 3 February 2015, included an additional £485,000 compared to the provisional settlement. This was Sefton’s share of the additional £74 million provided to upper tier local authorities. This is to assist with continuing pressures on health and social care and in providing local welfare.
As at 31 March 2014, Sefton held £67.7 million in revenue reserves, of which £17.8 million was schools reserves and £49.9 million was non-ringfenced reserves. Of the non-ringfenced reserves, £39.7 million were earmarked reserves, and £10.2 million were unallocated reserves.
These figures are taken from the Revenue Outturn form which has been completed by all local authorities in England and published at the following link;
We have encouraged councils to make creative use of reserves, such as "invest to save" projects to reduce long-term costs.
The Coastal Communities Fund has had three bidding rounds to date, across the United Kingdom. My answer of 9 February 2015, PQ 223748, provided a list of areas which had received grants. I have placed in the Library of the House, a table listing the local authority areas from which bids have been received.
Ministers are not involved in the grant application or assessment process. The Big Lottery Fund is responsible for inviting and assessing applications to the Fund and makes recommendations to Ministers on which projects should be supported.
Whilst the Coastal Communities Fund is currently closed for further applications, I hope there will be further opportunities to support local schemes which have not benefitted from Government support to date.
The Coastal Communities Fund has had three bidding rounds to date. A table has been placed in the Library of the House giving details of 164 coastal communities across the UK that have received grants from the Fund in one, two or three bidding rounds. The table covers all grants awarded in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to date.
In addition to the coastal communities in the table, 22 grants were awarded to projects in local authority areas, and a further five grants awarded to cross local authority projects including two long distance coastal footpaths, where we do not have details of the individual coastal communities they will help.
Ministers are not involved in the grant application or assessment process. The Big Lottery Fund is responsible for inviting and assessing applications to the Fund and makes recommendations to Ministers on which projects should be supported.
The Coastal Communities Fund is currently closed for further applications. No decisions have been taken yet on whether there will be further bidding rounds. This will be a matter for the next Spending Review. However, I hope there will be further opportunities to support local schemes which have not benefitted from Government support to date.
The Department for Communities and Local Government does not formally monitor the uptake of the Community Right to Challenge or require local authorities to report the number of challenges. Informally we collate responses from follow-up surveys of users of our support programme and other sources. From this, we are aware of 49 expressions of interest being submitted to date. A survey of users of the Community Right to Challenge support programme, carried out in the summer of 2014, found that 43 of the 105 respondents intended to submit an Expression of Interest in the next 12 months.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has funded a support programme to help voluntary and community groups, Parish Councils and local authority employees to use the Community Right to Challenge or to bid for local government contracts. The programme has awarded grants worth £3.7 million to a total of 216 groups since 2012 and has responded to over 4,000 queries.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
The Ministry of Justice does not employ cleaning staff. Cleaning of the Ministry of Justice’s estate is outsourced. The contract requires that all contracted staff have undergone the necessary pre-employment checks and have the right to work in the UK.
The Public Defender Service (PDS) plays a vital role in ensuring access to justice for those eligible clients who are unable to secure representation. The PDS also support positive change within the Criminal Justice System, assists the Ministry of Justice and Legal Aid Agency colleagues and acts as a test-bed for digital working. As such, the value of the PDS is made up of many factors, not just representation of defendants. Therefore no direct assessment of cost effectiveness or level of use has been made.
The Ministry of Justice has not made any estimate of the number of criminal appeals departments in law firms that have closed since the changes to legal aid funding introduced in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 were introduced.
All Criminal Legal Aid Contract holders are entitled to undertake Criminal Appeals and Reviews work.
My Department does not directly employ any cleaning staff within the Westminster estate, we utilise contracted services provided by HM Treasury.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly; all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other Government bodies, who remain the employers.
The Scotland Office participates in a Ministry of Justice Framework Contract for the cleaning of its premises in the Westminster estate. The Scotland Office does not hold information as to the nationality of the staff employed through this contract.
The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right and payroll services are provided by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on our behalf.
The Wales Office does not employ any cleaners. The Department uses Ministry of Justice facilities management contracts, including the provision of cleaning for its Westminster estate.