Tag: 2016

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training jobcentre work coaches receive.

    Priti Patel

    All Jobcentre Work Coaches complete learning that has been designed specifically for their role. This learning combines the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to coach claimants effectively so that they are able to identify for themselves what they need to do to find work and how best to do it.

    It includes diversity and equality, working with vulnerable claimants and working with claimants who have a mental health condition.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries where female genital mutilation is known or suspected to be practised widely receive UK overseas aid.

    Baroness Verma

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is one of the most extreme manifestations of gender inequality. It is a form of violence against women and girls and can result in a lifetime of physical, psychological and emotional suffering. It is a global problem – over 200 million women and girls across at least 30 countries, including the UK, have been cut.

    The UK Government remains firmly committed to bringing about an end of FGM. Our Flagship FGM programme supports efforts to end the practise in 17 of the highest burden of these countries. With the support from UK aid over 13,500 communities across these countries have publically declared the abandonment of FGM since 2008.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prescriptions for mental health medications were dispensed to people with learning disabilities in (a) England and (b) each NHS England region in each year since 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested is not collected centrally.

  • Margaret Beckett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Beckett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Beckett on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the letter from the National Security Adviser to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy of 10 March 2016, how many GCHQ staff were (a) recruited to and (b) completed the GCHQ cyber apprenticeship scheme in each year since 2012.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Since 2012 the scheme has already provided over 70 highly skilled new entrants to the GCHQ workforce. Of the 18 students who joined the GCHQ apprenticeship scheme in September 2012, over 60% successfully graduated from the course in 2014 and joined the GCHQ workforce. In September 2013, the nature and scale of the apprenticeship scheme changed as it expanded to become a scheme covering the whole of the SIA: all three of the UK’s intelligence Agencies (MI5, SIS and GCHQ) now directly recruit successful graduates from the scheme, which means that the exact number of apprentices each year cannot be openly released for security reasons. I can confirm however that over 160 new apprentices have joined the scheme since 2013, and of these a substantial majority are expected to join GCHQ when they graduate.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to tackle persistent staff segregation by gender at some independent faith schools, as recently identified by the Chief Inspector of Schools.

    Lord Nash

    Independent schools have to meet the standards set in regulations. If segregation results in disadvantage for pupils of one gender, either directly or through inappropriate modelling of gender roles through staff segregation visible to pupils, then it is likely that the standards have not been met and regulatory action by this Department will follow. If there is a possibility that staff segregation disadvantages staff of one gender and there may be a direct breach of the Equality Act 2010, we will not hesitate to make a referral to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

  • Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what basis local authorities are to be given powers under Clause 5 of the Bus Services Bill [HL] to demand relevant information from bus operators, particularly in cases where such relevant information is market-sensitive and providing it to any other party might be contrary to the Competition Act 1998.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government wants to ensure that authorities considering franchising can access the information they need to accurately assess their franchising scheme. This will help to ensure that informed decisions can be made on the basis of robust evidence and analysis.

    We recognise that some of the information provided by operators will be commercially sensitive. Franchising authorities will need to treat this information with care, and will be able to refuse to release such information by way of the relevant Freedom of Information exemptions. The Bill also makes clear that the information acquired by the franchising authority must only be used in connection with its franchising functions, and not for other purposes.

  • Lord Green of Deddington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Green of Deddington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the analysis by HM Revenue and Customs Further Tax Credit Statistics on EEA Nationals, published on 25 August, how many individuals who were recorded as being (1) Bulgarian, and (2) Romanian, nationals at the time of issue of their National Insurance numbers claimed (a) tax credits, and (b) child benefit, in 2014–15; and what was the amount of those claims.

    Lord Young of Cookham

    The ‘Further Tax Credit Statistics on EEA Nationals, 2013/14’ publication released in August of this year covered HMRC benefits alongside National Insurance Contributions and Income Tax paid by EEA nationals for 2013/14. HMRC information on EEA nationals is complex and the data should be considered in its totality, as set out in that August publication, in order to get as comprehensive and complete a picture as possible. The data on the amount of National Insurance and Income Tax paid for 2014/15 will not be available until spring 2017, and will be published alongside tax credits and Child Benefit data in due course.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to reflect house prices in the calculation of inflation.

    Simon Kirby

    Inflation statistics are produced independently of government by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The current main measure of inflation is CPI. This does not include house prices as these are an asset price and in line with international practice are not included in a consumer price index. However, it does include some costs associated with housing, such as rental prices and the costs of renovating and repair and maintenance of homes. The ONS also produces CPIH, which does include housing costs but is currently undergoing development work after the UK Statistics Authority found faults in its production.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2016 to Question 21590, how many universal credit claimants his Department expects to notify.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not currently available.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will reinstate legal aid for qualifying UK residents seeking to re-unite with their immediate family members from overseas; and if not, why not.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    Our limited legal aid resources should be available for the highest priority cases and to the most financially vulnerable. There are no plans to change the legal aid arrangements for family reunion. As with all cases outside the scope of legal aid, exceptional funding may be available where required under ECHR or EU law.

    Guidance to support applications for family reunion is available from the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). UKVI issue guidance to help applicants, and the types of evidence requested to accompany an application – such as marriage and birth certificates – will usually be straightforward to collate.