The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.
Mark Lancaster
The amount spent on non-payroll staff in 2015-16 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much was spent by her Department on private school fees for children whose parents are stationed (a) in the UK and (b) overseas in the last financial year.
Rory Stewart
This information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost to the taxpayer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-10-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the drop in the value of sterling in recent months reflects the markets’ view of the likely future health of the UK economy.
Lord Young of Cookham
The UK has an inflation target, not an exchange rate target, and Her Majesty’s Government does not express a view on the level of exchange rates. Instead, the exchange rate is allowed to adjust flexibly in response to economic conditions and movements in sterling are determined by market forces.
This framework means we do not need to introduce exchange rate controls.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to take account of the whole system costs of different energy technologies when formulating future government policy on delivering renewable support at least cost to consumers.
Andrea Leadsom
DECC recognises the importance of considering the whole system impacts (both costs and benefits) of different electricity technologies when formulating future government policy, since it is a crucial element in delivering secure, clean and affordable energy to consumers.
In order to continue to improve its evidence base in this area and inform future policy developments, DECC has commissioned a project on the Whole System Impacts of Electricity Generation Technologies on the electricity system. This project will improve DECC’s understanding of what these system costs are (for example the impact of electricity technologies on wider system balancing actions and networks requirements), as well as improve DECC’s modelling capability to quantify these system costs and their dynamics.
Once this project is completed, DECC will be able to better quantify these system costs to inform policy decisions. Any future policy development, such as future renewable support, will be informed by the improved evidence base developed through this project.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that calculation of cost estimates for the new generation of Successor Trident submarines has taken into account optimism bias in compliance with the HM Treasury Green Book and supplementary guidance.
Mr Philip Dunne
Successor cost estimates take into account optimism bias in a way consistent with Green Book guidance.
As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, the level of contingency represents around 35% of the submarine cost to completion. This is a prudent estimate based on past experience of large, complex projects, such as the 2012 Olympics.
The cost estimates have been subjected to, and will continue to be the exposed to, rigorous cross-Government scrutiny.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there are special procedures for universal credit applications for prisoners with mental health issues.
Priti Patel
Prisoners are supported and advised whilst in prison on which benefits they can claim and how to make a claim and we are developing arrangements to enable them to make advance claims to Universal Credit.
Appropriate support measures for prison leavers with mental health issues will be considered following the initial claim interview.
Universal Credit is assessed and paid calendar monthly in arrears. Prison leavers will receive payment within the timescale of 5 weeks from the date of claim.
Prison leavers who are in financial need can apply for an advance payment of up to 50% of their total Universal Credit award following their initial interview.
The information requested in relation to the timescales for applications is not readily available for publication. To quality assure this information according to the standards of the UK Statistics Authority would incur disproportionate costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2016 to Question 31677, what checks are undertaken to ensure that the terms of a Tier 2 (ICT) visa Certificate of Sponsorship are adhered to.
Mike Penning
A variety of checks are undertaken on sponsor licence holders and the migrants they assign certificates of sponsorship to. Compliance visits are undertaken during the licensing process and post-licensing audits are undertaken to verify the duties performed by the sponsored workers adhere to those set out by the sponsor in the certificate of sponsorship. Officers can request payslips, work contracts and evidence of duties performed by the sponsored worker during compliance visits. In some cases, other regulatory requirements are verified with other government departments or regulatory bodies during investigations of possible non-compliance. Officers can interview both sponsors and sponsored workers during compliance visits to seek assurances and gather information and evidence of compliance with the duties of sponsorship. Overseas we can undertake checks in to the credibility of the international presence of an ICT sponsor licence holder where there is concern to do so.
All roles are assessed to confirm the duties and salary meet the requirements set out in the standard occupation classification codes. The sponsored worker may also be called for interview during the visa consideration process to check their credibility and test the individual meets the requirements of sponsorship under Tier 2 (ICT).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to introduce standards to minimise the risk of the malfunctioning of electronic financial transactions and data storage by financial and public organisations; and what information is available to the general public to enable them (1) to choose which organisations and services to use, and (2) to know whether or not to use electronic systems depending on those services.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
On 18th March, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Matthew Hancock, announced that the new National Cyber Security Centre will work with the Bank of England to produce advice for the finance sector for managing cyber security effectively. This will build on tools such as the Cyber Essentials scheme, which sets out the technical controls organisations should have in place to demonstrate that they are following a basic level of ‘good practice’ in terms of their cyber security.
It is the responsibility of firms to ensure the resilience of their Information Technology (IT) systems. Through the Dear Chairman Exercise I and II, the Financial Authorities have assessed large UK deposit-takers’ technology resilience, and are working with firms to ensure that further improvements are made and customers are protected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school breakfast clubs there are in (a) Burnley and (b) Lancashire.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The most recent results of the Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey suggest that in England in 2013, there were 12,800 before school settings. Of these 1,900 were in the North West. However, it is not possible to identify within this total the number of settings in Burnley and Lancashire.
The findings of the Survey can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2013
Later this year we will update the school performance tables and plan to publish alongside them information about all schools’ childcare provision including breakfast clubs.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on the sale of the contract for Oakhill secure training centre.
Dr Phillip Lee
The Ministry continues to be in regular contact with G4S and other relevant bodies. This engagement includes monitoring the progress of the potential sale to ensure it does not jeopardise the delivery of services at the Secure Training Centres.