Tag: 2016

  • 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 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the potential number of large employers who will require existing training expenditure as a result of the introduction of the apprenticeship levy.

    Nick Boles

    The Government is committed to significantly increasing the quantity and quality of apprenticeships in England to 3 million new starts by 2020.

    Overall, there has been a steady decline in the amount and quality of training undertaken by employers over the last 20 years. This has been bad for productivity.

    We need a step change to reverse these trends and secure a high quality, sustainable apprenticeship programme, which is why we are introducing a levy on larger employers.

    The introduction of the apprenticeship levy will put employers in control of funding and incentivise them to train more apprentices. Large employers can potentially get out more than they put into the levy and will therefore have greater reward if they invest significantly in training their workforce.

    We are working closely with employers on the details of the design of the apprenticeship levy in preparation for its launch in April 2017.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants making the transition from employment and support allowance to jobseeker’s allowance have received a decision assurance call; and what the outcome was of each such call.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to protect freedom of religion or belief in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Syria’s conflict has developed from peaceful protests against the government in 2011 to a violent insurgency that has complex international angles. Asad’s brutal actions have fuelled sectarian violence and the growth of Daesh. His regime is ultimately responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians. We support the efforts of the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan De Mistura, to seek agreement on a process of political transition in Syria. We are clear that there can be no military solution to the conflict. The UN led negotiations remain the best opportunity to end the conflict and achieve political transition away from Asad, leading to an inclusive government which can represent all Syrians.

    The UK, as a core member of the International Syria Support Group has agreed that protecting the rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious denomination is fundamental. This means seeking to ensure that Syrian minorities are included and safeguarded as the political process progresses. We are supporting non-governmental efforts to promote dialogue between different ethnic and sectarian groups in Syria, as we seek further progress on a political settlement.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to enable child refugees and migrants who are now in France but who have close relatives in the UK to make take-charge requests.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    As stated in Written Answer HL649 on 27 June under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015 the UK and France have committed to ensur-ing that provisions of the Dublin III Regulation are used efficiently and effectively. To assist the handling of such cases, the two Governments have established a permanent official contact group, agreed single points of contact within respective Dublin Units and a UK asylum expert was seconded to the French administration earlier this year to facilitate the improvement of all stages of the process.

    We continue to work closely so that both the UK and France can fulfil our re-spective obligations under the Dublin Regulation to family members, including unaccompanied children, who qualify for transfer to the UK under the Regula-tion’s family unity provisions.

    The UK and France are running regular joint communication campaigns in northern France which inform unaccompanied children and others of their right to claim asylum in France and the family reunion process. Whilst the management of migrants in Calais is the responsibility of the French Govern-ment, the UK recognises that vulnerable people in the camps are at risk from exploitation and trafficking. This is why the UK Government funds a project, run by a French NGO, to identify and direct vulnerable people to protection, support and advice within France.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 June 2016 to Question 40810, on NHS Protect, what the categories of offence were for each of the prosecutions listed.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Information on the date a prosecution commenced for each case from 2010-11 to 2015-16 and the category of offence from 2010-11 to 2012-13 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The date the investigation commenced for each case and the category of offence from 2013-14 onwards are shown in the attached table.

  • Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 21823, how many of her Department’s approved Intervention Providers for the Channel programme are located in (a) the North East, (b) the North West, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber, (d) the East Midlands, (e) the West Midlands, (f) the East of England, (g) London, (h) the South East and (i) the South West.

    Mr John Hayes

    There are currently 39 male and 13 female intervention providers listed in our register. We keep the list under constant review. The breakdown listed below shows where the intervention provider is based, however, most intervention providers are available to work across England and Wales, and are not limited to working in the region they are based in.

    Region

    Total number of providers

    North East

    1

    North West

    10

    Yorkshire and the Humber

    1

    East Midlands

    7

    West Midlands

    6

    East of England

    3

    London

    20

    South East

    1

    South West

    2

    Wales

    1
  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Which? 2016 energy satisfaction survey, what steps she is taking to ensure the big six energy companies improve their customer service as well as reduce their prices.

    Andrea Leadsom

    It is important we have a vibrant, dynamic competitive energy market where energy companies work hard to attract customers though customer service as well as price. There are now 31 independent suppliers in the domestic retail energy market, up from 7 in 2010. Switching from a standard tariff to the best fixed, direct debit deal on the market, many people could save around £200 – and some could save more. During 2015, 3.8 million domestic customers switched electricity supplier and 2.8 million customers switched gas supplier.

    The Competition and Markets Authority are nearing the end of their enquiry into the energy markets. We are determined to do whatever it takes to ensure markets work well for consumers.

    In the meantime, the Department will be working with Ofgem, the Ombudsman Service and Citizens Advice to make sure that the consumer complaints services are working for consumers and identifying systemic industry wide problems to improve customer service.

  • 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 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26567, how many (a) calls and (b) enquiries the Pay and Work Rights helpline received (i) by each employment sector of caller and (ii) regarding each of the topics on the Pay and Work Rights Helpline’s database.

    Nick Boles

    The attached table shows the total number of enquiries made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (PWRH) by trade sector and whether the call relates to Employment Agency Standards, the Agricultural National Minimum Wage (NMW), Gangmasters Licensing Authority, Health and Safety Executive or NMW issues, where call topic information is collected, for 2014/15.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to encourage the National Infrastructure Commission to investigate ways in which the UK supply chain can be used to help the UK steel industry.

    Anna Soubry

    My officials continue to work with HM Treasury on the establishment of an independent National Infrastructure Commission, including the basis upon which it will consider economic growth and the impact of UK infrastructure on the wider economy.

    On 30 October, we published guidance – Procurement Policy Note 16/15: Procuring steel in major projects, to ensure that Central Government takes into account relevant social and economic issues when procuring steel. This was followed, on 3 November, by more detailed instructions on how to apply social issues in steel procurement. These principles are being extended to the wider public sector, including Local Authorities and the NHS.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK diplomats have taken secondment to the European External Action Service in each year since 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    Since 2010, there have been 28 UK officials seconded to the European External Action Service (EEAS). Of these, 20 were UK diplomats from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO); 8 were from other government departments. The numbers of diplomats can be broken down by calendar year in which they took up their secondment as follows:

    FCO number of TAs

    2010 5
    2012 2
    2013 6
    2014 2
    2015 5