Tag: 2016

John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of staff on the payroll of her Department who work in Westminster are (a) British nationals and (b) nationals of another country.

Rory Stewart

All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.

January 1, 2023
Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the number of bone marrow donors in the UK.

Jane Ellison

The Department has provided £19 million in additional funding to improve the provision of stem cells through the work of our delivery partners, NHS Blood and Transplant and Anthony Nolan since 2011. This funding has supported a range of developments including the targeted recruitment of young male donors. To date over 75,000 young male donors have been recruited and evidence shows that these donors are approximately six times more likely to be requested to donate.

January 1, 2023
Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role they are playing in the EU to ensure that the dumping of cut-priced subsidised steel is brought to an end.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The government is strongly in favour of effective trade defences to tackle unfair trade practices. We voted in favour of anti-dumping measures on steel products in July and November. We also supported the imposition of provisional anti-dumping measures on reinforcing bar in January, an investigation for which we lobbied the European Commission successfully, and on cold-rolled flat steel products in February. We share the steel industry’s concerns about the level of duties imposed in both cases, and we are pressing the Commission to reconsider this. We also welcomed the opening of three new anti-dumping investigations in February.

The government is also pushing the Commission for faster, more effective action to deal with dumping of steel. This was one of the conclusions of the Extraordinary Competitiveness Council on Steel in November, a meeting which my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills was instrumental in convening. In advance of the European Commission’s energy-intensive industry stakeholder’s summit on 15 February – another key action from the Competitiveness Council – the government and several other EU Member States sent a joint letter to the Commission, pressing it to make full and timely use of all trade defence instruments to tackle unfair trade. My Rt Hon Friend the Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise played an active role at this summit. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has also raised these issues in discussions with Trade Commissioner Malmström, most recently on 25 February. I reiterated the need for faster and more effective action on dumping at the Competitiveness Council held on 29^th February and the Presidency conclusions of that Council reflected this message.

The government is also supporting a robust discussion of the issue of overcapacity through the EU’s ongoing dialogue with the Chinese and other governments.

January 1, 2023
Lord Chadlington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chadlington on 2016-03-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the UK Chief Medical Officers’ alcohol guidelines review, what steps they are taking to educate young people about the dangers of drinking.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Public Health England’s Rise Above social marketing programme aims to reduce the uptake of risky behaviours, including alcohol consumption, by young people aged 11-16. It teaches them the skills required to make better decisions in ‘risky’ situations to delay and prevent them from engaging in exploratory behaviours.

Talk to FRANK is a web-based information service that explains the effects and risks of excessive alcohol consumption. It also provides a help service via phone, text, live chat and email for people who are concerned about their own or others’ alcohol consumption. Talk to FRANK is an independent Government funded programme.

The Government also commissions the Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service to enable schools to understand and implement evidence-based approaches to preventing harmful alcohol use by children and young people.

In the new science curriculum, there are opportunities for young people to be taught about the dangers of drinking: for example, at key stage 2, pupils should be taught to “recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function”, or in biology at key stage 3, where pupils will learn about “the effects of recreational drugs (including substance misuse) on behaviour, health and life processes”.

January 1, 2023
Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how the Access to Higher Education Diploma will be funded from academic year 2016-17 onwards.

Nick Boles

From 1 August 2016, funding for learners to study an Access to HE Diploma will be as follows:
- learners aged 19 or over who already have a full level 3 qualification will be able to access an Advanced Learner Loan;
- for those aged 19 to 23 who do not currently have a first full level 3 the Skills Funding Agency will provide full funding as the individual will be exercising their level 3 entitlement.
  
  Learners with an Advanced Learner Loan for their Access to HE Diploma course, who then go on to complete a course of Higher Education, will have the outstanding balance of their Advanced Learner Loan written off. Advanced Learner Loans for Access to HE Diploma courses continue to be accessed in good numbers.
January 1, 2023
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish in full the findings of the new review into the governance of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

Lord Prior of Brampton

This is a matter for NHS Improvement, which advises that it is currently undertaking a tender process to appoint a provider for the governance review of the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust. It is expected that the review will begin in July 2016 and will report in the autumn.

NHS Improvement advises that it will publish the final review report in full.

January 1, 2023
Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff are currently employed by his Department; and what steps he is taking to recruit staff with the required expertise.

Mr David Jones

The new Department for Exiting the European Union will be made up of staff from various departments across Government, including from the UK’s Permanent Representation to the EU. The department has already started drawing together expertise from a wide range of departments where there is specific relevant knowledge. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are now being considered – the department now has over 180 staff.

January 1, 2023
Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to increase investment in decentralised renewable energy.

James Wharton

The UK Government is playing a leading role in improving energy access in developing countries. DFID has a range of programmes which are working with developing countries to ensure renewable energy markets work effectively as well as supporting energy businesses to grow, and providing consumers with access to funding to buy solar goods. For example, our Energy Access Ventures programme is investing in off-grid electric and we are delivering green mini-grid solutions across Africa.

Through the UK Government’s Energy Africa campaign we are working with solar firms to help them access the finance they need to expand their businesses, create jobs and help reach millions of people in Africa without electricity access.

January 1, 2023
Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential for Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer visas to be used to replace UK workers with outsourced overseas workers in the IT industry.

James Brokenshire

Tier 2, the skilled worker route, is designed to fill roles which cannot be filled by a suitable resident worker. The immigration rules, and UK employment law, do not allow workers to be made redundant and directly replaced.

It is a decision for businesses whether to outsource certain functions. We are, however, mindful of concerns that use of the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) category for third party contracting may undercut or displace resident workers.

That is why, in June last year, we commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to examine the ICT category as part of its wider review on Tier 2. The MAC published its report on 19 January and it can be found on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migration-advisory-committee-mac-review-tier-2-migration

Chapter 6 of the report sets out the MAC’s findings on the ICT category, including its use for third party contracting, the salaries paid to IT workers and the impacts on the resident labour market. The MAC found that salaries for these transferees were clustered around the 25th percentile of earnings for resident workers in IT occupations (the current minimum permitted under the immigration rules).

The Government is currently considering the MAC’s findings carefully and will announce any changes in due course.

January 1, 2023
Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to extend the current 12-month period for taking action following an allegation of overspending by a political-party on a by-election.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The time period for starting proceedings is set in the Representation of the People Act 1983. The Government has no plans to amend this period.

January 1, 2023