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Tag: 2016

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the performance against its aims of the Government’s productivity plan, entitled Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, published in July 2015.

    Joseph Johnson

    Productivity growth is a key economic challenge for this Parliament. Productivity, measured as output per hour worked, grew by 1.3% in the third quarter of 2015 compared to a year earlier.

    We are now in the process of implementing the Productivity Plan, with Ministers and officials overseeing delivery through cross-Whitehall boards and Cabinet Committees. We are making good progress, specifically:

    • The rate and scope of the Apprenticeships Levy has been confirmed, bringing us closer to a sustainable funding system to boost skills and put employers in the driving seat.
    • The Cutting Red Tape Programme aims to cut at least £10 billion of unnecessary regulation.
    • The Housing and Planning Bill, now awaiting its Committee stage in the House of Lords, was introduced to boost house building and accelerate planning decisions.
    • New devolution deals have been signed with Sheffield, the North East, Tees Valley, Liverpool and West Midlands.
    • Proposals have been made to increase the quality of teaching and student choice in higher education.
    • The Productivity Leadership Group, chaired by Sir Charlie Mayfield, is progressing well and will report in the summer.
    • We have continued to protect the science budget in real terms to the end of the Parliament, and are protecting in cash terms the funding through Innovate UK.

  • Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Freedom of Information requests his Department has received from hon. Members since the coming into force of the Act.

    Matthew Hancock

    Due to the nature of the way FOI requests are recorded it is unfortunately not possible to identify the number of requests from all former and existing Cabinet Office Ministers or honourable members except at disproportionate cost.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what total value of assets has been transferred from local authority control to control by academy schools or combinations of academy schools in each of the last five years.

    Edward Timpson

    The majority of the assets that transfer to academy control on conversion are land and buildings. In the vast majority of conversions the local authority (LA) retains the freehold, and will lease the land and buildings to the academy. No academy can dispose of land without the Secretary of State’s consent and – where they retain the freehold – the LA.

    In accordance with government accounting requirements the Department for Education is obliged to consolidate academy trust’s accounts into our own and record the total value of net assets that academies control; including land and buildings leased from LAs.

    The table below summarises information we hold and have published on the transfer, in accountancy terms, of assets to academies. As the Department for Education has only been required to consolidate academy trust’s accounts into our own from financial year 2012-13, it is not possible to provide individual figures for 2010-11 and 2011-12.

    Net assets transferred to EFA on conversion of academy trusts from local authorities.

    Year

    Net assets transferred from local authorities (£m)

    Academies converting before 1st April 2012

    13,900

    Academies converting in 2012-13

    6,213

    Academies converting in 2013-14

    3,390

    Academies converting in 2014-15

    2,707

    Total

    26,210
  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the purpose is of the training provided by the UK armed forces to the security and armed forces personnel of Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK Armed Forces do not currently provide any training to security and Armed Forces personnel of Burundi or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    We provide some limited training to the Rwandan Armed Forces, largely at the Rwandan Peace Academy and Staff College and through occasional places at UK staff colleges. This training is in support of security sector reform and effective and compliant Rwandan contributions to peace support and disaster relief operations.

    We also deliver training to the African Union’s Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF), as part of our effort to build the EASF’s capacity to conduct peace support operations. This training includes elements such as protection of civilians and civil and military cooperation. Some Burundian and Rwandan Armed Forces personnel attached to the EASF may attend this training.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to improve broadband access for small businesses.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government recognises the importance of broadband access throughout the UK for businesses of all sizes. Under the Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme, over 50,000 SMEs across 52 cities took a connection voucher, with around 41,000 businesses already connected to super and ultra-fast broadband.

    The Government is also undertaking a Review into Business Broadband, jointly led by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to explore the barriers faced by businesses, including SMEs, in accessing the affordable, high-speed broadband they need. That Review is ongoing and will report later this year.

  • Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many citizens of other EU countries work in his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public body.

    Joseph Johnson

    56.6% (2380) of the c.4200 staff within core BEIS (former Department for Energy and Climate Change and Business, Innovation and Skills) have voluntarily declared their nationality with 4.5% (106) of that number declaring EU citizenship.

    The nationality data for BEIS’s partner organisations, including arms-length bodies and non-departmental public bodies, is either not available or incomplete.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel from (a) 6 SCOTS and (b) 7 SCOTS did not attend the minimum number of training days in each year since 2012.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    There is no minimum number of training days for Army Reservists.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to sign the Safe Schools Declaration to protect schools from being attacked or occupied for military purposes.

    James Duddridge

    The intention of the Safe Schools Declaration is for countries to support the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military use during Armed Conflict. While we welcome the spirit of the Declaration, we have concerns that the Guidelines do not mirror the exact language of International Humanitarian Law. We believe that better implementation of, and compliance with, existing International Humanitarian Law will provide the best protection for civilians, including children, in all situations of armed conflict.

    The UK, along with the US, France, Canada, Japan, Germany, Australia and other countries, was therefore not able to sign the Safe Schools Declaration in Oslo in May 2015.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Ministry of Defence (a) military and (b) civilian personnel are based at the Muwaffaq airbase in Jordan.

    Penny Mordaunt

    There are no Ministry of Defence personnel based at the Muwaffaq airbase in Jordan.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria her Department uses to assess the value for money of each free school’s capital budget.

    Edward Timpson

    Since 2010, we have opened around 400 new free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools. These schools offer excellent value for money. They are being built significantly quicker and cheaper than previous school building programmes. The National Audit Office found in its report in 2013 that free schools were built 45% cheaper than other school building programmes. Almost 200,000 new places will be provided. 25% of the free schools inspected by Ofsted have been judged outstanding compared to 20% of all other schools. We plan to open at least 500 new schools during this Parliament.

    We monitor the programme’s costs to ensure it continues to offer excellent value. A value for money assessment is made prior to a free school application being approved for the pre-opening stage and again before a capital budget is approved. We consider all aspects of the project, including the size of the school and the location of the site. Sites in London tend to cost more to acquire and this is taken into account when considering the value for money offered by London projects.