Tag: 2016

  • Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will meet the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to discuss access to Welsh subtitling for learners and people with accessibility needs.

    Stephen Crabb

    I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, including on issues related to the Welsh language.

    Ofcom places a quota on S4C to subtitle 53% of its output. The Television Access Services report for the first six months of 2015 published on 22 October 2015 states that S4C provided subtitles on 78% of required programmes against its quota of 53%. The full report can be found here:

    http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/tv-sector-data/tv-access-services-reports/tv-access-services-2015

    The Ofcom code does not specify in which language the subtitles are provided and the number of programmes carrying subtitles in Welsh is a matter for S4C.

    “

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the East Midlands Trains Franchise Extension document to March 2018.

    Claire Perry

    The Department negotiated a Direct Award with Stagecoach to provide services until March 2018. The new Franchise document is currently being prepared for publication and will be available soon on our website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-register-of-rail-passenger-franchise-agreements.

    “

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether further authorisation from him will be necessary for any future airstrikes in Libya carried out by US forces from UK bases.

    Michael Fallon

    Authorisation for the United States to use UK bases to launch the airstrike against a Daesh training camp in Libya was given on 18 February 2016. Authorisation would be required for any operations of this nature involving the use of UK bases.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reasons applicants for the fifth round of the SMART scheme will not be able to apply for a sixth round as initially advised.

    Joseph Johnson

    Innovate UK is currently in the process of simplifying its support to innovative businesses to make its funding programmes more visible and easier to access. Innovate UK expects to publish its Delivery Plan for 2016/17 in the spring.

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual budget was for food and drink procured for his departmental offices in Whitehall in each of the last three years; and what proportion of all food procured for his Department was sourced from British producers in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    It is not possible to provide a breakdown of expenditure on food and drink solely for the Department’s building in Whitehall. The Department has spent the following on food and drink procured for Departmental offices in each of the last three financial years:

    Financial year £

    2013-14 193,591.20

    2014-15 159,460.39

    2015-16 118,364.32

    These costs include the provision of refreshments for external meetings and visitors hosted in the Department’s buildings. Departmental policy is not to provide refreshments for internal meetings.

    52% of all food procured for the Department was sourced from British producers for the last reporting period, January to March 2016.

    This figure is skewed by the considerable spend on non-indigenous products purchased including large volumes of coffee as well as rice, pasta, tea, bananas, citrus, and exotic fruits. In terms of primary products we can confirm that:

    ― 100% of Beef is sourced from the United Kingdom

    ― 100% of Chicken is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Lamb is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Pork is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Free Range Eggs are sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Milk is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Yoghurt is sourced from the UK

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of staff in his Department were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2015-16.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The table below sets out the proportion of payroll and non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010/10 to 2014/15. Data for 2015/16 will be available in due course.

    YEAR

    Proportion on Payroll

    Proportion off payroll

    2010-11

    98.64%

    1.36%

    2011-12

    98.74%

    1.26%

    2012-13

    98.28%

    1.72%

    2013-14

    97.22%

    2.78%

    2014-15

    96.43%

    3.57%

    Non-payroll covers staff categorised as consultants and contingent labour i.e. interim managers, specialist contractors and agency staff.

    The increase in off-payroll engagements can be attributed to factors such as:

    • The merger of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency and Driving Standards Agency into a single organisation (Driver & Vehicle Standards
      Agency). This required certain roles to be temporarily filled by non-permanent employees.
    • Increased activity reflecting the Government’s investment in roads, rail and HS2, which has required the Department to bring in skills which were not available within the Department.
  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on claimants of no longer being eligible to receive employment and support allowance payments at the assessment rate when undergoing a mandatory reconsideration of a work capability assessment.

    Penny Mordaunt

    ESA claimants who are found fit for work and are waiting for their mandatory reconsideration application to be decided, are eligible to claim JSA. This is the right benefit for those who are capable of work, with Jobcentre work coaches fully supporting these claimants during this period – and the statistics released on 8 September show that this period is now a relatively short one – the median average being around 9 days.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to include in the proposed Education for All Bill a contractual obligation on schools to provide sex and relationships education.

    Edward Timpson

    We want schools to provide all young people with a curriculum that equips them for success in adult life. High-quality sex and relationship education (SRE) and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education have a vital role to play in this.

    SRE is compulsory in maintained secondary schools. Academies and free schools do not have to teach SRE, but many choose to do so as part of their statutory duty to provide a broad and balanced curriculum.

    When teaching SRE, all schools, including academies through their funding agreement, must have regard to the Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education guidance. The existing SRE guidance was last updated in 2000. We have received requests about updating the guidance which we will consider carefully.

    Schools and teachers have the freedom to design lessons that meet their pupils’ needs, taking account of pupil and parent views. Teachers are encouraged to develop their practice with the support of specialist organisations and expert professionals. Many of these specialist organisations have produced resources that can be used and adapted by schools.

    We hold regular meetings with Ofsted about a range of matters. As the Secretary of State said at the Education Select Committee hearing in September 2016, we need to look again at how schools deliver high-quality PSHE, including SRE. We are considering all the options, including the need for any statutory powers, and will come to a view soon.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of existing legislation for tackling incidents of cyber bullying and harassment.

    Mike Penning

    As part of the arrangements for the collection of police recorded crime data the Home Office has introduced an ‘online flag’ allowing police forces to record online instances of crimes such as stalking and harassment. These data are still being developed but will be published once the data are considered to be of sufficient quality. In October 2015, the Office for National Statistics introduced new fraud and cyber questions to the Crime Survey for England and Wales. These new questions mean that we will be able to identify those crimes that had an online component and hence be able to provide estimates of cyber crime. This data will be published in due course.

    Legislation is in place to deal with internet trolls, cyber-stalking and harassment, and perpetrators of grossly offensive, obscene or menacing behaviour. Through the Criminal Justice Act 2015, we improved two communications offences which can be used to prosecute misuse of social media: section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, giving the police longer to investigate either offence, and increasing the maximum penalty for the former to two years imprisonment.

    Engagement with the industry is essential, and the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) brings together industry, law enforcement, academia, charities, parenting groups, and government departments (Home Office, Department for Culture, Media & Sport, and Department for Education), to work in partnership to help to keep children and young people safe online. As part of this work, the UK’s Communications regulator, Ofcom, recently led a working group to develop good practice guidance for providers of social media and interactive services. Its purpose is to encourage businesses to think about “safety by design” to help make their platforms safer for children and young people under 18. This guidance was published in December 2015. A wide range of partners contributed to this project, including Twitter, Facebook, Google, Ask.FM, MindCandy and Microsoft.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what contribution his Department is making to the delivery and monitoring of the Preventing Suicide in England strategy with specific reference to people identified as being vulnerable due to social and economic circumstances.

    Priti Patel

    The Department for Health (DH) lead the Preventing Suicide in England Strategy and since 2014 have published two annual reports. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has provided information to contribute to the annual reports, to address the guidance and training it provides for staff and the DWP and DH joint work to look at improving co-ordination of mental health and employment support services.