The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps her Department has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.
Mr Ben Wallace
Officials in my Department have liaised with DWP as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it into the policy process. This has included training officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to require the Office for National Statistics to identify in the 2021 Census the number of people living in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland who (1) understand, and (2) are proficient in, the use of the Welsh language.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department has taken to embed the Family Test into its policy making.
Caroline Dinenage
Officials in my Department have liaised with the Department for Work and Pensions as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it into the policy process. This has included training officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the implications are for his Department’s policy of the analysis undertaken by the Resolution Foundation set out in its report, The Pinch, published on 10 December 2015, of (a) the effects of the financial events of the last 10 years on those aged 16 to 44 relative to those aged 55 to 64 and (b) the changes in that period in levels of real median weekly earnings across different cohorts of the population.
Nick Boles
The financial crisis triggered the worst recession in living memory. However, GDP surpassed its pre-recession level in Q2 2013 and the UK’s economic recovery is now well established. Since 2010, on average, the UK has been the joint fastest growing economy in the G7 and the labour market has continued to make strong progress.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), excluding full-time students under the age of 25, the employment rate of people aged 16-49 fell from 76.9% in the three months to May 2008 to a post-recession low of 74.0% in the three months to March 2010. Since mid-2011, the employment rate for this group has increased over time and the latest data shows that it reached a record high of 77.7% in the three months to October 2015.
While the recession had less of an impact on the employment rate of people aged 50-64, their current employment has also reached a record high for this group, of 70.0%.
The analysis in Resolution Foundation’s report you mention looked at real median weekly earnings of various cohorts over time. While not strictly cohort analysis, more recent cross-sectional data from the ONS’s Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) shows that the increase in nominal median gross weekly pay between April 2014 and April 2015 varied across age groups as follows[1]:
CPI inflation over the same period was -0.1% in the year to April 2015.
Pay, and ultimately living standards are strongly linked to productivity. That is why the Government is working hard to boost productivity, and therefore wages, with the ambitious measures outlined in our Productivity Plan. Our higher pay, lower tax, lower welfare society is the route to raising living standards for everyone in the UK.
[1] Employees on adult rates of pay whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence
[2] Figures for 16-17 year olds include employees not on adult rates of pay
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-11-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how many public sector employees will be affected by the proposed £95,000 public sector exit cap.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The Government set out its proposals for the cap on public sector exit payments in the consultation document published on 31 July 2015 and confirmed the design of the cap in the consultation response document published on 16 September 2015. The consultation document gave details of the number of exits over recent years that cost the taxpayer more than £100,000.
The precise number of those affected by the public sector exit payment cap will depend on the number and type of exits in coming years. However, in recent years the large majority of exits in the public sector are below the level of the cap. For example, the Whole of Government Accounts states that, in 2013-14, 1,838 out of 72,445 pay outs were in excess of £100,000.
The exit payment clauses currently before the House of Lords in the Enterprise Bill set out how the cap is expected to apply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-12-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the current proportion of air passenger duty revenues which are raised from Manchester Airport and (b) the potential effect on that proportion of air passenger duty in Scotland being reduced by 50 per cent.
Damian Hinds
Air Passenger Duty is payable by airlines and not on a per airport basis. Therefore HMRC does not collect the data to produce a reliable estimate.
The government is currently undertaking a consultation into options to support regional airports from the impacts of air passenger duty devolution. We are carefully considering the evidence we have received from stakeholders and will respond in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to continue the operation of the Care Leaver Strategy, and what plans they have to ensure that cross-departmental work to support care leavers is maintained.
Lord Nash
In 2013, the government published the Care Leaver Strategy. That document set out plans to improve support for care leavers, including in housing, health, employment and education. In 2014, the Department for Education reported that the commitments contained in the Care Leaver Strategy had been implemented or were in the process of being so.
We recognise, however, that many young people leaving care still face significant challenges. That is why my colleague, the Minister for Children and Families, recently announced that he has asked officials within the department to lead the development of a refreshed strategy, to be published next year. That work will include a consideration of how government departments and agencies can best work together, on an ongoing basis, to ensure that care leavers are offered the support they need in order to manage the transition to independent living successfully.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers have been absent from work due to stress-related illnesses in each of the last five years.
Mike Penning
The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of officers absent from work due to stress-related illnesses. The number of officers on long term absence at 31 March each year is collected, along with information on the number of officers on long term sickness. This is published annually by HMIC in their Value for Money profiles: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/our-work/value-for-money-inspections/value-for-money-profiles/
These data do not allow the reasons for long term sickness to be identified.
Chief Constables, working with directly elected police and crime commissioners, are responsible for managing the police workforce effectively and ensuring the welfare of all officers and staff.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Chairman of Committees whether any staff of the House of Lords are paid less than the recommended Living Wage for London, and if so, how many and in which departments they work.
Lord Laming
The House of Lords Administration was accredited as a London Living Wage employer in November 2013. We have kept in line with changes to the Living Wage since. No staff employed by the House Administration are paid below the London Living Wage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents his Department has recorded of drones operating over prison estates in the last year for which figures are available; what steps his Department took following each such incident; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Selous
If an incident involving a drone occurs, prisons will invoke appropriate contingency plans and will work alongside the police and CPS to ensure those responsible are caught. NOMS are exploring research options with the Home Office Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST) on detection and mitigation technology for drones.
There were 30 reported drone related incidents between 1 December 2014 and 30 November 2015. This includes drone finds and drone sightings by prison staff in and around public and private prisons in England and Wales.
Individual prisons will invoke the appropriate contingency plan relevant to the circumstances of the incident involving a drone. This includes, for example, working with the police and CPS to ensure those responsible for an incident involving a drone are caught and, if appropriate, prosecuted.
These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.