Tag: Baroness Burt of Solihull

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-03-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why publication of the research by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Equality and Human Rights Commission into pregnancy discrimination has been delayed, and when the final report can be expected.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The final reports into Pregnancy and Maternity-related Discrimination and Disadvantage in the Workplace were published on 22 March 2016, together with the Government response to recommendations made by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

We had intended to publish the final reports in December 2015, but this did not prove possible as the extensive research reports took longer than expected to finalise.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what measures they will use to determine whether higher education institutions are delivering effective outcomes for widening access and social mobility.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

Universities wishing to charge higher fees must agree Access Agreements with the independent Director of Fair Access, showing what more they will do to widen access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. These Access Agreements include measures and benchmarks for success, in line with the universities’ own particular mission and challenges.

The Director of Fair Access monitors the performance of Universities against their targets and provides a report each year on the progress that has been made.

The Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141 sets out additional steps the Government plans to take to increase the proportion of students from disadvantaged background entering higher education including through the new guidance that we plan to issue to the Director of Fair Access, and through the social mobility taskforce being set up by Universities UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total value of the retail sector to the UK economy in each of the last 10 years, and what estimate they have made of its value over the next 10 years.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The amount of Gross Value Added by the retail sector in each of the last ten years and the proportion of total UK GVA is given in the table below:

Year	Gross Value Added (£m)	% of UK Total
2006	71,137	5.6%
2007	74,521	5.6%
2008	76,811	5.6%
2009	76,117	5.6%
2010	79,763	5.7%
2011	80,366	5.6%
2012	84,340	5.7%
2013	87,065	5.6%
2014	89,833	5.6%
2015	91,738	5.6%

Source: National Accounts Low-Level aggregates (ONS)

Her Majesty’s Government has not made forecasts of the future value of the retail sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how they will assess higher education institutions to determine whether they are delivering effective outcomes for widening access and social mobility.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

Universities wishing to charge higher fees must agree Access Agreements with the independent Director of Fair Access, showing what more they will do to widen access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. These Access Agreements include measures and benchmarks for success, in line with the universities’ own particular mission and challenges.

The Director of Fair Access monitors the performance of Universities against their targets and provides a report each year on the progress that has been made.

The Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141 sets out additional steps the Government plans to take to increase the proportion of students from disadvantaged background entering higher education including through the new guidance that we plan to issue to the Director of Fair Access, and through the social mobility taskforce being set up by Universities UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of economic output was attributed to the retail sector in each of the last 10 years, and what estimate they have made of that sector’s contribution over the next 10 years.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The table below sets out the percentage of nominal output attributed to retail trade (except of motor vehicles and motorcycles) in each of the last 10 years:

Year	Retail trade as share of nominal output
2006	5.6%
2007	5.6%
2008	5.6%
2009	5.6%
2010	5.7%
2011	5.6%
2012	5.7%
2013	5.6%
2014	5.6%
2015	5.6%

The Office for Budget Responsibility was created in 2010 to provide independent and authoritative analysis of the UK’s public finances, and economic forecasts.

The Office for Budget Responsibility do not forecast growth on a sub- sectoral level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-01-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the timescale for carrying out reviews of post-16 education and training institutions.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Individual area reviews are expected to take about four months, the timescale being dependent on the number of colleges and complexity of the local issues involved in each area. The overall review process has been divided into five waves of area reviews and is scheduled to be completed by March 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people were employed in the retail sector in each of the last 10 years, and what estimate they have made of the number of people who will be employed in that sector over the next 10 years.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The number of jobs (both employees and self-employed) in the retail sector in each of the last ten years and the proportion of total UK Workforce Jobs is given in the table below:

Year	Workforce Jobs (‘000s)	% of UK Total
2006	3,189	10.0%
2007	3,194	10.0%
2008	3,218	9.9%
2009	3,127	9.8%
2010	3,076	9.7%
2011	3,065	9.7%
2012	3,098	9.6%
2013	3,084	9.4%
2014	3,126	9.4%
2015	3,159	10.0%

Source: UK Employees Jobs and Self Employed Jobs (ONS)

Her Majesty’s Government has not made forecasts of future job levels in the retail sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-01-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce local outcome agreements for the Adult Skills Budget in devolved areas.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The conditions under which we will devolve funding to combined authorities are set out in the relevant devolution agreements. When funding has been devolved the Combined Authority will be responsible for allocations to providers and the outcomes to be achieved, consistent with statutory entitlements. Government will not seek to second guess these decisions, but it will set proportionate requirements about outcome information to be collected in order to allow students to make informed choices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of (1) the number of jobs, and (2) the total value of sales, within the retail sector attributable to (a) online retail, and (b) high-street retail premises.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

In 2015 the retail sector accounted for nearly 3.2m jobs. It is not possible to allocate these jobs to online or offline retail nor to “high-street” or “non-high street” premises.

Excluding sales of automotive fuel the total value of retail sales was £340bn in 2015, with around 12.4% of these sales (£42bn) attributable to online retail.

It is not possible to determine what proportion of sales were made by “high-street” premises. There is not an operational statistical definition of this term, so data is not collected on this basis.