Tag: 2016

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what advice UKFI provided to his Department on when and how to complete a sale of Royal Bank of Scotland shares.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government has been consistently clear that its policy in respect of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to return the bank to the private sector in full. The advice received from Rothschilds and the Governor of the Bank of England relates specifically to the appropriate timing of an initial share sale.

    UK Financial Investments (UKFI) is responsible for the execution of share sales, and advised the Chancellor in August 2015 that it would be appropriate to conduct the first sale of the Government’s shareholding in RBS. On 3 August 2015, UKFI sold approximately 5.4% of the bank via an accelerated bookbuilding process.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to (a) help up-skill and (b) provide technical education for the Bangladeshi workforce.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID is supporting the upskilling of the Bangladeshi workforce through several projects in both the informal and formal sectors. Through our support to the Underprivileged Children’s Educational Programme, a local educational institution, nearly 45, 000 children have received general education and over 13, 000 have received technical and vocational training. Of the latter, 90% have been placed in formal employment or become self-employed. The programme focuses on working children in slums who dropped out of school.

    DFID also launched ‘the Skills and Employment Programme in Bangladesh’ in October 2015. The programme aims to provide private sector training opportunities, with a particular focus on supporting women and disadvantaged populations, in the ready-made garments and construction sectors.

  • 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 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26406, how much is included in the Business Rate Retention Scheme funding stream to reflect the changes to the payment of Bus Service Operators Grant that were introduced in 2013.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Following the 2013 changes to the Bus Service Operator’s Grant (BSOG) system, the Department no longer pays BSOG in respect of bus services in London. Instead, the amount that had previously been paid out under the BSOG scheme (some £90m in 2011/2012) was taken into account in determining the amount of funding received by the Greater London Authority under the Business Rate Retention Scheme introduced in 2013. This money is not ring-fenced and it is a matter for the Mayor to determine how it is spent.

  • Chris Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Chris Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a mandatory dog-breeding licence for any household planning to produce two or more litters per year; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    We are reviewing certain local authority licensing schemes, including the breeding and selling of dogs. The public consultation on this issue closed on 12 March. The consultation proposed that anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs, or who breeds more than two litters in a twelve month period, would need a licence.

    We also proposed to prohibit the sale of puppies under eight weeks of age in all cases. We are currently analysing the 1,500 or so responses before making any firm decisions.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which guidance her Department provides to local authorities on the retention of case files for victims of serious child abuse in local authority-provided care.

    Edward Timpson

    Paragraphs 7.10 and 7.11 of Volume 2[1] of the guidance and regulations to Children Act 1989 (on care planning, placement and case review) explains how a local authority should retain and safe keep all looked after children’s case files.

    Paragraphs 4.21 et seq of Volume 3[2] of the same guidance (on transition to adulthood for care leavers) includes information about access to records for people who have spent all or part of the childhood or adolescence in local authority care.

    [1]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/441643/Children_Act_Guidance_2015.pdf

    [2]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/397649/CA1989_Transitions_guidance.pdf

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  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in connection with the reference in the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting communiqué to the proposal for a Commonwealth Advantage under which all member governments would consider further possible measures to enhance the scope for Commonwealth citizens to access each other’s countries more easily and for longer than is currently possible.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Home Office officials continue to contribute to a Working Group led by the Commonwealth Secretariat which is looking at the movement of Commonwealth citizens and how that can be improved, taking due regard to the requirement in the Communiqué that the actions should “not conflict with national legislation and international obligations”. Commonwealth Heads of Government have requested a progress report on these Working Group discussions at their next meeting.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it policy to adopt a national assessment framework at Key Stage 3 in order to remove from schools the need to spend time writing their own assessment guidelines.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government removed the system of ‘levels’ used to report children’s attainment in September 2014 and has no plans to replace it. At Key Stages 1, 2 and 3, schools are expected to implement assessment systems that meet the needs of their pupils and takes account of their curriculum.

    Levels were only ever intended to be used for end of Key Stage statutory assessment but, over time, they came to dominate all assessment and have a damaging impact on teaching practice. Removing levels has put assessment back in the hands of schools and restored its real purpose of helping teachers to evaluate pupils’ understanding of curriculum content and plan lessons to support their progress. The removal of levels should also help to alleviate teacher workload over time by reducing the tracking burdens that levels encouraged.

    In order to support schools so that they can make the most of the freedoms created by the removal of levels, we set up the Commission on Assessment Without Levels. In 2015, the Commission published guidance for schools, which includes examples of best practice. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commission-on-assessment-without-levels-final-report

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  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will bring forward proposals to reduce the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Triennial Review of Stakes and Prizes is due to be published shortly, and will consider stakes and prizes of all gaming machines.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the intelligence and surveillance technology components that will be retrofitted to Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft procured by his Department will be supplied by UK manufacturers.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 3 December 2015 in response to Question 17838.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will take steps to provide compensation for people in Scotland who have lost out financially as a result of the increase in the women’s pension age.

    David Mundell

    In-work and out of work working age benefits are available for those who have not yet reached State Pension age.

    The women affected by the Pensions Act 2011 will reach State Pension age after the introduction of the new State Pension, which will be more generous for those historically worse off under the current system.

    Further, a £1 billion concession was made, limiting the delay that anyone would experience to their State Pension age to 18 months, relative to the Pensions Act 1995 timetable. This mitigated the effect of the changes for those most affected by the Pensions Act 2011.