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Tag: 2015

  • Melanie Onn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Melanie Onn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the cost of acquiring a Certificate in Professional Competence on access to such certificates for young people.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport has not made any assessments on the effect of the cost of acquiring a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) on access to such Certificates for young people.

    In order to allow newly qualified drivers to gain experience, the department allows those who have passed the theory test (module one) and practical driving test (module three) to enrol on an approved National Vocational Training (NVT) programme and defer taking the Driver CPC theory and practical tests. This allows a driver to work professionally for up to 12 months whilst working towards a Driver CPC qualification.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the average transitional protection award that will be paid to the claimants who are migrated from tax credits to universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    At the summer budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out the Government’s commitment to move the UK from a high tax, high welfare, low wage society to a lower tax, lower welfare, higher wage society. This remains the case, and Universal Credit (UC) is delivering this.

    UC is a fundamentally different benefit to the legacy benefit system and provides people with support into, and to progress in work.

    Therefore there is no meaningful way of comparing an unreformed Tax Credit system with Universal Credit. The Government has committed to transitional arrangements as we reform the benefits and Tax Credit system. Those transferred by DWP from tax credits to UC will receive Transitional Protection. In addition, estimates of entitlements under UC of the sort requested will vary depending on assumptions on the level of earnings.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2015 to the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey to Question 9852, by when his Department will be able to form a reliable estimate of the number of disability living allowance recipients who are Motability users who will not qualify for the enhanced rate of the personal independence payment mobility component.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We expect to be able to form a reliable estimate once a significant proportion of working-age Disability Living Allowance recipients have been reassessed for the Personal Independence Payment. Over 1.75 million claimants require reassessing; as of July 2015 circa 186,900 had been reassessed.

    As referenced in our previous reply of 16 September 2015, DWP will continue to pay DLA for four weeks after the decision not to pay PIP enhanced mobility component is made. The Motability charity has confirmed that claimants can keep their car for up to three weeks after DLA payments end. This means that claimants will retain their car for up to nearly two months even though they are not entitled to PIP enhanced mobility component.

    In addition, the Department has worked closely with Motability to ensure that those claimants who no longer meet the criteria for the Motability Scheme are supported through the transitional period. For most of these claimants who entered into their first lease agreement with Motability before January 2013, Motability will provide transitional support of £2,000. This will enable many claimants to continue to meet their mobility needs by purchasing a used car. For claimants who entered into their first lease agreement with the scheme after January 2013 and up to December 2013, Motability will supply transitional support of £1,000 to assist with mobility costs.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much of his Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Brandon Lewis

    The 2015 Spending Review set out settlements for departments and showed how the Government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.

    Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.

  • Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in its report, Is Britain Fairer, published in October 2015, that up to 2013 there was a decline in both earnings and full-time employment for younger workers, despite them being more likely to be better qualified than previous generations.

    Nick Boles

    Since 2013 employment has risen by over a million people and the UK’s employment rate is at a record high. The Government is creating employment opportunities for all age groups. Since the first quarter of 2010, youth unemployment has fallen and 229,000 more young people are in employment.

    Skills remain important for delivering better employment outcomes for younger workers. The lifetime benefits to apprentices are between £48,000 and £74,000 for Level 2 and between £77,000 and £117,000 for Level 3 Apprenticeships. The average graduate of higher education will earn over £100,000 more over their lifetime than a similar individual who completed their education with 2 or more A levels. The Government is therefore ensuring further and higher education providers are more responsive to the needs of employers, and that young people get the rights skills for the job market.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help increase the number of disabled people who own their own home.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is committed to extending home ownership opportunities for everyone. Disabled people with aspirations to own their own home can benefit from a number of policies offered by this Government, like Help to Buy and Right to Buy. However, we do recognise that for some people with long-term disabilities, our mainstream home ownership programmes may not be suitable. The Home Ownership for those with Long-term Disabilities (HOLD) scheme is specifically designed to help people living with such disabilities to buy a property on the open market on shared ownership terms with a registered housing provider.

    The Government is also providing affordable housing for disabled and older people through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund, phase 1 of which will deliver around 4,000 new homes by 2018. Between 2011-15 the Affordable Homes Programme has also delivered almost 14,000 specialised and mainstream affordable homes for older and disabled people.

    In the Spending Review we have committed to £400 million of funding to deliver 8,000 specialist homes for the vulnerable elderly or those with disabilities. A commitment to funding from the Department of Health could deliver up to a further 7,500 homes over the Spending Review period.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-30.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the earnings from UK overseas assets were in each of the last 30 years.

    Greg Hands

    Earnings from UK overseas assets are below.

    Year Earnings From Overseas Assets
    (£bn)
    1985 50.1
    1986 45.5
    1987 46.4
    1988 54.6
    1989 71.7
    1990 76.5
    1991 73.9
    1992 65.4
    1993 71.2
    1994 72.9
    1995 85.8
    1996 90.1
    1997 96.2
    1998 105.9
    1999 103.4
    2000 134.5
    2001 139.9
    2002 124.2
    2003 124.9
    2004 140.9
    2005 193.0
    2006 249.3
    2007 307.9
    2008 287.9
    2009 175.1
    2010 174.0
    2011 200.0
    2012 170.4
    2013 148.5
    2014 141.1

    Further information can be found in the ONS UK Balance of Payments.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 31 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs likely to be sustained by the Apache helicopter upgrade.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Apache Capability Sustainment Programme is currently in the Assessment Phase and the investment decision is anticipated in summer 2016 to enable orderly upgrade of our existing fleet as they reach their out-of-service date.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of teacher training degrees incorporate modules on working with children aged 0 to 5 years.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Early Years Initial Teacher Training was introduced in 2013. Early Years Teachers are specialists in early childhood development, trained to work with babies and young children from birth to five. Early Years Initial Teacher Training trainees who successfully meet the Teachers’ Standards (Early Years) are awarded Early Years Teacher Status. All modules of Early Years Initial Teacher Training courses include working with children aged 0 to 5 years. All initial teacher training courses that lead to the award of Qualified Teacher Status also cover the 3 to 18 age range.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans for the increase in (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Air Force personnel provided for in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 to take place.

    Mark Lancaster

    On current planning assumptions, the new military personnel numbers provided for in the Strategic Defence and Security Review will begin to come into effect in 2016 and will be achieved by 2022 for the Royal Navy and 2018 for the Royal Air Force.