The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29830, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on improving coordination between support teams when some or all of those services are outsourced.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Department does not provide any formal guidance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress has been made in discussions with the devolved administrations on the drawing-down of funds on apprenticeships when the apprenticeship levy is introduced in April 2017.
Nick Boles
Skills policy is a devolved area so the devolved administrations will continue to have control over how to support businesses through training and apprenticeships.
We are working closely with the devolved administrations to ensure they get their fair share of the levy and can work out how best to use it to complement their own apprenticeships and skills policies.
We have been engaging with skills ministers in the devolved administrations on how to make the levy work for employers and would-be apprentices across the UK and will continue to do so following the elections in May.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions took place between December 2015 and May 2016 between Ministers and (b) officials of her Department with the Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Law Society of Scotland on plans to widen asylum dispersal in Scotland; and whether any further such discussions are planned.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office is currently exploring the widening of dispersal agreements across all Scottish Local Authorities on a voluntary basis.
Once new dispersal agreements have been agreed and the location and likely demand for legal services is known, we will seek to meet with the Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Scottish Law Society on the proposals. Similar discussions will also be held with Migrant Help and other Non-Government Organisations to discuss provision of service and support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will take steps to work with local authorities and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to improve air quality in West Yorkshire.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
We are aware that local authorities have a crucial role to play in improving air quality across the UK. The Government is already taking a number of steps to support them in this role.
The national air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide, published in December 2015, sets out a comprehensive approach for meeting air quality challenges by implementing a new programme of Clean Air Zones in five cities in England, one of which is Leeds. The Plan combines targeted local and national measures, forming part of a wider approach that exploits new and clean technologies, such as electric and ultra-low emission vehicles.
We have allocated funding to help Leeds City Council implement the Clean Air Zone and are working closely with City officials on its development. Delivery of the Clean Air Zone will also take account of the need to work closely with related authorities and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Local authorities additionally have a duty to evaluate local air quality against standards set by the Government. They designate air quality management areas (AQMAs) at locations where these standards are not met and take remedial actions to improve air quality at these locations. Six local authorities in West Yorkshire – Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield and York – have declared AQMAs and are implementing remedial action plans to improve air quality in their areas.
Defra introduced regulatory and guidance changes in 2015 to provide better and clearer guidance to local authorities on local air quality management to enable them to improve air quality in their areas and achieve better health and environmental outcomes.
Defra supports local authorities through the Air Quality Grant Scheme, a competitive fund they can bid into to support local action to improve air quality. Details and criteria for this year’s scheme will be available later in the year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has made to the Prime Minister on the Apprenticeships Adviser role since the current Prime Minister took office.
Robert Halfon
Please refer to the answer given by the Prime Minister to PQ 46313 on 10 October 2016. This is available at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-09-13/46313/
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many civil servants in her Department are members of trades unions; how much working hours facility time is claimed by each such civil servant; and what the cost of that facility time is to her Department.
George Eustice
The number of civil servants in the Core-Department, who are members of a trade union, is matter for the unions.
The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to the Civil Service facility on a quarterly basis. The latest data is Quarter 4, 2014 and is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to place the order for the first Type 26 frigate.
Earl Howe
The statement made on 23 November 2015 in the House of Commons by the Prime Minister on the outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (Official Report, column 1049) set out the Government’s commitment to build eight Type 26 anti-submarine warfare ships, preceded by two additional Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), as well as the intent to develop a new light frigate programme.
We have now begun detailed work to take forward the programme outlined by the Prime Minister. The impact of building the two additional OPVs on the Type 26 programme schedule, including the timing of the award of the contract to build the ships and their build schedule, will be central to this work. In due course, a revised programme will be produced and be considered through the normal investment approvals process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 2.50 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, to which claimants the announcement of an extension of job search conditionality relates.
Priti Patel
By 2020 Universal Credit (UC) will extend support to over a million more claimants than under Jobseeker’s Allowance. The majority of people in this group are not in work and currently have no employment support available. A small proportion of the group may be earning very small amounts – less than the Administrative Earnings Threshold – and will benefit from the out of work support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she plans to take to increase renewable energy generation when the renewables obligation scheme ends in 2017.
Andrea Leadsom
We have announced our intention to hold three Contract for Difference (CfD) allocation rounds during this Parliament, supporting large scale renewable projects at a far lower cost to the consumer than under the renewables obligation. Provided cost reductions are made, this could support to 10GW of new offshore wind in the 2020s.
We are considering how we can best ensure a level playing field between renewable and other generation technologies and we are listening to ideas from industry about how this can be achieved. A number of stakeholders have suggested the concept of a market stabilising CFD for pot 1 technologies and welcome thoughts on this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on developing a national measure of child development at age two to two-and-a-half as part of the public health framework; and when he expects that measure to be introduced.
Jane Ellison
The Department is leading work to develop an indicator of child development at age 2-2½ to be included in the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) from 2017. The population measure will give a national picture of child development at age 2 and will also help local areas to assess the impact of services for 0-2 year olds and inform local commissioning.
Since April 2015, the Department has asked all health visiting teams in England to use the evidence based Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3) as part of children’s health and development reviews at age 2-2½ to generate data for the indicator. The Department has worked with Health Education England to develop e-learning materials to support health professionals using ASQ-3 as part of the two year review.
From October 2015, health visiting providers were asked to report ASQ-3 scores to the Children and Young People’s Health Services dataset, which is being developed by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. The dataset is expected to publish its first report in April 2016.
Public Health England will draw on ASQ-3 data from the children’s dataset to report the PHOF outcome measure of child development at age 2-2½, reporting on a yearly basis the percentage of children with a positive outcome across all five domains of development in ASQ-3 at age 2-2½. The first reporting of the outcome measure is planned for inclusion in the PHOF in spring 2017.