Tag: 2015

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the supply of UK (a) domiciled and (b) trained seafarers to the shipping industry.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department provides support for seafarer training through the Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme, the budget for which was increased by 25% to £15million in September 2013. A company or group which elects for the Tonnage Tax is required, each year, to recruit one new officer trainee for every fifteen officer posts in its fleet. We have additionally introduced an option, from 1 October 2015, which allows companies or groups in Tonnage Tax to recruit and train three Able Seafarer ratings each year in place of one trainee officer.

    The industry and the Government are working together to encourage and support the next generation of seafarers and are developing a range of apprenticeships for maritime occupations at sea and ashore. We support the work of the Merchant Navy Training Board and SeaVision in promoting maritime careers, and we collaborated with Maritime UK in the production of an “Open for Maritime Skills” pamphlet. However, the recruitment and training of merchant seafarers is principally a matter for the shipping industry itself.

    The Maritime Growth Study, chaired by Lord Mountevans, was published on 7 September 2015 and contained a number of recommendations for government and industry on skills, including to help maintain the UK’s future supply of seafarers. The Government will formally respond to the Study by the end of the year.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of anonymising job applications in tackling discrimination in the jobs market.

    Priti Patel

    The department has made no specific assessment of the effectiveness of anonymising job applications in tackling discrimination in the jobs market.

    Early discussions are currently taking place between DWP and large employers through employer roundtables about the scope for reforming recruitment policy through anonymised applications.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what effect the introduction of universal credit will have on the incomes of those spending more than 21 hours per week in education and who are the principal carers for elderly relatives with a disability.

    Justin Tomlinson

    A person in full time education will normally not meet the basic conditions for Universal Credit. There are however exceptions to this condition for some people; including people with limited capability for work, those in receipt of Personal Independence Payment, and people with care of dependent children.

    There is no entitlement to Carer’s Allowance for people in education 21 hours or more a week because in order to be eligible they would need to be providing care for a severely disabled person for 35 hours a week.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to introduce earlier forms of diagnosis of pancreatic cancer on the NHS.

    Jane Ellison

    The independent cancer taskforce published its report Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A Strategy for England 2015-2020 in July 2015, which recognised early diagnosis as a key priority for improving cancer outcomes. Recommendation 21 in particular refers to Wave 2 of the Accelerate, Coordinate, Evaluate (ACE) programme, which specifically aims to speed up and improve diagnosis of cancers with non-specific but concerning symptoms through the use of a multidisciplinary diagnostic centre.

    NHS England is working with partners across the health system to consider how best to take the recommendations of the report forward.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many district nurses are (a) in training and (b) in service; and how many district nurses were (i) in training and (ii) in service in each of the last five years.

    Ben Gummer

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for local decisions on services for patients, informed by a wide range of local clinicians. The shape of community nursing services is organised locally, following advice from clinicians. This commissioning process also takes into account the local authority’s views through the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and the local Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

    NHS England is working with local CCGs to ensure that services are based on the need of the local population, within the resources available and on evidenced-based best practice.

    The latest available data from June 2015 shows that there are 5,033 district nurses in service. The following table contains the number of district nurses that were in service in each of the last five years.

    Year

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    District Nurses in service

    7,813

    7,132

    6,611

    5,877

    5,590

    Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, Provisional NHS Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) monthly workforce statistics

    The following table contains the number of district nurses in training in each of the last five completed financial years, with the exception of the 2013/14 data which was not collected centrally by Health Education England. Data is not yet available for the 2015/16 financial year.

    Year

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    District Nurses in training

    236

    177

    186

    n/a

    381

    Source: multi professional education and training budget monitoring returns

  • Roger Mullin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roger Mullin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will conduct a review of the process for applying for leave to remain in the UK to improve it for applicants.

    James Brokenshire

    UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is committed to continuous improvement in the service it gives to applicants. Current initiatives include greater use of online applications and payments and the development of new digital services. Further opportunities to improve the service for example, working more closely with sponsors (employers and educational institutions) to provide support to customers are under consideration. In April 2015 UKVI as a whole achieved the Customer Service Excellence accreditation which is testament to its focus and progress in this area.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the purpose of his Department’s Bowe Liaison Board is; and on what dates that board has met.

    Claire Perry

    The purpose of The Bowe Review – Senior Liaison Board is:

    • to provide an opportunity for engagement during the Review with key senior stakeholders
    • to enable a two-way communication to update key stakeholders on progress with the Review and to receive their advice on carrying out the review

    The board has met three times during the course of the review:-

    • 24 March 2015
    • 20 May 2015
    • 24 June 2015
  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish equality impact assessments for the proposals in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.

    Priti Patel

    The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website.

    http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html

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  • Jeff Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jeff Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the science budget.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department works closely with HM Treasury on investment in science and research and is engaging at official and ministerial levels as part of the spending review.

  • Chris White – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Chris White – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris White on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of adults that will be participating in non-apprenticeship vocational training by 2020 in (a) the UK, (b) England and (c) Warwick and Leamington constituency.

    Nick Boles

    The Department does not produce forecasts for participation in further education.

    The funding available for adult skills up to 2015/16 is outlined in the Skills Funding Letter. The letter sets out the Government’s priorities for the budget and it is for providers to decide how they use their adult skills funding to reflect those priorities and meet the needs of learners and employers in their local area.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-funding-letter-april-2015-to-march-2016

    Information on historic participation in government funded further education by geography is published online at the FE Data Library:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-further-education-and-skills

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