The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in her Department.
Mr Desmond Swayne
DFID has 2 headquarters in the UK, one in Whitehall and one in East Kilbride. The cleaning of both headquarter buildings is contracted out to MITIE Facilities Management. MITIE pay the cleaning staff the National Living wage in East Kilbride and the London Living wage in Whitehall.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2016 to Question 28603, how many cleaners working in her Department are paid at the rate of (a) £7.85 and (b) £9.15.
Andrea Leadsom
The number of cleaners in the Department paid at an hourly rate of a) £7.85 is five and b) £9.15 is fourteen.
From 1 April 2016, the rate of pay will be increased to the 2016 Living Wage Foundation rates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Indonesian counterpart on the imprisonment and shackling of people living with mental health conditions in that country.
Mr Hugo Swire
The UK is committed to working with other states to ensure the rights of disabled people are upheld in full. It is important to recognise the inherent dignity and worth, the equal and inalienable rights, of all people. We regularly raise our human rights concerns and will look for the next possible opportunity to raise this specific issue with the government of Indonesia.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools became converter academies in each year between 2010 and 2015.
Edward Timpson
The numbers of currently open converter academies that opened in the years 2010 – 2015 can be found in the table below. This information is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development. The figures are correct as at 1 April 2016.
|
Year of opening |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Number of currently open converter academies |
94 |
1045 |
818 |
602 |
492 |
465 |
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce (a) microbeads entering and (b) rubbish in marine environments.
George Eustice
The UK Marine Strategy Part Three, published in December 2015, sets out the actions we are taking to improve the marine environment. It includes measures that contribute to reducing sources of marine litter, including plastics. Given the trans-boundary nature of marine litter, we are working with other countries in the Oslo and Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR) to address marine litter.
On microbeads in particular, Defra is working with other OSPAR countries and industry to secure the voluntary phasing-out of microplastics in personal care products. Defra is also supporting other EU Member States in calling for the European Commission to come up with proposals to ban microbeads in cosmetics and detergents.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle speeding by (a) cars, (b) HGVs and (c) buses.
Andrew Jones
The Department educates drivers about the importance of observing speed limits through The Highway Code, the driving test and THINK! campaigns. Enforcement of speeding offences is a matter for the police.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how she plans to ensure that the early years workforce strategy encourages the recruitment and retention of early years teachers.
Nick Gibb
We recognise the importance of the Early Years workforce in improving quality and delivering better outcomes for children. That is why we are committed to publishing an Early Years workforce strategy. The strategy will set out how we will help to remove barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff. As part of the strategy, we will look at the barriers to increasing the number of graduates in the workforce.
The Government currently delivers Early Years initial teacher training places, funds eligible graduates to undertake training and also provides student bursaries. Information about training routes is available from the Get into Teaching site: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many successful prosecutions have been made for cases involving breast ironing in each of the last five years.
Dr Phillip Lee
The information is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to continue to participate in the European Training Foundation after the UK leaves the EU.
Joseph Johnson
The UK will continue to participate in the European Training Foundation until we leave the EU. Future participation after we leave the EU is a matter for the forthcoming negotiations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterpart in the Cayman Islands on improving LGBT rights.
Sir Alan Duncan
The British Government works closely with the Overseas Territories (OTs) on LGBT rights to ensure that all OTs meet their international human rights obligations in this area. In September, the UK Solicitor General chaired a human rights session at the annual conference of OT Attorneys General, where LGBT equality was extensively discussed. The Solicitor General will co-chair a session in November with the Minister for the Overseas Territories, my noble Friend, the Rt Hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns, on human rights at the Joint Ministerial Council. And earlier this month, Baroness Anelay addressed LGB&T issues when she spoke to the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly. We expect all OT Governments to comply with their evolving international obligations in the field of human rights. Legislating in this area is for OT Governments.