Tag: 2016

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy that all employees are entitled to paternity leave from the first day of employment; and if he will make a statement.

    Margot James

    The Government is taking a range of steps to improve provision for working parents . The eligibility rules for statutory paternity entitlements balance the needs of parents and the cost both to employers and to the taxpayer.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of boys were (a) White British, (b) White British eligible for free school meals, (c) White Non-British, (d) White Non-British eligible for free school meals, (e) Black, (f) Black eligible for free school meals, (g) Indian, (h) Indian eligible for free school meals, (i) Chinese ethnicity, (j) Chinese ethnicity eligible for free school meals, (k) other Asian, (l) other Asian eligible for free school meals, (m) any other ethnicity and (n) any other ethnicity eligible for free school meals received a place in a grammar school in each of the last five years.

    Nick Gibb

    Proportion of Year 7 pupils in Selective schools by selected ethnic groups, gender & FSM eligibility

    Boys

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    2016

    White British

    3.6%

    3.6%

    3.8%

    3.7%

    3.7%

    White British – Eligible for FSM

    0.6%

    0.5%

    0.5%

    0.6%

    0.6%

    White non-British

    2.9%

    2.8%

    3.3%

    3.0%

    3.1%

    White non-British – Eligible for FSM

    0.3%

    0.4%

    0.3%

    0.5%

    0.5%

    Black

    2.3%

    2.7%

    2.9%

    2.9%

    3.3%

    Black – Eligible for FSM

    0.3%

    0.4%

    0.4%

    0.5%

    0.7%

    Indian

    13.0%

    12.9%

    14.0%

    15.2%

    15.5%

    Indian – Eligible for FSM

    3.0%

    2.5%

    2.4%

    3.5%

    3.2%

    Chinese

    18.9%

    20.5%

    22.4%

    17.9%

    18.5%

    Chinese – Eligible for FSM

    9.0%

    12.0%

    14.3%

    5.8%

    6.0%

    Other Asian

    5.9%

    5.7%

    6.3%

    6.0%

    6.4%

    Other Asian – Eligible for FSM

    1.9%

    1.2%

    1.5%

    1.5%

    1.8%
  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has paid to (a) Rentokil and (b) other pest control companies in the last 12 months.

    Mike Penning

    In the last 12 months for which data is available (December 2014 – November 2015), £91,172.45 was paid directly to Rentokil Initial Plc. Rentokill provide a range of services to the department in addition to pest control. £66,961.94 of the total was paid to Rentokill Initial Pest Control, and in the same period £525.88 was also paid to Killgerm Group Ltd for pest control services, a total of £67,487.82.

    This has reduced from £1,503,530.40 spent with Rentokil Initial Plc in 2010, of which £109.923.50 was with Rentokil Initial Pest Control. An additional £3,529.44 was paid to pest control companies in that year, making a total of £113,452.94.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on income tax assignment to local government in England; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Clark

    The Government is committed to giving local areas more control over their own resources. By 2020, local government will retain 100 per cent of business rates revenue, up from 50 per cent now.

  • Lord Grocott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Grocott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grocott on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries have expressed an interest in applying for membership of the EU.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) states that any European State which respects its values and is committed to promoting them may apply to become a member of the Union. The Council currently recognises five candidates for EU membership: Turkey, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Serbia. Turkey, Montenegro and Serbia have started accession negotiations. Albania and Macedonia have Candidate Status but have not started accession negotiations. Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted its membership application on 15 February 2016. The General Affairs Council will revert to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s application once it deems that sufficient progress in the implementation of the Reform Agenda has been achieved. Kosovo is recognised as a potential candidate and has signed and concluded a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU. Iceland started negotiations in 2013, but last year requested that it no longer be considered a candidate country.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service from people in Clacton constituency have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months.

    Karen Bradley

    In the vast majority of cases, disclosure certificates are issued in a timely manner. Performance data relating to February 2016 indicates that average processing time for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) applications was 15 days. It is important that checks undertaken are thorough and a proportion of the applications received by the DBS need to be referred to one or more police forces as part of the enhanced disclosure process.

    The DBS is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner. A small number of forces have experienced difficulties in meeting the service level agreements in place between the DBS and each force. Whilst no assessment has been made of the impact of timeliness on unemployed customers, it is recognised that delays may create problems for some people. The DBS is working closely with those forces whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. We will not compromise when it comes to the safety of children and vulnerable adults.

    The number of applications to the DBS from people living in the Clacton constituency that have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months is listed in the table below.

    Month

    Number of certificates issued by DBS to applicants in Clacton constituency

    Applications that took longer than 60 days

    March 2015– February 2016

    5,707

    322
  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the establishment of (1) the Royal Navy, (2) the Army, and (3) the Royal Air Force, and how many vacancies there are in each service.

    Earl Howe

    The requested information, as at 1 March 2016, is provided below:

    Service

    Liability (establishment)

    Full-time trained strength

    Deficit (vacancies)

    Royal Navy/Royal Marines

    30,220

    29,730

    480

    Army

    83,580

    79,840

    3,740

    Royal Air Force

    33,150

    31,000

    2,150

    Note: All figures are rounded. Totals and sub-totals are rounded separately and may not equal the sums of their rounded parts.

    Full details of liabilities and trained strengths are included in the UK Armed Forces Monthly Service Personnel Statistics, which can be found at the following address:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-monthly-service-personnel-statistics-2016

    “

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how his Department measures the performance of the coastguard.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Her Majesty’s Coastguard undertake an annual programme of Operational Standards Reviews to measure the quality, consistency and effectiveness of operational service delivery.

    Additionally HM Coastguard routinely review at least 5% of incidents to which their National Network has responded to assess the effectiveness of outcomes and learn any appropriate lessons for future operations.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the press release of 11 August 2016 entitled Largest ever list of National Minimum Wage offenders published, what checks HM Revenue and Customs conducted at those social care employers where workers were found to be owed arrears to ensure that all workers at those employers were not paid below the national living and minimum wage.

    Margot James

    HM Revenue and Customs respond to 100% of worker complaints, and where applicable open an investigation to ensure that the National Minimum Wage has been paid. The aim of enforcement is to ensure all arrears owed to workers are paid back.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic assessment he has made of relations between the Philippines and the UK since the appointment of President Rodrigo Duterte in June 2016.

    Alok Sharma

    This year marks the 70th anniversary of UK-Philippine diplomatic relations, and the Philippines will continue to remain an important partner for the UK in South East Asia. Our bilateral relationship is strong, and based on areas of shared interest such as regional and global security, trade and investment, science and innovation and education.

    The UK Government’s view on the importance of human rights and the rule of law is clear, consistent and well known, including in the Philippines. Our Ambassador has repeatedly raised UK concerns over the rising death toll associated with the Philippine Administration’s war on illegal drugs with the Government of the Philippines and others. We are also concerned by President Duterte’s stated desire to reinstate the death penalty. The UK raised these concerns at the September session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, and will continue to raise these issues with the Philippine Administration.