The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in her Department in 2015-16.
Sir Desmond Swayne
DFID provides monthly workforce management information as part of its commitment to transparency. Information on staff numbers and costs is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfid-workforce-management-information-public-body.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department plans to take to train Jobcentre Plus advisors to support working parents and carers in in-work progression under universal credit.
Damian Hinds
We have made a significant commitment to supporting people through the welfare system to seek to increase their earnings in work. We are testing a range of approaches.
This includes ongoing trials on how in-work progression can be supported by work coaches. This will help us further develop the work coach role to support in-work claimants, including working parents and Carers.
We have also put in place a substantial programme of learning and ongoing support for work coaches. All coaches receive face-to-face classroom learning which focuses on both the technical delivery steps and importantly the transformational change of delivering in-work progression, as well as consolidation post-completion.
Many of the skills that work coaches develop and utilise when working with out-of-work claimants are equally applicable to in-work claimants, and they will bring these skills to bear in addition to the extra learning.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what involvement the UK armed forces have had in training armed forces of Gulf states in each of the last 15 years.
Mike Penning
Over the past 15 years, UK Armed Forces have provided support to armed forces of Gulf States both in-country and in the UK and continue to do so. Gulf States have attended international defence training courses in the UK such as the advanced command and staff course, Royal College of Defence Studies and Initial Officer Training.
UK Armed Forces have also provided training in-country through the delivery of tactical level Short Term Training Teams in the maritime, land and air domains. The Defence Academy has also delivered the strategic leadership programme and managing defence in wider security context courses to Gulf States along with the Royal Navy’s exclusive economic zone course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will meet the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to discuss access to Welsh subtitling for learners and people with accessibility needs.
Stephen Crabb
I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, including on issues related to the Welsh language.
Ofcom places a quota on S4C to subtitle 53% of its output. The Television Access Services report for the first six months of 2015 published on 22 October 2015 states that S4C provided subtitles on 78% of required programmes against its quota of 53%. The full report can be found here:
The Ofcom code does not specify in which language the subtitles are provided and the number of programmes carrying subtitles in Welsh is a matter for S4C.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the East Midlands Trains Franchise Extension document to March 2018.
Claire Perry
The Department negotiated a Direct Award with Stagecoach to provide services until March 2018. The new Franchise document is currently being prepared for publication and will be available soon on our website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-register-of-rail-passenger-franchise-agreements.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether further authorisation from him will be necessary for any future airstrikes in Libya carried out by US forces from UK bases.
Michael Fallon
Authorisation for the United States to use UK bases to launch the airstrike against a Daesh training camp in Libya was given on 18 February 2016. Authorisation would be required for any operations of this nature involving the use of UK bases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reasons applicants for the fifth round of the SMART scheme will not be able to apply for a sixth round as initially advised.
Joseph Johnson
Innovate UK is currently in the process of simplifying its support to innovative businesses to make its funding programmes more visible and easier to access. Innovate UK expects to publish its Delivery Plan for 2016/17 in the spring.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual budget was for food and drink procured for his departmental offices in Whitehall in each of the last three years; and what proportion of all food procured for his Department was sourced from British producers in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Jane Ellison
It is not possible to provide a breakdown of expenditure on food and drink solely for the Department’s building in Whitehall. The Department has spent the following on food and drink procured for Departmental offices in each of the last three financial years:
Financial year £
2013-14 193,591.20
2014-15 159,460.39
2015-16 118,364.32
These costs include the provision of refreshments for external meetings and visitors hosted in the Department’s buildings. Departmental policy is not to provide refreshments for internal meetings.
52% of all food procured for the Department was sourced from British producers for the last reporting period, January to March 2016.
This figure is skewed by the considerable spend on non-indigenous products purchased including large volumes of coffee as well as rice, pasta, tea, bananas, citrus, and exotic fruits. In terms of primary products we can confirm that:
― 100% of Beef is sourced from the United Kingdom
― 100% of Chicken is sourced from the UK
― 100% of Lamb is sourced from the UK
― 100% of Pork is sourced from the UK
― 100% of Free Range Eggs are sourced from the UK
― 100% of Milk is sourced from the UK
― 100% of Yoghurt is sourced from the UK
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of staff in his Department were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2015-16.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The table below sets out the proportion of payroll and non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010/10 to 2014/15. Data for 2015/16 will be available in due course.
|
YEAR |
Proportion on Payroll |
Proportion off payroll |
|
2010-11 |
98.64% |
1.36% |
|
2011-12 |
98.74% |
1.26% |
|
2012-13 |
98.28% |
1.72% |
|
2013-14 |
97.22% |
2.78% |
|
2014-15 |
96.43% |
3.57% |
Non-payroll covers staff categorised as consultants and contingent labour i.e. interim managers, specialist contractors and agency staff.
The increase in off-payroll engagements can be attributed to factors such as:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on claimants of no longer being eligible to receive employment and support allowance payments at the assessment rate when undergoing a mandatory reconsideration of a work capability assessment.
Penny Mordaunt
ESA claimants who are found fit for work and are waiting for their mandatory reconsideration application to be decided, are eligible to claim JSA. This is the right benefit for those who are capable of work, with Jobcentre work coaches fully supporting these claimants during this period – and the statistics released on 8 September show that this period is now a relatively short one – the median average being around 9 days.