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  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the National Living Wage on the level of child poverty in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire.

    Nick Boles

    The Government has made no such assessment.

    The Government is committed to working to eliminate child poverty and improving life chances for children. This includes making work pay, in which the National Living Wage has an important part to play, and also through our wider reforms to support parents to move into work, increase their earnings, and keep more of what they earn.

    The National Living Wage will benefit over 1 million low paid workers this year and 2.9 million directly by 2020. The introduction of the National Living Wage will mean that a full-time worker aged 25 or over previously on the National Minimum Wage will see their annual earnings increase by £910.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Lifetime ISA will be included in assessments of savings under universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    Further details about how the Lifetime ISA will work will be announced in the autumn. Following this the Government will confirm how it will be treated for Universal Credit purposes.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the enforcement of age discrimination legislation in respect of people seeking employment.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Age is a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010. Where differential treatment because of age cannot be objectively justified, this will constitute unlawful age discrimination both in employment and in the provision of goods and services. Enforcement of the Act’s employment provisions is undertaken by Employment Tribunals, to which a person must make a claim if they feel that they have been discriminated against because of age.

    Prior to an Employment Tribunal claim, conciliation services are provided by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Services (Acas). According to the Employment tribunal statistics, 1,087 age discrimination claims were made to Employment Tribunals in 2014/15. 70% (761) of these claims were either withdrawn or successfully conciliated by Acas without the need for a full hearing. The Acas process is intended to enable employers and employees to resolve disputes without the need for a full Employment Tribunal hearing.

    The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s enforcement powers under the Equality Act 2006 apply to age discrimination as they do to other protected characteristics.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential economic benefits to the Calder Valley of accelerating the upgrade of the M62 to a four-lane smart motorway between junctions 20 and 25.

    Andrew Jones

    The recent Budget announced that funding had been brought forward to enable Highways England to accelerate the smart motorway investment for the M62 Junction 10 to 12 scheme by two years, and to accelerate delivery of the M62 Junction 20 to 25 smart motorway.

    Design development work on these schemes is at the very earliest stage, and as such the analysis of the full economic potential of this investment is still being developed as part of the business case.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is taking to encourage people to join the merchant navy.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has no direct control over recruitment into the merchant navy.

    The MCA works with strategic partners such as the Chamber of Shipping, Nautilus, the RMT and organisations such as the British Tugowners Association and National Workboat Association to encourage economic growth, including the employment of seafarers.

    The MCA also manages the Government’s Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme that subsidises seafarer training by £15M annually. More than 700 new officer trainees started last year. The MCA is also involved with industry in supporting the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills apprenticeships for seafarers.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits to the Calder Valley of a high speed rail link between Leeds and Manchester.

    Andrew Jones

    Since the publication of the March 2015 Northern Transport Strategy, the Government and Transport for the North have been taking forward a programme of work on an ambitious Northern Powerhouse Rail vision. Parallel work is also taking place to understand the capability of the North’s road network.

    Detailed analysis has not yet been carried out on the potential benefits of high speed rail links between particular locations across the Pennines. However the recent Budget allocated £60million to help develop the options for a High Speed 3 route between Leeds and Manchester.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has for the future role of the merchant navy.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government appreciates the role played by the merchant navy and recognises the need for an adequate supply of UK maritime expertise to meet the nation’s economic and strategic requirements. This includes the demand for experienced seafarers in the shore-based maritime services sector.

    The Department continues to provide support for the training of officers and ratings through the £15m Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme.

    Apprenticeships are at the heart of the Government’s drive to give people of all ages the skills employers need to grow and compete. Maritime is a key part of this with the Maritime Trailblazer which is employer led and has one approved standard for deck ratings and a further three in development for maritime mechanic, maritime caterer and onboard services.

    The Maritime Growth Study, chaired by Lord Mountevans and published on 7 September 2015, recognised the need for more proactive action to replenish and develop the skills needed to maintain the UK position as a world-leading maritime centre. The Government has accepted the recommendations. We have already let a research contract to Oxford Economics to establish the requirement for trained seafarers in the UK. This will assist both government and industry to plan ahead and to make efforts to address priority shortages where gaps are identified. We are also working to address the other skills recommendations including conducting a review of SMarT funding, better links into schools teaching and enlarging the awareness programme to encourage entry into the merchant navy.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what provisions his Department has put in place as part of the rail franchise package for the Calder Valley rail line to improve rolling stock on that line.

    Andrew Jones

    The new Northern franchise will introduce at least 140 additional new DMU vehicles by the start of 2020. The new trains will be capable of operating at 100mph, be fitted with CCTV, fully air conditioned and have Wi-Fi fitted. These trains will operate on Northern Connect services including those on the Calder Valley route. In addition, over 600 existing vehicles will be fully refurbished to include improved seating, repainted interiors, Wi-fi, real time passenger information screens and improved lighting.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic benefits of extending Crossrail to (a) Dartford and (b) Ebbsfleet stations.

    Claire Perry

    In 2014 the Department commissioned a value for money review of the benefits offered by an extension of Crossrail services to Ebbsfleet (via Dartford). This report recommended further analysis before an informed decision could be made. Subsequently Network Rail have launched a Kent Route Study which will assess the need for, and feasibility of, rail network enhancements across Kent. This will include any possible extension of Crossrail services which would need to be underpinned by further economic analysis conducted by Transport for London.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how his Department plans to monitor and assess the effect of the revised anti-lobbying clause beyond 1 May 2016.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In line with guidance provided by the Cabinet Office, the Department will monitor compliance with this clause in the same way as other contractual terms and conditions, and will consider enforcement action where necessary.