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Tag: 2015

  • Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in reducing the number of young people not in employment, education, or training; and how they intend to support local authorities in reducing that number during this Parliament.

    Lord Nash

    The number of 16- to 18-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs) is at its lowest level since 1994. This number has fallen by 51,900 since 2011. The government is determined to do more to encourage young people to participate in education and training, and to continue reducing the proportion who are NEET. That is why the government is investing £7 billion in 2015-16 to fund a place in education or training for every 16- to 19-year-old who wants one.

    Under Raising the Participation Age (RPA), all young people are required to continue in education or training until at least their eighteenth birthday. The Department is working closely with local authorities to support and challenge them in implementing RPA and meeting their duties to track and support young people. This support includes collecting and analysing local authorities’ data and sharing good practice.

    There are also a number of central initiatives which support local authorities in their work to reduce the number of young people NEET. These include a package to help improve the prospects of over 9,600 vulnerable young people through the Youth Engagement Fund and the Fair Chance Fund; the Youth Contract which continues to be available until March 2016 to support vulnerable young people; Jobcentre Plus pilots which are delivering in over 30 local authority areas to support 16- and 17-year-olds who are NEET; and provision funded by the European Social Fund which targets those who are NEET or at risk of being NEET. Broader work includes curriculum and qualifications reform, the 16-19 Bursary Fund, and improvements in the quality of careers advice and guidance.

    These initiatives will help to continue reducing the number of young people NEET by removing barriers to participation and ensuring that young people are able to gain the skills and qualifications they need for their future employment or continuing education.

  • Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to communicate to learner drivers that their tests have been cancelled in the event of strike action.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) sent emails to candidates who had tests booked during the recent industrial action. The emails advised candidates about the industrial action and reminded them that they could change their test date online without loss of fee by giving three clear working days’ notice. The emails also advised candidates that if they came for a test and it was cancelled because of strike action they could claim out of pocket expenses, and that their test would be rebooked automatically for the earliest possible date at no further charge.

    DVSA alerted driving instructors and other stakeholders who are signed up to DVSA’s email alert system, proactively contacted driving instructor associations, displayed posters in driving test centres and published advice for candidates on the GOV.UK website. DVSA also used its social media channels to respond to queries and to direct customers to the guidance on GOV.UK.

  • Roger Mullin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Roger Mullin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what change there has been in the number of part-time higher education students in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in the last five years for which figures are available.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Higher Education Statistics Agency collects and publishes statistics on students enrolled at UK Higher Education Institutions. The information requested is published in table 1a of the annual Statistical First Release “Enrolments and Qualifications in Higher Education”, which is available at the following link: https://hesa.ac.uk/sfr210.

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  • Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to issue guidance on how its proposed extension of jobseeker’s allowance conditionality will apply to claimants with mental illness.

    Priti Patel

    We have made no proposals to extend Jobseekers Allowance conditionality.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much financial support they have provided directly to refugee camps in the Middle East since the beginning of 2015.

    Baroness Verma

    The vast majority of Syrians who have fled Syria live amongst host communities. HMG’s response is therefore focused on refugees in these communities, not solely those living in formal and informal camps.

    In financial year 2015/2016, DFID has allocated £151 million to support Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities in the region, including £94 million in Lebanon, £47 million in Jordan and £10 million in Turkey. Spending in these countries in financial year 2014/2014 was £120 million, including £62 million in Lebanon, £48 million in Jordan and £10 million in Turkey.

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of green belt land in the East Dorset District Council area has been redesignated in the last five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not hold information centrally on the amount or type of land held by community land trusts.

    The Department’s annual Green Belt statistics monitor the amount of land designated as Green Belt in England and any changes to the designated area since the previous year. The statistics record the change by local planning authority.

    Of the local planning authorities for which information was requested, the following have made changes to the Green Belt in the last five years:

    East Dorset reduced the area of designated Green Belt in 2014-15 by 160 hectares to 16,720 hectares, a reduction of 1 per cent; and

    Purbeck increased the area of designated Green Belt in 2012-13 by 460 hectares to 8,200 hectares, an increase of 6 per cent.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to support international efforts to improve tax transparency and accountability.

    Mr David Gauke

    A major focus of the UK’s G8 Presidency was tax transparency and combatting offshore tax evasion. As part of this the UK promoted the development of a new global standard for reciprocal automatic exchange of financial account information in order to effectively tackle the global problem of tax evasion. Due in large part to the UK’s leadership, over 90 countries and jurisdictions have now committed to the new global standard – known as the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) – and will begin automatically exchanging information under the standard by 2017 or 2018. The receipt of large amounts of information on offshore accounts under the CRS will mark a step change in HMRC’s ability to crack down on tax evasion.

    During our G8 Presidency, we also drove forward the international work on country-by-country reporting (CBCR), calling on the OECD to develop a template for CBCR reporting as part of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The OECD template is aimed at providing tax authorities with information on the global allocation of profits and taxes paid and accrued by multinationals, as well as indicators of economic activity in each country. The UK was one of the first countries to commit to implementing the OECD template for CBCR with legislation in the Finance Act 2015.

    The final package of measures developed under the BEPS project was published by the OECD on 5 October 2015, and endorsed by G20 Finance Ministers at their meeting on 8 October and the G20 Leaders at their summit on 15-16 November. The UK welcomes the outcomes of the BEPS project and will give full consideration to the OECD’s recommendations.

    In addition, the UK has actively supported the revision of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation, to ensure the effective exchange of information about cross-border tax rulings between EU Member States. This directive was agreed in October 2015, and will come into force from 1st of January 2017.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Reaper drones are currently deployed in (a) Iraq and (b) Syria.

    Penny Mordaunt

    To safeguard operational security I am withholding operational information on the number of RAF Reaper aircraft deployed.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people from (a) other EU countries and (b) non-EU countries who were deemed homeless have been returned to their home countries in each year since 2010.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department does not hold data centrally on the number of voluntary reconnections of non-UK rough sleepers. It is for local authorities to determine what homelessness services are required to best meet the needs of their local area. The Home Officeis responsible for administrative removal operations.

    We expect people who come to this country to be able to support themselves, and if they cannot find work or accommodation then they should return home. For vulnerable individuals who are sleeping rough on the streets, there are locally funded reconnection services available to help them return to their home countries voluntarily and connect into support services there. In London, the Greater London Authority commission the London Reconnection Team, which is targeted at non-UK nationals with support needs.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the definition of paper-assisted digital applications is for the Common Agricultural Policy Delivery Programme.

    George Eustice

    The new Common Agricultural Policy has been widely recognised as being more complex for farmers to understand and harder for Member States to administer. The new schemes have not yet been audited by the European Commission so it is too early to say what the level of any disallowance will be, but complexity tends to increase disallowance risk.

    For the Basic Payment Scheme 2015 the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) sent pre-populated claim forms to farmers and land owners to allow them to submit their applications before the deadline. The RPA provided an unprecedented level of support to farmers and land owners through the Rural Payments Helpline and 50 Drop In Centres that allowed some 88,000 applications to be received within the deadline. ‘Paper-assisted’ means that forms were completed on paper but then entered on to a digital system by RPA staff.