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1505553

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Languages: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department spent on teaching (a) Punjabi, (b) Bengali, (c) Hindi, (d) Gujarati, (e) Urdu, (f) Sinhalese, (g) Tamil, (h) Pashto and (i) Dari in schools in England in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	48198
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>Awarding organisations offering GCSEs and A levels are independent, <ins class="ministerial">and mostly</ins> not-for-profit organisations<ins class="ministerial">, with the exception of Pearson Edexcel which is profit making</ins>. They are not contracted to provide assessments for pupils in particular subjects. AQA offer a GCSE and A level qualification in Punjabi and Bengali, as well as a GCSE in Urdu. Pearson Edexcel offer a GCSE and A level qualification in Gujarati and Urdu and International GCSEs (IGCSEs) in Bengali, Hindi, Sinhalese, and Tamil. Cambridge International offer an A level in Hindi, Urdu, and Tamil. There are no qualifications available in Pashto or Dari. Awarding organisations are free to introduce qualifications in any GCSE or A level subject where they consider there to be a case to do so.</p><p>It is up to schools to decide which languages are taught as part of their curriculum, both at primary and secondary school, and the government does not specify which languages should be taught or how to teach them.</p><p>There has been no funding provided directly for the teaching of Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Sinhalese, Tamil, Pashto and Dari within the previous five years. However, the department has committed to establishing a network of language hubs, as per the Schools White Paper, and are considering ways in which we can support home, heritage and community languages as part of this.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 21/09/2022 17:23:22 question first ministerially corrected 17/10/2022 09:03:46 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 18097 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1505555

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Languages: Assessments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which exam bodies are contracted to examine students in (a) GCSEs, (b) A Levels and (c) other exams in (i) Punjabi, (ii) Bengali, (iii) Hindi, (iv) Gujarati, (v) Urdu, (vi) Sinhalese, (vii) Tamil, (viii) Pashto and (ix) Dari in England; how long these contracts are; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	48199
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>Awarding organisations offering GCSEs and A levels are independent, not-for-profit organisations. They are not contracted to provide assessments for pupils in particular subjects. AQA offer a GCSE and A level qualification in Punjabi and Bengali, as well as a GCSE in Urdu. Pearson Edexcel offer a GCSE and A level qualification in Gujarati and Urdu and International GCSEs (IGCSEs) in Bengali, Hindi, Sinhalese, and Tamil. Cambridge International offer an A level in Hindi, Urdu, and Tamil. There are no qualifications available in Pashto or Dari. Awarding organisations are free to introduce qualifications in any GCSE or A level subject where they consider there to be a case to do so.</p><p>It is up to schools to decide which languages are taught as part of their curriculum, both at primary and secondary school, and the government does not specify which languages should be taught or how to teach them.</p><p>There has been no funding provided directly for the teaching of Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Sinhalese, Tamil, Pashto and Dari within the previous five years. However, the department has committed to establishing a network of language hubs, as per the Schools White Paper, and are considering ways in which we can support home, heritage and community languages as part of this.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 48198 question first answered 21/09/2022 17:23:22 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1504498

registered interest
date	02/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Harrow
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average waiting time from the date of referral to appointment for a special educational needs assessment is in the London Borough of Harrow as of 1 September 2022; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	45701
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>Whilst the department does not hold this information, we do collect annual data on the performance of local authorities in relation to receiving a request for an education, health and care needs assessment, and if approved, to issuing an education, health and care plan, within the statutory period of 20 weeks.</p><p>From the latest information available, which covers activity during the 2021 calendar year, Harrow completed 55% of such assessments within the required timeframe. This is an increase from their 2020 figure, which was 38.4%, and covers a period affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>The department will continue to monitor the annual data and act as and when appropriate to ensure that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities are able to reach their full potential and receive the right support to succeed in their education.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 21/09/2022 16:11:39 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1260560

registered interest
date	11/12/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Leasehold
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to (a) cap increases to (i) service charges and (ii) management agent fees payable by owners of leasehold properties and (b) to prevent freeholders of shared ownership properties from using funds from leasehold service charges to pay legal fees for defending action taken by leaseholders; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	128616
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2020 answer text <p>The Government believes very strongly that any fees and charges should be justifiable, transparent and communicated effectively, and that there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong.   <br> <br>The law is clear that service charges, administration and permission fees must be reasonable and, where costs relate to work or services, the work or services must be of a reasonable standard. Leaseholders may make an application to the First-tier Tribunal to make a determination on the reasonableness of their service charges or fees. A summary of leaseholders’ rights and responsibilities must also be provided with the demand for charges.</p><p>We are also considering under what circumstances administration and permission fees are justified and if they should be capped or banned. We established a working group, chaired by Lord Best, who looked at this alongside the regulation of property agents and reported back to Government last summer. We are currently considering their recommendations.</p><p>Leaseholders may be liable to pay the legal costs of their landlord regardless of the outcome of a legal challenge - even if they win the case. This depends on the terms set out in their lease. This can lead to leaseholders facing bills that are higher than the charges they were seeking to challenge in the first place. It can also deter leaseholders from taking their concerns to a tribunal.</p><p>The Government believes leaseholders should not be subject to unjustified legal costs and will close the legal loopholes that allow this to happen. We will bring forward legislation to do this when parliamentary time allows.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 21/12/2020 10:29:33 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1255999

registered interest
date	26/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Credit Unions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to require his Department and its agencies to provide a payroll deduction service to allow staff to save more easily with a credit union; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	121135
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2020 answer text <p>The Department is aware that there are a number of credit union schemes on offer and that some departments have chosen to offer this facility through payroll. For a number of reasons, not least the administrative issue when employees leave the Civil Service or move between departments, this department and its executive agencies have decided not to pursue this benefit. We do however encourage our employees to make use of other Civil Service wide opportunities such as the Charity for Civil Servants ‘Money Matters’ service and the Department’s Employee Assistance provider who are available to aid in financial management and provide advice where required.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 04/12/2020 13:38:25 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1239016

registered interest
date	29/09/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Local Government Finance: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on ensuring local authorities can meet the additional costs arising as a consequence of the covid-19 outbreak in the financial year 2021-22; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	96760
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2020 answer text <p>Councils are at the front line as we continue to tackle this pandemic and we are determined that they have the resources they need to respond to the pandemic in their areas. That is why we’ have given councils an unprecedented £4.8 billion to deal with the pandemic, comprising £3.7 billion of un-ringfenced grants and over £1.1 billion for the Infection Control Fund. In total, over £28 billion has been committed to local areas to support councils, businesses and communities across Government. <br> <br> We are currently undertaking a programme of engagement with the sector, which includes our ongoing financial monitoring survey and direct contact with councils and their representatives, local leaders and Chief Executives to understand the challenges and pressures experienced by councils from the Covid-19 outbreak. <br> <br> We recognise that even with the considerable support already provided, there will be individual authorities with either unique circumstances or residual  issues resulting in unmanageable pressures.  We would ask that any local authority who is faced with an unmanageable pressure or is concerned about their future financial position should approach MHCLG for discussion.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 07/10/2020 13:44:04 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1188800

registered interest
date	20/04/2020
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Airports and Ports: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to (a) temperature test people (i) arriving at and (ii) departing from airports and ports for covid-19 and (b) introduce quarantine arrangements for people arriving at those airports and ports whose temperature indicates that they may have that infection; and if will he make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	37413
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>Airports are following Public Health England’s (PHE) guidance on preventing the spread of COVID-19, as well as following their existing internal protocols on preventing the spread of infectious diseases.</p><p> </p><p>The UK Government is not mandating arriving and exit health screening currently. This is under constant review and if there is a change in policy, all ports and airports will be notified accordingly.</p><p> </p><p>The advice for travellers is the same as for the rest of the population: they are advised to reduce their social contacts by staying at home and following the same social distancing measures as the rest of the country. If they begin to show symptoms, they should self-isolate. All airports are required to identify specific isolation areas to be used in case a passenger becomes ill until the local health response arrives.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 28/04/2020 12:58:45 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1185823

registered interest
date	17/03/2020
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Aviation: Job Security
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure the security of people's jobs in the aviation sector.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	30671
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2020 answer text <p>Following the Chancellor’s recent announcement, we are working urgently to develop proposals to support the UK aviation industry - we are committed to ensuring the sector and its employees continue to thrive.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 23/03/2020 14:21:27 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1184068

registered interest
date	10/03/2020
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Port of Dover and Port of Felixstowe: Infrastructure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2020 to Question 18496 on Ports: Finance, how much funding was allocated to (a) Dover and (b) Felixstowe; and what that funding was spent on.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	27489
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2020 answer text <p>Through the Ports and Infrastructure Resilience and Connectivity Fund, grants were awarded to 16 ports, including the Ports of Dover and Felixstowe. £1m was allocated to the Port of Dover, for a project to increase the number of freight vehicle spaces on assembly lanes. £0.8m was allocated to Felixstowe, for a project to deliver additional trailer storage bays.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 18/03/2020 15:36:41 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1179470

registered interest
date	21/02/2020
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Ports: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the recipients were and what the purpose was of each (a) grant and (b) loan of funding under the Ports Infrastructure Resilience and Capacity Fund in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	18496
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2020 answer text <p>The recipients of grants under the Ports and Infrastructure Resilience and Connectivity Fund were: Bristol, Dover, Felixstowe, Harwich, Heysham, Hull, Immingham, Liverpool, London Gateway, Newhaven, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Sheerness, Southampton and Teesport. These grants were for a range of infrastructure projects contributing to more resilient handling of traffic and freight at maritime ports. This fund was set up in 2019, so no grants were awarded in previous years.</p><p>No loan funding has been awarded through this fund.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 02/03/2020 17:34:24 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas