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Category: Speeches

  • Calum Kerr – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Calum Kerr – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Calum Kerr on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of UK negotiations with the EU resulting from the outcome of the referendum on the planned reorganisation of UK Science Research Councils proposed by Sir Paul Nurse.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government will continue taking forward the important legislation that was set before Parliament in the Queen’s Speech, including the Higher Education and Research Bill. This includes the formation of the new body UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Now, more than ever, we need a strong and unified voice to represent the interests of UK research and innovation across Europe and around the world which UKRI will provide.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance she has issued to police forces on initiatives to stop the illegal trading of ivory.

    Brandon Lewis

    We have not issued specific guidance to the police on tackling the illegal trading of ivory. With the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, we fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit which provides intelligence and specialist assistance to assist all police forces in the United Kingdom to deal effectively with wildlife crime investigation, including cases that involve the illegal trading of ivory.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether children from low socioeconomic status backgrounds with lower 11-plus test scores are more or less likely to be offered grammar school places than children from higher socioeconomic status backgrounds; and what steps they are taking to achieve equality of opportunity in education.

    Lord Nash

    The Department does not collect data on the selection test scores of prospective applicants to grammar schools.

    We are committed to ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. The recent report by the Public Accounts Committee on ‘Funding for disadvantaged pupils’ stated that, since the introduction of the pupil premium, the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has closed by 4.7 percentage points in primary schools and by 1.6 percentage points in secondary schools.

    We continue to invest in our academies and free schools programme, which is already raising standards in areas serving some of our most disadvantaged young people.

    We are also putting high expectations at the heart of our school system, with a rigorous new curriculum, world-class exams, and a new accountability system that rewards schools that encourage every child to achieve their best.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what qualifications are required of case managers employed by the Fit for Work service.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Fit for Work is delivered by health professionals who have an occupational health qualification; occupational health experience; or are able to demonstrate experience and skills appropriate to working in an occupational health context. Health professionals must be registered with the relevant regulatory and/or professional body on the appropriate part(s) of its registers. Fit for Work has an accredited Specialist in Occupational Medicine to provide clinical supervision of the service and provides appropriate supervision from more experienced professionals from whom they can seek advice.

  • Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many employees working on the Trident submarine are paid (a) the National Minimum Wage, (b) above £26,500 and (c) above £40,000.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria are being employed to determine the accountability of elected metropolitan mayors that have been agreed as part of devolution deals.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Mayors that have been agreed as part of devolution deals will provide accountable, visible and transparent leadership for their local area. They will be directly elected and accountable through the ballot box. Additionally, they will be held to account by the combined authority, who will be able to reject or amend their spending plans and strategies. Their decisions and actions will also be examined by an overview and scrutiny committee and an audit committee, that must be established following the commencement of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016. These committees will be able to ‘call-in’ decisions and ask that they be reviewed, they can also demand the mayor to answer questions before them, and these hearings will be open to the public, who will have the legal right to film, blog, tweet or use any other type of social media.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans there are to sell property of the British Transport Police.

    Claire Perry

    The British Transport Police does not own any of its properties, hence it has no plans to sell any of them.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department has a policy on the payment of homecare workers for travel time.

    Nick Boles

    The Government is clear that anyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) should receive the NMW/NLW. The same rules apply on the payment of travel time for homecare workers as all other sectors in the economy.

    Time spent travelling directly between assignments generally counts as time worked for NMW/NLW purposes. Whether a worker is entitled to the NMW/NLW for other periods – such as the time spent travelling between home and their first assignment and between their last assignment and home – depends on the terms of their contract and whether they are working during that time. Where the travelling time is time for which the NMW/NLW should be paid, any associated expenditure incurred by a worker in respect of that travel must be reimbursed.

    In September 2015 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in the case Federación de Servicios that journeys made by workers without a fixed or habitual place of work between their homes and the first and last customer of the day constitute working time. However, this ruling does not require the travel time to be paid, and it is for Member States to determine whether this time should be paid. The National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 state that travel time to and from the home to a place of work or a place where an assignment is carried out is not treated as time or salaried hours work.

    The rules on travel time are set out in full on page 31 of the ‘Calculating the minimum wage’ document:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/514897/BIS-16-144-nmw-calculating-the-national-minimum-wage.pdf

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  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria was used to select the prisons to take part in the planned pilot scheme on further autonomy for prison governors.

    Andrew Selous

    The six Reform Prisons have been carefully selected. Each of the prisons are different, which means the National Offender Management Service can test different models, in different locations, with different populations and different local circumstances.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contract staff are employed in his Department; and what the total wage bill (a) is in 2016-17 and (b) was in 2015-16 for such staff.

    Matthew Hancock

    The number of Cabinet Office non payroll staff (excluding contractors) as of May 2016, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/payroll-costs-and-non-consolidated-pay-data

    The overall total spend on agency and temporary staff in FY 2015/16 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016

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