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  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government plans to take to enable young people from the UK to take part in the Erasmus scheme after the UK has exited the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    The referendum result has no immediate effect on students abroad under the Erasmus scheme or applying for 2016/17. Payments will be made in the usual way. Access to the programme after we leave the EU is a matter for the forthcoming negotiations. The Department offers the same support for study abroad under other schemes as for Erasmus.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of staff on the payroll of her Department who work in Westminster are (a) British nationals and (b) nationals of another country.

    Caroline Dinenage

    All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

    Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

    More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. However, there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what definition of underperforming local authorities, or other measures of performance her Department will use in a decision to convert a school to academy status.

    Edward Timpson

    We have been clear that we want to see all schools, over time, become academies. But our focus is on schools where standards need to be raised. So we will continue to convert all schools that are judged inadequate by Ofsted, and work with those that are coasting or otherwise underperforming to identify the support they need to improve. We expect that in some cases this support will be through conversion to become a sponsored academy. No new legislation is required for these purposes.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Sussex Area Review of post-16 education and training is planned to be published.

    Robert Halfon

    As confirmed in the Area Review Guidance published in March 2016, we will publish the area review reports once each review has completed. We expect to publish the Sussex area review report in the near future.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings Ministers or officials of (a) his Department and (b) the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills had with Sir Richard Paniguian in the last 12 months; and on what dates those meeting took place.

    Margot James

    Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on the www.gov.uk website at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bis-quarterly-publications-april-to-june-2012

    Information about officials is not held centrally.

    “

  • Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the CEOs of the Big Six energy companies on the availability of the cheapest energy tariff for existing customers.

    Jesse Norman

    Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Ministers will be meeting with a number of energy supply companies in due course to discuss a wide range of issues. Government’s focus remains firmly on getting the best deal for consumers and ensuring the market works for everyone.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) financial and (b) childcare support is offered to young women who work as apprentices in the (i) engineering, (ii) manufacturing, (iii) hospitality, (iv) IT, (v) transport and (vi) science sectors.

    Robert Halfon

    An apprenticeship is a paid job. As an apprentice, an individual can acquire skills much-valued in the labour market without having to contribute to the costs of their learning. The benefits system treats an apprentice in the same way as any other employee regardless of the sector they are working in. As an employee aged 18 or over, an apprentice may be entitled to the usual in-work benefits, such as Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credits.

    If an apprentice has children, or is aged 16 or over and does paid work of at least 16 hours a week, they could qualify for tax credits, unless they are already earning £25,000 or more per year. Further information can be found on the tax credit section of the HMRC website.

    The Apprentice National Minimum Wage applies equally to all apprentices regardless of gender. Most apprentices receive more than the apprentice minimum rate of £3.40 per hour. The latest Apprenticeship Pay Survey (2014) estimates that the median hourly pay for Level 2 and Level 3 female apprentices across Great Britain is £6.36. For males it was £6.19. Differences in pay may be related to the proportion of males and females in higher and lower paid apprenticeship occupations.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she plans to encourage public sector employers to set gender targets when recruiting apprentices.

    Robert Halfon

    The Government has not set gender targets for the public sector when recruiting apprentices. Public sector organisations should adhere to employment and equalities legislation when recruiting apprentices.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the future role of open source software in industrial strategy (a) for the digital economy and (b) as an enabling platform; and what steps he is taking to support that software in relation to public sector procurement.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The Government’s Open Standards Principles are helping to level the playing field for open source and proprietary software, and disaggregating government IT into smaller, more manageable components.

    The Government IT Strategy states ‘Where appropriate, government will procure open source solutions. When used in conjunction with compulsory open standards, open source presents significant opportunities for the design and delivery of interoperable solutions.’

    To support interoperability in the public sector, we have a preference for royalty-free software generated in an open and transparent manner, which is often open source.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent meetings he has had with Ministers of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on rural superfast broadband.

    Jesse Norman

    High quality broadband connectivity across the country is vital for maintaining the UK’s place at the forefront of the digital revolution and connecting people to opportunity and prosperity; in light of this, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has regular discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the important issue of broadband for everybody in an economy that works for all, and particularly those in rural locations.

    In addition, the joint BEIS/DCMS Review of Business Broadband will continue to consider how consumers and businesses in rural locations can benefit from future private and public digital infrastructure initiatives.