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Tag: 2015

  • Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations his Department has received about customers without internet access being charged to receive paper bills.

    Nick Boles

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has received a few representations, mainly on behalf of the ‘Keep Me Posted Campaign’, (and nine from hon. Members in 2014 on behalf of their constituents) which have included reference to the desire for paper bills to be supplied free of charge.

  • Stewart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stewart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart McDonald on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on small investors of planned restrictions on the relief on finance costs for landlords of residential property.

    Mr David Gauke

    The government does not expect the restriction to tax relief for finance costs to have a significant impact on small investors, with only 1 in 5 landlords affected. Overall, the OBR believe the impact on the housing market will be small and, taking account of the other measures in the Summer Budget, have not adjusted their forecast for house prices. The Productivity Plan published alongside the Summer Budget will also increase the number of opportunities available to small investors. It includes a number of measures to make the planning system quicker, cheaper and more responsive to local needs.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what provision his Department has made for (a) payment of the national living wage by public sector employers and (b) the 3.4 per cent increase in Secondary National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from 2016-17 following the abolition of Contracted Out NICs.

    Greg Hands

    The impact of the new National Living Wage and the end of the contracting out of National Insurance Contributionswill be considered during the Spending Review as part of an overall assessment of spending priorities and pressures across the public sector. The Spending Review will conclude on 25th November 2015.

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what provisions are in place to safeguard vulnerable adults who are declared intentionally homeless and who do not want to be separated from family members also declared intentionally homeless in order to be rehoused.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Local authorities are under a duty to provide accommodation to vulnerable households who have made themselves intentionally homeless, for such time as will give the household a reasonable opportunity of securing their own accommodation. They must also provide them with advice and assistance to help them secure their own accommodation. There is no time limit on this duty and authorities should consider each case in light of its particular facts.

    Local housing authorities are also under a duty to make arrangements to ensure that social services are aware of cases where households with children may be intentionally homeless.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many GCSE exam papers have been sent to other countries to be marked this year.

    Nick Gibb

    This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to increase enforcement rates for the national minimum wage.

    Nick Boles

    The Government is committed to cracking down on employers who break the National Minimum Wage (NMW) law. In 2014/15, HMRC conducted 2,204 investigations into potential NMW non-compliance, totalling £3,291,529 of arrears for 26,318 workers.

    This is up from 1,455 investigations conducted in 2013/14, totalling £4,645,547

    of arrears for 22,610 workers.

    Building on our existing reforms, the Prime Minister announced on 1 September 2015 further measures to strengthen the enforcement of the NMW. These include:

    • increasing penalties from 100% to 200% of the arrears employers owed.
    • the setting up of a dedicated team in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) focused on tackling the most serious cases of wilful non-compliance.
    • increasing the enforcement budget in preparation for the National Minimum and Living Wage from April 2016.
    • the creation of a statutory Director of Labour Market Enforcement and Exploitation.
  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people from a working class background were recruited onto the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme in each year since its inception.

    Matthew Hancock

    To govern modern Britain, the Civil Service needs to look and sound likemodern Britain. We need access to the broadest possible pool of talent, drawing on peoplefrom all backgrounds and all parts of the country.

    The Civil Service is implementing a number of initiatives to recruit individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds onto the Fast Stream and Fast Track Apprenticeship schemes, including internship programmes, schools and colleges mentoring and discovery days, work experience programmes and engagement with universities with a high representation of lower socio-economic students.

    Information on the socio-economic status of recent appointees to the SCS was published in 2014,and the socio-economic status of Fast-Stream applicants has been published since 2011.

    In 2015 16.8% of new joiners to the Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme were from lower socio-economic backgrounds, up from 8.5% in 2013/14. From 2015 this data will be published as part of the Fast Stream applicants publication.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what forecast he has made of whether the total stock of local authority homes will increase or decrease in the next five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    Whilst we have made no forecast of what the stock of council homes will be over the next 5 years, I do note that more council houses have been built since 2010 than were built in the entire 13 years of a Labour Government.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether all UK service personnel deployed to malarial areas since 2013 have been individually assessed for contraindications for mefloquine; and what the method of assessment was for those who were individually assessed.

    Mark Lancaster

    Since 2013, it has been Ministry of Defence policy that mefloquine should only be prescribed after an individual risk assessment. To verify that an individual assessment has been undertaken in every case since 2013 would require the examination of the medical records of all individuals who have deployed since 2013. This could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

    Templates exist to optimise consistency in the preparation of personnel requiring anti-malarials, including mefloquine. Defence Primary Healthcare has a malaria protocol to guide clinicians to use these templates. Work is currently in hand to develop it further, taking previous lessons into account, to ensure that all individuals are assessed in a consistent manner.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2015 to Question 7974, what research her Department has conducted into the ease of switching energy supplier.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has, as part of its investigation into the energy market, commissioned research into consumer experiences and views of the energy market including the ease of switching energy supplier.

    The CMA investigation is still ongoing but the report it commissioned has already been published can be found at:

    https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/54e75c53ed915d0cf700000d/CMA_customer_survey_-_energy_investigation_-_GfK_Report.pdf

    “