Tag: 2016

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraphs 1.140 and 1.142 of the Budget 2016, whether it is his policy that apprentices over the age of 25 will be subject to the national living wage or the apprentice rate of the national minimum wage.

    Nick Boles

    Apprentices under the age of 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship are entitled to at least the National Minimum Wage apprentice rate – currently set at £3.30 per hour.

    All other apprentices are entitled to at least the minimum wage rate appropriate for their age, which for over-25s is the National Living Wage rate of £7.20 per hour.

  • 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 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many paramedics have taken time off work due to stress in each of the last five years.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not collected centrally. Individual ambulance trusts are responsible for helping improve the health and wellbeing of their paramedics including helping them manage their stress.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of transport projects delivered from the Local Growth Fund have been dedicated to cycling to date.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    To date, around 36% of transport projects in Local Enterprise Partnerships’ Local Growth Fund programmes are solely or in part dedicated to cycling projects.

  • 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 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health services he has visited in his capacity as Secretary of State since December 2015; and what the date was of each such visit.

    David Mowat

    The Secretary of State for Health has visited the following mental health services in an official capacity since December 2015.

    29 January 2016 King’s College Hospital, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

    5 February 2016 Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

    27 July 2016 STITCH project, Royal Bristol Infirmary, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what restrictions are in place controlling flights going to and from London City Airport; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr John Hayes

    London City Airport’s operational hours are limited to minimise the impact on local residents. The airport is permitted to operate flights between the following hours:

    • 06.30 and 22.30 hours on weekdays
    • 06.30 and 13.00 hours on Saturdays
    • 12.30 and 22.30 on Sundays
    • 09.00 and 22.30 hours on Public or Bank Holidays
    • Full closure on 25 December

    The final 30 minutes of operation is solely for flights scheduled earlier which have been unavoidably delayed.

    The total number of aircraft movements (take off and landings) is limited to 120,000 per annum.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many courts cases HM Revenue and Customs has initiated for tax abuse under the General Anti-Abuse Rule since its introduction; and how many people or companies found to have committed tax abuse under this Rule have been charged penalties.

    Mr David Gauke

    The General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) was introduced in July 2013, and only applies to abusive tax arrangements entered into from this date.

    This means that it will first apply to income tax returns for the tax year ending 5 April 2014, which must have been filed with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by 31 January 2015. For corporation tax, returns are based on a company’s accounting period so, for example, returns for accounting periods ending 30 September 2013 have to be submitted to HMRC by the end of September 2014.

    For cases to be tackled by the GAAR, HMRC must first enquire into tax returns once they are received, and gather all relevant facts. It is therefore early in the process of litigation action for cases to be tackled by the GAAR.

    Nonetheless, the Government is committed to continually deterring the persistent minority from engaging in tax avoidance. As announced at Autumn Statement 2015, a penalty of 60% of the tax due for all cases tackled by the GAAR will be introduced in Finance Bill 2016.

  • Baroness Meacher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Meacher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Meacher on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that preventing groups and organisations from objecting to school admissions arrangements will have on overall levels of compliance with the School Admissions Code.

    Lord Nash

    The Government’s proposed changes are intended to ensure that the Adjudicator is able to focus on any concerns which parents may have about the fairness of the admission arrangements of their local school, and that adjudications are not delayed by the need to consider large numbers of objections referred by interest groups from outside the area.

    The Department does not believe that preventing other organisations from submitting objections will have a detrimental impact. The Government will be conducting a full public consultation in due course and will give careful consideration to all the views expressed in that consultation.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials in the private offices group are employed on temporary contracts.

    Matthew Hancock

    At 31 January 2016, the Private Office Group in my department employed no officials on temporary contracts.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the role of the local authority in terms of (a) child protection, (b) safeguarding and (c) other duties for schools which become academies; and who will finance those roles.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities’ responsibilities in relation to child protection and safeguarding are unaffected by schools becoming academies, as they are not dependent on the type of school which a child attends. Details of the role we expect local authorities to play are set out in the statutory guidance “Working together to safeguard children 2015”[1]. Ofsted also inspects local authorities’ children’s social care services against the rigorous ‘Single Inspection Framework’, which includes a review of the effectiveness of the Local Safeguarding Children Board.

    The White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere,[2] sets out the education functions which we expect local authorities to provide when schools have become academies. These are focussed on supporting the interests of pupils and parents rather than services related to maintaining schools.

    Local authority funding for children’s social care is administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government. As part of our ongoing National Funding Formula consultation[3], we are proposing to create a new central schools block, which will fund a range of education services that local authorities carry out for all pupils and parents, regardless of whether they are in a maintained school or an academy.

    [1]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419595/Working_Together_to_Safeguard_Children.pdf

    [2]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508447/Educational_Excellence_Everywhere.pdf

    [3] https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/schools-national-funding-formula

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to create a Best Practice Tariff or similar sustained improvement incentive for sepsis.

    Ben Gummer

    In 2015/16, NHS England introduced an incentive payment (a national Commissioning for Quality and Innovation measure) to encourage the timely recognition and treatment of sepsis for emergency admissions. In 2016/17 this was extended to include in-patients who deteriorate in hospitals. NHS England will continue to review the best way of incentivising high performance in recognising and treating sepsis promptly and appropriately.