The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hepburn on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have been employed on a zero-hours contract in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 2008.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-01-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the sale of illegally-produced alcohol in shops.
Damian Hinds
The Government is committed to tackling alcohol fraud. Alcohol producers have to be licensed or gain approval by HMRC to operate. Illegal production is off-record and often involves the counterfeiting of established alcohol brands; chiefly spirits.
Detections of illegally produced alcohol in shops are low. However, because of the potentially serious health consequences of consumption, vigilance by enforcement agencies and the public is crucial.
HMRC responds robustly to all discoveries of illegal production of alcohol and works collaboratively with other enforcement agencies such as Local Authority Trading Standards and the Police, to tackle the sale of counterfeit alcohol. As well as exchanging intelligence, HMRC and Trading Standards Officers take part in joint exercises targeting retailers in specific regions to detect illegal products. Agencies working together can bring a broader range of sanctions and penalties against those who chose to flout the laws.
Sales of alcohol that are suspected to be illegally produced, counterfeit or untaxed can be reported to HMRC by using hotline number 0800 595 000, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the letter from Lord Livingston of Parkhead to the Chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee of 3 July 2014, Deposited Paper DEP2015-0877, what progress HM Revenue and Customs has made establishing a cross departmental working group to take forward the modelling of the tax implications of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Anna Soubry
HM Revenue and Customs has been in discussion with HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to determine the parameters, principles and feasibility of a tax model. HMRC has also consulted with international organisations to consider best practice in this area. Further meetings are planned following the next round of negotiations when we expect some of the parameters for the model will become clearer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-01-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps in the business rates review to make specific provision for the retail industry.
Mr David Gauke
The Government is considering the impact of business rates on all business sectors including energy intensive industries, manufacturing industries and the retail industry as part of the business rates review. The review will be fiscally neutral and will report at Budget 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-01-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps in the business rates review to make specific provision for manufacturing industries.
Mr David Gauke
The Government is considering the impact of business rates on all business sectors including energy intensive industries, manufacturing industries and the retail industry as part of the business rates review. The review will be fiscally neutral and will report at Budget 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-01-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps in the business rates review to make specific provision for energy intensive industries.
Mr David Gauke
The Government is considering the impact of business rates on all business sectors including energy intensive industries, manufacturing industries and the retail industry as part of the business rates review. The review will be fiscally neutral and will report at Budget 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 3.22 of English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the planned 17,000 NHS apprenticeship starts which will be taken up by apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities.
Nick Boles
The NHS has committed to creating 100,000 apprenticeships by 2020, offering opportunities to thousands of people who wish to pursue a career in the health sector. This is part of a wider, cross-government commitment to reaching three million apprenticeship starts in England across all sectors in 2020.
Apprenticeships are full time jobs with training. We do not interfere in employers’ recruitment decisions or set specific quotas for the number of apprenticeships to be taken up by people with special educational needs or disabilities. All employers must fulfil their duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010 for apprentices as they would for other employees. We believe that the overwhelming majority of young people with special educational needs or disabilities are capable of sustainable, paid employment with the right preparation and support. For many, apprenticeships are the best route into paid employment. To support this, people aged 16 and over can apply for Access to Work funding for adjustments to the workplace. In addition, reasonable adjustments are available for any qualifications within apprenticeships to ensure the apprentice has every opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 3.28 of English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, what information his Department holds on the proportion of planned apprenticeships provided by the five per cent club which are expected to be taken up by apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities.
Nick Boles
The Five Per Cent Club has been developed and is run by businesses themselves who commit to making a public declaration to achieve five per cent of their company’s overall UK headcount being an apprentice, a sponsored student or on a graduate programme. We do not hold any information on the proportion of planned apprenticeships provided by employers in the Five Per Cent Club which are expected to be taken up by apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities.
Thousands of disabled people have benefitted from apprenticeships. Of the 499,900 starting an apprenticeship in the 2014/15 academic year, 44,090 of those declared a disability or learning difficulty (LDD).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 3.22 of English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the planned 30,000 transport-related apprenticeships which will be taken up by apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities.
Nick Boles
Apprenticeships are full time jobs with training. We do not interfere in employers’ recruitment decisions or set specific quotas for the number of apprenticeships to be taken up by people with special educational needs or disabilities.
All employers must fulfil their duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010 for apprentices as they would for other employees. We believe that the overwhelming majority of young people with special educational needs and disabilities are capable of sustainable, paid employment with the right preparation and support. For many, apprenticeships are the best route into paid employment. To support this, people aged 16 and over can apply for Access to Work funding for adjustments to the workplace. In addition, reasonable adjustments are available for any qualifications within apprenticeships to ensure the apprentice has every opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 3.22 of English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, how many apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities have not completed their transport-related apprenticeship placements.
Nick Boles
The table below shows this information for apprenticeship frameworks that are related to the transport Industry.
Table 1: Apprenticeship success rates for learners with a learning difficulty or disability on frameworks related to the transport industry (2013/14)
|
Frameworks |
Overall Success Rate |
|
Aviation Operations on the Ground |
85.7% |
|
Driving Goods Vehicles |
70.7% |
|
Rail Transport Engineering |
81.0% |
|
Road Passenger Transport – Bus and Coach |
81.0% |
|
Transport Engineering and Maintenance |
96.2% |
|
Vehicle Body and Paint Operations |
58.3% |
|
Vehicle Fitting |
68.8% |
|
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair |
67.0% |
|
Vehicle Parts Operations |
72.2% |
Notes
1) Frameworks with fewer than 20 leavers are excluded.
2) Figures for learning difficulties or disabilities are based on self-declaration by the learner
The Department does not collect the information required to estimate 5 per cent club or NHS apprenticeship success rates.