Tag: 2016

Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2016 to Question 32897, how many nationals of other EEA member states of school age migrated to the UK in each year since 2000; from which countries those people migrated; and what nationality those people were.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

01/01/2023
Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the report by Lord Heseltine, entitled Tees Valley: opportunity unlimited, published in June 2016, recommendation 6.6.7, whether he plans to devolve responsibility for the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers to the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Nick Boles

The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) is available until the end of the 2016/17 academic year to incentivise smaller employers to offer apprenticeships. The AGE grant will be devolved to The Tees Valley Combined Authority from this August. They will be free to vary the criteria associated with the grant (e.g. size and sector of business) to meet local needs.

01/01/2023

Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times his Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

Harriett Baldwin

Detailed information about the work undertaken in individual contracts could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The table below shows the number of times the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has used the services of PwC, Deloitte, Ernst and Young and KPMG and the total expenditure for each financial year.

Vendor Name	Number of Contracts	2013-14 Payments	2014-15 Payments	2015-16 Payments
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP	20	£12,291,493	£10,495,047	£17,459,400
DELOITTE LLP	44	£22,239,558	£12,325,152	£12,342,592
DELOITTE MCS LIMITED	12	£6,142,266	£6,792,413	£2,675,673
ERNST & YOUNG LLP	10	£17,258,841	£16,996,746	£18,786,874
KPMG LLP	24	£25,284,417	£38,350,698	£33,175,164
Total	110	£83,216,575	£84,960,056	£84,439,703

Although the MOD can identify its direct expenditure with individual companies it does not specifically record centrally if the company is a consultancy firm. It is therefore not possible to identify (e) other consulting firms without being provided with a list of specific companies. Non-consulting companies can also provide consultancy services to the MOD as part of a larger contract.

01/01/2023

Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on forcing local authorities to offer flexible business rates for private nurseries.

Caroline Dinenage

The Government does not collect data on particular types of premises that might have benefited from local discretionary relief.

Central Government has given local authorities wide-ranging, discretionary powers to grant business rates discounts as they see fit – they are best placed to serve the needs of their community. All local authorities which grant a local discount will receive 50% of the cost from central Government funds.

The Minister for Childcare wrote to all local authorities in November 2014 to encourage them to apply business rates relief to nurseries and reminded them that central Government will meet 50% of the costs involved. He also encouraged nurseries to follow up with their local authorities themselves. The Department for Communities and Local Government wrote to local authorities in January 2015, reinforcing this message. This letter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/395333/BRIL_1__-_2015__-__General_-_14_Jan.pdf

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01/01/2023
Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to put mental health on the national curriculum for primary school children, as advocated by the Young People’s Mental Health Advisory Group.

Lord Nash

The new national curriculum, introduced in September 2014, does not attempt to represent the sum total of everything that should be taught in schools. It only prescribes the essential knowledge that should be taught, leaving schools greater flexibility to teach over and above what the national curriculum requires and to decide how to teach the essential content that is prescribed. It is also places greater trust in teachers to cover topics important for their community, including mental health.

Mental health and wellbeing is part of the non-statutory programme of study for Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education, produced by the PSHE Association. To help schools deliver this, we funded the PSHE Association to produce guidance and lesson plans to support age-appropriate teaching about mental health. Further support for teachers and other professionals who work with children and young people is available through the Government funded MindEd site[1].

[1] MindEd can be accessed at the following link: https://www.minded.org.uk/

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01/01/2023
Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to promote Help to Buy.

Brandon Lewis

The Department promotes awareness of Help to Buy through the two Government websites Help to Buy and Own Your Home, through regular updates on the Help to Buy Twitter and Facebook accounts and through press advertising to promote Help to Buy: Equity Loan and London Help to Buy.

Over 62,500 homes have been purchased through Help to Buy: Equity Loan, to end September 2015. On 1 February, we launched London Help to Buy which will enable people to purchase a home with up to 40% equity loan of the purchase price and a deposit as low as 5%. It could potentially help over 10,000 households to purchase a home in London over the next five years.

01/01/2023
Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will establish a system to permit supplementary schools and mainstream schools to bid for funding to support the professional development of staff teaching English to GCSE and A-level standard; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

Decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rightly rest with schools, headteachers, and teachers as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements.

01/01/2023
Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to highlight play as a key strand of the Government’s policy on parenting and life chances.

Lord Nash

I refer the noble Baroness to the answer given on 9 March to PQ 29736, which I have also set out below:

The Department for Education recognises that play has an important role in supporting all young children to develop and prepare for later learning.

Play is integral in the early years and is covered in the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage framework which states: “Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others.” The framework is attached.

The Government’s forthcoming Life Chances Strategy will set out a comprehensive plan to fight disadvantage and extend opportunity. Within this, we are considering how we can support early years and parenting to give children the best start in life.

01/01/2023
Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many pubs in England have asset of community value status.

Mr Marcus Jones

There are over 1,200 pubs that have been listed as assets of community value by communities all over England.

01/01/2023
Marion Fellows – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Marion Fellows on 2016-06-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the income of the highest-earning parent is used to assess eligibility for child benefit rather than the joint incomes of both parents.

Damian Hinds

If the Government were to use total household income as the criteria for the High Income Child Benefit Charge on households, this would require collecting information of the incomes of everyone in each of the eight million households receiving Child Benefit. This would effectively introduce a new means test. The Government’s approach withdraws Child Benefit from those on high incomes, whilst having no impact on the majority of claimants.

01/01/2023