Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of (a) the effect of the drought in the Horn of Africa on Eritrea and (b) the response of the Eritrean government and the international community to that drought.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Official food security and nutrition data for Eritrea for this year has not yet been released, but the late onset of rains, relatively low volume of rainfall, and significant soil moisture deficits are likely to have had a negative impact on both farming and pastoral communities. The country and regional offices of the World Food Programme and UNICEF are monitoring the situation closely.
DFID is funding nutrition support activities in areas affected by El Nino in the Horn of Africa through UNICEF’s regional programme, which covers Eritrea
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to fund additional support for disabled people who might require assistance to fill in job applications and to attend job interviews.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DWP already provides a range of support for people who require assistance to fill in job applications and to attend job interviews.
Programmes such as Work Choice, Work Programme and the new Specialist Employability Support offer tailored support for any participants who need help with their jobseeking. This may include help with activities such as filling in job applications and attending job interviews. Access to Work can provide practical support for people who need help with attending interviews due to a health condition or disability.
Jobcentre Plus continues to offer a range of support, including a free helpline for claimants who have difficulty making their claims for benefit online because of dyslexia or a similar conditions, and Claimant Computer Suites manned by Jobcentre Plus Customer Service staff. In addition, a Jobcentre Plus Work Coach, or where appropriate, a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA), can signpost claimants to local sources of support such as Work Clubs, third sector organisations or the National Careers Service.
The Department is constantly seeking ways to improve these services, but at present there are no plans to fund additional support nationally. However, the support we provide nationally both complements, and is complemented by, our engagement with support provided locally by stakeholders such as third sector organisations, local councils, Work Clubs and other partners.
We are also exploring innovative new ways to deliver support. For example, the Personalisation Pathfinders project running in three Jobcentre Plus Districts, which will test a new localised approach to helping people with Disabilities and long term health conditions.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how the extension of office to residential permitted development rights will be set out in legislative proposals.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The extension of the office to residential permitted development rights will be brought forward as amendments to The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve levels of primary school literacy in England (a) generally and (b) among the poorest socio-economic groups.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The government is committed to raising standards of literacy in schools so that every child masters the basics of reading and writing at a young age. Our primary national curriculum for English has been designed with the aim that all children leave primary school fully literate and ready to succeed at secondary school.
This government has placed phonics at the heart of the early teaching of reading.The result from this year’s phonics screening check show that, three years on from its introduction, 120,000 more six-year-olds are now on track to become excellent readers.
This year’s figures show that 99 per cent of pupils who reach or exceed the pass mark in the phonics check go on to achieve at least the expected standard in Key Stage 1 reading, underlining the importance of developing the ability to decode words effectively at an early age. The proportion of six-year-olds achieving the expected standard has risen by 19 percentage points to 77 per cent since 2012.
Over the next five years, we have set ourselves an ambitious challenge to make children in this country the most proficient readers in Europe. We are determined to make sure that every child, no matter where they live or what their background, learns to read well and read widely. We are working with David Walliams to support our mission to tackle child illiteracy and we are funding the Reading Agency to set up 200 new book clubs in schools.
The government is determined that every child receives an education which allows them to achieve to their potential. This is why we introduced the pupil premium in 2011, giving schools extra funding to focus on their disadvantaged pupils. During the last Parliament, the government provided over £6 billion of additional funding to schools through the pupil premium. We are continuing to tackle educational inequality and we have committed to providing a further £2.5 billion of pupil premium this year alone.
The result of the government’s reforms is that disadvantaged pupils are catching up with their peers at both primary and secondary level.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the objection in the Euston Area Plan on prioritising local people's needs adopted by the London Borough of Camden, the Mayor of London and Transport for London in January 2015 is not referred to in the Supplementary Environmental Statement for High Speed 2.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
HS2 Ltd deposited an Additional Provision (AP3) to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill and a Supplementary Environmental Statement (SES2) on 16 September 2015. AP3 and SES2 include revised plans for London Euston station.
SES2 reports on the likely significant environmental effects of updated environmental information and changes that are new but within the powers already being sought under the Bill and within the limits described in it. Changes that go beyond the existing powers and limits described in the Bill are contained in AP3.
The purpose of SES2 however is not to consider objections to the proposed changes; these are considered through the relevant consultation and petitioning processes.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make provision for additional compensation schemes for people in (a) the London Borough of Camden and (b) other parts of London, supplementary to the existing High Speed 2 compensation scheme and similar to the additional support provided to people in rural areas affected by that project.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
HS2 property compensation schemes in urban areas already go well beyond what is required by law. There are no plans to extend the rural provisions to the London Borough of Camden or other parts of London.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the proposed Crossrail 2 project; and what assessment he has made of the relationship between that project and the successful completion of work on High Speed 2 at Euston Station.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
A decision is yet to be taken on Government support for or investment in Crossrail 2.
The current safeguarding direction represents the proposed route and includes an area north of the Euston Road, necessary if Crossrail 2 was to serve Euston Station.
The completion of work on High Speed 2 at Euston Station is not dependent on the construction of Crossrail 2.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what increase there has been in the mitigation and compensation budget of High Speed 2 as a result of the greater impact of AP3 construction works on Camden residents and businesses in (a) intensity, (b) length of construction period and (c) need for temporary rehousing and secondary glazing.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The cost of mitigating the construction works impacts arising from changes to the hybrid Bill scheme for Euston introduced by AP3 and the budget for any additional statutory and discretionary compensation costs will be accommodated within the existing overall budget for Phase One of HS2.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications have been made in each community forum area in Camden under the (a) Exceptional Hardship and (b) Need to Sell schemes of High Speed 2; and what the outcome of each such application has been.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
We do not categorise applications for the Phase One Exceptional Hardship Scheme (EHS) or the Need to Sell (NTS) scheme by the applicant’s Community Forum Area. Nevertheless, from Holborn and St Pancras, we have received six Phase One EHS applications, including two reapplications. Two have been accepted, two were refused and two were withdrawn. Regarding the NTS, from Holborn and St Pancras we have received six applications, including one reapplication. Three have been accepted, two were declined and one is on hold.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what compensation HS2 Ltd has to pay to rail franchise holders for the track possessions required to bring High Speed 2 to Euston; and what effect the provisions made in the AP3 Environmental Statement have had on this figure.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
HS2 Ltd deposited an Additional Provision (AP3) to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill on 16 September 2015 which includes revised plans for London Euston station. The new plans focus on an incremental strategy which will deliver new high speed platforms (Stages A and B1) and do not preclude wider redevelopment of the existing station in the future (Stage B2).
We have listened to train operators and worked very closely with them throughout the development of the new design. The staged approach will mean less disruption to passengers using existing train services and therefore compensation to train operators. We have made budget provision for a level of compensation to train operators as part of the overall Phase One rail budget. These allowances have still to be agreed with the relevant train operators and will be assessed further as part of the design development process. The information also remains commercially sensitive.
Any necessary impacts to the existing railway will be carefully planned with Network Rail and the affected operators from the outset, learning from experiences at other major stations such as Kings Cross and London Bridge.