The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of universal credit claimants who are employed on a zero-hours contract.
Priti Patel
Universal Credit is paid on the basis of earnings. Information on types of contracts that claimants are on is not routinely collected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Attorney General, what steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to improve the number of successful prosecutions for human trafficking offences.
Robert Buckland
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has issued guidance to strengthen prosecutions in support of the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The CPS continues to deliver joint training with the police. The increased awareness and emphasis on working with the police to build stronger cases should lead to an improvement in the number of successful prosecutions.
The Director of Public Prosecutionsis hosting a summit with the Heads of the Prosecution Services in the UK and the Lord Advocate for Scotland in February 2016 to launch joint commitments to provide a more robust UK response to human trafficking and slavery.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his plans are for the future of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.
Nick Boles
As announced in the 2015 Spending Review, in order to prioritise funding to allow the core adult skills participation budgets to be protected in cash terms, savings are being made from the supporting budgets including the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES).
Whitehall Departments will be withdrawing their funding for UKCES during the 2016-17 financial year. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is working with UKCES to manage the implications of this decision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.
Joseph Johnson
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has not had any direct employees in Stoke-on-Trent since before 2010.
I have asked Chief Executives of the Executive Agencies to respond directly to the Hon Member and these are attached. This information is not held by BIS in respect of non-Departmental Public Bodies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how the Government plans to adapt implementation of the apprenticeships levy for different sectors.
Nick Boles
The apprenticeship levy will apply to both the private and public sectors. We understand that employers in sectors where a levy is already in place will want clarity on what the introduction of an apprenticeships levy means for them. We will publish further details in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the risk of employers waiting until the new digital voucher funding mechanism is in place before taking on new apprentices.
Nick Boles
The current apprenticeships funding mechanism is being reformed to deliver a high-quality, employer-led system. In the transition period, we will be continuing to use the current system (which has delivered strong apprenticeships growth) and work with employers to help them take on apprentices. We will monitor take-up prior to the levy introduction.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.
Matthew Hancock
No jobs in my Department or in each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 or plan to be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) jobs and (b) residents in full-time employment there were in the London Borough of Newham in each year from 2010 to 2015.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many credit unions were subject to intervention by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in 2014 and 2015.
Harriett Baldwin
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme regularly publishes details of the interventions it has undertaken to protect depositors. The Scheme announced that it had protected the savings of members in five credit unions which entered default in 2014; and six in 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-01-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from (a) landfill operators and (b) environmental bodies on the proposed removal of third party contributions from the Landfill Communities Fund; and whether he plans to change that proposal in response to those representations.
Damian Hinds
Since its introduction in 1996, the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) has contributed over £1.4bn to community projects in areas affected by a local landfill site and the government acknowledges the positive impact of this funding for communities. However, as the LCF is a tax credit scheme, it reduces tax revenues and we therefore have a responsibility to seek value for money for the taxpayer.
Despite difficult decisions on spending, the government has decided to retain and reform the LCF. Following representations on the issue of contributing third parties, the government softened proposals in this area at Budget 2016, and the requirement for a 10% landfill operator contribution has not been set in legislation. However, the government wants landfill operators to make a greater contribution to the LCF, and the regulator of the scheme, ENTRUST, has published guidance setting out this expectation.