Tag: 2016

Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to encourage body confidence in young disabled people.

Caroline Dinenage

The government wants all young people to be confident and positive about their body image. My department has worked with a range of bodies, including the Advertising Association and the National Citizen Service, to develop materials that support good practice and encourage young people to become more informed and resilient consumers of media content; and with the PSHE Association to provide guidance for teachers on teaching about body image using accredited resources.

01/01/2023

Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was their bilateral spending on technical assistance to programmes funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the financial years from 2010–11 to 2014–15 in addition to their commitment of up to £1 billion for the Global Fund.

Baroness Verma

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a critically important part of the international architecture for fighting the three diseases. The UK provides technical assistance to programmes funded by the Global Fund through the following organisations: the Stop-TB Partnership, Roll Back Malaria, UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation’s Global Malaria Programme. The table (below) shows DFID’s spend to these organisations over the last five financial years.

(£ Millions)

	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
WHOs Global Malaria Programme	–	1.50	3.50	1.50	3.50
Roll Back Malaria	0.52	1.00	1.63	0.63	1.23
Stop TB Partnership	1.00	1.90	1.50	0.50	1.00
UNAIDS	10.00	10.00	15.00	15.00	15.00

Total (£ Millions)	11.52	14.40	21.63	17.63	20.73

The UK is committed to remaining a world leader in tackling global diseases and ending the epidemics of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by 2030. Our future contributions to the Global Fund will be determined following the completion of the Bilateral and Multilateral Aid Reviews.

01/01/2023

David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the combined effect of the (a) increase in national insurance contributions and (b) one per cent 2015-16 pay increase for NHS staff which both took effect from 1 April 2016 on the take-home pay of NHS nurses.

Alistair Burt

The impact on take-home pay for National Health Service nurses, of the combined effect of these measures will depend on individual circumstances, in particular how much they are paid, whether they are members of the NHS Pension Scheme, whether they also received an annual increment and their personal tax allowance.

01/01/2023
David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to ensure that information held by the Land Registry that is subject to Freedom of Information requests will continue to be covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in the event of the privatisation of the Land Registry.

Anna Soubry

A Government consultation seeking views on options to move Land Registry operations to the private sector closed on 26 May. My department is analysing these responses and the Government will issue a response in due course. Transparency protections are amongst the factors being considered. No decision has been taken on the future of Land Registry.

01/01/2023

Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of GDP has been spent on healthcare in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne

The table below shows United Kingdom public spend on health as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 2011-12 to 2015-16.

Year	UK public health spend £ billion	UK public spend on health as % of GDP
2011-12	121.3	7.4%
2012-13	124.3	7.4%
2013-14	129.4	7.4%
2014-15	134.1	7.3%
2015-16	138.7	7.4%

Source: Table 4.2/Table 4.4 HMT Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2016

Latest available data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that the estimated 2015 UK spend on health, both public and private, is 9.8% of GDP which is higher that the OECD average of 9.0%.

01/01/2023

Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to prevent wage discrepancies between male and female apprentices.

Robert Halfon

The Apprentice National Minimum Wage (NMW) applies equally to all apprentices regardless of gender (for the first year, if aged 19, the appropriate NMW for age applies). From October 2016, this rate increased to £3.40 per hour.

Most apprentices receive more than the minimum wage; the latest Apprenticeship Pay Survey (2014) estimates that the median hourly pay for Level 2 and Level 3 apprentices across Great Britain is £6.31. For males it was £6.19 and for females it was £6.36. Differences in pay may occur due to the proportion of males and females in higher or lower paid apprenticeships.

The Government places importance on compliance with minimum wage legislation and the effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it.

01/01/2023
Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing penalties levied on employers who do not pay staff at least the national minimum wage.

Nick Boles

From April 2016, we are increasing the calculation of penalties from 100% to 200% of the arrears owed. The penalty is reduced by half if employers pay within 14 days.

By increasing the penalties for underpayment of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) we intend to deter employers from breaking the law so that working people receive the money they are legally due.

This new calculation ensures a tougher penalty for employers found to have underpaid the NMW.

The fast track Impact Assessment for increasing the penalties has been validated by the Regulatory Policy Committee and published here – http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2015/324

“

01/01/2023
Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his policy that a lump sum paid by a public sector employer to an employee’s pension fund to compensate the scheme for having to pay a reduced pension earlier than expected should be used as part of the calculation for the public sector exit payment cap proposed in the Enterprise Bill.

Greg Hands

The Government consulted on implementing a public sector exit payment cap in July 2015. The Government response to this consultation was published on 16 September 2015. This response provides detail on which organisations and types of payments the Government intends to capture within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap. This accords with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.

The response document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464367/Public_sector_exit_payments_response.pdf

The exit payment cap will apply to payments made as a result of an employee leaving their employment. It will not affect any pension a person has earned through their years of service or have any impact on accrued pension rights or pension lump sum entitlements on retirement. It will capture contributions, made by the employer, to fund early access to an unreduced or partially reduced pension. This is because such costs are ultimately funded by the tax payer.

The Government has been clear that early retirements relating to ill health are outside the scope of the cap and will not be affected. Additionally, any payments directed by a Court or Tribunal will not be included in the scope of the cap.

Exits on compassionate grounds are not such a clearly defined concept as exits related to ill health or redundancy. There will generally be a large degree of employer discretion on the terms of such exits, and on any payments. In these cases there will be discretion available to relax the cap in individual cases, subject to relevant Ministerial or local council approval, as will be set out in further detail in forthcoming Treasury guidance and directions.

01/01/2023
Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department of the Export Support Team was in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; and whether those costs have been reimbursed by the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Export Support Team is part of the Defence and Security Organisation, part of UK Trade and Investment. The Minister for Trade and Investment is responsible for administrative and funding arrangements, including attached Service personnel’s capitation costs. Therefore, there is no cost to the Ministry of Defence.

01/01/2023
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to review and propose simplification of household waste and recycling collection across the UK.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Defra and the Waste and Resource Action Programme are working with local authorities and other waste management stakeholders to develop a vision and business case for greater consistency in the way materials are collected for recycling. This will set out the benefits that could be achieved for householders, local authorities, reprocessors and others. The vision is to be published in the summer and will include proposed models for more consistent arrangements for collection of recyclable materials.

The broad aims for this work are to help local authorities to reduce costs; improve the quality and quantity of materials collected and to improve householder engagement and participation in recycling through reducing confusion and inconsistency and providing opportunities to improve communications.

01/01/2023