The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of his Department’s (a) Senior Civil Servants and (b) core policy civil servants are based in London.
Mr Edward Vaizey
On 1st March 2016, 97.8% of senior civil servants and 98.7% of core policy civil servants employed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport were based in London.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the cost has been to date of all Typhoon Force-related works at RAF Lossiemouth; and what is the most recent estimate of the total cost of facilitating the future operation of the Typhoon Force and the Northern Quick Reaction Alert facility at that base.
Earl Howe
£80.6 million has been committed and will be spent on Typhoon-related works at RAF Lossiemouth. The total cost of facilitating the future operation of the Typhoon Force and the Northern Quick Reaction Alert facility at that base is still being reviewed following the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 announcements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the number of job losses in the UK solar SME sector arising from the closure of the feed-in tariff scheme and its replacement with a capped scheme.
Andrea Leadsom
The projected employment impacts of the revised feed-in tariff scheme were set out in Annex C of the impact assessment published alongside the FIT Review government response. This can be found at:
This is a UK success story with 99% of solar installed since 2010 and 8GW already deployed.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Ministers of his Department have had with their counterparts in other departments on the NHS England Five Year Forward View since the publication of that paper in February 2016.
Alistair Burt
We welcomed the recommendations of the Mental Health Five Year Forward View and are working with colleagues across Whitehall to embed these into our work programmes. We liaise regularly with other Government departments in developing our policies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why cold calls regarding mortgages can be banned but not cold calls offering free pension reviews or unregulated pension investments.
Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) prohibition on cold calling applies to financial promotion of mortgages by FCA regulated firms. Under the FCA rules, regulated entities (including mortgage providers) are not allowed to engage in real-time financial promotion of mortgages and therefore no legitimate market for telephone promotion and sales exists.
The Government tightened controls on cold calling earlier this year, when amending the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), making it a requirement for organisations making direct marketing calls to display their Calling Line Identification (CLI). These controls need time to bed in before considering whether further changes, specific to pensions, are appropriate. If there is a case for change, the Government will take the necessary action.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will discuss with the Secretary of State for Defence how the best examples of literacy and numeracy education carried out in initial basic training in HM Armed Forces can be introduced to assist underachieving pupils in attaining GCSE grade C in English and mathematics.
Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to raising standards of literacy and numeracy for all pupils. We have strengthened the teaching of reading through rigorous phonics methods and placed greater emphasis within the primary curriculum and assessment on secure grasp of the essentials such as grammar, punctuation and spelling and fluency in mental and written calculation. We provide funding to secondary schools to help pupils catch up quickly and have announced resits for year 7 pupils in reading and mathematics.
Our reforms to mathematics and English at GCSE offer greater assurance that pupils with these qualifications will have the literacy and numeracy skills they need in employment, and we now require every 16-19 year old without a good pass in GCSE English and maths to study these subjects as part of their 16-19 programme.
In every aspect of this work the Department for Education is active in looking for ways to improve literacy and numeracy. We will look with interest at the work of the Armed Forces in this area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the average hourly earnings of (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of his Department were in each of the last five years.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The information requested is already in the public domain. The Office for National Statistics publishes average salary information for each Civil Service Department by gender, and by working pattern. These figures are published as an annual salary.
The Civil Service statistics can be found at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26338, on EU grants and loans, on what the £71 million European Social Fund monies have been spent.
Mr Sam Gyimah
For the period December 2013 to July 2015 (2007-2013 European Social Fund programme extended to 2015), European Social Fund monies were used to support young people aged 14-19 who were not in education, employment or training or, who were at risk of being so to remain in or, re-engage in education, employment and training.
Providers who were contracted to deliver support to young people were required to do so through delivery of activities designed to help young people gain a greater understanding of their own abilities, learning needs and the range of opportunities available with the establishment of clear progression routes for the young people concerned. Providers were also required to deliver innovative programmes to give young people experience of success in learning and, increase their commitment and motivation to achieve.
The Skills Funding Agency which administered the funds on behalf of the Education Funding Agency is currently undertaking an evaluation of the above European Social Fund programme. The evaluation will be published later this year and will provide greater detail on the activities undertaken by young people.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hamwee on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will announce the outcome of their review of their policy of returning to Afghanistan Afghan military interpreters who have sought asylum in the UK.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The policy on considering asylum claims is not under review. We carefully consider all asylum claims made in the UK, including those made by former interpreters with our armed forces in Afghanistan, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention. Those who demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution are normally granted protection and are not expected to return to their country.
Those who are found not to be in need of international protection are refused but have a right of appeal to the independent courts. Once all appeal rights are exhausted, they are required to leave the UK, failing which their removal will be enforced.
Separate schemes have existed since 2013 to assist interpreters previously employed by the UK Armed Forces. These apply only to those who have remained in Afghanistan and, in recognition of their unique and exceptional service or the danger interpreters may face because of their work, can lead to relocation to the UK if certain criteria are met.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress her Department has made on rolling-out smart meters as standard by the end of 2020; and what estimate she has made of the number of homes that will have a smart meter installed by the end of each year to 2020.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government is committed to every home and small business being offered smart meters by the end of 2020. The Programme is making good progress. Over 3 million meters have been installed in homes and business across Great Britain in the Foundation stage of the Programme, ahead of the nationwide roll-out.
Suppliers’ annual projections on the number of smart meters installed each year to 2020 can be found on page 28 of the Fourth Annual Report on the Roll-out of Smart Meters:
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