Category: Speeches

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people are registered as self-employed in each region and constituent part of the UK.

    Mr David Gauke

    Estimates of the numbers of individuals with self employment sources for each region of the UK in the year 2011-12 are provided in the table attached.

    Region

    Number of Self-employed
    (thousands)

    North East

    158

    North West and Merseyside

    497

    Yorkshire and the Humber

    402

    East Midlands

    352

    West Midlands

    418

    East of England

    556

    London

    883

    South East

    844

    South West

    559

    Wales

    240

    Scotland

    368

    Northern Ireland

    177

    Address abroad

    34

    All UK

    5,490

    These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes for 2011-12 which is the latest year available.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when the Higher Education Funding Council for England plans to commence its annual monitoring exercise to collect information about the ongoing financial sustainability, quality of provision and changes to management and governance arrangements at alternative learning providers; and when that body plans to publish such information.

    Mr David Willetts

    The Department will publish guidance on the annual monitoring process and associated timetable in July 2014.

  • Ian Swales – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Ian Swales – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Swales on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much his Department has spent on redundancy payments for special advisers since May 2010.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government publishes annual statements on special adviser numbers and paybill costs, including severance pay. Information for each financial year going back to 2010/11 is available at the following links:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs-october-2013

    “

  • Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to resolve unresolved cases of the mis-selling of mortgage endowment policies.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government has not made an estimate of the number of unresolved cases of mis-selling of mortgage endowment policies.

    If a borrower feels the risks were not explained properly to them when they took out an endowment mortgage, in the first instance they should complain to the company through which they bought the product. Customers who then feel that their complaint has not been dealt with satisfactorily are able to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) – an independent body set up to provide arbitration in such cases, which is free for consumers to use.

  • Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, page 30, if he will provide a breakdown of the extra £70 million in costs that will be borne by his Department for the decision to revert to a hosting environment provided by Capita as part of the Recruiting Partnering Project.

    Anna Soubry

    My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Philip Hammond) set out on 14 January 2014 (Official Report, column 716) the cost of Capita providing a new Information Technology platform as part of the Recruiting Partnering Project. At the time, these costs were expected to be around £47.7 million directly linked to the change of hosting provision. Since this statement, the £47.7 million has reduced to £42.9 million.

    As previously stated by the Secretary of State on 14 January, there has been an additional cost of around £1 million per month to run the Capita system. This includes costs for additional manpower.

    The Recruiting Partnering Project remains within the overall agreed cost of £1.360 billion.

  • Caroline Dinenage – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Caroline Dinenage – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Dinenage on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that RAF medics are placed on the same pay band as their equivalents in the Army and Navy.

    Anna Soubry

    The RAF medic trade is currently undergoing a job review which will inform future pay arrangements. We expect this to be completed by summer 2014. In parallel, the Department is considering the introduction of a new pay structure across all other rank trades, including RAF medics and the closest equivalent trades in the Royal Navy and Army, as part of the Department’s New Employment Model programme. If approved the new structure would be introduced no earlier than April 2016.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many recruits are expected to commence Phase 1 training at AFC Harrogate in financial year 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    The number of recruits programmed to start training at AFC Harrogate and ITC Catterick in financial year 2014-15 is shown in the table.

    Establishment

    2014-15

    AFC Harrogate

    1,450

    ITC Catterick

    2,750

    Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in ‘5′ are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

  • Nick Gibb – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nick Gibb – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Gibb on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria Ofsted uses when inspecting academies that do not follow the National Curriculum in Key Stage 3 and do not use National Curriculum levels; and how Ofsted judges pupil progress in these circumstances.

    Mr David Laws

    This question is a matter for Ofsted. I have asked Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, to write to the hon. Member. A copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.

  • Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne McIntosh on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations he has received on funding sixth forms in rural schools.

    Mr David Laws

    The Department for Education has received three letters recently on funding sixth forms in rural schools. We recognise the importance of rural schools, many of which are small schools, and the need to maintain access to a local school in rural areas. Often these schools are at the heart of their community.

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the (a) highest bonus, (b) number of bonuses and (c) average bonus is that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority plans to pay to employees in 2014.

    Michael Fallon

    No decisions have been taken yet on bonus payments for 2014. Bonus payments will be based on a review by the NDA’s Remuneration Committee of performance against targets across the year, with input from internal and external auditors, and from the Chief Executive. This process will not conclude until June The outcome will be reported in the NDA’s annual report and accounts.