The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to publish its Life Changes Strategy.
Damian Hinds
The Prime Minister is clear that tackling poverty and disadvantage, and delivering real social reform, is a priority for this Government and we will be coming back to the House with a number of announcements over the coming months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the timetable is for developing the business case for the Inspiring Science Capital Fund.
Joseph Johnson
The business case for the Inspiring Science Capital Fund is currently being developed with science stakeholders, and is expected to go through the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Investment Gateway process within the next two months. No funding can be confirmed until the business case is agreed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the most commonly recorded item in the Incident Report System was in each prison; and how many times each such item was recorded in the prison concerned in the 12 months for which figures are available.
Andrew Selous
Other than for a few specific items such as firearms, finds of illicit items within prisons are recorded under the miscellaneous category on the NOMS Incident Reporting System. To extract the information requested could only be achieved at disproportionate cost by examining some 10,000 individual records in this category.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to encourage body confidence in young disabled people.
Caroline Dinenage
The government wants all young people to be confident and positive about their body image. My department has worked with a range of bodies, including the Advertising Association and the National Citizen Service, to develop materials that support good practice and encourage young people to become more informed and resilient consumers of media content; and with the PSHE Association to provide guidance for teachers on teaching about body image using accredited resources.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-03-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was their bilateral spending on technical assistance to programmes funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the financial years from 2010–11 to 2014–15 in addition to their commitment of up to £1 billion for the Global Fund.
Baroness Verma
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a critically important part of the international architecture for fighting the three diseases. The UK provides technical assistance to programmes funded by the Global Fund through the following organisations: the Stop-TB Partnership, Roll Back Malaria, UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation’s Global Malaria Programme. The table (below) shows DFID’s spend to these organisations over the last five financial years.
(£ Millions)
|
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
|
|
WHOs Global Malaria Programme |
– |
1.50 |
3.50 |
1.50 |
3.50 |
|
Roll Back Malaria |
0.52 |
1.00 |
1.63 |
0.63 |
1.23 |
|
Stop TB Partnership |
1.00 |
1.90 |
1.50 |
0.50 |
1.00 |
|
UNAIDS |
10.00 |
10.00 |
15.00 |
15.00 |
15.00 |
|
Total (£ Millions) |
11.52 |
14.40 |
21.63 |
17.63 |
20.73 |
The UK is committed to remaining a world leader in tackling global diseases and ending the epidemics of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by 2030. Our future contributions to the Global Fund will be determined following the completion of the Bilateral and Multilateral Aid Reviews.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the combined effect of the (a) increase in national insurance contributions and (b) one per cent 2015-16 pay increase for NHS staff which both took effect from 1 April 2016 on the take-home pay of NHS nurses.
Alistair Burt
The impact on take-home pay for National Health Service nurses, of the combined effect of these measures will depend on individual circumstances, in particular how much they are paid, whether they are members of the NHS Pension Scheme, whether they also received an annual increment and their personal tax allowance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to ensure that information held by the Land Registry that is subject to Freedom of Information requests will continue to be covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in the event of the privatisation of the Land Registry.
Anna Soubry
A Government consultation seeking views on options to move Land Registry operations to the private sector closed on 26 May. My department is analysing these responses and the Government will issue a response in due course. Transparency protections are amongst the factors being considered. No decision has been taken on the future of Land Registry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of GDP has been spent on healthcare in each of the last five years.
Mr Philip Dunne
The table below shows United Kingdom public spend on health as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 2011-12 to 2015-16.
|
Year |
UK public health spend £ billion |
UK public spend on health as % of GDP |
|
2011-12 |
121.3 |
7.4% |
|
2012-13 |
124.3 |
7.4% |
|
2013-14 |
129.4 |
7.4% |
|
2014-15 |
134.1 |
7.3% |
|
2015-16 |
138.7 |
7.4% |
Source: Table 4.2/Table 4.4 HMT Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2016
Latest available data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that the estimated 2015 UK spend on health, both public and private, is 9.8% of GDP which is higher that the OECD average of 9.0%.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to prevent wage discrepancies between male and female apprentices.
Robert Halfon
The Apprentice National Minimum Wage (NMW) applies equally to all apprentices regardless of gender (for the first year, if aged 19, the appropriate NMW for age applies). From October 2016, this rate increased to £3.40 per hour.
Most apprentices receive more than the minimum wage; the latest Apprenticeship Pay Survey (2014) estimates that the median hourly pay for Level 2 and Level 3 apprentices across Great Britain is £6.31. For males it was £6.19 and for females it was £6.36. Differences in pay may occur due to the proportion of males and females in higher or lower paid apprenticeships.
The Government places importance on compliance with minimum wage legislation and the effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing penalties levied on employers who do not pay staff at least the national minimum wage.
Nick Boles
From April 2016, we are increasing the calculation of penalties from 100% to 200% of the arrears owed. The penalty is reduced by half if employers pay within 14 days.
By increasing the penalties for underpayment of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) we intend to deter employers from breaking the law so that working people receive the money they are legally due.
This new calculation ensures a tougher penalty for employers found to have underpaid the NMW.
The fast track Impact Assessment for increasing the penalties has been validated by the Regulatory Policy Committee and published here – http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2015/324
“