Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of state-funded faith schools are non-Christian.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
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
Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to correct the TTP SystmOne clinical IT software error present since 2009 and affecting around 26 million patients.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
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.
Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has to ensure funds of equivalent value to the UK's allocation from the European Social Fund are made available for the same purposes after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
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
Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, (a) how many parents were prosecuted for truancy, (b) how many of those people were found guilty, (c) how many of those convicted were (i) fined and (ii) imprisoned, (d) what the (iii) highest, (iv) lowest and (v) average level of fine imposed was for those who received fines and (e) what the (vi) longest, (vii) shortest and (viii) average length of custodial sentence was for those people who received one.
Answered by Edward Timpson
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.
Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of this effect of any changes to the short-term study visa system arising from the UK's decision to leave the EU, on the number of foreign nationals seeking to study English.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
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.
Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the merits of short-term study visas for EU citizens wishing to study in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
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.
Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria the Government will use to determine eligibility for free school meals once universal credit has been rolled out.
Answered by Edward Timpson
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.
Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any change to the criteria which determine eligibility for pupil premium funding will result from the roll-out of universal credit.
Answered by Edward Timpson
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.
Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of potential change to the number of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding once universal credit has been rolled out.
Answered by Edward Timpson
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.
Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which academies have been transferred between which academy trusts since May 2015; and what the cost of each such transfer was.
Answered by Edward Timpson
From May 2015 to January 2017 as part of our strategy to increase further the number of pupils being taught in good or outstanding schools we rebrokered the attached list of academies to new trusts. We are committed to publishing the costs of individual rebrokerages cases on gov.uk in due course.