Category: Speeches

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the exploitation of unpaid trials in at-risk sectors.

    Nick Boles

    Entitlement to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) applies where someone meets the criteria of a worker. There is no legal or consistently-used definition of an internship and therefore no authoritative, single assessment of their prevalence, unpaid or otherwise. However, the Low Pay Commission 2015 Report on the National Minimum Wage sets out their findings from the evidence they have collated as well as research that they have commissioned to assess the prevalence of unpaid internships.

    The Government works to promote high-quality, paid internships through improved codes of practice, awareness campaigns and changes to the BIS-sponsored Graduate Talent Pool. We also continue to tackle exploitation. The Government invested over £13m in 2015/16 to ensure enforcement of the NMW and we continue to name and shame employers who break minimum wage law.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate how much the apprenticeship levy is expected to raise in (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20.

    Greg Hands

    The latest forecasts for the apprenticeship levy by the Office for Budget Responsibility are published in table 2.2 of the Budget 2016 document, which is available on gov.uk.

  • Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 26 April (HL7673), whether there exists an internal Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) report called BIS2020 Finance and Headcount that contains information about the move of the Sheffield BIS office to London.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government does not comment on internal or leaked documents.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2016 to Question 38408, what the budget of the European Fast Stream was in each year since 2010.

    Matthew Hancock

    The European Fast Stream was re-established in 2010 with the dual aim of increasing UK representation in the EU institutions, as well as building EU capability. It has been managed centrally by Civil Service Resourcing since 2014. The budget for the European Fast Stream for each year since 2010 is set out below:

    Financial Year

    Budget

    2010/11

    £713,000

    2011/12

    £713,000

    2012/13

    £756,000

    2013/14

    £821,000

    2014/15

    £771,000

    2015/16

    £795,000

    This is the specific EFS budget, it does not include the employment costs for individuals which are met by central charging to departments who are hosting fast streamers.

  • 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 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS trusts use agency nurses who are brought in from other countries.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The information requested is not held by the Department.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many stakeholders within the Collective Passport Service were consulted about the possible closure of the Collective Passport Office in Durham.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    A review of the collective passport is ongoing and an announcement will be made once this has been completed. The collective passport remains available for those who require it.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many specialist mental health centres for those with drug and alcohol addiction were funded by NHS England in each of the last three years; and how many people each such centre supported.

    Alistair Burt

    Drug and alcohol addiction services are not commissioned by NHS England. These services are commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups and local authorities.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value of trade between the UK and Switzerland was in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The UK had a trade surplus with Switzerland in 2014 of £10.3bn. The value of total UK exports to Switzerland in 2014 was £21.6bn, and the value of UK imports from Switzerland was £11.3bn.

    Latest available data for 2015 shows that the UK had a trade surplus of £5.6bn with Switzerland in the first three quarters of 2015, with total exports of £14.4bn and imports of £8.9bn.

  • Baroness Meacher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Meacher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Meacher on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of compliance with the School Admissions Code across all schools, especially in the light of the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association, An Unholy Mess, that claimed a widespread failure to comply among religiously selective schools in England.

    Lord Nash

    The Department will be conducting a full public consultation in due course and will give careful consideration to all the views expressed in that consultation as part of the current review of the School Admissions Code. In addition, the Schools Adjudicator reports annually to the Secretary of State on fair access. The Department is therefore also taking account of the Adjudicator’s report for the 2014 -2015 school year.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister’s Oral Statement of 22 February 2016, Official Report, column 35, on the European Council, whether his Department is undertaking planning in the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the EU referendum.

    John Penrose

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.