Tag: 2016

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the provisions relating to houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) under the Housing Act 2004 on the (a) incidence of landlords renting to families rather than sharers and (b) availability of affordable housing for young professional sharers; and if he will bring forward proposals to make HMOs more accessible to young professional sharers.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not collect this information. We see houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) as one of the most accessible tenures, especially for young professionals.

    We are working to increase supply by accelerating the development of a new market for private renters, including the £1 billion Build to Rent Fund, which funds development of new purpose-built privately rented homes, alongside a £10 billion debt guarantee programme.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide additional funding for transfer cases related to the Dublin Regulation where further evidence of family links is needed for asylum to be granted.

    James Brokenshire

    The Dublin Regulation is the mechanism for determining which EU Member State is responsible for examining an asylum claim, not whether an individual qualifies for asylum. Any request to the UK from another Member State to unite family members under the Dublin Regulation is carefully considered: where someone seeking asylum elsewhere in the EU can demonstrate they have close family members legally in the UK, we will take responsibility for that claim. We make decisions based on all evidence available to us and where it is coherent, verifiable and sufficiently detailed to establish family links.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the refits of HMS Dauntless and HMS Lancaster will commence.

    Earl Howe

    On current plans, the refit for HMS LANCASTER will commence in mid 2017 and the refit for HMS DAUNTLESS is scheduled for the end of 2017.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) male and (b) female unaccompanied children arrived in the UK seeking asylum in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Home Office publishes the Immigration Statistics release each quarter.

    The requested information is available in table as_08, in volume 3 of the asylum data tables:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546760/asylum3-q2-2016-tabs.ods

    A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics April to June 2016, is available from:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june2016/asylum

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answers of 12 January 2016 to Questions 19955 and 19954, (a) how much funding was allocated to and (b) how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate in each year from 2009-10 to 2014-15.

    Nick Boles

    In 2009-2010 the spend for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) was £1,072,608 and the Inspectorate employed 30 staff, including administrative support and call handling staff.

    In 2010-2011 the spend for EAS was £932,000 with 29 staff employed (as of 1 May 2010).

    In 2010 the Pay and Work Rights helpline was created. This took over complaint handling and provision of advice and guidance for agencies and agency workers, thus reducing the need for EAS support staff who had previously performed this function. Consequently, in 2011-2012 EAS spend reduced to £637,631 with 23 staff employed.

    Following a restructure in the Department and streamlining of processes, in 2012-2013 EAS spend was £551,461 with 16 staff employed.

    In 2013-2014 EAS spend was £532,023 with 12 staff employed (as of the 1st April 2013).

    In November 2013, as part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to review regularly the enforcement of the national minimum wage, a more targeted enforcement strategy for the recruitment sector was announced, focusing on protecting the most vulnerable, low-paid workers. Resources from EAS moved to HM Revenue and Customs’ National Minimum Wage (NMW) team to form a new HMRC team which mainly focussed on enforcing non-payment of national minimum wage in the recruitment sector. This ensured that the most vulnerable workers were protected and created a level playing field for the vast majority of agencies who play by the rules. Two staff remained in BIS to enforce the recruitment sector regulations and prioritised complaints using a risk-based approach.

    As part of the Government programme on illegal working and tackling exploitation, a decision was taken in February 2015 to increase EAS resourcing. In June 2015 the number of full time equivalent staff increased to nine. Actual spend will not be available until the end of the financial year.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of (a) special needs students and (b) higher skills learners in horticultural training.

    Edward Timpson

    We want all young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), whatever their chosen career path, to be well prepared for adult life. As we have made clear in the SEND Code of Practice, the vast majority of young people with SEND are capable of sustained employment with the right preparation and support. Study programmes for individual young people with SEND should be tailored to their individual aspirations and abilities.

    Our reforms to technical and vocational education incentivise schools and colleges to teach only those qualifications that meet rigorous quality criteria, develop the skills and knowledge that employers need, and enable young people to progress into employment. For 16-18 year olds this includes eight qualifications in horticulture that will equip them to apply for a range of jobs in the sector.

    However, we want to go further to reform technical and professional education to develop a world-leading system. In November 2015, the Government announced reforms to technical and professional education that will simplify the skills system and ensure it is owned, understood and valued by employers. This Government will simplify and streamline the number of qualifications so that individuals have a clear set of routes which allow for progression to higher level skills. This will make it clearer to young people how they can gain the skills necessary to access different occupations, including horticulture related occupations. An independent panel, chaired by Lord Sainsbury, is developing proposals for these reforms and will report to Government in the spring‎ of 2016.

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a Minister of her Department plans to attend the UNHRC high-level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees in Geneva on 30 March 2016.

    Richard Harrington

    I am currently planning to attend the UNHCR high level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees in Geneva on 30 March 2016.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has for future provision of the collective passport service.

    James Brokenshire

    As indicated in my replies of 23 February 2016 [27190] and 15 March 2016 [30705], a review on the future use of the Collective passport is underway. The outcome of that review will be announced on completion of stakeholder engagement.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much the Northern Ireland Executive has been allocated for the improvement of broadband delivery for 2016-17.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The UK government will provide funding of £1,101,613 for superfast broadband projects in the financial year 2016-17 to the Department of Enterprise Trade & Investment Northern Ireland. In earlier years, the government has transferred a total of £4,712,552 of BDUK funding to the Northern Ireland Executive for investment in superfast broadband.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of starts in Scotland on the Work Choice programme in each of the last three financial years for which such information is available.

    Priti Patel

    For all Work Choice providers excluding Remploy, there have been 2,070 starts in Scotland in the financial year 2013/14, 1,780 in 2014/15, and 1,210 in 2015/16.