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  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have reviewed the implementation of the recommendations on public sector procurement made by Sir Philip Green; and whether they will ask Sir Philip to conduct a further review on policy options to reduce government borrowing.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Sir Phillip’s report contributed enormously to the development of the Coalition Government’s policies in respect of common goods and services. Many of the recommendations have been taken forward, including the creation of the Crown Commercial Service. The Crown Commercial Service brings together policy, advice and direct buying, providing commercial services to the public sector and saving money for the taxpayer.

    The 2016 Budget announced that The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, with the support of the Minister for the Cabinet Office, will lead an efficiency review, reporting in 2018. We will set out details of this in due course.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the impact on economic and financial stability of increasing private sector debt as a percentage of GDP and aggregate personal income, and (2) the level at which those ratios would be judged to be too high.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government does not have an explicit target for the level of private sector debt. However, we established the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC), within the Bank of England, which is empowered to identify, assess, monitor and take action in relation to risks across the UK financial system. This includes risks from private sector debt. The FPC actively monitors developments in the aggregate level of credit extended to UK households and private non-financial corporations, and has the macroprudential policy tools required to address any risk it identifies.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to increase or reduce total taxation as a percentage of GDP over the remainder of this Parliament.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast that public sector current receipts (PSCR) will be 36.3% of GDP in 2015-16. As a share of GDP, PSCR is forecast to increase over the remainder of the Parliament. The OBR forecast PSCR to be 36.9% of GDP in 2016-17 and 2017-18, 37% of GDP in 2018-19, and reaching 37.5% of GDP in the final year of this Parliament. However, the Budget represents a net tax cut, worth £3bn over the scorecard period (2016-17 to 2020-21). The Budget backs business with a major overhaul of corporation tax reliefs, a lower corporation tax rate and a big reduction in small business rates.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the budget made concessions available on capital gains to non-domiciled residents of the UK that are not available to standard UK tax payers.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Summer Budget reforms to the domicile tax regime are the most significant since the rules were introduced. They are forecast to raise £1.2 billion this Parliament. The transitional provisions announced at Budget 2016 are necessary for a reform of this scale as they help to ensure that non-doms remain here and continue to pay UK tax on their income and gains within the new domicile tax regime. In April 2017, over 3,000 non-doms will still become subject to UK taxation on their worldwide income and gains.

  • Baroness Morgan of Huyton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Morgan of Huyton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Morgan of Huyton on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to promote higher apprenticeships to inform pupils currently in key stage 3 of their future options.

    Lord Nash

    Higher apprenticeships are widening access to the professions, providing the higher level technical skills employers need to improve productivity and giving young people who do not go to university an equally valid career route.

    The government is taking a number of steps to ensure that apprenticeship opportunities at all levels are widely understood by young people from a young age so that they can make better informed decisions at key transition points. Schools have a legal duty to secure independent careers guidance for all pupils from year 8 onwards. This must include information on apprenticeships. Statutory guidance which underpins the duty is clear that schools should cooperate with other providers to ensure that young people are aware of the full range of education and training options available to them. The government will be launching a new apprenticeships campaign in May aimed at young people, their influencers and employers – it builds on the previous successful Get In Go Far campaign.

    The government is funding The Careers & Enterprise Company to roll out and manage its Enterprise Adviser Network, which was launched in September 2015. This is a network of employer volunteers coordinated by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) who are working in schools and colleges to support their careers and enterprise strategies and increase the number and effectiveness of employer-school interactions.

    Apprenticeships take-up is one of the criteria that LEPs are using to prioritise this support and advisers will be helping schools with their activity to provide well-informed information on apprenticeships. However, the range of information that young people receive remains too narrow and we want to go further. The government intends to bring forward legislation at the earliest opportunity that will require schools to allow other education and training providers the opportunity to talk to pupils about their offer on school premises. Schools will be required by law to collaborate with colleges, university technical colleges and other training providers, including apprenticeship providers, in putting those arrangements in place. This will ensure that young people hear much more consistently about the merits of alternatives to academic and school-based routes and are aware of all the routes to higher skills and into the workplace.

  • Baroness Morgan of Huyton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Morgan of Huyton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Morgan of Huyton on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the new technical curricula will be launched; and how the information on any new qualifications will be disseminated to schools and colleges planning for September 2016.

    Lord Nash

    In 2012 the government introduced reforms that ensure that only high quality technical qualifications, that meet rigorous criteria, will be reported in performance tables. The government introduced Technical Awards for 14-16 year olds, and Tech Levels, Applied General Qualifications and Technical Certificates for 16-19 year olds. All qualifications offer progression to further study or a direct route to employment.

    Schools and colleges have already been made aware of the technical qualifications that have been approved for teaching from September 2016 for reporting in the 2018 performance tables. The lists of approved qualifications for 14-16 and 16-19 year olds are available on GOV.UK.

    The Department for Education will update these published lists in due course and schools and colleges will be informed through communications on the department’s website and social media as well as their member organisations and other routes.

    We are also planning further reforms to technical education to raise standards. These reforms, which will be driven by employers, will simplify the 16+ skills system by providing clear progression routes into employment. They will ensure that young people gain the skills and knowledge demanded by employers and universities. An independent panel, chaired by Lord Sainsbury, is developing proposals in this area and will report to government in due course.

  • Baroness Morgan of Huyton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Morgan of Huyton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Morgan of Huyton on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which university technical colleges are operating in the 2015–16 academic year; and how many students in years 10, 11, 12, and 13 were (1) enrolled in each institution at the date of the October 2015 census, and (2) included in the budget forecast return submitted by each college to the EFA in June 2015.

    Lord Nash

    There are 39 University Technical Colleges (UTCs) open in this academic year, 2015/16.

    The Department for Education does not hold the information requested as budget forecast returns submitted to the Education Funding Agency do not include student numbers on roll. However, each October, the Department publishes the number of pre-16 pupils funded in UTCs which were open as of the start of that financial year. This data is attached and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/466234/Annex_A_-_Schools_block_Allocations_data_file_2015-16.xlsx

    Data for UTCs which opened after the start of the 2015-16 financial year is due to be published in October 2016.

    The number of post-16 pupils funded in each UTC for the academic year 2015/16 is attached and also available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468295/YP_FASS_Published_Allocation_Dataset_2015_to_2016-1.xlsx

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  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in considering the future of the Human Rights Act 1998, what regard they will have to the findings of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee as outlined in the letter of 17 March from the Convener of that Committee to the Lord Chancellor in respect of the relevance of the specific position of Scotland in the devolution settlement and the role of the Sewel Convention.

    Lord Faulks

    This Government was elected with a mandate to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework. We will consider the devolution implications of our reforms and will continue to engage fully with stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and with the devolved administrations, as we develop our proposals.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in considering the future of the Human Rights Act 1998, what regard they will have to the findings of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee as outlined in the letter of 17 March from the Convener of that Committee to the Lord Chancellor on the proposal for the Supreme Court to function as a constitutional court and in particular that it would require significant constitutional change” and would pose “practical problems” for Scotland’s separate legal system.”

    Lord Faulks

    The Prime Minister indicated last year that he wanted to examine the way that Germany and other EU nations uphold their constitution and sovereignty. We have considered the Committee’s report with interest and will consult fully on our proposals for a Bill of Rights in due course.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in considering the future of the Human Rights Act 1998, what regard they will have to the findings of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee as outlined in the letter of 17 March from the Convener of that Committee to the Lord Chancellor on the concept of mission creep” as a characterisation of the European Court on Human Rights’ jurisprudence.”

    Lord Faulks

    This Government was elected with a mandate to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework. We will consider the devolution implications of our reforms and will continue to engage fully with stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and with the devolved administrations, as we develop our proposals.