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  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to tackle the lower expected offer rate to Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups higher education applicants.

    Joseph Johnson

    My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has set a goal of increasing by 20% the number of BME students in higher education by 2020. Entry rates for 18 year olds in each ethnic group increased in 2015, reaching the highest recorded values for each group. Between 2009 and 2015, the entry rate for young people in the Black ethnic group increased by over 40 percent proportionally. The Government has introduced a number of policies, including those set out below, to achieve my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s goal.

    We recently announced that universities would be required to publish admissions and retention rate by gender, ethnic background and disadvantage. Greater transparency will expose where offer rates for students from the poorest and black and minority backgrounds are particularly low and help to encourage universities to take further action.

    In addition, UCAS are consulting on making applications to university name-blind from 2017 to make sure that everyone, no matter what their background, is treated equally.

    I have asked Universities UK to establish an expert advisory group on social mobility to provide further advice in this area.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with universities on the wide implementation of the Race Equality Charter Mark.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) is a higher education sector body that supports equality and diversity for staff and students across the UK. They developed and launched the Race Equality Charter (REC) in January 2016, with the aim of improving the representation, progression and success of minority ethnic staff and students within higher education. Institutions can apply for a Bronze or Silver REC award, depending on their level of progress.

    My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has set a goal of increasing by 20% the number of BME students in higher education by 2020. In guidance to the Director of Fair Access, which we published on 11 February, we ask him to maximise the contribution of Access Agreements towards this ambition.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to promote apprenticeships during National Apprenticeship Week.

    Nick Boles

    National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) celebrates apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy. Hundreds of events took place across the country to encourage more people and employers to see the benefits that apprenticeships bring.

    Employers, apprentices, support organisations, colleges, training providers and schools across the country were encouraged to support the week by hosting activities to showcase the achievements and benefits of apprenticeships and traineeships. Social media was widely used, including Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.

    I and my fellow Ministers were out throughout the week meeting apprentices and their employers.

    Full information about NAW is at https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/national-apprenticeship-week-2016.

    “

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimates his Department has made of the number of people undertaking an apprenticeship in (a) Lancashire and (b) the UK in each of the last three years.

    Nick Boles

    Information on Apprenticeship starts by Local Authority, in England, for the last three academic years is published as a supplementary table (first link) to a Statistical First Release (second link).

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493777/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

    The Department does not collect further education information relating to the devolved administrations.

    “

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to protect intellectual property rights and research being conducted at Manchester University’s National Graphene Institute.

    Joseph Johnson

    The UK has one of the most innovative economies and the best IP environment in the world. The Intellectual Property Office offers guidance to all Universities on how to manage and protect their IP assets. In addition, the Government provides a framework and guidance on information security for organisations including universities. Universities are independent and autonomous institutions and it is a matter for individual institutions to determine how they apply guidance.

    Government wants to increase university income from collaboration and commercialisation to £5bn by 2025. The University of Manchester is one of the world’s most successful universities in this respect, working with over 40 partners at the forefront of the graphene revolution.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2016-03-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits and costs of a business rates holiday for the steel industry.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government has worked hard to deliver on the steel industry’s key asks. We (a) secured state aid approval to compensate for energy costs, (b) secured flexibility over EU emissions regulations, (c) published guidance so that the true value of UK steel can be taken into account in major procurement decisions, and (d) continue to tackle unfair trading practices at an EU and an international level.

    Further, Budget 2016 confirmed that the annual indexation of business rates will switch from the Retail Price Index to be consistent with the main measure of inflation, currently the Consumer Prices Index, from April 2020 for all ratepayers, including the steel industry. This represents a cut every year from 2020 worth £370 million in 2020-21 and growing significantly thereafter.

  • Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he took to take into account the rules on conflicts of interest set out in (a) Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies, (b) Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Rules of Conduct and (c) Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct in the recruitment process for the recently-appointed Pubs Code Adjudicator; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    • Paul Newby was appointed in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ (OCPA) Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies.
    • His prior experience of the pubs sector as a surveyor and arbitrator and his ability to forge trusted relationships with both tenants and PubCos is an asset, not a conflict of interest.
    • The appointment panel discussed conflicts of interest with him at interview. The Panel was satisfied there were no conflicts of interest, and put this advice to ministers.
    • Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators membership were not requirements for this post, so the documents referred to are not directly relevant to the appointment process.
  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the planned duration is of the appointment of Rachel Sandby-Thomas as shadow CEO of the Institute for Apprenticeships.

    Nick Boles

    The appointment of Rachel Sandby-Thomas as shadow CEO will commence on 4th April 2016 and will continue through to the launch of the Institute for Apprenticeships when arrangements will be made to appoint on a permanent basis.

  • Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the rebuilding of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.

    Ben Gummer

    A Full Business Case for the redevelopment of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital will go to the trust board later this month and the approved version will be submitted to NHS Improvement for review. This is now very much a priority project for the Department and NHS Improvement.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the level of variation in waiting times for GP appointments.

    Alistair Burt

    We do not measure waiting times for a GP appointment. However, the GP Patient Survey shows variation between different demographic groups in patients’ experience of being able to book an appointment.

    The Government is committed to improving access to GP services and ensuring that patients can access evening and weekend appointments by 2020.