Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label previous answer version answering member constituency answering member printed answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

100092

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
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	Zero Hours Contracts
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 help workers on zero hours contracts who desire regular, contracted employment.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	211362
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>Under the Flexible Working Regulations, brought in on 30 June, all employees with 26 continuous weeks of service have the right to request flexible working from their employer. Individuals on zero hours contracts, who are employees, can request a change in their contracts, which could also include a request to move to a fixed hours contract.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 27/10/2014 14:48:39 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

100093

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
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	STEM Subjects: Females
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 the Government is taking to increase the participation of women in STEM fields.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	211363
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>The Government is backing the three-year Your Life campaign, which aims to increase the number of people participating in a wide range of careers that need skills in science, technology, engineering and maths, particularly women. To date more than 200 organisations have pledged action to the campaign to boost the role of women in STEM fields. A publicity drive to encourage young people, especially girls, aged 14 to 16 to take STEM subjects, will launch in November 2014.</p><p>We fund the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering to run a joint STEM Diversity Programme to understand and address issues of diversity, including gender, in the STEM workforce. Actions include a 10 point plan to ensure that women in science, technology, engineering and manufacturing have the same opportunities to progress in their career as their male counterparts</p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark question first answered 27/10/2014 15:01:24 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

100127

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Compensation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where his Department has found delays in the processing of injured veteran's claims in the War Pension and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme claim process.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Mr Mark Williams
uin	211383
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>Each claim is different. Many are complex. It is inevitable that processing these can take a considerable time, for example while evidence is gathered from third party organisations and individuals.<br><br>In the case of the War Pension Scheme, there are no time limits for claiming, and claims for injuries dating back to World War Two are still being received. Assessing these claims involves locating 70 year old paper records, both Service and medical, and often requires a person to be medically examined so that a decision can be made based on up-to-date evidence. We attach much importance to dealing with all such claims as quickly as possible. Improvements have already been implemented and work is ongoing to further speed up the claims processing times.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 28/10/2014 16:41:52 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	1498 label Biography information for Mr Mark Williams

100137

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Compensation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what change there has been in the time taken to process War Pension and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme claims since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Mr Mark Williams
uin	211315
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>The combined effects of the implementation of the Boyce Review on the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and the increase in the number of applications for War Disablement Pension, as a result of more people with pre-April 2005 Service reaching the end of their engagement, led to delays in processing prospective claims for these schemes.</p><p> </p><p>Actions were therefore put in place which had the effect of reducing the on-hand cases in the AFCS by half and the programme has returned to target. In War Disablement Pension the on-hand cases have fallen by 35% and waiting times have reduced.</p><p> </p><p>The average length of time taken to process War Pension and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme claims since 2010 can be found below:</p><p> </p><p>WAR PENSIONS SCHEME</p><p> </p><p>2010-11 - 39 working days</p><p>2011-12 - 51 working days</p><p>2012-13 - 82 working days</p><p>2013-14 - 110 working days</p><p>2014-15 (as at 21 October 2014) - 103 working days</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ARMED FORCES COMPENSATION SCHEME</p><p> </p><p>2010-11 - 93 working days</p><p>2011-12 - 125 working days</p><p>2012-13 - 164 working days</p><p>2013-14 - 109 working days</p><p>2014-15 (as at 21 October 2014) - 89 working days</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry grouped question UIN 211437 question first answered 04/11/2014 17:30:14 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry previous answer version 24940 answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	1498 label Biography information for Mr Mark Williams

100141

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
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, what assessment she has made of the quality of specialist education support services for children in (a) England and (b) Plymouth with low incidence needs.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Moor View
tabling member printed	Alison Seabeck
uin	211273
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>It is for local authorities to determine the support they arrange, including any specialist education services for children and young people with low incidence needs. The importance of making appropriate provision for children with low incidence needs and local authorities including information about specialist support in their local offer is set out in the new 0-25 special educational needs and disability code of practice. Under Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014, local authorities have a duty to keep under review the educational provision, training provision and social care provision made in their area for children and young people who have special educational needs.</p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson question first answered 27/10/2014 17:55:11 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	1552 label Biography information for Alison Seabeck

100142

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
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 much of the £1 million made available for teachers and special educational needs support staff through the National Scholarship Fund has been awarded.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	211317
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2014 answer text <p>The National Scholarship Fund was introduced in 2011 following a commitment in the Importance of Teaching white paper to encourage teachers to deepen their subject knowledge. This year the priority subject area was special educational needs.</p><p>In round two, the National Scholarship Fund was expanded to include a scholarship for special educational needs (SEN) support staff to undertake a SEN related course or activity. There were 493 applications from SEN support staff and in round three of the National Scholarship Fund there were 225 applications from SEN support staff and in this year’s round (round 4) there were 215 applications from SEN Support Staff.</p><p>Of the £1 million made available for teachers and SEN Support staff in the National Scholarship Fund 2014-15, £792,652.63 was offered to applicants as awards.</p><p>Scholarships will only be awarded where applications are judged to be of sufficient merit. This will determine the number of scholarships awarded. We sought the assistance of colleagues from the sector to form an expert panel to judge the applications. The panel interrogated and ratified the internal assessment process. As impartial educational professionals they brought particular and relevant expertise to the process. They acted as independent external verifiers to ensure the rigour and consistency of the assessment process, and to endorse the scholarly nature of funded development activity.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson grouped question UIN 211205 question first answered 24/10/2014 13:41:05 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

100143

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impairment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many deaf pupils achieved five A* to C grades in (a) England, (b) the South West and (c) Plymouth in 2013.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Moor View
tabling member printed	Alison Seabeck
uin	211272
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2014 answer text <p>The number and proportion of pupils at the end of key stage 4 with a hearing impairment who achieved 5 or more GCSE A* to C grades (or equivalent) in a) England, b) the South West and c) Plymouth in 2013 can be found in the table below.</p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"> </td><td colspan="3"><p><strong>Pupils with a hearing impairment</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of eligible pupils<sup>1</sup></p></td><td><p>Number of pupils achieving 5 or more <br>A*-C GCSE grades (or equivalent)</p></td><td><p>Percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more <br>A*-C GCSE grades (or equivalent)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>England</p></td><td><p>1390</p></td><td><p>1024</p></td><td><p>73.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>125</p></td><td><p>82</p></td><td><p>65.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Plymouth</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>x</p></td><td><p>x</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source: National pupil database</p><ol><li>Figures are based on pupils at the end of key stage 4 and do not include those pupils recently arrived from overseas.</li></ol><p>x = Figures not shown due to 1 or 2 pupils not achieving 5 or more A*-C GCSE grades (or equivalent). This suppression is to protect pupil confidentiality and consistent with the Department for Education’s statistical policy[1].</p><p>[1] <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-for-official-statistics-published-by-the-department-for-education" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-for-official-statistics-published-by-the-department-for-education</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson question first answered 24/10/2014 13:44:58 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	1552 label Biography information for Alison Seabeck

100146

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
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 special educational needs support staff have bid for funds from the National Scholarship Fund to date.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	211205
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2014 answer text <p>The National Scholarship Fund was introduced in 2011 following a commitment in the Importance of Teaching white paper to encourage teachers to deepen their subject knowledge. This year the priority subject area was special educational needs.</p><p>In round two, the National Scholarship Fund was expanded to include a scholarship for special educational needs (SEN) support staff to undertake a SEN related course or activity. There were 493 applications from SEN support staff and in round three of the National Scholarship Fund there were 225 applications from SEN support staff and in this year’s round (round 4) there were 215 applications from SEN Support Staff.</p><p>Of the £1 million made available for teachers and SEN Support staff in the National Scholarship Fund 2014-15, £792,652.63 was offered to applicants as awards.</p><p>Scholarships will only be awarded where applications are judged to be of sufficient merit. This will determine the number of scholarships awarded. We sought the assistance of colleagues from the sector to form an expert panel to judge the applications. The panel interrogated and ratified the internal assessment process. As impartial educational professionals they brought particular and relevant expertise to the process. They acted as independent external verifiers to ensure the rigour and consistency of the assessment process, and to endorse the scholarly nature of funded development activity.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson grouped question UIN 211317 question first answered 24/10/2014 13:41:05 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

100149

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Academies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in which academy trusts have directors of the board been (a) elected and (b) selected.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hodge Hill
tabling member printed	Mr Liam Byrne
uin	211234
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2014 answer text <p>The model articles for academies provide that most directors are appointed by the trust members. They also set out that parent directors – and local parent governors who sit on local governing bodies in multi academy trusts – shall be elected. Where fewer parents stand for election than there are vacancies, the number of parent directors required shall be made up by parent directors appointed by the directors. The Department for Education does not collate centrally information on what arrangements academy trusts have for the election or appointment of directors and parent governors.</p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson grouped question UIN 211249 question first answered 24/10/2014 13:30:34 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	1171 label Biography information for Liam Byrne

100150

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
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, what steps she has taken to encourage (a) computer science graduates and (b) professional programmers to become teachers.
tabling member constituency	Windsor
tabling member printed	Adam Afriyie
uin	211327
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Education is committed to recruiting high-quality graduates into teaching. The latest data published by UCAS on 25 September 2014 in its ‘UCAS Teacher Training statistical releases’[1], indicates that there will be an increase in computing trainees commencing initial teacher training (ITT) this year, although this will not be certain until the 2014/15 ITT census is published.</p><p>For computing trainees starting their training in 2015/16, we have increased bursaries to up to £25,000 tax-free. We are also funding a prestigious scholarship scheme for computing trainees worth £25,000 tax-free and offering a range of professional benefits. Additional funding has also been made available to schools offering School Direct (salaried) places in computing to boost starting salaries; computing trainees will be able to earn over £21,000 nationally and £25,000 in inner London.</p><p>There are a range of other incentives in place to attract high quality computing trainees into the teaching profession, including:</p><ol><li>The delivery of a targeted marketing campaign to encourage high-quality computing graduates and potential career changers to consider a career in teaching.</li><li>The offering of tailored support for graduates and career changers interested in teaching computing, including access to a School Experience Programme.</li><li>Funding of computing subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) programmes, which prepare applicants for teacher training by building up or refreshing their existing knowledge. 31% of computing applicants who accepted an ITT place for 2013/14 accessed a SKE course.</li></ol><p>[1] <a href="http://www.ucas.com/data-analysis/ucas-teacher-training-statistical-releases" target="_blank">www.ucas.com/data-analysis/ucas-teacher-training-statistical-releases</a></p> answering member constituency Yeovil answering member printed Mr David Laws question first answered 24/10/2014 10:10:23 answering member 1473 label Biography information for Mr David Laws
tabling member	1586 label Biography information for Adam Afriyie