Tag: 2016

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have labelled the national minimum wage of £7.20 an hour as the national living wage” when it falls below the UK Living Wage and London Living Wage set by the Living Wage Foundation.”

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The National Living Wage will come into force on 1 April 2016. We estimate that a full-time National Minimum Wage worker will earn over £4,400 more by 2020 from the National Living Wage in cash terms.

    This Government is committed to improving living standards, particularly for the low paid. Guided by a proportion of median earnings which leading experts recommend, the National Living Wage recognizes the balance needed of an affordable rate for businesses with achieving a significant increase in minimum pay.

    The Low Pay Commission will continue to make recommendations on the appropriate rate for the National Living Wage going forward, to make sure that wages rise to reward workers while considering the impact on the economy.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the total number of students enrolled in the English Baccalaureate in each year since its inception; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    Information on the percentage of pupils entered for the components of the English Baccalaureate between 2009/10 and 2014/15 is published in the Statistical First Release “Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2014 to 2015”. [1]

    [1] 2014/15 revised table can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/494052/SFR01_2016_National_Tables.xlsx. (Table 1b)

  • Nick Herbert – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nick Herbert – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Herbert on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much (a) European Regional Development and (b) European Structural funding (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) each region of England will receive in each year between 2014 and 2020.

    Anna Soubry

    The amount allocated by year to each operational programme for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the 2014-2020 period is set out in table 1.6 of the United Kingdom’s Partnership Agreement with the European Commission which can be found on GOV.UK at ‘European Structural and Investment Funds: UK Partnership Agreement’ and is attached.

    Within England, notional allocations for ERDF and ESF were made on the basis of Local Enterprise Partnership areas. The total allocations to each Local Enterprise Partnership area for the 2014-2020 period can be found on the GOV.UK website at ‘EU Structural Funds: UK allocations 2014 to 2020’ and is attached.

  • Baroness Golding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Golding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Golding on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress is being made towards appointing the proposed Small Business Commissioner to help small businesses resolve payment disputes with large businesses.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Government has taken powers to establish the Small Business Commissioner via the Enterprise Bill, which is currently waiting for Royal Assent. We have started the implementation process and will begin the recruitment of the Commissioner later this year with the expectation of appointing him or her in 2017. We are completing the rest of the implementation in parallel which includes: consulting on, preparing and laying secondary legislation; setting up the Commissioner’s office; and creating a web presence.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what mechanisms there will be under the Apprenticeship Levy for additional support to incentivise employers to take on disadvantaged young people.

    Nick Boles

    Extra support will be provided for employers to take on disadvantaged young people, including 16-18 year olds, those aged 19-24 who have been in the care of the Local Authority, apprentices with additional learning needs, and apprentices who do not have the level of English and maths that is required to meet the minimum standard.

    Further guidance will be published in June 2016.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his oral contribution of 20 July 2016, Official Report, column 849, what (a) meetings and (b) discussions Ministers of his Department have had with stakeholders on the exemption of specialist supported housing from changes to housing benefit.

    Caroline Nokes

    Ministers in DWP and DCLG have met and continue to meet with stakeholders representing local authorities, supported accommodation, commissioners, and all categories of supported housing providers, be they charities, housing associations, voluntary organisations or from the commercial sector.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to allow local authorities to set multi-annual budgets.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The annual balanced budget requirement is a key element of the local authority financial control framework. It means that the council is content that underlying income will cover ongoing costs and future commitments in a sustainable and manageable way.

    In addition to preparing annual balanced budgets local authorities should prepare multi-year Medium Term Financial Plans. In order to support effective multi-year financial planning the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government published an historic four year local government finance settlement on 8 February 2016. Councils across England applied for the four year offer on the 14 October and the government will respond as soon as practicable.

  • Chris White – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris White – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris White on 2016-01-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses benefited from R&D tax credits in 2014-15; what the cost of R&D tax credits was to his Department in that year; and what the return on investment was of R&D tax credit expenditure for his Department.

    Mr David Gauke

    R&D tax credit statistics are published by HMRC each September, so the final figures for 2014-15 won’t be available until September 2016.

    HMRC’s latest statistics for 2013-14 show that there were 20,100 claims to R&D tax credits in that year, and that the scheme cost £1.75bn.

    In March 2015, HMRC published an evaluation of R&D tax credits. This evaluation estimates that for every pound spent by the government onR&Dtax credits, between £1.53 and £2.35 is additionally spent onR&Dby UK companies.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place with the Welsh Government about the benefits of the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and in particular about a duty on all public bodies to carry out sustainable development being adopted across the UK.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    None.

    The Government is strengthening environmental protection by developing a 25 year framework for a healthy, diverse and resilient natural environment. We are also supporting the delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in the UK and will continue to take a leading role in championing the SDGs internationally.

    We recognise the inter-dependent nature of our economy, environment and communities. Government Departments will continue to consider and seek to improve the impact on all three areas when developing their policies in line with HMT’s Green Book Guidance.

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department is making on helping implement the European School Milk Scheme.

    George Eustice

    If the European Parliament formally endorses the proposal for a revised School Milk Scheme in Plenary on 8 March 2016, it is likely to enter into force in spring 2016 and apply in schools from August 2017. We will use this period to consider the new requirements and consult with interested parties. Decisions about the scheme can be made at regional or national level.