Every parliamentary written question tabled by Laurence Turner this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 221–240 of 356 · this parliament
Food and Rural Affairs, what contracts (a) BFS Group Limited and (b) subsidiary companies of BFS Group Limited hold with (i) his Department and (ii) agencies of his Department.
In response to this question neither Defra of any of its agencies have any contracts with BFS Group or any of its subsidiaries.
If she will allow Ukrainian citizens who have resided in the UK for four years the ability to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
This Government stands with Ukraine and is committed to providing stability for those we have welcomed to the UK and those who still need our sanctuary.To provide future certainty to those who have been provided with sanctuary in the UK under the existing Ukraine schemes, the government will be introducing a bespoke Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, which will open to applications on 4 February 2025. This will allow those with existing sanctuary to apply for a further 18 months permission to remain in the UK, giving them the same rights and entitlements as they have been given under the existing Ukraine Schemes.The Ukrainian government have been clear about their strong desire for the future return of its citizens to help rebuild Ukraine when it is safe to do so. It is important that our approach respects these wishes.We will, of course, continue to keep the Ukraine Schemes under consistent review in line with developments in the ongoing war.
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) funding and (b) staffing capacity for the UK International Consumer Centre.
The government funds the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) to deliver the UK International Consumer Centre. The funding agreement for the current financial year is £456,000. This figure is reviewed annually and agreed with the CTSI each year alongside an agreement over what is to be delivered. The Centre provides information, advice and assistance to consumers in the UK who are experiencing difficulties resolving disputes with traders based outside the UK.
Pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2025 to Question 23229, on Teachers: Pay, if she will provide the same data for newly qualified teachers.
Information on the school workforce is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.The attached table provides the full-time equivalent median average salary for newly qualified teachers in academy schools, free schools, local authority maintained schools and all state-funded schools in England, as at November 2023.
Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 19420 on Unemployment: Young People, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the ongoing data quality problems with the ONS Labour Force Survey on her Department's ability to monitor progress towards the 80 per cent employment target.
The independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) are responsible for the LFS, which is an important source of labour market information for the Department. In order to monitor the department's progress towards an 80% employment rate we need a robust Labour Force Survey (LFS). As such, we are engaging regularly with the ONS on these data issues and supporting ONS to improve the quality of the LFS. The Department for Work and Pensions also continues to make more use of statistics based on administrative data (for example, benefit caseloads or HMRC PAYE data) alongside LFS statistics to form the best labour market view. The ONS are also working on the Transformed Labour Force Survey to replace the LFS. The Department are working closely with the ONS and other government to ensure it is fit for purpose and provides reliable estimates of labour market trends. We remain focussed on getting more people into work to grow our economy and improve living standards across all parts of the country.
With reference to paragraph 86 on page 31 of her Department's White Paper entitled Get Britain Working, published on 26 November 2024, whether the remit of the independent review into the role of UK employers in promoting healthy and inclusive workplaces will include data (a) quality and (b) collection methods.
The scope of the review is set out in the Keep Britain Working Terms of Reference which will be published on Gov.Uk on 24 January 2025. The review will consider evidence from a variety of sources and it will be for the review lead, Sir Charlie Mayfield, to determine how any data informs the development of recommendations.
What recent progress her Department has made on the preparation of a third cycling and walking investment strategy.
The Department’s officials are scoping out options for the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, and the Department will say more on this in due course. The Department will also consult stakeholders before the publication of the Strategy, as required by the 2015 Infrastructure Act, and will report to Parliament later this year on the delivery of the second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
With reference to Section 132 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, whether any employers' associations maintain a political fund.
Unincorporated employers’ associations are able to maintain a political fund in accordance with the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. None currently maintain a political fund.
With reference to the Answer of 3 November 2020 to Question 110812 on Renewable Energy: Government Assistance, if he will publish the same information for each year since 2019-20.
Yes, I will be happy to publish this information. The information will take time to research and collate. I will place the information you have requested in the Libraries of the House as soon as it is available.
What the average full-time salary was for (a) classroom and (b) all teachers in (i) academies, (ii) free schools, (iii) local authority maintained schools and (iv) all publicly-funded schools in 2023.
Information on the school workforce is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.The attached table provides the full-time equivalent median average salary for classroom teachers and all teachers in academy schools, free schools, local authority maintained schools and all state-funded schools in England, as at November 2023.
Pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21859, on Flexible Working Taskforce, on what dates that taskforce met in each year from 2018 to 2022.
The Flexible Working Taskforce met on fourteen occasions between 2018 and 2022.The dates of these meetings were:29 March 2018; 09 May 2018; 11 July 2018; 12 September 2018; 16 November 2018; 16 January 2019; 27 March 2019; 02 July 2019; 22 September 2020; 14 April 2021; 27 April 2021; 07 July 2021; 13 October 2021; 07 February 2022.The Government is committed to regular engagement with stakeholders on the topic of flexible working and other related issues.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of how her Department processes visa applications submitted by Arab citizens of Israel.
Mr Speaker, applications submitted by citizens of Israel, Arab or otherwise, are assessed against the requirements of the Immigration Rules on their individual merits.As part of any visa application assessment, consideration is given in cases involving compelling, compassionate, and exceptional circumstances.Those who wish to travel to the UK can do so via the existing range of visa routes available to visit, work, study or join family in the UK.
With reference to section 7.2.12 of her Department's publication entitled School workforce census guide 2024: Guide for schools including academies within a Multi Academy Trust, published on 11 October 2024, how many and what proportion of teacher posts in publicly-funded schools in England were paid on each pay range record for which data was returned in the most recent workforce census period broken down by (a) academy schools, (b) free schools, (c) local authority maintained schools and (d) all publicly-funded schools.
Information on the school workforce is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.The attached table provides the pay ranges reported for teacher contracts broken down by school type in the November 2023 school workforce census, which is the latest data available.
What the average processing time was for applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme by people resident in Birmingham in each of the last five years.
The table below shows the average time for decisions to be made on applications* for criminal injuries compensation by people resident in Birmingham**. Calendar Year of CICA decisionAverage time (days)20203352021440202249020233812024372 * The table does not include archived bereavement applications because the address of the applicant is not retained. In most cases, applications are archived three years after the case has been closed. ** The above table includes all awards where the applicant named Birmingham as the city in their home address in their application.
With reference to the CQC's publication of 27 November 2024 entitled CQC finds improvement in CAMHS wards at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, when the CQC plans to publish the full report.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an assessment of Child and Adolescent Mental Health wards at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in September 2024. The report of that assessment was published on the CQC’s website on 28 November 2024, and is available at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RQ3/reports/AP2111/child-and-adolescent-mental-health-wards
What recent progress she has made on enactment of the socio-economic duty under Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010.
The Government is committed to commencing the socio-economic duty in the Equality Act 2010. The duty will require public bodies, when making strategic decisions, to consider actively how their decisions might help to reduce the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage.We will work closely with public authorities and civil society in order to ensure effective implementation of the duty and will provide an update on our work in due course.
With reference to the Standards and Testing Agency's publication of 20 July 2022, entitled Information: primary assessments in the 2022/23 academic year, for what reason it was decided not to undertake further science sampling tests at Key Stage 2.
Statutory teacher assessment of science is undertaken annually at the end of key stage 2 for all pupils in the relevant cohort. Between 2014 and 2020, biennial national science sampling tests were used to supplement this teacher assessment data, with a nationally representative sample of key stage 2 pupils participating in these tests to monitor the performance and attainment in science at national level.The science sampling test scheduled to take place in 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, due to resource pressures on the department, the previous government decided not to recommence science sampling thereafter. The ongoing Curriculum and Assessment Review is considering the current assessment system and will make its recommendations later in the year.
How many air cleaning units were provided to education facilities in (a) Birmingham Northfield constituency, (b) Birmingham, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England since 2020.
Between January 2022 and April 2023, the department provided over 9,000 air cleaning units to over 1,300 education and childcare settings that had been identified with poor ventilation.Four air cleaning units were provided to education settings in the Birmingham Northfield constituency, 269 units were provided to education settings in the Birmingham City Council area and 996 units were provided to education settings in the West Midlands. In total, 8,848 air cleaning units were delivered to education settings in England. These figures do not include units provided to early years settings.The department has published guidance on how to use CO2 monitors and air cleaning units, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-co-monitors-and-air-cleaning-units-in-education-and-care-settings.
Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 20334 on Flexible Working, on what dates the Flexible Working Taskforce met in 2023.
The Flexible Working Taskforce met once in 2023, on April 24th. The government has continued to engage with stakeholders on a regular basis to discuss flexible working and related issues.
What the net cost to the public purse was of Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 compensation to operators for disruption on the rail network in 2023-24.
Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 compensation transactions are primarily between bodies whose costs and revenues are included in the Department for Transport’s group budgets, therefore these have no net cost to the exchequer.