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  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 24475, what his policy is on providing for parliamentary scrutiny any revisions to guidance on procurement policy and its relationship to foreign policy.

    Matthew Hancock

    Procurement guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) deals with operational matters and clarifies existing policy, set out in the EU Public Procurement Directives and the Public Contracts Regulations (2015), which were subject to Parliamentary process.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions have taken place between Ministers in his Department and Google on IT systems used by the Government in the last five years.

    Matthew Hancock

    As part of my Department’s transparency programme, details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on the Cabinet Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications.

    “

  • Chris Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chris Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Davies on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost was of guidance published on the gov.uk website in each of the last five years; what the mean and range costs are of producing each piece of advice; and how many pieces of guidance were produced in each of the last five years.

    Matthew Hancock

    The costs for GOV.UK are accounted for with other costs for the Government Digital Service and published in the Cabinet Office Report and Accounts as part of the Efficiency and Reform Group.

    Departments also produce and publish their own material onto GOV.UK so some costs will rest with them.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who represents the Government on the board of Integrated Debt Services Limited.

    Matthew Hancock

    Ed Welsh and Thomas Vogt-Skard are the Cabinet office Non-Executive Directors on the board of IDSL.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for further education and skills providers of European Social Fund allocations being assigned to local enterprise partnerships, instead of on a co-financing basis; and what representations he has received from further education and skills providers and organisations on the effect of those changes on cashflow and delivery of programmes.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) had not received any representations made by providers regarding the role of LEPs in procurement activity. The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) established an External Advisory Group with representation from all provider sectors, the Association of Colleges, Association of Employment and Learning Providers and third sector organisations and also from Local Enterprise Partnerships, including the LEP Network. This provided a forum for the SFA to consult on how European Social Fund (ESF) programme funds would be deployed under the new arrangements. This forum was supported by BIS, SFA and Department for Work and Pensions representation.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department has regulations in place to limit top-sliced management fees for European Social Fund funding by lead contractors to sub-contractors.

    Anna Soubry

    Management fees are a matter between lead contractors and sub-contractors. For European Social Fund (ESF) contracts procured by the Skills Funding Agency, the ESF and 2015/2016 match funding rules state that “You must publish your supply-chain fees and charges policy on your website before entering into any subcontracting agreements for the 2015 to 2016 funding year.” This must include the typical percentage range of fees a contractor retains to manage subcontractors, and how this range is calculated.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much of the funding under the European Social Fund programme assigned to his Department he expects to allocate in the current funding round.

    Anna Soubry

    The Skills Funding Agency, one of the partner organisations of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, has secured approximately £725,624,976 including administration costs from the European Social Fund (ESF) on behalf of 38 Local Enterprise Partnership areas. The Skills Funding Agency is currently procuring learning and skills activity identified by local areas. These funds are profiled to be spent by end March 2018.

  • Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Dowden on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2016 to Question 23018, on lasers: regulation, what steps he is taking to restrict direct sale into the UK to individual customers.

    Anna Soubry

    I refer to my answer of 25 January.

    Under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and the General Product Safety Regulations, a business importing into the EU/EEA must have a representative within the EU/EEA who is responsible and liable for the safety of imported goods. This enables Customs and Trading Standards to check that imported laser products comply with safety standards. It is harder for them to carry out these checks where customers order goods from a company outside the EU and receive them directly through the post.

    We therefore advise customers who want to buy laser products to go to a reputable dealer with authorised representation in the European Union. If consumers are concerned about the safety of laser products on sale they should report the website or retailer to their local Trading Standards department.

  • Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Dowden on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2016 to Question 23018, what steps he is taking to enforce the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.

    Anna Soubry

    Consumer products such as laser pens intended for use by consumers are regulated under The General Product Safety Regulations 2005. BIS is responsible for the legislation but it is enforced by Local Authority Trading Standards Services.

    Under the rules, Trading Standards Officers have a range of powers available to them with regards enforcement of the legislation such as requirements to mark or to warn, or to issue withdrawal or recall notices. They also have the power to prosecute traders.

    This is a well-established regime that has seen many hundreds of dangerous products taken off the market including laser pens.

  • Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Dowden on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2016 to Question 23018, what steps he is taking to limit the availability of laser pens.

    Anna Soubry

    I refer to my answer of 25 January.

    I have asked my officials as a first step to request an urgent update from Trading Standards on their recent market surveillance activities. I am aware that Leicester Trading Standards recently seized 1,500 unsafe laser pens at point of entry and the importer agreed to destroy them.

    In addition RAPEX (the European electronic notification platform for the notifying and removal of dangerous consumer products) statistics show 98 different types of laser pointers were removed from the EU market and of these 9 different products were notified by UK market surveillance authorities.