Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of people teaching English in secondary schools who do not have a degree in that subject.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The information requested is published in table 12 of the publication ‘School Workforce in England, November 2017’ available at the following web link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2017.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of people teaching (a) French, (b) German and (c) Spanish in secondary schools who do not have a degree in that language.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The information requested is published in table 12 of the publication ‘School Workforce in England, November 2017’ available at the following web link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2017.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children there were in (a) Warrington, (b) the North West and (c) England in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The latest information on the number of looked after children at 31 March 2018 for the last five years by local authority, region and for England can be found in table LAA1 in the statistical release ‘Children Looked After in England: Including Adoption: 2017 to 2018’ at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the financial sustainability of children's services in Warrington.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement. We are in the final year of a multi-year settlement deal – worth over £200 billion in the 5 years to 2020.
At the Autumn Budget 2018, the government made £410 million available to local authorities, in 2019/20, for adult and children social care. The government also announced £84 million in targeted, evidence-based interventions which will transform services to reduce demand, saving money for local authorities but most importantly, improving the quality of services for our most vulnerable children.
The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department was consulted on the decision to host a Myanmar Trade and Investment Conference in London; and what advice she gave on human rights violations in that country.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The visit by a Myanmar Business delegation has been led by the Department for International Trade. They have engaged closely with Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development officials, who have been consistent in ensuring human rights remain at the heart of British policy. We believe British businesses, investing responsibly, can play an important role in creating a more open and fairer economy which will be essential to driving positive change in Burma.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reason the Government decided to host a Myanmar Trade and Investment Conference in London; and what account was taken of human rights violations by the Government of Myanmar before the decision was made to host that conference.
Answered by Mark Field
Burma is emerging from decades of military rule and starting on the road to democracy. If the economy collapses, if people have no jobs, or cannot afford to feed themselves then this will damage the democratisation process and set back human rights. The conference enables us to work with UK businesses, investing responsibly, to play a role in the wider economic growth agenda in Burma. The British Government is clear that the Burmese military is responsible for a range of human rights violations in Rakhine and other ethnic states. We have led international calls for accountability to ensure that grave human rights violations do not go unpunished. A full EU arms embargo, which the UK has supported, remains in place against the Burmese military. Her Majesty's Government will seek to ensure that our work does not support military owned or backed businesses, and in the longer term, aim to level the playing field to promote inclusive growth.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Bangladeshi counterpart on the plight of Rohingya refugees; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Field
The Foreign Secretary wrote to Foreign Minister Momen on 22 January, when he re-emphasised the importance he places on the Government of Bangladesh's stated commitment to voluntary, safe and dignified return for the Rohingya to their homeland in Burma. He also emphasised the importance of planning for a longer term and more sustainable response to the Rohingya crisis. I wrote to my counterpart Shahriar Alam on 10 January to pass on the same messages.
We agree with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees that the conditions for safe and dignified returns do not yet exist. The access in Burma required for independent monitoring by UN agencies is also not in place. We will continue to make representations to the governments of both Bangladesh and Burma not to commence returns while conditions in northern Rakhine remain as they are.
I welcome the great generosity Bangladesh has shown in providing refuge for Rohingya who have fled terrible violence in Burma's Rakhine State. The UK is one of the largest donors to the refugee crisis in Bangladesh, providing £129 million in funding since August 2017. We have led the international response, including using our role as pen holder at the UN Security Council.
We are committed to supporting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and expect to remain a leading donor to the humanitarian Joint Response Plan. We are actively engaged in conversations with the international community to ensure that the future response meets the needs of the refugees.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether Warrington Borough Council will be eligible to bid for funding from the Stronger Towns Fund.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Stronger Towns Fund prospectus will be published before Summer recess. This will outline the process for how towns can come forward, and will set out the process of the £600 million competitive component of the fund. It will also detail the role of local partners, relevant definitions and eligibility criteria.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much has been spent by each local authority in the North West on education appeals tribunals; and what the value was of costs awarded to applicants in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Information on local authorities’ expenditure on the special educational needs and disability (SEND) tribunals or the costs awarded to applicants to the tribunal is not held centrally. The costs of SEND tribunals will vary depending on the type of the case being heard.
There is a route for parents to submit a request for a reimbursement of costs, but these costs would only be awarded where there is clear evidence of negligence on the part of the local authority.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the value of funding from the Stronger Towns Fund that will be allocated to Cheshire and Warrington.
Answered by Jake Berry
The competitive element of the Stronger Towns Fund will be open to all towns. The allocation component has been provisionally allocated through a needs-based formula. The North West region has been provisionally allocated £281 million of the £1 billion component of the Stronger Towns Fund.
The Stronger Towns Fund prospectus will be published before Summer recess, which will detail the role of local partners, relevant definitions and eligibility criteria.