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  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what commitments they have made to provide adequate funding for the training that secondary mathematics and citizenship teachers will need to meet the new financial education requirements from September 2014.

    Lord Nash

    The Government is committed to developing a strong culture of professional development in schools for all national curriculum subjects, including citizenship and mathematics.

    We have allocated £11 million to fund 30 new maths hubs to improve the quality of maths teachers from primary school onwards. This initiative will enable every school and college in England, from early years to the post-16 sector, to access locally-tailored and quality support in all areas of maths teaching and maths learning. To further support teachers, Liz Moorse from the Association for Citizenship Teaching is chairing an expert group on citizenship. The expert group will clarify the key areas in which teachers most need further support. The expert group will then liaise with relevant specialists and providers to develop and produce new resources where necessary.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in securing a deal on the European Union’s 2030 climate change reduction package, in advance of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit in September.

    Baroness Verma

    The European Council in March 2014 discussed the 2030 climate and energy framework and agreed to make a final decision on the Framework no later than October this year.

    The UK believes that the EU should urgently adopt a domestic emissions reduction target for 2030 of at least 40% on 1990 levels, moving to 50% in the context of an ambitious global climate agreement.

    I am determined to continue working closely and intensively with all my colleagues in Europe to ensure that the EU is in a position to play a leading role at the Ban Ki-Moon Climate Summit in September.

  • Baroness Uddin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Uddin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Uddin on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people with autismspectrum disorder currently receive support under the Independent Living Fund.

    Lord Freud

    It is not possible to calculate this because the Independent Living Fund’s systems categorise its users by their main condition only; it is not known therefore how many users may have an autism spectrum disorder in addition to the main disability or health condition recorded.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many estate agents were subject to (1) a warning notice, and (2) a prohibition order, for each year since 1984 under the Estate Agents Act 1979.

    Viscount Younger of Leckie

    Until 31 March 2014, the Office of Fair Trading was responsible for enforcing the Estate Agency Act 1979. Since then, its functions have been transferred to Powys County Council, under the National Trading Standards Board Umbrella.

    Data from the archived register for prohibition orders and warning notices in relation to the OFT and its predecessors was:

    Year

    Prohibition Orders

    Warning Notices

    Year

    Prohibition Orders

    Warning Notices

    2014

    7

    4

    2007

    13

    2

    2013

    3

    7

    2006

    2

    4

    2012

    10

    0

    2005

    6

    5

    2011

    0

    0

    2004

    1

    6

    2010

    1

    4

    2003

    3

    0

    2009

    9

    5

    2002

    2

    0

    2008

    8

    4

    2001

    0

    0

    Year

    Prohibition Order

    Warning Notice

    Year

    Prohibition Order

    Warning Notice

    2000

    2

    1

    1991

    8

    1

    1999

    2

    0

    1990

    2

    2

    1998

    0

    0

    1989

    1

    0

    1997

    0

    0

    1988

    6

    2

    1996

    2

    0

    1987

    3

    0

    1995

    3

    0

    1986

    12

    2

    1994

    5

    0

    1985

    5

    2

    1993

    7

    0

    1984

    0

    0

    1992

    5

    0

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many estate agents since 1 April 2014 (1) have been, or (2) are being, considered for (a) a warning notice, and (b) a prohibition order, under the Estate Agents Act 1979 by the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team.

    Viscount Younger of Leckie

    An order under the Estate Agents Act 1979 may be issued against both estate agents and individuals or businesses who are not currently involved in estate agency work. For example an order can be issued against someone who has formerly been an estate agent, or who has worked closely with an estate agent.

    Since the 1st April 2014:

    · Three individual orders (two prohibition and one warning) have taken effect. These orders were issued by the Office of Fair Trading but implemented by the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team.

    · Four individual orders and one against a business – all prohibitions – are currently subject to appeals.

    · Fifteen new cases are currently being processed by the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team. ‘Notices of proposal to prohibit’ have been issued for six of these cases and are awaiting representations from the individuals and businesses concerned. Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

    · Additionally, the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team currently has fifteen cases on its books which are awaiting prosecution outcome or further investigation by local Trading Standards teams and which may lead to notices being issued at a later date.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken, in co-operation with the franchise holder, to improve the frequency of train services in South-East London.

    Baroness Kramer

    On 11th June 2014, the Government awarded the Thameslink Southern Great Northern (TSGN) franchise to Govia. The franchise will run for seven years from September 2014. During this period Govia will improve the frequency of train services in the south east of London by introducing 24 trains per hour through the Thameslink core route.

    The Government will be refranchising the South Eastern network in 2018 and will conduct a formal public consultation before finalising the specification.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what appointments to public bodies the Department of Transport has made in the last 12 months.

    Baroness Kramer

    The Secretary of State for Transport made 17 new appointments to public bodies in the 12 months from 1 June 2013 to 31 May 2014, as shown in the table below.

    Name of Body

    New Appointments

    Date of appointment (s)

    Civil Aviation Authority

    2 Non executive directors

    1/9/2013

    British Transport Police Authority

    5 Board members

    1/9/2013

    High Speed 2 Ltd

    1 Chair

    1/1/2014

    Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee

    7 Committee members

    1/4/2014

    Northern Lighthouse Board

    1 Non executive director

    1/6/2013

    London and Continental Railways

    1 Non executive director

    1/5/2014
  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what appointments to public bodies the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has made in the last 12 months.

    Viscount Younger of Leckie

    For the 12 month period ending 31 March 2014 the Department made 126 appointments, including new, reappointments and extensions to OCPA regulated public bodies. The appointments were made as follows:

    Partner Organisation

    Chair

    Member

    Advisory, Conciliation & Arbitration Service (ACAS)

    1

    5

    Arts Humanities and Research Council

    1

    3

    Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council

    1

    3

    Capital for Enterprise

    0

    1

    Competition Commission

    1

    35

    Competition Service

    0

    1

    Construction Industry Training Board

    0

    1 (employee representative)

    Consumer Futures

    0

    13

    Council for Science & Technology

    1

    13

    Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council

    0

    6

    Economic & Social Research Council

    1

    4

    Higher Education Funding Council for England

    1

    5

    Low Pay Commission

    0

    3

    Medical Research Council

    0

    2

    National Environment Research Council

    1

    3

    Office of Fair Trading

    2 (of which 1 was a short-term extension).

    2

    Science & Technology Facilities Council

    1

    3

    Student Loans Company

    2 (of which 1 was an interim appointment).

    4

    Technology Strategy Board

    0

    2

    UK Commission Atomic Energy Authority

    1

    3

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the logbook loans industry.

    Lord Deighton

    The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, including logbook lenders, by transferring responsibility from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014.

    The Government is very concerned about evidence of consumer detriment in the logbook loan sector, as highlighted in the FCA’s recent research paper.

    The FCA has identified logbook lenders as a higher risk industry, and as such they will be in the first phase of firms to require full authorisation. Logbook loan providers are also required to meet the FCA’s binding rules, and the FCA has said that it “won’t hesitate to take action” if they do not put their customers first.

    In addition, the Government has asked the Law Commission to look at how to bring the highly complex legislation underpinning logbook loans up to date.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the progress of the Credit Union Expansion Project.

    Lord Freud

    The DWP Credit Union Expansion Project contract began in May 2013. Around 80 credit unions are currently participating in the project. ABCUL has started delivering the Automated Loan and decision tool to participating credit unions and feedback is that the tool is ensuring loan decisions are faster, consistent and more efficient to deliver. Procurement of an IT banking platform is also being progressed but much remains to be done particularly on achieving sufficient growth for Credit Unions, and DWP continue to support and monitor the project closely