The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, in which years from 1984 to 2010 was there a reduction in the number of workless households.
Mr Nick Hurd
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 Nicholas Soames on 2014-04-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the population in (a) 2025 and (b) 2050 of those built-up areas showing a population of 100,000 or more in the 2011 census.
Mr Nick Hurd
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 Caroline Lucas on 2014-04-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to require companies running public services to become more transparent about their performance and financial data and be subject to Freedom of Information legislation; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Francis Maude
The Public Accounts Committee report “Contracting out public services to the private sector”, published on 14 March 2014, covered both of these issues.
The Government is currently preparing its response, which will be published in due course.
The report can be found at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmpubacc/777/77702.htm
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-04-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish copies of the correspondence sent by his Department to other government departments requesting that they review the check-off system for union subscriptions.
Mr Francis Maude
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland on 3 March 2014 (Official Report) Column Ref: 663W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the aggregate household debt in the UK was in the most recent quarter for which figures are available.
Mr Nick Hurd
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 Caroline Lucas on 2014-04-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to ensure that public sector, in-house, social enterprise and not-for-profit provision are given full consideration before public services are contracted out to the private sector; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Francis Maude
The Government believes that public service commissioners should consider all options when tendering contracts, securingbest quality service for users at the best value for taxpayers. This includes social enterprises, not-for-profit organisations and public sector mutuals.
We have provided support through the £10 million Mutuals Support Programme, another £10 million through the Investment and Contract Readiness Fund, and also established a programme of ‘commercial masterclasses’ on the skills needed to win public sector contracts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Spelman on 2014-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to address the barriers to remanufacturing identified in the All-Party Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group’s recent report on remanufacturing.
Michael Fallon
The Government welcomes the broad thrust of the All-Party Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group’s recent report Remanufacturing: Towards a resource efficient economy. It recognises the important role that remanufacturing has in supporting the long-term sustainability of the UK economy, encouraging resource resilience whilst boosting business opportunities and skilled employment.
BIS is working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and across Whitehall on a number of areas touched on by the report; such as the regulatory regime that governs waste, where work is already in progress to ensure that it encourages greater re-use of materials in existing and developing manufacturing processes.
We will use the report to inform a number of areas of policy that impact on sustainability and remanufacturing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to page 201 of HM Treasury’s Central Government Supply Estimates 2013-14, Supplementary Estimates and New Estimates, February 2014, HC 1006, what factors led to the need for the revised forecast that gave rise to the reserve claim of £5.455 billion for non-cash relating to revised forecasts for student loans; for what reasons this was unforeseen in his Department’s main estimate for 2013-14; and what steps he plans to take to avoid the need for such a supplementary estimate in the future.
Mr David Willetts
The Supplementary Estimates claim covered additional impairment of up to £3.2 billion resulting from improvements made to the student loans repayment model. Significant changes were made to the model after Main Estimates 2013-14 which enabled the Department to make better use of historical earnings data, which in turn produced greater accuracy in modelling borrowers’ earnings paths. These changes, in addition to greater use of Student Loan Company data to support the model, have enabled us to address the historic over-forecasting of repayments.
The claim also included a contingency of £1.4 billion for any change to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) economic forecasts between December 2013 and March 2014. If unusually low interest rates were forecast to continue for longer than expected, this would result in a cost to Government as future cash flows would be lower. Any changes to forecasts of earnings growth and RPI would also mean that lower loan repayments would be likely in future years The Department will continue to take account the possibility that the OBR will change its forecasts in March of future years.
Non-cash pressures of £0.4 billion from higher than forecast growth in the take-up of loans and pre-agreed claims of £0.7 billion for higher impairment charges identified at SR13 were also included.
The Department will continue to update its modelling of student loan repayments in the light of the latest data and forecasts, and methodological innovation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps he has taken to support elderly first-time entrepreneurs.
Matthew Hancock
People of all ages and experiences are setting up and growing businesses all the time. We continue to work hard to provide the right support to make life easier for them all.
www.gov.uk is the home for Government services and information online. One of the tools available is the ‘Business Finance and Support Finder;’ a source of government backed support and finance for business. The website www.greatbusiness.gov.uk also provides support and advice for anyone trying to grow a business as well as for entrepreneurs starting out.
In addition to on-line support, the Business Support Helpline is available to provide a quick response on queries about starting a business, or a personalised and in-depth advice service for more complex needs. For those looking for start-up finance and advice there are Start-Up Loans: 7 loans worth a total of £37,000 have been drawn down in Windsor since the scheme began in 2012.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2014-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco products on the work of Trading Standards’ officers in combating the trade in illicit tobacco.
Jane Ellison
In the Department’s 2012 Consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products, consultation questions were asked about illicit tobacco. A consultation-stage impact assessment was also published with the consultation.
Sir Cyril Chantler included a chapter on illicit tobacco in his report on standardised packaging of tobacco and concluded that, ‘I am not convinced by the tobacco industry’s argument that standardised packaging would increase the illicit market, especially in counterfeit cigarettes.’
The Government will be holding a final, short consultation in which Ministers will ask, in particular, for views on anything new since the last full public consultation that is relevant to the development of this policy, including in relation to illicit tobacco. A further consultation stage impact assessment will be published alongside this.