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  • Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of a fundraising preference service on the work of the charity sector.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The Fundraising Preference Service, recommended by the Etherington reviewinto fundraising, will re-balancepower back to individuals and help them to press the ‘reset’ button on their relationship with fundraisers, giving them control over the fundraisingcommunications they receive from charities. It will stop people being inundated withrequests which they do not wish to receive and it will stop charities wasting resources oncommunicating with people that do not wish to hear from them. It also seeks to underwritepublic trust and confidence in charities which is vital to the sector’s work.

    A working group involving charities is being established to develop the detailed plans for theimplementation of the service.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) the amount of any underspend expected against departmental expenditure limits in the current fiscal year and (b) his Department’s latest forecast of total annually managed expenditure spend for this year is; and what the forecasts were for those sums at the time of the Summer Budget 2015 and March Budget 2015.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Cabinet Office is not forecasting any underspend against departmental expenditure limits in the current fiscal year. There was no underspend forecast at the time of the Summer Budget 2015 or the March Budget 2015 either.

    The Department’s latest forecast of total annually managed expenditure is £5 million, in line with the budget for 2015-16.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will issue a response to the Federation of Small Businesses report, entitled Reassured, optimised, transformed: driving digital small business, published in September 2015.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, and Anna Soubry, the Small Firms Minister, participated in roundtable discussions on September 10th when the report was launched. We do not propose to formally respond to the FSB report.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the apprenticeship levy on existing professional training and digital skills initiatives provided by the digital technology industry.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The digital sector contributes more than 7 per cent to the UK economy – it is one of our most innovative sectors, and needs a strong skills base to continue to grow and succeed. That is why this Government has implemented the new apprenticeship levy, and is consulting digital and technology employers to have a better understanding of their specific skills needs and assess the likely impacts of the levy on existing professional training programmes and initiatives.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether businesses will be permitted to allocate their apprenticeship-levied funds to small and medium-sized enterprises and other business in their supply chain; and if he will make a statement.

    Nick Boles

    My Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will announce further details of the apprenticeship levy at the Spending Review, including the scope and rate of the levy.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the current provision of skills required by the digital economy; and what steps he is taking to ensure that training delivered under the apprenticeship levy is geared towards high-value high-skilled jobs.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The digital sector contributes more than 7 per cent to the UK economy – it is one of our most innovative sectors, and needs a strong skills base to continue to grow and succeed. That is why this Government has implemented the new apprenticeship levy, and is consulting digital and technology employers to have a better understanding of their specific skills needs and assess the likely impacts of the levy on existing professional training programmes and initiatives.

  • Richard  Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress has been made towards a resolution of the Scottish Power cashback mis-selling dispute since his meeting in July 2015 with the CEO of the Insolvency Service.

    Sajid Javid

    I have asked my officials to seek an update from Scottish Power on what steps they are taking in this matter.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Valerie Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing statutory regulations of the funeral industry.

    Nick Boles

    The Department has not made an assessment regarding this issue.

  • Fiona Mactaggart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Fiona Mactaggart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Mactaggart on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will conduct a peer review into the death of Alan McCardle in Slough.

    Priti Patel

    The department is unable to comment on individual cases.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page three of the document Universal Credit: increasing the childcare offer, published by his Department in December 2014, whether his Department remains on course to introduce childcare support into universal credit at 85 per cent of costs in April 2016.

    Priti Patel

    Yes, this change will be made as planned in April 2016. The Universal Credit and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2015 include the legislative change which will bring this into force.