Tag: 2016

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what materials are available to his Department’s staff for the purposes of training on universal credit.

    Damian Hinds

    DWP staff have access to a comprehensive Universal Credit learning framework that is designed to build their core skills and knowledge to enable them to effectively undertake their role covering all national roll-out tranches of Universal Credit.

    This includes:

    • knowledge and skills modules ensuring each member of staff can support and coach individual customer’s needs, including those with complex circumstances / health and well being
    • system practice that mirrors the full rollout of the Universal Credit system
    • period of consolidation and on the job coaching to ensure the member of staff is fully competent

    Each individual member of staff, dependant on their job role, individual experience and previous formal learning, will complete a Learning Needs Analysis that will determine the length of the Universal Credit learning, consolidation requirements and the learning they will undertake.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing taxes on e-cigarettes on health grounds.

    Jane Ellison

    E-cigarettes are not liable for excise duty as they do not include tobacco. However, they are still liable for VAT.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many jobs in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.

    Karen Bradley

    The Department records actual staffing levels, but does not centrally record the number of jobs by location. Actual staffing levels for (a) the Department, between March 2010 and March 2015, have slightly reduced (less than 10 FTE¹) in Stoke-on-Trent. However, this does not necessarily mean that posts have been abolished or relocated as a consequence.

    The Department is still planning its workforce requirements for 2020 in line with the Spending Review settlement; this level of detail is not yet known.

    (b) For the Department’s executive non-departmental public bodies and statutory bodies, there have been no staff or offices based in Stoke-on-Trent during this period. The Department’s executive non-departmental Public Bodies are:

    • the Independent Police Complaints Commission;

    • the Gangmasters Licensing Authority;

    • the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner;

    • the Security Industry Authority; and

    • the Disclosure and Barring Service

    None of the Department’s Advisory and Tribunal NDPBs employ staff or have offices in Stoke-on-Trent.

    ¹Data Source: Data View, the Home Office’s single source of Office for National Statistics compliant monthly snapshot corporate human resources data Period Covered: Figures are as at 31 March each year.

    Extraction Date: 1st April each year

    Organisational Coverage: March-10 – Figures include core Home Office and the Executive Agencies; United Kingdom Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service and the Criminal Records Bureau March -15 – Figures include core Home Office (including Border Force, UK Visas & Immigration, Immigration En-forcement and Her Majesty’s Passport Office.) Employee Coverage: Data is based on headcount and FTE of all current paid and unpaid civil servants as at 31st March each year

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, where each office of Air Safety Support International is located; and what the annual budget is of each such office.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Air Safety Support International (ASSI) has one office which is in Crawley. ASSI’s budget for 2015/16 is £3.068 million.

  • Lord McColl of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord McColl of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McColl of Dulwich on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 29 June 2015 (HL541), what action they have taken to make it easier for human trafficking victims whose circumstances make it difficult to provide evidence that they have been habitually resident in the UK for three months to provide such evidence.

    Lord Bates

    A significant number of victims of modern slavery who are identified in the UK are provided support through the government funded victim-care contract for 90 days or longer. Where this is the case, we have ensured that the support provider is able to supply the Department for Work and Pensions with a letter as evidence that the individual has been habitually resident in the UK for more than three months. For the remaining cases where they receive support for less than 90 days, evidence may be provided by the police or other statutory agencies involved in the case confirming the victim has been living in the UK for more than three months, where such evidence exists.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has for supporting low-security patients at Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in reintegrating into the community if that facility is closed.

    Alistair Burt

    These are matters for the National Health Service.

    It is for the local NHS, in conjunction with NHS England as specialised commissioners, to effect change.

    We are advised by NHS England that following authorisation as a foundation trust, Mersey Care NHS Trust intends to acquire Calderstones.

    We expect consideration of patients’ interests to be paramount. The re-provision of care will be considered on a case by case basis and we expect patients and their families to be supported throughout the transition process.

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

    Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which private sector companies (a) provided financial resources, (b) submitted evidence and (c) provided any in-kind support during the development of the new Eatwell Guide.

    Jane Ellison

    No private sector companies provided financial resources or in-kind support during the development of the Eatwell Guide.

    An external reference group was convened to provide advice to Public Health England (PHE) on the approaches to developing the model. Representatives from health, voluntary sector and industry (including trade and levy organisations), were members and provided routes of engagement.

    Outside of reference group involvement, 25 individuals/organisations provided unofficial written comments directly to PHE; two of which were private sector companies.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate she has made of cost to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland of the EU referendum.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The European Union Referendum (Counting Officers’ and Regional Counting Officers’ Charges) Regulations 2016 sets out a Maximum Recoverable Amount for Northern Ireland of £3,292,686. The cost of the referendum will be charged to the Consolidated Fund.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to reward local authorities that invest in renewable energy creation.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government provides support for renewable electricity generation through the Feed-in Tariff scheme – which is available to individuals, businesses, communities, schools and local authorities.

    The Government provides support for renewable heating through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The RHI is open to all buildings – including local authorities, commercial, industrial, public sector, not for profit and domestic properties and also supports injection of biomethane into the gas grid.

  • 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 children 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 Asia 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

    All pupils

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    2016

    White British

    3.7%

    3.7%

    3.9%

    3.9%

    3.8%

    White British – Eligible for FSM

    0.6%

    0.5%

    0.6%

    0.6%

    0.7%

    White non-British

    3.1%

    3.1%

    3.4%

    3.2%

    3.3%

    White non-British – Eligible for FSM

    0.2%

    0.5%

    0.5%

    0.5%

    0.9%

    Black

    2.5%

    2.9%

    3.2%

    3.1%

    3.6%

    Black – Eligible for FSM

    0.3%

    0.4%

    0.6%

    0.5%

    0.8%

    Indian

    12.6%

    12.9%

    14.0%

    15.5%

    15.7%

    Indian – Eligible for FSM

    2.5%

    2.1%

    2.2%

    3.0%

    2.8%

    Chinese

    19.4%

    19.3%

    21.0%

    18.0%

    18.2%

    Chinese – Eligible for FSM

    10.2%

    9.0%

    12.0%

    8.8%

    5.2%

    Other Asian

    5.5%

    5.6%

    5.9%

    5.9%

    6.0%

    Other Asian – Eligible for FSM

    1.6%

    1.1%

    1.4%

    1.4%

    1.5%