The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Spencer on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information he holds on the average time taken by each Government department to respond to a request by a current or former employee for a job reference.
Matthew Hancock
This information is not held centrally. The provision of employee references is the responsibility of each departmental employer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of (a) (i) men, (ii) women and (iii) people aged 16 to 24 and (b) people aged (i) 16 to 24, (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 20, (iv) 21 to 22 and (v) 23 to 24 had been unemployed for more than 12 months on the last date for which figures are available.
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 Chris Stephens on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of the expenditure of each Government department in the last 12 months has related to the payment of trades union officials for facility time; and if he will make a statement.
Matthew Hancock
The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to Civil Service facility time on a quarterly basis. The latest data is available
at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to assure the quality of providers of the new two tier university specialist mental health mentoring provision.
Joseph Johnson
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support students, including those with mental health conditions. It is for the HEI to determine what welfare and counselling services they need to provide to their students.
In addition, Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) are available to meet the additional costs of study-related support needs, where the needs of the student cannot be met by the institution by way of a reasonable adjustment.
A new quality assurance framework is being developed for support that is funded by DSAs, so as to provide assurance on both quality and financial matters. The quality assurance framework will be in place in 2016. All support workers will be required to meet quality standards in order to be funded through DSAs. Discussions with stakeholders regarding new mechanisms for the selection of non-medical help support providers are already underway.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what public consultation has taken place with whom in preparation for the introduction of the two-quote system for university specialist mental health mentoring provision.
Joseph Johnson
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support students, including those with mental health conditions. It is for the HEI to determine what welfare and counselling services they need to provide to their students.
In addition, Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) are available to meet the additional costs of study-related support needs, where the needs of the student cannot be met by the institution by way of a reasonable adjustment.
A new quality assurance framework is being developed for support that is funded by DSAs, so as to provide assurance on both quality and financial matters. The quality assurance framework will be in place in 2016. All support workers will be required to meet quality standards in order to be funded through DSAs. Discussions with stakeholders regarding new mechanisms for the selection of non-medical help support providers are already underway.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what analysis his Department has undertaken to assess the effect of the proposed changes on the standard of support from university specialist mental health mentoring provision and the effect this could have on at-risk students.
Joseph Johnson
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support students, including those with mental health conditions. It is for the HEI to determine what welfare and counselling services they need to provide to their students.
In addition, Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) are available to meet the additional costs of study-related support needs, where the needs of the student cannot be met by the institution by way of a reasonable adjustment.
A new quality assurance framework is being developed for support that is funded by DSAs, so as to provide assurance on both quality and financial matters. The quality assurance framework will be in place in 2016. All support workers will be required to meet quality standards in order to be funded through DSAs. Discussions with stakeholders regarding new mechanisms for the selection of non-medical help support providers are already underway.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what safeguards his Department is putting in place to ensure the quality of university specialist mental health mentoring provision when the new single quote system is introduced.
Joseph Johnson
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support students, including those with mental health conditions. It is for the HEI to determine what welfare and counselling services they need to provide to their students.
In addition, Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) are available to meet the additional costs of study-related support needs, where the needs of the student cannot be met by the institution by way of a reasonable adjustment.
A new quality assurance framework is being developed for support that is funded by DSAs, so as to provide assurance on both quality and financial matters. The quality assurance framework will be in place in 2016. All support workers will be required to meet quality standards in order to be funded through DSAs. Discussions with stakeholders regarding new mechanisms for the selection of non-medical help support providers are already underway.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Government plans to hold or collect any information on the number of UK businesses operating in or contracting with the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea.
Anna Soubry
The Government does not maintain a database of UK businesses operating in or contracting with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Data on the value of trade between UK businesses and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Information on the number of UK businesses exporting goods to, and importing goods from, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are collected by HMRC. Specific information relating to individual businesses cannot be published due to legislation protecting business confidentiality and in line with statistical disclosure control.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many North Korean owned or financed businesses operate in the UK.
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 Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of government funding for translational research programmes; and if he will make a statement.
Joseph Johnson
The Government’s Productivity Plan in July set out our ambition that UK Universities will continue to increase their collaborations with industry to drive the translation and commercialisation of research and broader knowledge exchange. Universities’ external income from engagement with business and the community reached £3.93 billion in 2013-14, up by 27% from 2009-10. The World Economic Forum ranks the UK among the top four nations in the world for university-industry collaboration in R&D. The recent Research Excellence Framework 2014 has demonstrated the breadth and extent of economic impact arising from university research, with 84% of submissions assessed as outstanding or very considerable by expert and academic peer review.