The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed abolition of maintenance grants on the Government’s target of doubling the proportion of people from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education between 2009 and 2020.
Joseph Johnson
An Equality Analysis has been carried out and will be published alongside the regulations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of reducing the work-related activity group employment and support allowance rate on the number of claimants who move into employment.
Priti Patel
The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in Bill on 20th July.
Ministers have considered impacts with regard to all relevant legal obligations when formulating the welfare policies announced in the Bill.
The intended impact of these reforms is to incentivise work and ensure work always pays.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have been accommodated by Clearsprings on behalf of her Department in (a) Cardiff, (b) Wales and (c) the UK in each of the last six years.
James Brokenshire
Clearsprings Ready Homes provide accommodation for asylum seekers under contract with the Home Office in Wales, London and the South East and South West of the UK only.
Data provided for September each year in respect of dispersed asylum seekers as follows:
|
Location |
Sept 2010 |
Sept 2011 |
Sept 2012 |
Sept 2013 |
Sept 2014 |
Sept 2015 |
|
Cardiff |
921 |
856 |
796 |
915 |
909 |
1086 |
|
Wales |
1513 |
1446 |
1306 |
1645 |
1938 |
2384 |
|
London and the South |
1845 |
1574 |
1579 |
1683 |
1839 |
1843 |
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2015
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what legal power the Secretary of State for Health is able to impose junior doctors’ contracts on NHS Foundation Trusts.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Secretary of State is not imposing the junior doctors’ contract on National Health Service foundation trusts which are free to determine the terms and conditions, including pay, for the staff they employ. Most choose to use national contracts. Senior NHS leaders have advised that the new contract, 90% of which was agreed with the British Medical Association, will be fair and reasonable for doctors in training and for the service and will be safer for patients. Health Education England has made clear that a single national approach is essential to safeguard the organisation and delivery of postgraduate medical training. NHS Improvement has stated that it will support trusts to ensure the new national contract is implemented consistently.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough on 2016-03-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to involving appropriate regulators in the development of degree-level apprenticeships for nursing and other allied health professionals.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Apprenticeship standards focus on the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to enable an apprentice to demonstrate mastery of an occupation and, as such, must meet professional registration requirements in sectors where these exist at the relevant level.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council are involved in the development of the Degree Nurse Apprenticeship Standard and will formally be invited to become a member of the Nursing Trailblazer Group.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-14.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what procedures his Department has in place to monitor any changes in the estimated cost of the Successor submarine programme subsequent to the publication of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.
Greg Hands
The Treasury maintains a regular and frequent dialogue with the Ministry of Defence over the costs of all significant elements of defence spending, including the Successor programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-05-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what comparative analysis they have conducted of the number of children in privately operated children’s homes and those in other homes who become entangled in the criminal justice system, and what action they are taking as a result.
Lord Nash
As at 31 March 2015, there were 4,390 looked after children in privately operated children’s home provision[1] of which 60 were looked after under a youth justice legal status[2]. A further 2,180 children were looked after in children’s homes not run by private sector providers (e.g. local authority or voluntary sector provision) of which 20 were looked after under a youth justice legal status.
The Government has asked Sir Martin Narey to undertake an independent review of children’s homes. As part of his review, Sir Martin will consider how to reduce any inappropriate criminalisation of children in children’s homes.
[1] Includes children in secure, regulated and unregulated children’s homes.
[2] Includes children remanded to local authority accommodation or to youth detention accommodation; children placed in local authority accommodation under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act; and those sentenced to a Youth Rehabilitation Order (Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, as amended by Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, with residence or intensive fostering requirement).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the running costs of Chevening House were in the last 12 months.
Ben Gummer
Chevening House is not part of the government’s estate. The running costs are a matter for the Trustees
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans she has to allow commercial companies access to sensitive information held by other government departments and agencies on the proposed enforcement purposes of those companies.
Sir Oliver Heald
Ministers have outlined their programme of work to improve the courts in the ‘Transforming our Justice System’ document and consultation published on 15 September. As part of this work we will be considering how we can improve the civil enforcement process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative economic assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of HM Revenue and Customs locating its regional hub in (a) Leeds and (b) Bradford; and if he will place a copy of that assessment in the Library.
Mr David Gauke
On 12 November, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the next stage of its ten-year modernisation programme. As part of that, the department demonstrated its long-term commitment to Yorkshire and the Humber by setting out that it would establish a Regional Centre in Leeds.
A number of factors were considered by HMRC when deciding where to locate its new Regional Centres. In addition to cost, it considered local and national transport links, the local labour market, supply of future workforce and the retention of current staff and skills.
HMRC modelled the impact of locating the Regional Centre for Yorkshire and the Humber in both Bradford and Leeds. For both scenarios, it took into account the potential loss of jobs for staff expected to be outside of reasonable daily travel (defined as approximately 1 hour from home to work, though dependent on individual circumstances).
HMRC first shared its transformation plans with its employees 18 months ago. Since then has held more than 2,000 events across the UK, setting out how and why it is changing. The department is committed to continuing to support all of its employees who are affected by these changes.
Staff in Yorkshire attended a number of face-to-face events, providing feedback on the potential location of the regional centre. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their personal circumstances in one-to-one meetings with their manager.
This transformation programme will ultimately enable HMRC to deliver better public services at lower cost to the taxpayer. It will generate estate savings of £100 million a year by 2025.