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1015418

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations he has received from trade union representatives on school funding.
tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
uin	196238
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2018 answer text <p>Ministers and officials at the Department meet regularly with the teacher and head teacher unions to discuss education policy, including school funding. The Department also receives regular correspondence from unions on matters related to funding.</p><p> </p><p>The Government remains committed to engaging constructively with the unions on this issue.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 04/12/2018 17:31:26 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner

1015444

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Prosperity Fund: Environment Protection
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect on the environment of the (a) official development assistance and (b) non-official development assistance (i) components and (ii) programmes of the Prosperity Fund .
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	196252
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2018 answer text <p>Both ODA and non-ODA financed programmes will be subject to independent and objective evaluation of their impacts, both direct and indirect. These evaluations will take place when programmes and their components have moved into implementation and are starting to produce results. Where appropriate, these evaluations will consider environmental impacts; programme maturity has not yet reached the stage where evaluation is appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 04/12/2018 16:27:17 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1015445

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Sustainable Development
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prosperity Fund: Annual Report 2017-18, what measures the Government uses to assess the contribution of that fund to the delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (a) 5, (b) 7, (c) 8 and (d) 9 in each country to which the fund is allocated.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	196253
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2018 answer text <p>All programmes are designed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 &amp; SDG 8, while SDG 7 and SDG 9 will apply to a subset of programmes operating in those sectors. The “Monitoring, Reporting, Evaluation &amp; Learning” section of the Prosperity Fund: Annual Report 2017-18 (pg14) outlines portfolio indicators, which will help measure Fund impacts, and often relate directly to SDG ambitions. The Fund has contracted a specialist consortium to provide independent and objective evaluation of how well programmes are contributing to their stated outcomes, impacts, and relevant SDG.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 04/12/2018 16:27:59 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1015446

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Overseas Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prosperity Fund: Annual Report 2017-18, what steps he is taking to help Departments achieve a rating of good from the International Aid Transparency Initiative.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	196254
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2018 answer text <p>The Prosperity Fund is committed to meeting the government target of ‘good’ on the International Aid Transparency Index by 2020. The Fund is working closely with DFID policy and Transparency teams, benefiting from their experience and expertise and the International Aid Transparency Initiative to ensure it meets standards for transparency.</p><p> </p><p>The Fund has already begun working towards this target; working with departments, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to publish programme information and financial data on gov.uk. It will continue to work with departments to increase the amount of information published on spend and programmes as it becomes available.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 04/12/2018 16:28:47 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1015447

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Prosperity Fund
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will establish a standard evaluation by which Departments publish their progress on the delivery of programmes funded by the Prosperity Fund.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	196255
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2018 answer text <p>The cross-government Joint Funds Unit, as part of the governance processes within the Prosperity Fund, require programmes to submit financial and impact information on a regular basis, including formal annual reviews. These formal requirements have standardised formats that departments and programme teams follow. Departments will publish these annual reviews once complete, in line with government transparency commitments. The first set of programme annual reviews should be published within the next quarter.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the evaluation service, interim programme evaluations will be conducted, which will feed into annual reviews. Independent evaluators will conduct these evaluations, quality assured through DFIDs ‘Equals’ process. Final evaluation reports will be published.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 04/12/2018 16:29:41 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1015455

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils are listed in the school census as (a) receiving SEN support and (b) being subject to a statement of SEN or Education Health and Care Plan in each year from 2015 to 2018.
tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
uin	196256
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2018 answer text <p>We publish the number and proportion of pupils with special educational needs including the type of need in the department's collection 'Statistics: special educational needs (SEN)':</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-special-educational-needs-sen" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-special-educational-needs-sen</a>.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 04/12/2018 17:22:40 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner

1015462

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Govia Thameslink Railway: Timetables
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of Govia Thamelink Railway's preparations for the winter timetable update starting on 10 December 2018.
tabling member constituency	South Cambridgeshire
tabling member printed	Heidi Allen
uin	196261
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2018 answer text <p>To supplement the separate internal assurance processes within Train Operators and Network Rail, since May, industry has established new assurance processes to look at timetable implementation on a network wide basis. This has included setting up a cross industry Programme Management Office (PMO) within Network Rail to carry out this role. They have worked with industry as a whole to develop an informed view of risks, including those related to infrastructure, operator readiness and staffing.</p><p> </p><p>As well as the industry PMO processes set out above, GTR has also remained subject to Industry Readiness Board assessment. The Department has had ongoing discussions with GTR about their readiness to deliver in December, including senior weekly calls with the operator to discuss progress.</p><p> </p><p>While no option is risk-free, the industry’s approach to the December 2018 timetable offers the greatest possible level of operational confidence. The Department is taking the implementation of the timetable extremely seriously and will be monitoring performance closely.</p> answering member constituency Harrogate and Knaresborough answering member printed Andrew Jones question first answered 04/12/2018 15:01:14 answering member 3996 label Biography information for Andrew Jones
tabling member	4516 label Biography information for Heidi Allen

1015485

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Overseas Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what mechanisms her Department has in place to monitor the spending of overseas aid to prevent abuse and corruption.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	196171
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2018 answer text <p>DFID operates in challenging contexts providing a wide spectrum of aid and assistance.</p><p>DFID has rigorous controls to ensure that aid reaches those for whom it is intended and delivers results.</p><p>DFID does not give money to organisations or governments if we are not confident that they will manage it well.</p><p> </p><p>DFID has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and has in place a wide range of standard controls and measures to protect UK aid. These include:</p><ul><li><p>Rigorous risk assessments and monitoring requirements for all programmes. All DFID programmes are assessed at inception to identify and address the risk of aid diversion, such as weaknesses in a recipient’s financial systems. Where necessary, programmes will insist on extra measures of safeguard, and we will put in place arrangements such as continuous audits.</p></li><li><p>Proactive fraud risk management – better fraud prevention through good programme design and strong monitoring. We use monitoring visits, financial spot checks and audits to ensure all funding is used for the purpose it was intended.</p></li><li><p>Programme agreements and contracts which are designed to ensure partners are accountable for all funding we provide. We expect all international agencies to have the same zero tolerance approach to fraud that we have if they are to receive taxpayers’ money.</p></li><li><p>A rigorous process of due diligence, where partners must demonstrate accountable and transparent governance structures and financial procedures before we fund them. This provides assurance on their capacity and capability to deliver DFID programmes, allows DFID to identify and understand potential risks, and ascertain if these can be mitigated and managed. Due Diligence on programme partners includes an in-depth assessment of fraud risk.</p></li><li><p>Fraud awareness sessions risk management training for staff.</p></li><li><p>Regular internal and external audits.</p></li></ul><p>Where there is suspicion of corruption and fraud DFID will always take action; and if fraud or corruption is uncovered DFID will always work to recover UK taxpayers’ money.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 04/12/2018 17:34:59 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1015486

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Overseas Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the criteria is for her Department to allocate financial resources to an overseas country.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	196172
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2018 answer text <p>DFID supports delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the Government’s objectives as set out in the 2015 UK Aid Strategy. Bilateral Official Development Assistance is allocated based on considerations of need, i.e. levels of poverty, ability of countries to fund themselves and whether DFID can add value. The 2016 bilateral and multilateral development reviews set out our approach to allocations in more detail. Our project design approach makes sure every project focuses on eradicating poverty, and projects are rigorously appraised to ensure value for money.</p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 04/12/2018 17:38:20 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1015487

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Development Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the criteria her Department uses to assess the benefit to the UK of the allocation of Overseas Development Assistance.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	196173
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2018 answer text <p>Through our statutory commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on aid and the way that we spend money to reduce poverty, we promote UK values and influence in the world. We are, for example, tackling the drivers of instability and extremism, stopping infectious disease from reaching our shores, and building prosperity in our trading partners of the future. All UK aid is in the national interest.</p><p> </p><p>Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) must be spent in compliance with the eligibility criteria set out by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). DFID strives to ensure that each project on which we spend British taxpayers’ money contributes both to reducing poverty in developing countries and to the UK national interest, which is defined as a combination of health, security, prosperity and influence. DFID officials are expected to demonstrate the benefit to the UK when seeking approval for new programmes.</p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 04/12/2018 17:40:08 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord