Tag: 2016

  • Lord Hain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Hain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hain on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Welsh Government about its position that a number of clauses of the Trade Union Bill relate to devolved issues, and in particular regarding its position that (1) provisions in clause 3 regarding the 40 per cent threshold, (2) provisions in clauses 12 and 13 regarding facility time, and (3) provisions in clause 14 regarding check-off, relate to devolved issues.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Ministers have engaged with the Devolved Administrations on the Trade Union Bill.

    As part of our engagement, Nick Boles, the lead Minister for the Trade Union Bill, has received four letters from Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services in the Welsh Government on 20 November 2015, 18 January 2016, 27 January 2016, and 9 February 2016. These letters related to specific aspects of the Bill and on the Welsh Government position on their applicability in Wales. On 5th February 2016 Nick Boles had a telephone conversation with Leighton Andrews on the Bill; and on 4 March, he replied to the letters and has placed a copy of the correspondence in the Library.

    The Trade Union Bill relates to employment rights, duties and industrial relations, all of which are reserved.

  • 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 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many referrals Acas made to each public body relating to each (a) employment sector and (b) topic on its database in each year since 2009-10.

    Nick Boles

    The only referrals recorded by Acas are those made to the various enforcement bodies that have been set up to protect vulnerable workers. Acas has made these referrals since taking over the Pay and Work Rights Helpline in April 2015. The number of referrals made to each enforcement body since April 2015 is set out in the following table:

    HMRC

    EAS

    HSE

    GLA

    Total

    April to Feb Total

    1,667

    229

    111

    11

    2,018

    Source: Acas

    • HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – calls on potential enforcement of the National Minimum Wage
    • Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate – calls on potential enforcement of employment agency legislation (except Agency Worker Regulations)
    • Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) – calls relating to agency workers in agriculture, horticulture, shellfish gathering or associated processing and packaging
    • Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – calls on potential enforcement of working time issues, including enforcement of maximum weekly working hours
  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether education will be exempt from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    We have protected public services, including education, in all of our trade agreements and will continue to do so in the EU-US free trade agreement, also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This is non-negotiable.

    The Government remains committed to providing the best quality education for all children and young people. TTIP will not change this. The government of the day, not our trade partners, will always set the rules governing how the education system is run.

  • Lord Aberdare – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Aberdare – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Aberdare on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role the new Institute for Apprenticeships will have in regulating the quality of apprenticeships, and what powers it will have to undertake that role.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The role of the Institute for Apprenticeships will be to ensure the quality of apprenticeship standards.

    Apprenticeships will only attract funding from government or the levy if they are against an approved standard or framework. Each standard will contain a plan for how the apprenticeship will be assessed. Although this will be approved by the Institute, the Institute will not assess the apprenticeship training itself: the register of training providers is owned by the Skills Funding Agency and Ofsted will continue to inspect providers.

    The Institute will, however, need to ensure there is consistency between the levels of assessment being applied, as part of its role in approving standards and assessment plans.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s distributed ledger technology benefits payments trial, whether restrictions are placed on where benefit recipients can spend their benefits payments; whether benefit recipients’ spending will be tracked; what information is given to benefit recipients taking part in that trial about the potential risks to their privacy; what incentives are provided to benefit recipients to take part in that trial; what data analysis is being carried out as part of that trial and how that analysis complies with Government guidelines on conducting data science projects; and when his Department plans to publish the privacy impact assessment on that trial.

    Damian Hinds

    The DWP works continuously with industry partners to identify and test new innovations that could save taxpayer money, safeguard information and better protect payments to customers.

    The DWP is undertaking some small scale research involving blockchain technology which is expected to last 3-6 months with the results available in the last quarter of 2016. It uses a private permissioned distributed ledger to allow participants to store their transactions, including payments from DWP. Those transactions can then be viewed securely on a mobile application so that they can, if they wish, monitor and allocate their spending into categories, check their available balance and plan future spending. There are currently about 12 people in the trial which we expect to increase to around 24 people by the close.

    The participants in the trial have complete control over their data and how it is used; the government does not receive or see any of that data. The DWP takes privacy and security extremely seriously and this will form part of the learning from the trial.

  • David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the conclusion in the Flood Resilience Review, published in September 2016, that a 20 to 30 per cent increase in winter rainfall is possible over the next 10 years.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The National Flood Resilience Review identified that over the next 10 years we could see extreme rainfall events that could be up to 20-30 per cent higher than recent past extreme rainfall events.

    The Environment Agency will use 20 and 30 per cent extreme rainfall scenarios with local detailed models used to design new flood risk management schemes.

    The scenarios will also be considered for wider flood incident planning and operational readiness that might be needed by relevant responders.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to encourage more females into STEM professions.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Government continues to work with partners to raise awareness and interest in STEM careers, including among females.

    The Government launched the £30m Inspiring Science Capital Fund in January 2016, in partnership with the Wellcome Trust. The fund will help UK science centres invest in exhibitions and education spaces, and reach those who think science is not for them.

    We also support STEM Ambassadors, a nationwide volunteer network of over 32,000 people from STEM companies or academia, who visit schools to encourage more young people into STEM.

    In 2014 the Government helped to establish the industry-led Your Life campaign. Your Life has built a strong social media presence to inspire young people, particularly young girls, to study maths and physics as a gateway to exciting and wide-ranging careers.

    DfE is funding programmes such as the Stimulating Physics Network (£2.15m in 2015-16) and the Further Maths Support Programme (£5m in 2015-16) to support schools and colleges to increase take up of maths and physics with a particular focus on engaging more girls.

    109, 000 women were accepted onto STEM higher education courses in 2015. This represents an increase of 19.1% since 2010.

  • Lord Mawson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Mawson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawson on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the decision to cancel the transfer of police custody healthcare services to the NHS, whether they will put into place, and ensure the appropriate funding for, any recommendations made about minimum standards and quality of such police custody healthcare services for vulnerable detainees as a result of the forthcoming independent review of deaths and serious incidents in police custody.

    Lord Bates

    The decision not to pursue the transfer of custody healthcare commissioning from Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to NHS England was taken in the context of wider decisions about the Provisional Police Funding Settlement for 2016/17, details of which were announced to Parliament in a written statement by the Minister of State for Policing, Crime and Criminal Justice and Victims on 17 December.

    The Government is clear that Police and Crime Commissioners should retain full flexibility to be able to prioritise resources towards police custody healthcare functions based on their local needs.

    A number of sources of information and guidance are available to PCCs to inform their commissioning of custody healthcare services.

    The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1983 (PACE) sets out the statutory framework for custodial care and the rights and entitlements of a detainee in police custody. The College of Policing, as the professional body for policing, has published Approved Professional Practice (APP) on custody and detention. Police officers and staff are expected to have regard to the APP in discharging their responsibilities.The APP references wider guidance published by professional medical bodies including the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. In addition there is a NHS England national service specification setting out clinical standards for the commissioning and provision of police custody healthcare functions. This is currently being reviewed and updated.

    In many police force areas the close ties which PCCs have established to local NHS England commissioners over recent years have already helped to drive up the standards and quality of provision. On 11 February my Rt Hon Friend the Home Secretary and my Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Health wrote to Police and Crime Commissioners and NHS England Commissioners encouraging them to continue to build upon this work to further improve healthcare service delivery.

    Any recommendations made by the forthcoming independent review of deaths and serious incidents in police custody will be carefully considered in due course.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations she made on raising the EU’s 2030 greenhouse gas target at the Environment Council on 4 March 2016.

    Andrea Leadsom

    My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State represented the UK for the climate change discussion at the Environment Council on 4th March and spoke in support of the Presidency’s assessment of the Paris Agreement. In his intervention, my noble Friend noted that the Paris Agreement is a historic step forward but that the current level of commitments does not put us on a pathway to meet the well below 2°C global goal. He said it was vital we push for another moment in 2020 to raise collective mitigation ambition and that the EU continue its climate leadership role and maintain the momentum created in Paris. He therefore called for the EU and its Member States to be prepared for the first ambition cycle in 2018-2020.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the firm work commitments relating to Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence 189 which expire on 30 June 2016 have been satisfied.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence 189 carries an Initial Term Work Programme to obtain and reprocess seismic data and to drill a well. The seismic data has been acquired and reprocessed. The operator has requested from the Oil and Gas Authority an amendment of the licence to allow additional time for the drilling of the well.