Blog

  • Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs lost in the steel industry in 2015 to date; what estimate it has made of how many jobs in that industry will be lost in 2016; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of Government support packages to help people who have lost or are likely to lose their jobs in that industry.

    Anna Soubry

    Statistics from the Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau show that between 1997 to 2010, 16,300 jobs were lost in the UK steel industry.

    These statistics also show in the last parliament, UK steel jobs remained stable at 18,900.

    In 2015, 2,100 direct jobs were lost as a result of the closure of the SSI plant at Redcar on 12th October 2015. On 30th October 2015, 452 immediate redundancies were announced by the Caparo Group. In addition since 16th July Tata Steel has announced proposals for up to 1,920 job losses across its Long Products and Speciality and Bar businesses subject to consultation and business review.

    We have not made any estimate of how many jobs will be lost in the steel industry in 2016.

    The Government is committed to supporting those made redundant move quickly into new jobs, for example through Jobcentre Plus’ Rapid Response Service. In addition, in view of the exceptional circumstances surrounding SSI’s closure in Redcar, Government announced a support package, worth up to £80 million, to help those affected and invest in the future of the Tees Valley more broadly. We have also committed up to £9m, jointly with Tata, to support Scunthorpe steel workers and the local economy. In both cases, we are working closely with local Task Forces to deliver support that will have the greatest long-term impact.

  • Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the change in the number of jobs in the energy efficiency, solar and low-carbon heating industries during 2015 to date; what estimate it has made of the equivalent change in 2016; and what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse will be of support packages provided by the Government to people who have lost or will lose their jobs in those industries.

    Andrea Leadsom

    In March 2015, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published a report on ‘The size and performance of the UK low carbon economy’ which contains estimates for the number of jobs supported by various low carbon sectors. The latest data is for 2013 and suggests that in the UK there were 54,400 directly employed in the energy efficiency products sector, 20,300 directly employed in the solar photovoltaic sector and 19,300 directly employed in the low carbon heating sector (excluding use of biomass). Further employment occurs in the supply chains to these sectors.

    Information is not available to robustly estimate the potential cost to the public purse of the changes. However a Government consultation has been run on the changes to the financial support for solar PV within the Renewable Obligationfrom 22 July to2 September and a consultation on the feed-in tariff review from 27 August to 23 October. We welcomed evidence from the sector during these consultations and we will respond in due course. The government is committed to reducing emissions from heating and improving energy efficiency, including a goal to install one million more energy efficiency measures before the end of this Parliament.

    Figures quoted above have been rounded to the nearest hundred. The full report and data can be found at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/low-carbon-economy-size-and-performance.

    “

  • Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs in the (a) steel industry and (b) energy efficiency, solar and low-carbon heating industries at the most recent date for which figures are available.

    Anna Soubry

    The ONS Business Registers and Employment Survey provides figures for the number of jobs in manufacture of primary iron and steel in 2014, the latest year for which official figures are available.

    In March 2015 the Government published a report on ‘The size and performance of the UK low carbon economy’ which contains estimates for the number of jobs supported by various low carbon sectors. The estimates can be found on the ONS and GOV.UK websites.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from The Law Officers’ Departments in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

    Robert Buckland

    All of the Law Officers’ Departments exercise appropriate controls over the purchasing and issue of stationery to mitigate against any potential for material loss or theft. However no central records are held of stationery items that may have been lost or stolen and it is therefore not possible to make any estimates without incurring a disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Quirk – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Quirk – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and if so in what specific ways, they are sponsoring or encouraging research in forensic linguistics with a view to extending its use in the criminal justice system and the immigration services.

    Lord Bates

    A forensic linguistic process, known as “language analysis”, has been used by the Home Office for immigration purposes for over ten years. The capability is provided by two private suppliers, who were contracted following a competitive tender in 2014.

    Language analysis is used to assist in identifying an individual’s true place of origin where it is in doubt, and to deter individuals from making fraudulent asylum claims based on false claims of origin for actual or perceived benefit. It is just one of the tools employed to help confirm an individual’s nationality.

  • Lord Quirk – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Quirk – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bates, Lord Faulks, and Lord Bridges of Headley on 21 September (HL2010, HL2011, HL2014), to what extent they are examining the potential use of Automatic Speaker Verification in respect of the detection of fraudulent telephone access to government services.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The government currently has no plans to introduceAutomatic Speaker Verification in respect of the detection of fraudulent telephone access to government services.

  • 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.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    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 the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Report Is Britain fairer?, particularly with regard to the employment and earnings prospects of young people aged 16 to 24.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is an independent body, and its report “Is Britain Fairer?” covers a five-year period spanning the Labour and Coalition governments. We welcome the positive areas of progress and note the key challenges to which it refers. The information in the report will be used by the EHRC to help develop its next strategic plan, covering the period 2016-19.

    Giving young people the skills that businesses need is important. That is why our work to ensure 3 million apprenticeship starts in England over this Parliament is crucial.

    According to London Economics, the lifetime benefits associated with the acquisition of Apprenticeships at Level 2 and 3 are very significant, standing at between £48,000 and £74,000 for Level 2 and between £77,000 and £117,000 for Level 3 Apprenticeships.

    The latest data shows that 89% of apprentices are satisfied with their apprenticeship; 85% of apprentices said their ability to do the job had improved, and 83% of apprentices said their career prospects had improved.

  • The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 23 July (HL1538), whether workplace exposure limits apply legally to passengers as well as crew; and what evidence they have that damage to a foetus cannot occur from a single exposure at those limits.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Air passengers, and by extrapolation an unborn child, are within the scope of workplace exposure limits, which take into account susceptible groups and therefore would protect pregnant women.

    No specific evidence was collected during the studies regarding damage occurring to a foetus from a single exposure at workplace exposure limits.

  • The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 8 July (HL831), how many of the recorded fume or smell events during the 100 flights referred to in that answer were reported to the Civil Aviation Authority under the mandatory reporting scheme.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    No fume event occurred during this study (Aircraft Cabin Air Sampling Study, Cranfield University, 2011) which triggered the airline’s formal reporting procedures to the Civil Aviation Authority.