The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the average hourly earnings of (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of his Department were in each of the last five years.
David Mundell
The Scotland Office is not an employer in its own right and is subject to other Government departments policies for pay purposes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 26826, what the job titles are of those people in receipt of travel expenses, car allowance or subsidised health insurance.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department cannot provide the job titles of those people in receipt of travel expenses, car allowances or subsidised health insurance as this would lead to the individuals being identified.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost to the public purse has been of establishing the Sustainability and Transformation Plan Footprints Leadership Teams.
George Freeman
The Department does not hold this information centrally.
However, as far as NHS England is aware, in the overwhelming majority of cases, leaders are not being paid over and above the remuneration they receive for their existing roles. Many Sustainability and Transformation Plans are supported by local programme teams which are funded by the constituent local organisations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the proposals in his Department’s White Paper, A BBC for the future, published in May 2016, if he will take steps to ensure that employees earning above £450,000 will not be able to be exempted from the requirement to publish their name by using personal service companies or similar structures.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Our White Paper, ‘A BBC for the Future’, makes it clear that we want to ensure that the BBC is transparent and efficient in how it spends its funding. As set out in its annual report, the BBC reviewed the use of Personal Service Companies as a means of engaging presenters and contributors in 2012. It continues to apply an employment test, discussed with HM Revenue & Customs, to all workers to ensure they have the appropriate employment status.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to incentivise road haulage businesses to purchase vehicles with (a) lower driving positions, (b) observation cameras, (c) glass doors and (d) other advanced safety measures.
Andrew Jones
A number of lorry manufacturers produce models with lower cabs, glass doors and other safety equipment such as cameras and their use is increasingly common on UK roads.
Transport for London’s Freight Operator Recognition Scheme and Construction Logistics Cyclist Safety scheme encourage the use of safer vehicle designs and equipment for vehicles operating in London. Compliance with such a scheme can be a contractual requirement, including for some major public sector transport projects, such as Crossrail.
We support the aims of such schemes in improving road safety.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many detainees were threatened with the Kingfisher Isolation Unit as a result of peaceful protest activities in conjunction with the demonstration outside Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre on 10 September 2016.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Kingfisher Unit at Yarl’s Wood is managed by Serco, the service provider, in accordance with Rules 40 (removal from association) and 42 (temporary confinement) of the Detention Centre Rules 2001. Detainees may only be separated from others for reasons of safety, either their own or for others, for security reasons or when an individual is being refractory or violent. There is no provision in the Rules for separation to be used as punishment.
Provisional management information from Serco shows that no detainees were re-located to Kingfisher Unit on either 10 or 11 September. There is no record of any complaints having been made by detainees alleging that they have been threatened with placement on Kingfisher Unit in connection with the demonstration on 10 September.
Detainee Custody Officers must not threaten detainees in order to manage their behaviour but may advise detainees that they may be separated if their behaviour is judged to risk compromising the safety and security of the centre, themselves or others.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will promote the development of a pharmacist-led common ailments service to reduce winter pressures on A&E departments and GP practices.
Alistair Burt
Minor ailment schemes are commissioned locally by NHS England and clinical commissioning groups in many parts of England to meet local need. As part of its urgent and emergency care strategy, NHS England has run campaigns for the last two winters to encourage wider use of community pharmacies to treat coughs and colds. This year’s campaign Stay Well This Winter, launched on 2 November, directs people to their local pharmacy to seek advice on common ailments and advises people who feel unwell to get help from their pharmacy team quickly before it gets more serious.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse was of the negotiations on the Northern rail franchise agreement.
Andrew Jones
The costs of the project to procure the Northern rail franchise, to the end of November 2015, were £8.0M. Forecast costs to project completion, including project mobilisation, are expected to add a further £0.6M to this, making an estimated total of £8.6M by the end of the project. These figures include adviser costs (financial, technical and legal advisers), pay costs for the project team, “non-pay” costs (such as staff training, travel, bidder day seminar, publicity, etc) and VAT where applicable.
The costs of procuring this franchise however need to be set against the context of a deal whereby the amount of annual subsidy will be reduced by £140million by the end of this 9-year contract. In addition, unlike the last Northern franchise in 2004 which included limited plans to invest in services or meet demand, this new franchise will deliver more than 2,000 extra services each week, nearly a 40% increase in capacity and the complete removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacers by the end of 2019.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the legal responsibilities of those parents who choose to teach their children at home.
Lord Nash
Parents of a child of compulsory school age must comply with the duty in section 7 of the Education Act 1996 to cause the child to receive efficient full-time education suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs the child may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. They can meet this duty by electing to educate at home, which is referred to in the Act as education ‘otherwise than at school’.
Local authorities do not have a general responsibility to monitor the education provided by parents, for the purposes of ensuring that parents are meeting their responsibilities. An authority has a duty under s.436A of the Education Act 1996 to make arrangements to establish the identities of children who are not receiving a suitable education. However, the fact that a child is educated at home does not necessarily mean that the child is not receiving a suitable education.
Should it appear that the child is not receiving suitable education, the local authority has a duty under s.437(1) of the Education Act 1996 to serve a notice requiring the parent to satisfy the authority that the child is indeed receiving a suitable education. If the parent is unable to satisfy the authority, and the authority considers it expedient for the child to attend school, then the local authority must issue a school attendance order.
These matters are set out in guidance issued by the Department for Education to local authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what methodology his Department used to determine that the proposed Sheffield station should be at Meadowhall and not Victoria; and whether that methodology has been independently verified.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Analysis of the Sheffield City Region station options was published in the ‘Engineering options report; West Midlands to Leeds’ dated March 2012. This included analysis of several station sites around the city centre.
The current estimated difference in cost between locating a High Speed station at Victoria and Meadowhall is £680m. Previous work on the cost of options at Victoria and other city centre sites are not comparable to the current estimate given above. With regards to the Meadowhall station, following the 2013 public consultation, no significant changes have been made to the original station design therefore there have not been any changes in cost.
When recommending a station location HS2 Ltd. uses a number of criteria, including;
Potential options were sifted by HS2 Ltd. according to these criteria. To support and challenge this approach, external stakeholders and advisors from the Department’s Project Representative Team were involved in reviewing the process and outcomes where appropriate. Further information about the appraisal process can be found in the 2012 ‘Options for phase two of the high speed rail network’ report and 2013 ‘Appraisal of Sustainability’ report. Both of these documents are available on the government website.
Analysis undertaken by HS2 shows that the introduction of the Sheffield Meadowhall HS2 station could support up to 5,400 jobs and up to 300 residential units, while a HS2 station at Victoria could support an estimated 9,000 jobs and 900 housing units.
Finally, I can confirm that Department for Transport officials have received a copy of Sheffield City Region’s study into connectivity for a city centre High Speed 2 station at Victoria which Network Rail was involved in.