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Category: Speeches

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will fund the NextGen Skills Academy higher apprenticeships in order better to support games employers.

    Nick Boles

    We are introducing a UK-wide levy for all larger employers to help fund the increase in quantity and quality of apprenticeship training in England. The levy will put employers in charge of how and where apprenticeship budgets are spent by creating a fund which they can use to pay for external training for their apprentices.

    As part of the apprenticeship reforms, employer-led Trailblazers are designing new apprenticeships to meet their skills needs. Over 1300 employers – including in the Digital Industries and Visual Effects sectors, such as Framestore – are currently involved in designing new apprenticeship standards. These include apprenticeships in occupations at a range of levels such as Digital & Technology Solutions Professional (L6); Software Developer (L4); Junior 2D Artist (Visual Effects) (L4); Games Quality Assurance Technician (L4) and Assistant Technical Director (Visual Effects) (L4).

    The NextGen Skills Academy links to Amersham and Wycombe College and was awarded £2.7m of Employer Ownership Pilot funding for a 3 year project focusing on the VFX, animation and games industry in September 2014. The project is now led by Framestore and managed by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will set a target for apprenticeship achievements over this Parliament.

    Nick Boles

    We are committed to reaching 3 million apprenticeship starts in 2020. We are establishing a new Institute for Apprenticeships to safeguard quality but do not intend to set a target for achievements.

    Further data on apprenticeships achievements can be found in table 6.2 of the main SFR: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

    “

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether trade union groups based abroad will be eligible to bid for funding from the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy.

    Mr David Lidington

    Any individual or organisation can apply to the fund. All parties that submit bids are subject to due diligence checks to ensure they have the capacity/ability to deliver their proposed project in line with the funds objecitves. This applies to all Foreign and Commonwealth Office programme funds. Bids will be rigorously assessed against the criteria set out in our programme guidance and strategy, available online.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimates his Department has made of the amount of unexploded ordinance in the River Clyde.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has made no estimate of the amount of unexploded ordinance (UXO) in the River Clyde.

    The Royal Navy routinely survey important shipping routes in the Clyde and make safe any ordnance discovered. In addition they occasionally make safe ordnance discovered in the Clyde by other non-defence means. All UXO identified in the Clyde is removed and/or made safe.

    MOD information on sea dumped munitions in the British Isles has been placed in the public domain; it can be accessed at the following internet address:

    http://tna.europarchive.org/20091204111626/http:/mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/HealthandSafetyPublications/DSEA/DisposalOfMunitionsAtSea.htm

    The records show no historic dump sites in the River Clyde.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of her Department’s (a) Senior Civil Servants and (b) core policy civil servants are based in London.

    Andrea Leadsom

    a) 99% of DECC’s Senior Civil Servants are based in London.

    b) 99% of DECC’s core policy civil servants are based in London.

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have notified full-time carers affected by the benefit cap of their decision to exempt such claimants following the High Court judgment against the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

    Lord Freud

    We will be writing to claimants potentially affected by the planned changes to the benefit cap in the coming months, ahead of the launch of the new benefit cap levels from the Autumn. These notifications will include details of the forthcoming exemptions. We are also working with stakeholder organisations to support them to share information with affected carers.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to work with other departments to formulate the Government’s response to the recommendation of the Energy and Climate Change Committee in its Fifth Report of Session 2015-16, on Setting the fifth carbon budget, HC 659, that effective drivers need to be put in place by Government to encourage innovation and investment for transport, buildings and agriculture.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We are currently working closely with other Government departments to determine the right approach to reducing emissions in the 2020s.

    We will publish the successor to 2011 Carbon Plan, in due course. The new plan will set out our policies and proposals for meeting the UK’s carbon budgets, and will cover all sectors of the economy, including transport, agriculture and buildings.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the potential loss of jobs which would arise from closure of the Calderstones hospital.

    Ben Gummer

    No estimate has been made. These are matters for the local National Health Service.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many negotiators his Department has recruited.

    Mr David Jones

    Britain has been at the forefront of the free trade-supporting countries in the EU for the last 40 years. The Department for Exiting the EU now has over 200 staff plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and is growing fast. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are regularly reviewed. We will ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with all aspects of the forthcoming negotiation.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the relationship between household income and (a) taxi and (b) bus use.

    Andrew Jones

    The number of trips and distance travelled per person per year for different household income levels (based on data for households in England in 2014) are given in the table.

    Household income is gross equivalised income, which accounts for household size and composition.

    Real household income quintile

    Lowest real income level

    Second level

    Third level

    Fourth level

    Highest real income level

    All income levels

    Trips per person per year by main mode:

    Local and non-local buses

    96

    72

    53

    43

    35

    60

    Taxi/minicab

    14

    11

    9

    9

    10

    10

    Distance (miles) per person per year by main mode:

    Local and non-local buses

    465

    407

    308

    251

    193

    326

    Taxi/minicab

    61

    43

    42

    51

    85

    56

    “