Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will have discussions with Royal Mail on the allocation of the RO postcode to Rochdale.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The allocation of postcodes is an operational matter for Royal Mail as an independent business. The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s operational decisions.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, of which country's intelligence agencies the official arrested in Turkey in connection with the British girls who ran away from home to join ISIS is a member; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Lidington
We are grateful to Turkey for the close cooperation on all aspects of counter-terrorism work. We continue to work closely with the Turkish National Police Force and Turkish Embassy on this case. It is the long-standing policy of successive governments not to comment on intelligence matters.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) the UK and (b) Bradford West constituency have had jobseeker's allowance removed since June 2011.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The information requested in respect of JSA sanctions data is published at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Guidance for users is available at:
https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm
Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social
Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:
http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will commission research on the effects of removing benefits from people and undertake to report the outcome of such work to the House.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department does not remove benefits. A claimant may incur a sanction or become disentitled to their benefit if they do not meet their conditionality requirements.
As with all our policies, we will continue to keep the operation of the sanctions system under review to ensure that it continues to operate effectively and as fairly as possible. We also continue to make improvements as committed to in the Oakley Review, which goes further than the scope of the Review, to include all jobseekers allowance and all employment and support allowance.
We will continue to publish sanctions statistics on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who have claimed jobseeker's allowance since June 2011 in (a) the UK and (b) Bradford West constituency have not found work and are no longer claiming benefits.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish details of any complicity or involvement by the UK Government while Tony Blair was Prime Minister over rendition, interrogation and detention by the Central Intelligence Agency which have been redacted from the report by the US Senate intelligence committee.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The US gave UK Agencies limited sight of some sections of the executive summary prior to its publication.
Our Agencies highlighted a small number of issues in the proposed text where changes would be necessary solely to protect UK national security and intelligence operations. None of these redactions related to allegations of UK involvement in detainee mistreatment.
We did not lobby, at any level, to have information removed or redacted in relation to UK involvement in rendition or mistreatment of detainees. The UK Government did not receive an advance copy of the report before publication.
In July 2010, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the member for Witney (Mr Cameron) asked Sir Peter Gibson to lead an inquiry into whether Britain was implicated in the improper treatment, or rendition, of detainees held by other countries in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. In December 2013 the Detainee Inquiry published a report on its preparatory work setting out a series of questions which the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament is now considering. This Committee will report to Parliament and to the public on the completion of its work.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government (a) made any requests to and (b) was approached by the US Senate Intelligence Committee or the US administration on redaction of passages in that committee's report about the CIA's detention and interrogation programme.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The US gave UK Agencies limited sight of some sections of the executive summary prior to its publication. Our Agencies highlighted a small number of issues in the proposed text where changes would be necessary solely to protect UK national security and intelligence operations. None of these redactions related to allegations of UK involvement in detainee mistreatment. We did not lobby, at any level, to have information removed or redacted in relation to UK involvement in rendition or mistreatment of detainees. The UK Government did not receive an advance copy of the report before publication. In July 2010, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) asked Sir Peter Gibson to lead an inquiry into whether Britain was implicated in the improper treatment, or rendition, of detainees held by other countries in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. In December 2013 the Detainee Inquiry published a report on its preparatory work setting out a series of questions which the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament is now considering. This Committee will report to Parliament and to the public on the completion of its work.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will set up an England-wide task force similar to the London Challenge to ensure that children who cannot read well are brought up to the required standard.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to eliminating illiteracy and wants all children to read easily, fluently and with good understanding. Our new English curriculum places a renewed focus on the requirement for pupils to learn to read through systematic synthetic phonics, as evidence shows this is the most effective approach to early reading. We do not have plans to introduce a national task force for literacy as we believe poor reading outcomes are best addressed through the implementation of the English curriculum and the other steps we have taken to improve literacy levels for all children, alongside measures to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. The Department believes that good headteachers are best placed to support the needs of their pupils.
To boost the quality of phonics teaching, we have provided £23.7 million in match funding to over 14,000 schools, enabling them to buy systematic synthetic phonics products and training. We have also introduced a phonics screening check. The first three years of the check have enabled teachers to identify nearly 568,000 six-year-olds who needed extra support.
For pupils who do not reach the expected level in reading by the end of primary school, we have introduced the Year 7 Catch-up Premium. This funding – £500 per pupil – enables secondary schools to deliver additional support for those pupils that most need it.
The Government has also committed £8.8 billion of pupil premium funding for schools in England for the period between 2011-12 and 2015-16. The pupil premium gives schools the extra resources they need to close the attainment gap between those from poorer and wealthier backgrounds, including in reading outcomes.
The 2014 Key Stage Two results show that our reforms are already having an effect: a record proportion of children (89%) reached the expected standard of reading (up three percentage points from last year). Attainment in reading has increased for disadvantaged pupils from 73% in 2011 to 78% in 2013, an increase of five percentage points.
Unfortunately, pressures on the diary of my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, mean she cannot promise to visit Bradford.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the reasons for poor literacy among primary school children from (a) low income and (b) other families; what steps she is taking to ensure that all children are able to read well when they leave primary school; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to eliminating illiteracy and wants all children to read easily, fluently and with good understanding. Our new English curriculum places a renewed focus on the requirement for pupils to learn to read through systematic synthetic phonics, as evidence shows this is the most effective approach to early reading. We do not have plans to introduce a national task force for literacy as we believe poor reading outcomes are best addressed through the implementation of the English curriculum and the other steps we have taken to improve literacy levels for all children, alongside measures to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. The Department believes that good headteachers are best placed to support the needs of their pupils.
To boost the quality of phonics teaching, we have provided £23.7 million in match funding to over 14,000 schools, enabling them to buy systematic synthetic phonics products and training. We have also introduced a phonics screening check. The first three years of the check have enabled teachers to identify nearly 568,000 six-year-olds who needed extra support.
For pupils who do not reach the expected level in reading by the end of primary school, we have introduced the Year 7 Catch-up Premium. This funding – £500 per pupil – enables secondary schools to deliver additional support for those pupils that most need it.
The Government has also committed £8.8 billion of pupil premium funding for schools in England for the period between 2011-12 and 2015-16. The pupil premium gives schools the extra resources they need to close the attainment gap between those from poorer and wealthier backgrounds, including in reading outcomes.
The 2014 Key Stage Two results show that our reforms are already having an effect: a record proportion of children (89%) reached the expected standard of reading (up three percentage points from last year). Attainment in reading has increased for disadvantaged pupils from 73% in 2011 to 78% in 2013, an increase of five percentage points.
Unfortunately, pressures on the diary of my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, mean she cannot promise to visit Bradford.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will visit Bradford West constituency to observe the issue of children who are leaving primary school who are unable to read well; and if she will take steps to eradicate that problem.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to eliminating illiteracy and wants all children to read easily, fluently and with good understanding. Our new English curriculum places a renewed focus on the requirement for pupils to learn to read through systematic synthetic phonics, as evidence shows this is the most effective approach to early reading. We do not have plans to introduce a national task force for literacy as we believe poor reading outcomes are best addressed through the implementation of the English curriculum and the other steps we have taken to improve literacy levels for all children, alongside measures to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. The Department believes that good headteachers are best placed to support the needs of their pupils.
To boost the quality of phonics teaching, we have provided £23.7 million in match funding to over 14,000 schools, enabling them to buy systematic synthetic phonics products and training. We have also introduced a phonics screening check. The first three years of the check have enabled teachers to identify nearly 568,000 six-year-olds who needed extra support.
For pupils who do not reach the expected level in reading by the end of primary school, we have introduced the Year 7 Catch-up Premium. This funding – £500 per pupil – enables secondary schools to deliver additional support for those pupils that most need it.
The Government has also committed £8.8 billion of pupil premium funding for schools in England for the period between 2011-12 and 2015-16. The pupil premium gives schools the extra resources they need to close the attainment gap between those from poorer and wealthier backgrounds, including in reading outcomes.
The 2014 Key Stage Two results show that our reforms are already having an effect: a record proportion of children (89%) reached the expected standard of reading (up three percentage points from last year). Attainment in reading has increased for disadvantaged pupils from 73% in 2011 to 78% in 2013, an increase of five percentage points.
Unfortunately, pressures on the diary of my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, mean she cannot promise to visit Bradford.