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  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding the National Citizen Service received in each of the last five years; how much it is estimated to receive in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The table below shows the funding provided by Government for delivery of National Citizen Service since the programme started in 2011.

    Year

    Government Funding

    2011/12

    £21 million

    2012/13

    £62 million

    2013/14

    £84 million

    2014/15

    £130 million

    More than £1 billion has been committed to the further expansion of NCS in this Parliament. The annual funding arrangements were announced in the 2015 Autumn statement and Spending Review.

    We want to extend the benefits of NCS to young people of all backgrounds.

    Government funding means that it never costs more than £50 to participate in this unique experience, and independent evaluations have shown a return of up to £3.98 for every £1 invested.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has undertaken a value for money assessment of the National Citizen Service; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    A value for money assessment is conducted annually as part of the independent evaluation of the National Citizen Service programme. The most recent report, covering 2014, shows a return of up to £3.98 for every £1 invested. This figure quantifies a range of benefits including the time participants spend volunteering on their social action projects. The NCS Trust estimates that participants have volunteered 8 million hours since 2011.

  • Harriet Harman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Harriet Harman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the application of Government guidance on public consultations to the consultation on the Government’s proposed Bill of Rights.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    I recently published the Government’s Consultation Principles and have encouraged all ministers and departments to observe the guidance when considering consultation. The principles are publicly available on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/492132/20160111_Consultation_principles_final.pdf

    “

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral Answer from the Prime Minister on 9 December 2015, Official Report, column 982, how the National Illegal Money Lending Team England will be funded; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    To ensure that the perimeter of the consumer credit market is adequately policed, the Government will be introducing an amendment to the Bank of England and Financial Services Bill to provide for illegal money lending teams throughout the UK to in future be funded by a levy on the consumer credit industry, collected by the FCA.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what guidance his Department provides to employers on supporting young apprentices with mental health conditions.

    Nick Boles

    Employers must fulfil their duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010 for apprentices as they would for other employees.

    Under the Equality Act (2010), employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities (including mental health impairment) in order to ensure that they have the same access to everything that involves gaining or keeping employment as a non-disabled person.

    Advice is also available to help employers and training providers understand disabilities and how to better support disabled apprentices. We have funded NIACE to produce an employer toolkit http://www.employer-toolkit.org.uk/ for employers who want to develop a more inclusive and accessible apprenticeship offer.

    An Apprenticeships Equality and Diversity Advisory group helps government understand and address any apprenticeship equality and diversity issues in order to reduce barriers and make apprenticeships as inclusive as possible.

    “

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the National Dementia Research Institute will conduct research into Parkinson’s dementia as part of its core work.

    Joseph Johnson

    I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 18130

    “

  • 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 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which organisations he has consulted on the changes to Sunday trading in the 12 months.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government ran a public consultation, which closed in September 2015, on its proposals to devolve the power to extend Sunday trading powers to local areas. The Department also met with a range of interested parties including trade unions, religious groups, retailers and retail bodies, and representatives of local authorities.

    The Government plans to publish its response to the consultation shortly.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support his Department is providing to universities to increase collaboration with research institutions in developing economies.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government is supporting collaboration with research institutions in developing countries through a number of programmes, including the Newton fund, which now operates in 15 countries. We recently announced the extension of the Newton fund to 2021, with total investment rising to three quarters of a billion pounds between 2014/15 – 2020/21. In addition, at the Spending Review, the Chancellor announced a new Global Challenges Research fund worth £1.5 billion over the next five years (2016/17 – 2020/21).

  • Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which organisations contributed to UK Trade and Investment’s Northern Powerhouse Investment Pitchbook; and who provided the assessment and shortlisting of developments included in that document.

    Anna Soubry

    The following organisations contributed to the Northern Powerhouse pitchbook:

    Allied London; Carlton Power Limited; Cheshire East Council; Foresight Group; Halite; Leeds City Council; Liverpool Vision; London and Continental Railways; Manchester City Council; Manchester Place; MIDAS, Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency; Newcastle City Council; Peel Group; Scarborough Group; Sheffield City Council; Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council; and Warrington & Co.

    Overall shortlisting was done by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) in consultation with HM Treasury.

  • David Warburton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Warburton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Warburton on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to promote opportunities for businesses in the South West to access high growth markets abroad.

    Anna Soubry

    This financial year UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has helped more than 800 South West (SW) businesses access new markets. UKTI’s Passport to Export programme provided intensive support to 170 companies entering new markets including high growth markets (HGMs) such as China and UAE.

    A further 850 South West business delegates have attended business clinics and seminars promoting export opportunities including those in HGMs. During Export Week in November 2015, 233 business delegates had 787 one-to-one meetings with 69 visiting overseas Trade Officers at the ExploreExport event in Bristol.

    Additionally, in December alone SW businesses responded to 116 Export Opportunities as part of the Exporting is Great campaign, including 25 in China. To date UKTI South West has issued 119 Market Visit Grants to businesses, 42 of which were to HGMs.

    UKTI South West activity is supported by a High Impact in Growth Economies programme funded by the European Regional Development Fund. That programme has assisted forty South West SMEs to trade successfully in Brazil. Focused mainly on sectors with innovative high value products the programme is forecast to increase employment in the region by 260 jobs by 2017 as well as adding £100 million to South West export sales by 2020. UKTI South West aims to continue the programme by targeting further high growth markets over the next 3 years including Mexico, Cuba, Chile, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Brazil.