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Tag: 2016

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 33376, by what date his Department plans to decide on whether British Sign Language is an acceptable alternative to qualifications in English for the purposes of completing an apprenticeship.

    Nick Boles

    We are considering whether British Sign Language could be an acceptable alternative to qualifications in English for the purposes of completing an apprenticeship. We will provide an update about this matter before summer recess.

  • Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-06-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the major barriers his Department has identified are to improving construction productivity; and what steps the Government has taken to remove those barriers.

    Nick Boles

    Working with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), the Government has identified skills, business models and innovation as the major sources of improved productivity in the sector.

    To promote increased investment in skills, an Apprenticeship Levy will be introduced in April 2017 on all companies with a pay bill above £3 million per annum. The CLC Review of the Construction Labour Model launched in January 2016, is examining the labour model in construction and will recommend measures which will help lead house-building and other construction firms to ensure they have the skills, and the skills pipelines, that they need.

    The Government Construction Strategy 2016-2020 published in March this year has a focus on smarter procurement, using Government’s position in the market to help drive improved productivity in construction and better value for the tax payer.

    Businesses need money to invest in productivity improvement, and a review of the practice of cash retention and of the effectiveness of the legislation covering construction contracts (Part 2 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996), is currently underway.

    Digital technology has great potential to drive productivity improvement through innovation in construction, and the UK is among the world leaders thanks to the Government’s support for the use and development of Building Information Modelling. In the Budget the Government announced support for the development of the next digital standard for the construction sector, Building Information Modelling 3.

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to encourage business owners to provide accessible toilets for customers.

    Gavin Barwell

    Persons carrying out building work to non domestic buildings need to comply with the requirements of Part M (Access to and use of buildings) of the Building Regulations. Statutory guidance on how to comply with these requirements is set out in Approved Document M and contains detailed guidance on accessible toilet and sanitary provision in buildings other than dwellings.

    The Government also continues to support the provision of “Changing Places Toilets” which provide facilities for severely disabled people, most recently by funding the development of a website which provides detailed guidance on the location of and facilities contained in “Changing Places” toilets facilities.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many local health and care providers have sought advice from private sector consultants in drafting Sustainability and Transformation Plan Footprints; and at what cost to the NHS.

    David Mowat

    Sustainability and Transformation Plans are local plans and have been developed locally. Neither the Department nor NHS England collects data on whether these plans have been developed with outside advice.

  • Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many people of each gender work in his Department.

    Stephen Crabb

    There are currently 23 women and 23 men working at the Wales Office.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing a registered intermediary when children are interviewed by police in sexual offence cases.

    Mike Penning

    The specific needs of vulnerable witnesses, including children, are assessed on a case by case basis. The guidance, “Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings”, sets out best practice for the police when undertaking an initial assessment. This assessment may identify a specific need for the assistance of an intermediary during the course of the investigation, for example in an interview or latterly at court when giving evidence.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that failed asylum claimants who have spoken out against the government of their country of origin are not deported in such a way as to draw the case to the attention of immigration officials in the destination country.

    James Brokenshire

    We carefully consider all asylum claims on their individual merits and provide protection for those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This includes an assessment about whether a person who has spoken out against their government is likely to be at risk of persecution or serious harm on return.

    We do not provide any information relating to an asylum claim to the government of a claimant’s country of origin. No one who is at risk of serious harm in their country is expected to return there, but we do expect those who do not need our protection to return home voluntarily.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans for the statutory guidance for local authorities, entitled Post-16 transport to education and training, next to be reviewed to take account of the raising of the education and training participation age to 18; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The statutory guidance for local authorities on post-16 transport was updated in February 2014; it is reviewed annually and updated if necessary. The updated guidance includes information on the raising of the participation age, along with a link to local authority guidance on participation.

    The statutory responsibility for transport to education and training for 16- to 19-year-olds rests with local authorities who we expect to make reasonable decisions about the support they offer based on the needs of their young people, local transport infrastructure and the resources they have available.

    Most young people have access to some kind of discount or concession on bus or train travel, either from their local authority, local transport providers, or from their school or college. The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund is also available to support young people with the costs associated with attending education or training, and transport is the biggest single area of expenditure for which this fund is used.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the UK has taken to support increased tariffs on artificially cheap steel imports to the EU.

    Anna Soubry

    The World Trade Organisation does not have a role in conducting anti-dumping investigations. Responsibility for anti-dumping investigations and imposing anti-dumping measures against imports into the EU and the UK lies with the European Commission. These investigations are driven by requests from EU producers.

    The Government makes regular representations to the Commission concerning allegations of dumping of steel. My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister pressed for more action on dumping of steel at European Council on 17 and 18 March. The government judges each anti-dumping case on its merits, based on the evidence presented by the Commission and on representations from interested parties, including producers, users and importers, but is strongly in favour of effective trade defences to tackle unfair trade practices where justified. We have voted in favour of anti-dumping measures on several steel products since July, including the imposition of provisional anti-dumping measures on reinforcing bar in January, an investigation for which we lobbied the Commission successfully, and on cold-rolled flat steel products in February.

    We have supported industry calls for higher duties on specific cases where this is justified by the evidence. For example, in the reinforcing bar case we have raised the steel industry’s concerns that the provisional duties were too low with the Commission. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills spoke with Trade Commissioner Malmström about this and received assurances that the Commission will reconsider this during the definitive stage of the investigation, if industry can provide the necessary evidence.

    We also welcomed the opening of four new anti-dumping investigations involving steel products earlier this year.

    The Government continues to push 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 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. I 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 Commissioner Malmström, most recently at the OECD conference on the challenges facing the steel industry on 18 April. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) (Intellectual Property) reiterated the need for faster and more effective action on dumping at the Competitiveness Council held on 29 February and the Presidency conclusions of that Council reflected this message. I did likewise at the European Steel Day on 21 April. Officials also have regular discussions about anti-dumping cases with Commission officials and officials from other EU Member States.

    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, including at the OECD conference. My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister has discussed this issue directly with President Xi and was told that China will take steps to reduce its overcapacity. My Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer also raised it during his visit to China in February and my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills raised it with his counterpart in February. Similarly, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised it during his visit to China in April.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-06-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department is making on tackling aggressive fundraising activities by charities.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    Last year the Government accepted the recommendations made in a sector-led review of fundraising regulation to support the setup of a new independent regulator with stronger sanctions and control of the code of practice.

    Since then there have been several positive changes. The Code of Fundraising Practice has already been strengthened in several areas. The law has been changed in the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 to better protect vulnerable individuals and encourage greater accountability. The Charity Commission has published updated fundraising guidance that emphasises trustees’ role in over-seeing fundraising. Many charities and their representative bodies are already taking their own steps to improve fundraising practices.

    The new Fundraising Regulator is due to open in July and will proactively ensure that charities fundraise to the high standards the public expect.