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  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to provide advice and support to small and medium-sized enterprises to boost their productivity before the introduction of the national living wage.

    Anna Soubry

    Government is committed to providing an environment in which all businesses can manage the transition to the National Living Wage. To help with the transition we are cutting taxes and employer National Insurance contributions in total by over £3 billion a year through the Employment Allowance and Corporation Tax.

    SMEs will benefit from an ACAS produced online productivity tool designed to help organisations take simple steps to improve workplace relations, raise staff engagement and boost productivity. In addition, businesses can continue to benefit from a range of general support services including:

    • Access to local support through Growth Hubs which join up local resources and are being rolled out across the country.
    • The Business Support helpline and the’ My Business Support Tool’ on GOV.UK which help businesses find the support they need quickly.
    • British Business Bank programmes which are supporting £2.4bn of finance to over 40,000 smaller businesses.
  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2015 to Question 8556, what progress Energy UK has made in developing the webtool www.comparemyenergy.org.uk.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We welcome the development by many energy suppliers of consumption comparison tools on their websites. These use the data consumers provide to make comparisons meaningful and reflective of household circumstances.

    In addition, we expect the Competition and Markets Authority shortly to publish the conclusion of their work on the energy market, including how to make the energy market work effectively for consumers.

    Energy UK have subsequently advised the webtool, comparemyenergy.org.uk, ceased to function from March 2015, due to very low consumer response.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to bring forward proposals to add junior doctors to the definition of worker in section 43K(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

    Ben Gummer

    The Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and more recent legislation, forms part of the wider employment rights legislation.

    Junior doctors are protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, as they are employees of the National Health Service trusts at which they are based.

    The Department supports NHS staff who wish to raise concerns and is implementing a range of measures to support the development of a culture in which staff are able to raise concerns without fear of repercussion or reprisal. The Department has made clear to NHS organisations that they should have policies and procedures to support and encourage staff to raise concerns, and that those concerns should be considered and, where appropriate, acted upon.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 222253, what estimate he has made of the number of service personnel who have suffered mental illness in the current year.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) compiles records of UK Armed Forces personnel who have been assessed as having a mental health condition at either of the military Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs) or one of the facilities contracted by the MOD to provide in-patient treatment.

    During the period 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, the most recent full year for which verified records are available, 4,858 personnel were assessed as having a mental health disorder.

    Verified figures are also available for the period of 7 April to 30 September 2015. During this six month period, 2,576 personnel were assessed as having a mental health disorder.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken is after a new (a) jobseeker’s allowance and (b) employment and support allowance claim has been processed to make a first payment to a claimant.

    Priti Patel

    The Department does not hold data on the time taken to make a payment.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new claims for universal credit have been made by people whose temporary employment contract has expired since the introduction of that credit.

    Priti Patel

    Universal Credit is paid on the basis of earnings. Information on types of contracts that claimants are on is not routinely collected.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of making medical donors entitled to sick pay while they are recovering from giving a medical donation.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Employed donors should be able to receive Statutory Sick Pay if they satisfy the qualifying conditions and provide medical evidence which assesses them as unfit for work.

  • Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will suspend the process of determining the application for the licence for ship-to-ship transfers in the Cromarty Firth until he has formally consulted Marine Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There are no valid reasons to suspend the process of determining the application for an Oil Transfer licence for ship to ship transfers in the Cromarty Firth.

    Officials from Marine Scotland were sent the application details and information by email on 9 December 2015. A reminder about the deadline for comments on this application was sent to the same officials by email on 3 February, five days before the end of the extended consultation period.

    A Marine Scotland official confirmed to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on 11 February that they had seen the information and had no intention of submitting a response.

  • Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the uprating of pensions of British pensioners living in EU member states with which there was no previous bilateral agreement on the uprating of pensions of the UK leaving the EU.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government’s view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU. Of course there is uncertainty about how a vote to leave the EU could impact on access to pensioner benefits for UK pensioners living in other parts of Europe. These questions would need to be answered as part of the process of negotiating the UK’s exit if there is a vote to leave. We could only consider the detail of access to pensions and benefits for people in receipt of UK state pensions who are resident in Europe as part of the process for leaving the EU.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 28207, how many and which local authorities have notified her Department about plans to dispose of grant-funded assets through the (a) sale, (b) transfer and (c) change of use of children’s centres.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The decision whether to dispose of grant funded assets is a local issue. We have a thorough process in place to consider whether the local authority should be subject to claw back as a result of the disposal of grant funded assets which was outlined in the response to Question 28207.