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524067

	registered interest
	date	08/06/2016
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Vocational Education: Tees Valley
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Lord Heseltine's report, Tees Valley: Opportunity unlimited, published on 7 June 2016, what assessment her Department has made of the feasibility of a University Technical College or Institute of Technology in the Tees Valley area.
	tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
	tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
	uin	40065
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2016 answer text <p>Lord Heseltine’s report recommends that, following the Tees Valley Post-16 Area Review, universities and local employers should consider whether technical based education provision in the form of either a University Technical College (UTC) or Institute of Technology (IoT) may help to address skill gaps and contribute to meeting the future needs of business.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to establishing a UTC or technical academy within reach of every city. As with other new academies, proposals to establish new UTCs and technical academies are submitted to the Department twice a year. The Department for Education would consider any proposals from the Tees Valley area as it would from elsewhere. The strongest applications that demonstrate a clear need and demand for their chosen specialisms in their local area are approved to develop their plans further.</p><p> </p><p>The Baker Dearing Educational Trust is funded by the Department to support applicant groups and can be contacted to discuss future UTC proposals. The process for establishing IoTs has not started yet, so no assessment has been made regarding the feasibility of an Institute in the Tees Valley area.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 15/06/2016 09:02:02 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles previous answer version 3060 answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

455700

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2016
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Transport: North of England
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to provide additional funding for projects identified by the forthcoming Northern Transport Strategy.
	tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
	tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
	uin	28724
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2016 answer text <p>The government will need to consider the proposals from both Transport for the North and the National Infrastructure Commission before taking any funding decisions. The Government looks forward to the publication of both reports in the coming weeks.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 02/03/2016 17:59:40 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
	tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

528948

	registered interest
	date	27/06/2016
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Transport: Infrastructure
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of the British steel industry to future transport infrastructure projects in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
	tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
	uin	41298
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2016 answer text <p>The Department has been working closely with BIS, Cabinet Office and industry to consider how Government can help the UK steel industry meet the challenges it has been facing.</p><p> </p><p>The bulk of infrastructure projects within the Department are being delivered by the Department’s Arm’s Length Bodies (ALB), in particular, Network Rail, Highways England and HS2. Cabinet Office guidance on the approach to steel procurement has been circulated to the Accounting Officers of each ALB and procurement and commercial teams within these organisations are aware of the need to:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Signal the future pipeline of requirements on steel sourcing and best practice in pre-procurement market engagement;</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Ensure there is clear visibility of opportunities at sub-contractor level where the source of steel has not been defined by a Tier 1 contractor;</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Assess the health and sustainability of potential suppliers in the supply chain at selection stage, including compliance with relevant health and safety and employment legislation;</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Ensure that the price or cost calculations are based on an assessment of the whole-life cost and not lowest purchase price;</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Take account of appropriate social and environmental impacts at the award stage where they are linked to the subject of the contract.</li></ul><p> </p><p>As with the rest of the materials for construction, steel is procured by the supply chain for the majority of our infrastructure projects. The Department and its ALBs are complying with the Cabinet Office guidance and ensuring that, for instance, where appropriate, assessment of social and environmental impacts are considered as part of the evaluation criteria. The Department and its ALBs also positively encourage bids from British companies and are holding discussions with UK suppliers to make sure they are in the best possible position to win contracts.</p><p> </p><p>Activity currently underway is as follows:</p><p><br><strong>Network Rail</strong></p><ul><li>Network Rail buys approximately 120,000 tonnes of steel for rails per annum directly from British Steel in Scunthorpe, which is around 96% of Network Rail’s total aggregated demand by value.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Highways England</strong></p><ul><li>Highways England does not procure steel materials directly, however over the last five years Highways England has used a category management framework as the main method of procuring steel gantries for the Strategic Road Network.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>To date circa 95% of this steel has been drawn from British Steel in the UK, which equates to approximately 11,000 tonnes of steel. The approximate framework spend is £30 million, of which about 35% will be steel procurement i.e. raw materials, and will equate to around £10.5 million.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Crossrail</strong></p><ul><li>The 57km of steel required for the rails of Crossrail’s brand new central tunnel section is being sourced entirely from British Steel in Scunthorpe. This equates to 7,000 tonnes of steel.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Crossrail Ltd does not directly procure steel as this is undertaken by their tier 1 contractors and their supply chains. However, Crossrail keeps an oversight of its critical contracts and estimates that 85% of its supply chain providing steel to the project is UK based.</li></ul><p><strong>HS2 </strong></p><ul><li>It is estimated that HS2 will need approximately 2 million tonnes of steel over the next 10 years. The procurement for the main civil engineering works between Euston and Birmingham is now underway with procurements for the stations and rail systems expected to commence later this year and for rolling stock in early 2017. Subject to Royal Assent, the project will start construction in 2017.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>As with the rest of the materials for construction, steel is procured by the supply chain. HS2 positively encourages bids from British companies and is already holding discussions with UK suppliers to make sure they are in the best possible position to complete for contracts for the steel that will be needed for track, concrete reinforcements, overhead wires and other structures.</li></ul> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 30/06/2016 14:22:12 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
	tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

524237

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2016
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Teachers: Training
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will (a) establish an additional National Teaching Service (NTS) pilot in Teesside and (b) give priority to the Tees Valley in the NTS national roll-out in response to the recommendation in Lord Heseltine's report, Tees Valley: opportunity unlimited to prioritise the Tees Valley for national roll-out of the NTS.
	tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
	tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
	uin	40132
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2016 answer text <p>In November 2015 we announced that by 2020 the National Teaching Service (NTS) will have placed 1,500 high-performing teachers and middle leaders into challenging schools in areas of the country that struggle to attract, recruit and retain high quality teachers.</p><p>The NTS was launched with plans for a pilot scheme in the North West of England from September 2016 with the aim of attracting 100 NTS teachers and middle leaders into schools in the region. The national programme will include a clear focus on delivering cohorts of NTS teachers and middle leaders into eligible schools in Achieving Excellence Areas (AEAs) as set out in the Educational Excellence Everywhere White Paper. We will confirm our plans for rolling out the NTS in due course.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 14/06/2016 16:52:50 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

89567

	registered interest
	date	29/08/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Teachers: Disciplinary Proceedings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on how many occasions in the last 12 months decision-makers within her Department have issued sanctions to teachers after disciplinary hearings that have differed from the sanctions recommended by the Professional Conduct Panel of the National College for Teaching and Leadership; and in what respects those sanctions have differed from the recommended sanctions.
	tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
	tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
	uin	207201
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2014 answer text <p>In the period 1 September 2013 to 31 August 2014, decision makers issued sanctions to teachers after disciplinary hearings that differed from the sanctions recommended by the Professional Conduct Panel of the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) on seven occasions. Details are included within the table below.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Number of Cases</p></td><td><p>Recommendation of panel</p></td><td><p>Final decision</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>No prohibition.</p></td><td><p>Prohibition for life with opportunity to apply for the order to be set aside after a minimum period of two years.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>Prohibition for life with opportunity to apply for the order to be set aside after a minimum period of five years.</p></td><td><p>Prohibition for life with no opportunity to apply for the order to be set aside.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>Prohibition for life with opportunity to apply for the order to be set aside after a minimum period of 10 years.</p></td><td><p>Prohibition for life with no opportunity to apply for the order to be set aside.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Yeovil answering member printed Mr David Laws question first answered 05/09/2014 09:28:39 answering member 1473 label Biography information for Mr David Laws
	tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

525523

	registered interest
	date	15/06/2016
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Students: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that universities offer disabled students levels of support which take account of recent changes to the disabled students' allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
	tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
	uin	40680
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone with the potential has the opportunity to benefit from higher education, irrespective of their background or mode of learning. In the last academic year we saw record entry rates to higher education, including among those from disadvantaged backgrounds</p><p> </p><p>Higher Education Institutions have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support their students, including those with disabilities. They have a clear legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people to ensure they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled students.</p><p> </p><p>To support Higher Education (HE) providers to prepare for the changes to Disabled Students’ Allowances that come into effect from academic year 2016/17, the Department has supported the establishment of a sector-led group ofstakeholders. The group’s focus is to communicate with senior leaders of HE providers, to help provide information about institutions’ responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled students, and to encourage HE providers to develop inclusive learning environments.</p><p>In addition, universities expect to spend more than £745 million through access agreements agreed with the Director of Fair Access on measures to improve access and success for students from disadvantaged groups, including disabled students - up significantly from £404 million in 2009.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson grouped question UIN 40681 question first answered 27/06/2016 08:48:25 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
	tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

525524

	registered interest
	date	15/06/2016
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Students: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to increase accessibility to university buildings for disabled students.
	tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
	tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
	uin	40681
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone with the potential has the opportunity to benefit from higher education, irrespective of their background or mode of learning. In the last academic year we saw record entry rates to higher education, including among those from disadvantaged backgrounds</p><p> </p><p>Higher Education Institutions have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support their students, including those with disabilities. They have a clear legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people to ensure they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled students.</p><p> </p><p>To support Higher Education (HE) providers to prepare for the changes to Disabled Students’ Allowances that come into effect from academic year 2016/17, the Department has supported the establishment of a sector-led group ofstakeholders. The group’s focus is to communicate with senior leaders of HE providers, to help provide information about institutions’ responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled students, and to encourage HE providers to develop inclusive learning environments.</p><p>In addition, universities expect to spend more than £745 million through access agreements agreed with the Director of Fair Access on measures to improve access and success for students from disadvantaged groups, including disabled students - up significantly from £404 million in 2009.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson grouped question UIN 40680 question first answered 27/06/2016 08:48:25 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
	tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

443091

	registered interest
	date	06/01/2016
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	State Retirement Pensions: Eligibility
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) men and (b) women will not qualify for a pension under the new state pension rules.
	tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
	tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
	uin	21180
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2016 answer text <p>Men or women who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016 will be eligible to receive the new State Pension and will do so as long as they have at least 10 qualifying years. Estimates of the number of pensioners in Great Britain who do not have 10 qualifying years will shortly be published in ‘Impact of New State Pension (nSP) on an Individual’s Pension Entitlement – Longer Term Effects of nSP’.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 11/01/2016 14:52:16 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

62555

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2014
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Females
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what changes there have been in the claimant count for women claiming for over 12 months since May 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
	tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
	uin	201197
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/06/2014 answer text <p>The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 23/06/2014 11:27:32 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd attachment 1 file name PQ 201197.pdf title ONS Letter to Member
	tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

91347

	registered interest
	date	08/09/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Small Businesses: Loans
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the availability of finance for small firms and the level of lending by banks to small businesses.
	tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
	tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
	uin	905314
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Recent data from the Bank of England shows some signs that bank lending to SMEs is starting to recover. Gross lending to SMEs in the first 7 months of 2014 was nearly £30 billion, up 21% on the equivalent period last year. Net lending was at zero or modestly positive in each of the last three months if overdrafts are excluded, reversing a long term negative trend. Credit conditions, however, remain tight for the smallest businesses in particular.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Twickenham answering member printed Vince Cable question first answered 11/09/2014 15:26:49 answering member 207 label Biography information for Sir Vince Cable
	tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop