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Tag: 2014

  • Lord Harrison – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Harrison – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for large occupational defined contribution pension schemes to be active owners or stewards of their assets, in line with the definition of stewardship as outlined in the Financial Reporting Council’s Stewardship Code.

    Lord Freud

    The Government supports the principles set out in the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) UK Stewardship Code including schemes becoming active stewards of their investments and reporting on that stewardship. The Code sets out a number of areas of good practice to which the FRC believes institutional investors should aspire, and operates on a ‘comply or explain’ basis. It includes guidance for pension schemes and other asset owners on steps they can take to protect and enhance the value that accrues to the ultimate beneficiary. The FCA requires UK authorised asset managers to report on whether or not they apply the Code.

    The UK stewardship code is voluntary, however we would encourage workplace pensions schemes to comply with the principles set out in the code. In addition we are developing governance standards of workplace defined contribution schemes, and have asked the Law Commission to investigate how fiduciary duties currently apply in the investment chain. The Pensions Regulator’s defined contribution Code of Practice also sets out the legal requirements and standards they expect trustees of defined contribution schemes to attain. This includes a section on investment which also references the FRC Stewardship code. These initiatives are part of our on-going work to ensure schemes are governed and administered to deliver in members’ interests.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average unit cost per year to train an apprentice aged 24 is; and what proportion of such costs is borne by (a) the public purse, (b) apprentices and (c) employers.

    Matthew Hancock

    The cost of providing an Apprenticeship is highly variable.

    In 2012, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) commissioned a report from The Institute for Employment Research entitled: “Employer Investment in Apprenticeships and Workplace Learning”

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32306/12-814-employer-investment-in-apprenticeships-fifth-net-benefits-study.pdf

    The report gives details of the costs of Apprenticeships to employers in several sectors for 16-18 year olds and for 19-24 year olds. It also compares the contribution of employers to that of the state.

    “

  • Nic Dakin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Statement of 13 March 2014 by the Minister for Schools, Official Report, columns 927-29, how much of the £350 million announced for the fair funding proposals will be allocated from the Exchequer in addition to that already indicated in his Department’s budget.

    Mr David Laws

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Cardiff West on 24 March, Official Report column 84W.

  • Stewart Jackson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stewart Jackson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families whose head of household was (a) a Polish, (b) a Lithuanian, (c) a Latvian, (d) a Czech, (e) a Slovak, (f) a Portuguese and (g) an Estonian national resident in the Peterborough city council area were in receipt of child benefit in each year since 2005; and if he will make a statement.

    Nicky Morgan

    This information is not available.

  • Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Miss Anne McIntosh on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has received on sheep rustling.

    Norman Baker

    The Home Office talks to a wide range of partners about rural crime and theft
    of particular commodities. However, we have not recently received any formal
    representations about sheep rustling.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether Ministers or officials of his Department have (a) met the Attorney General of Nigeria since January 2012 and (b) had any conversations about the sale of the OPL 245 oil concession in Nigeria involving Shell and ENI with (i) the Attorney General of Nigeria and (ii) any other senior official of the Nigerian government.

    Jeremy Wright

    I have met with the Nigerian Attorney General twice on 1 October 2013 and 9 January 2014 to discuss justice issues and was accompanied by officials on both occasions.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which instances Probation Trust staff have been co-located with other public or private organisations in (a) Probation Trust premises and (b) other organisation premises; and what the annual cost to the Probation Trust is of sub-letting space shared with another organisation for the purpose of staff co-location.

    Jeremy Wright

    This information is not recorded centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Jeremy Corbyn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jeremy Corbyn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Corbyn on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the cost to the public purse of litigation associated with the declaration of the Marine Protected Area on 1 April 2010 are to date.

    Mark Simmonds

    Though some final costs from Counsel on the recently concluded Court of Appeal hearing are yet to be received, the costs of domestic litigation to date is £325,444.42. We understand the litigant, Mr. Olivier Bancoult, has also been in receipt of legal aid. HM Government has been successful in defending all such litigation, and has therefore been awarded full costs in the Divisional Court, and half of our costs in the Court of Appeal, though these are still subject to assessment.

    In respect of the recently concluded challenge by Mauritius in an arbitration under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, various costs matters are still ongoing.

  • Robert Halfon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Halfon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Halfon on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the benefits to children’s safety of road crossing patrollers.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government firmly believes in localism and providing local authorities with powers to introduce measures to deal with local needs and conditions. Local authorities will invariably have a strategy to improve road safety and will prioritise their road network based on the need to reduce casualties.

    The provision of the school crossing patrol service is a matter for the local authority. Legislation gives them the power to make arrangements for the patrolling of places where children cross roads on their way to or from school, but does not impose a duty on them to do so. Funding decisions are also a matter for the local authority based on their local needs and priorities.

    It is for the Council to assess the crossing situation and determine a course of action as it is in this situation. In some cases, if the authority agrees that children from a particular school need help in crossing a busy road but have not recruited anyone, they have to think about finding other ways of making the crossing safer – for example, by putting in a pedestrian crossing.

  • Lord Palmer – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Palmer – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 6 May (WA 444), whether they will place in the Library of the House correspondence between the Intellectual Property Office and the Department of Health regarding the proposed introduction of standardised tobacco packaging.

    Earl Howe

    The Department has no current plans to publish information on the development and formulation of Government policy on standardised packaging of tobacco products