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  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that workers report work-related stress to their employers.

    Mike Penning

    Health and safety regulations already place a duty on employers to consult with all employees over issues that may affect their health and safety, including work-related stress.

    My department will also introduce a new Health and Work Service to provide occupational health advice and support for employees, employers and GPs to help individuals with health conditions, including stress and other psychological problems, to stay in or return to work. This service will provide a more effective system for employees to report work-related stress issues.

    The service is due to begin by the end of 2014.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will commission an assessment of the causes of work-related stress.

    Mike Penning

    There is already a considerable amount of academic research – national and international – that has evidenced the primary causes of work–related stress. The Health and Safety Executive website provides details of a wide range of research commissioned over the past decade http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/research.htm

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require employers to undertake a systematic assessment of psychological risks in the workplace.

    Mike Penning

    The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 already require employers to undertake an assessment of risks to the health and safety of their employees. The Health and Safety Executive’s Management Standards for work related stress provide further practical guidance to support this legislation, and help employers to assess the risk of work-related stress. The Government believes that this represents a proportionate and sensible approach to the assessment of work-related stress and psychological risks.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will publish guidance for employers on reducing the causes of work-related stress.

    Mike Penning

    The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has already published a comprehensive range of guidance to help employers reduce the causes of work-related stress. http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/.

    Guidance on HSE’s Management Standards for work related stress is available free to download from the HSE website http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/index.htm

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Venezuela.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I remain deeply concerned about the situation in Venezuela where protests have been ongoing since early February. I am saddened by the deaths that have occurred and condemn all acts of violence.

    I welcome the meetings that have now been held between the government and opposition which are an important step towards genuine dialogue. I support the work of the commission of Foreign Ministers from the Union of South American Nations, whose role is to support and advise on dialogue, as well as the involvement of the Vatican.

    In my statement of 26 March I called for all sides to take steps to avoid confrontation, reduce tensions and create the right conditions for genuine dialogue. I have written to the Venezuelan Government emphasising the importance of respecting peaceful protest and offered the UK’s assistance in the reconciliation process.

  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has (a) discussed with and (b) received any representations from the Fire Brigades Union regarding the adoption of a firefighters’ pension scheme which would allow members to retire on the basis of length of service rather than age.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is reforming all public service pension schemes to ensure that they remain fair to workers and sustainable for taxpayers. The transitional protection arrangements for the firefighters’ pension schemes are set out in the Proposed Final Agreement which was published in May 2012. The transitional protections use age to calculate a member’s entitlement to protection. More firefighters are protected from changes than any other large public service workforce.

    There has been recent correspondence with the Fire Brigades Union on the scope and timing of discussions on this issue. Copies of this correspondence can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/firefighters-pension-scheme-reforms.

    “

  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the (a) fairness and (b) viability of reforming the firefighters’ pension scheme allow members to retire on the basis of length of service rather than age.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is reforming all public service pension schemes to ensure that they remain fair to workers and sustainable for taxpayers. The transitional protection arrangements for the firefighters’ pension schemes are set out in the Proposed Final Agreement which was published in May 2012. The transitional protections use age to calculate a member’s entitlement to protection. More firefighters are protected from changes than any other large public service workforce.

    There has been recent correspondence with the Fire Brigades Union on the scope and timing of discussions on this issue. Copies of this correspondence can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/firefighters-pension-scheme-reforms.

    “

  • Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, columns 352-3W, on asylum: children, if she will publish a breakdown by constituency of the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in each of the last 10 years.

    James Brokenshire

    Figures for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children by parliamentary constituency
    are not collected by the Home Office.

    The Home Office publishes aggregate statistics on asylum applications from
    unaccompanied asylum seeking children in tables as_08 and as_08_q (Asylum data
    tables Volume 2) of Immigration Statistics. Figures based on revised counting
    rules appear in the latest release Immigration Statistics October to December
    2013 which is available from
    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-dec
    ember-2013.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many prisoners did not have (a) Key Stage 1, (b) Key Stage 2 and (c) Key Stage 3 qualifications in (i) English and (ii) mathematics when they entered prison in each of the last five years.

    Matthew Hancock

    We do not centrally hold information on prior attainment.

    Work is under way to introduce, this summer, mandatory education assessment by the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) provider for all newly-received prisoners. This will ensure that all offenders, not just those that go on to learning, receive a learning assessment (focused around English and maths, but also covering learning difficulties and disabilities).

    Table 1 shows Offender Learner English and Maths Achievements for the 2012/13 academic year. The data are broken down by Level rather than Key Stage as this is the appropriate measure for further education qualifications.

    Table 1: Offender Learners – English and Maths Achievements by level, 2012/13

    Level

    English

    Maths

    Entry level

    5,100

    5,250

    Level 1

    3,550

    4,020

    Level 2

    1,280

    1,930

    Total

    9,300

    10,100

    Notes

    1) The data source is the Individualised Learner Record.

    2) Volumes are rounded to the nearest ten except for the Grand Totals which are rounded to the nearest hundred.

    3) Learners undertaking courses at more than one level will be counted once for each applicable level, but once only in the Total.

    4) Offender learners are defined as offenders aged 18 or over that participated in Skills Funding Agency funded learning while in the prison system. These offenders were funded via the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) budget.

    Information on Offender Learner English and maths achievements by level for 2010/11 and 2011/12 is published as a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release. Data for earlier years are not available on a comparable basis.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284253/January2013_OLASS_Participation_Achievement.xls

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-further-education-and-skills

    “

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many prisoners reached (a) Key Stage 1, (b) Key Stage 2 and (c) Key Stage 3 qualifications in (i) English and (ii) mathematics whilst in prison in each of the last five years.

    Matthew Hancock

    We do not centrally hold information on prior attainment.

    Work is under way to introduce, this summer, mandatory education assessment by the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) provider for all newly-received prisoners. This will ensure that all offenders, not just those that go on to learning, receive a learning assessment (focused around English and maths, but also covering learning difficulties and disabilities).

    Table 1 shows Offender Learner English and Maths Achievements for the 2012/13 academic year. The data are broken down by Level rather than Key Stage as this is the appropriate measure for further education qualifications.

    Table 1: Offender Learners – English and Maths Achievements by level, 2012/13

    Level

    English

    Maths

    Entry level

    5,100

    5,250

    Level 1

    3,550

    4,020

    Level 2

    1,280

    1,930

    Total

    9,300

    10,100

    Notes

    1) The data source is the Individualised Learner Record.

    2) Volumes are rounded to the nearest ten except for the Grand Totals which are rounded to the nearest hundred.

    3) Learners undertaking courses at more than one level will be counted once for each applicable level, but once only in the Total.

    4) Offender learners are defined as offenders aged 18 or over that participated in Skills Funding Agency funded learning while in the prison system. These offenders were funded via the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) budget.

    Information on Offender Learner English and maths achievements by level for 2010/11 and 2011/12 is published as a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release. Data for earlier years are not available on a comparable basis.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284253/January2013_OLASS_Participation_Achievement.xls

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-further-education-and-skills

    “