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100107

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	National Insurance Contributions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to simplify the rates of employees' National Insurance contributions.
tabling member constituency	Windsor
tabling member printed	Adam Afriyie
uin	211325
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>This Government is committed to a competitive tax regime and has introduced a range of measures to reduce the burden of National Insurance Contributions (NICs), as part of our long term economic plan to back business and create jobs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Employment Allowance, introduced in April this year, means that around 450,000 employers– one third of all employers – are expected to be taken out of paying employer NICs altogether in 2014-15 and from April 2015, employer NICs for under 21 year olds will be abolished, helping to support jobs for almost 1.5 million young people currently in employment.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 27/10/2014 16:16:49 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	1586 label Biography information for Adam Afriyie

100125

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Department for Culture Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people are covered by each of the three market exchange categories for broadband in (a) South Lanarkshire, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Tom Greatrex
uin	211384
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2014 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available. With the exception of the Hull area, where KCom is the only significant provider, the broadband market is defined according to the level of competition across the UK as whole. Ofcom carries out a rolling programme of market reviews of competition in communications markets to ensure that regulation remains appropriate and proportionate in the light of changing market conditions. The market definition and market analysis procedure that Ofcom is required to follow is set out in the EU regulatory framework for communications.</p><p> </p><p>In June of this year, on completion of its latest Wholesale Broadband Access (WBA) market review, Ofcom reduced the number of market areas from 4 to 3 to better reflect developments in the market since the last review was undertaken in 2010. Details of the market areas, the number of exchanges in each area and the percentage of premises served are:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Area</p></td><td><p>No of exchanges</p></td><td><p>% of UK premises served</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The Hull area</p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>0.7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Market A</p></td><td><p>3196</p></td><td><p>9.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Market B</p></td><td><p>2390</p></td><td><p>89.8%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Market A is defined as an area as where there are no more than two principal operators present or forecast to be present, and market B as an area where there is effective competition. Market A tends to be in the more rural and remote parts of the country. Details of the exchanges in each area are available in the Ofcom WBA statement published on 26 June - <a href="http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/review-wba-markets/statement/" target="_blank">http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/review-wba-markets/statement/</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed Mr Edward Vaizey grouped question UIN 211398 question first answered 24/10/2014 12:40:12 answering member 1580 label Biography information for Lord Vaizey of Didcot
tabling member	4047 label Biography information for Tom Greatrex

100139

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Driving Offences: Fines
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to better secure the payment of speeding fines by offenders whose vehicles are registered overseas.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Mr Andrew Smith
uin	211277
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>This Government takes recovery and enforcement of financial impositions very seriously and remains committed to finding new ways to encourage payment of impositions and to trace those who do not pay. This is why there has been a year on year increase in the amount of financial penalties collected over the last three years.</p><p> </p><p>When it appears to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) that an offender is normally resident in another EU country HMCTS can transfer road traffic offence fines, imposed by courts in this country, to other EU jurisdictions for enforcement under the EU Framework Decision on Mutual Recognition of Financial Penalties (MRFP). The Framework Decision obliges Member States to take over enforcement of eligible fines imposed by other Member States’ courts, where the offender is resident or has assets in the enforcing state. All monies collected however are retained by the enforcing Member State.</p><p> </p><p>Where the offender is resident in a non EU country or in one not included in the MRFP Framework there is no mechanism for HMCTS to be able to recover the amounts outstanding.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to identify the value of fines outstanding which relate to motoring offences for offenders who live overseas without incurring disproportionate cost as this information could only be obtained by a manual search of all live fine accounts.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara grouped question UIN 211323 question first answered 27/10/2014 15:32:05 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
tabling member	95 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Smith

100140

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, with reference to page 12 of her Department's publication, Implementing a new 0 to 25 special needs system: LAs and partners, published in July 2014, how the £45.2 million special education needs and disability implementation grant has been allocated to local authorities.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	211276
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2014 answer text <p>Small local authorities (Isles of Scilly and City of London) receive £25,000 and all other local authorities receive set up costs of around £50,000, a further sum is allocated on the basis of population estimates for each local authority and, adjusted according to a number of factors including area costs and deprivation.</p><p>The link below provides further background and amounts for individual local authorities:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/318588/S31_SEND_Implementation_Grant_Determination_Letter__2014-15__FINAL_SIGNE....pdf" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/318588/S31_SEND_Implementation_Grant_Determination_Letter__2014-15__FINAL_SIGNE....pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson question first answered 24/10/2014 14:21:42 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

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

100168

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Hong Kong
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the recent political unrest in Hong Kong.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	211374
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>We have been monitoring events in Hong Kong closely over recent weeks including, in particular, through regular reports from our posts in Hong Kong and Beijing. We also continue to meet regularly at senior level with both the Chinese authorities and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to discuss the situation. I met Hong Kong Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen on 14 October. <br><br>We have consistently called on all sides to ensure that the demonstrations are peaceful and in accordance with the law, including in my response to a Westminister Hall Debate on 22 October, in my Written Ministerial Statement of 13 October, and in a Foreign and Commonwealth Office statement on 2 October on the question of constitutional reform. We encourage all parties to engage in dialogue and work towards a consensus that allows a significant step forward for democracy.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 27/10/2014 14:35:32 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell