Tag: Kelly Tolhurst

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with her EU counterparts on citizenship-for-investment schemes.

James Brokenshire

We are monitoring such schemes and are in contact with other EU Member States where appropriate. Every country has the right to decide its own citizenship laws, but we would object if another Member State made changes that could lead to abuse of free movement rights.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to improve the performance of schools in parts of the country where there has been persistent underperformance.

Nick Gibb

Our reforms are delivering much needed improvement to our education system. Ofsted inspection data shows that sponsored academies are transforming the life chances ‎of over 350,000 pupils by raising standards in their schools. But there are too many areas of the country where, for too long, children have not had the Education they deserve.

Our strategy for Achieving Excellence Areas will tackle entrenched underperformance in areas where low school standards have been allowed for too long. We look forward to working with the first areas from this autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on cardiovascular and cognitive health.

Jane Ellison

The UK Chief Medical Officers have made an assessment of the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on cardiovascular and cognitive health as part of their review of the alcohol guidelines.

The advice that the UK Chief Medical Officers give on how the public can limit their risks from drinking alcohol can be found on Gov.uk at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/health-risks-from-alcohol-new-guidelines

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the practical implications of schools having their own admissions criteria under a fully-academised system; and how local authorities will manage that situation.

Nick Gibb

The schools white paper, ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’, sets out the Government’s aim that every school should become an academy. In this context, it also sets out our intention to seek views on a number of changes to the admissions system to support parents in understanding how to get a place at their local schools.

As part of this, we will seek views on requiring the Local Authority to take on greater responsibility for certain admissions functions – in particular, co-ordinating in-year admissions and handling the administration of the independent appeal panels for all schools (including academies) in their area. These changes will make the system clearer and simpler for parents to navigate.

Any parent who has concerns regarding an individual school’s admission arrangements will continue to be able to refer an objection to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator. We intend to streamline the functions of the Office of the Schools Adjudicator so that objections to admission arrangements are resolved more quickly.

The white paper is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educational-excellence-everywhere.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether local authorities will retain responsibility for school deficits under the proposals in her Department’s White Paper, Educational excellence everywhere, published in March 2016.

Edward Timpson

Deficits for schools which convert to become sponsored academies remain with the local authority. These deficits remain with their local authority as these schools were the responsibility of the authority when they were found to be failing or underperforming and it is the authority’s responsibility for ensuring the school managed its expenditure satisfactorily. Guidance on how deficits for converter and sponsored academies are dealt with is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416430/School_balances_on_conversion_submission.pdf

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring the financial viability of maintained schools and ensuring any deficits are cleared within 3 years.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what role local authorities will have in school place planning under the proposals in her Department’s White Paper, Educational excellence everywhere, published in March 2016.

Edward Timpson

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-06-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to adopt the recommendations made in the Local Plans Expert Group report, published in March 2016.

Brandon Lewis

The Local Plans Expert Group published their report on 16 March 2016, and this was open for representations until 27 April.

We are committed to streamlining the plan-making process and are carefully considering the report and representations received.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-06-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his Department’s policies of the conclusion of the report by the Local Plans Expert Group, published in March 2016, paragraph s15, that local plans in the South East may not enable the full scale of housing need to be met.

Brandon Lewis

The National Planning Policy Framework requires local planning authorities to identify and plan for the housing needs in their area. Planning guidance is clear that Green Belt and other constraints may restrict the ability of an individual authority to meet its need.

The Framework is clear that the supply of new homes may be delivered by larger scale development, such as new settlements or urban extensions, and the Government is supporting new locally led garden towns and villages in places where communities want them.

The Local Plans Expert Group published their report on 16 March 2016, and this was open for representations until 27 April. The report and representations are receiving careful consideration and a further statement will be made in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the follow-up report to Children in Military Custody, a report written by a delegation of British lawyers on the treatment of Palestinian children under Israeli military law, published in June 2012, to be published.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The question of when a follow-up report will be published is a matter for the delegation of lawyers that will write it. Meanwhile, the UK Government continues to push for the full implementation of changes recommended in the 2012 report and will work with the Israeli authorities to identify ways to improve these practices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to analyse and expand health service capacity in areas of expected high population growth.

David Mowat

Neighbouring National Health Service providers, commissioners, and other health and care services are currently developing strategic plans across 44 sustainability and transformation ‘footprints’ to deliver a sustainable NHS. These are geographic areas in which people and organisations are collaborating to develop plans to improve the way that health and care is planned and delivered in a more person-centred and coordinated way for local people. In places where high population growth is identified as a need it is expected that the plans will contain a locally developed approach to ensure the service can manage demand.