Category: Speeches

Gordon Marsden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of trends in (a) take-up of workplace pensions and (b) anticipated retirement income from current workplace pension accounts.

Steve Webb

a)

Automatic enrolment is increasing the take-up of workplace pensions and will continue to do so as the reforms continue to be rolled out over the next few years. The latest figures from The Pensions Regulator show that over 3.2 million individuals have now been enrolled into a workplace pension as a result of the reforms.

In 2013, 50 per cent of all employees were a member of a pension scheme, rising from 47 per cent in 2012. This was the first increase in participation since 2006 and represented the largest rise since records began in 1997. In particular, for the largest private sector companies (those with more than 5000 employees), 51 per cent of employees were members of a workplace pension scheme, up from 36 per cent in 2012. These figures were collected in April 2013 when automatic enrolment had been running for just 6 months.

(b)

Without automatic enrolment, median private pension income was expected to fall from around £3,900 a year in 2020 to around £2,200 a year in 2050. However, with automatic enrolment the median private pension income is expected to be around £3,600 by 2050.

01/11/2022
Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, with reference to the Answer of 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 387W, on electoral register, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of gathering and holding information on the proportion of attainers who are registered to vote; and what assessment he has made of the usefulness of such information for improving the introduction of individual electoral registration.

Greg Clark

The Government has made no such estimate or assessment.

01/11/2022
Baroness Whitaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2014-04-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Nash on 27 March (WS 53–4) on primary and 16 to 18 assessment and accountability, how the progress which is to be measured will be disaggregated into ethnic groups.

Lord Nash

The detail of the new accountability measures has yet to be fully developed. However, we expect to mirror current practice and to publish information on attainment and progress by ethnic group at national and local authority level rather than at school or college level.

A new web portal, which is under development, will improve access to 16-18 performance data including the core demographic information such as ethnicity which is currently available for primary and secondary schools.

01/11/2022
Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the written statement by the Minister for Universities and Science of 7 April 2014, Official Report, columns 1-2WS, on Higher Education: student support, what revisions he plans to make to the draft statutory guidance, Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years.

Mr Edward Timpson

There has been close liaison between the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills throughout the passage of the Children and Families Act 2014. As a result, no changes will need to be made to the draft statutory guidance, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years.

01/11/2022
Lord Bradshaw – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2014-04-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 27 March (WA 141), what steps they will take to ensure that legal aid resources are spent in the most equitable way and are not concentrated on fewer high-profile defendants.

Lord Newby

In the vast majority of cases, legal aid fees are based solely on factors such as the type of alleged offence, the length of trial and the amount of paperwork involved. They are not increased just because a defendant is “high-profile”. We plan to reduce these fees in 2015, subject to consideration of a number of reviews currently taking place. In addition, a very small number of the longest cases (Very High Cost Cases) are paid based on the work required and the substance of the case. These cases account for approximately 0.1% of criminal cases, but 7.5% of the legal aid spend. The Government is committed to controlling the cost of these cases, and has recently introduced a 30% cut in fees.

01/11/2022

Stephen Pound – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Pound on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many claims for asbestos-related illnesses were made against his Department in each year since 2003.

Jenny Willott

The asbestos-related personal injury claims for which the Department is responsible are mainly historical liabilities that were assumed by the Department from various bodies, including former nationalised industries, whose liabilities transferred to the Department (as previously constituted) when those bodies ceased to exist.

Based on available data, the number of claims for the years in question are listed by category, and are as follows:

Year	National Dock Labour Board	British Shipbuilders[1]	British Shipbuilers Chester Street[2]	British Coal[3]	Others[4]
2003		645	31	11
2004		854	37	103
2005		771	15	47
2006		214	4	42
2007		119	8	42	1
2008	115[5]	126	4	36	2
2009	44	168	2		2
2010	45	133	7		3
2011	47	124	4		1
2012	45	232	3		1
2013	37	160	4		2
2014	6	33	1		2

The footnotes below provide further information on these numbers.

[1]British Shipbuilders was a separate legal entity, with BIS, as formerly constituted, as its sponsor department. British Shipbuilders was wound up in March 2013. Since then responsibility for these claims has passed to BIS.

[2]BIS is responsible for compensation claims made against former British Shipbuilders’ companies that were sold with their liabilities during privatisation, and which subsequently became insolvent, as did their insurer, Chester Street Insurance Holdings Ltd. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not compensate former employees in respect of periods of employment with nationalised industries (such as British Shipbuilders) and the Department (the then DTI) assumed liability for this compensation by way of a Minute to Parliament in 2003.

[3] BIS does not hold complete figures for asbestos claims for British Coal for calendar years 2003, 2005 and 2006. British Coal liabilities transferred to the Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) on its creation in October 2008, so no figures have been included after that date.

[4]The claims listed in the column headed “Others” are claims for which the Department is responsible as the successor to partner organisations and executive agencies which no longer exist.

[5]The figure of 115 NDLB claims for 2008 is the complete number for the years 2006 – 2008 as the figures for these years have been aggregated.

01/11/2022

Nic Dakin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 8 April 2014, Official Report, column 205W, on the London Academy of Excellence, whether the enrolment data for 2013-14 for the London Academy of Excellence is now available; and if he will publish that data.

Mr Edward Timpson

The London Academy of Excellence reported 395 pupils on roll in their Individual Learner Record return (R10) for 2013/14.

01/11/2022
Michael Thornton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Thornton on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make cancer awareness education a statutory requirement in schools.

Elizabeth Truss

Cancer awareness is important for all young people. However, I do not believe that there should be a statutory requirement for it to be taught in schools. The Government aims to reduce prescription throughout the education system, and trusts schools to provide what is best for their students. The Department for Education does not collect data on this topic.

Schools are free to teach cancer awareness when it is relevant to the national curriculum. For example, the science curriculum requires pupils to learn about the effects of drugs on their bodies, and the importance of physical activity and a healthy lifestyle is included in the requirements for physical education. In design and technology, schools may highlight the importance of nutrition and a healthy diet. Schools may include cancer awareness as part of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, using suitable resources from relevant organisations. The PSHE Association has produced a suggested programme of study as guidance for teachers, and continues to highlight other sources of expertise.

01/11/2022
Robert Syms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the global mean carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere and partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the oceans will be (a) at the outset and (b) at the end of the Navitus Bay lifetime, if the project goes ahead, (c) at the end of the Navitus Bay lifetime, if the project does not go ahead.

Gregory Barker

The Department does not undertake analysis or hold information of this nature relating to specific developments. The average load factor for offshore wind farms using five year historical data from 2008 to 2012 inclusive is 33.1%.

01/11/2022
John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-03-31.

To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, how many police officer managers have been deployed at SO17 Palace of Westminster in each of the last 10 years.

John Thurso

The average number of police officer managers, defined as Chief Superintendent, Superintendent, Chief Inspector, Inspector and Sergeant, deployed at SO17 Palace of Westminster since the start of the current contract in April 2010 is as follows:

April 2010 to March 2011: 20
April 2011 to March 2012: 21
April 2012 to March 2013: 19
April 2013 to March 2014: 21

The numbers vary from month to month so the figures above are rounded averages for the 12 month periods shown. At the start of 2013/14 there were 164 police officers and 356 security officers in SO17.

These figures are provided by SO17. Data for previous years could only be derived from manual records and are not readily available.

01/11/2022