Tag: Daniel Zeichner

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which bus operators his Department has (a) met and (b) otherwise engaged with during the last six months on the Bus Services Bill.

Andrew Jones

All bus operators that attended the workshops in the autumn of last year, have been updated during the progress of the development of the Bus Services Bill.

Officials continue to engage with both large and small bus operators via the Confederation of Passenger Transport and the Association of Local Bus Company Managers on a regular basis.

Annex A of the Bus Reform Workshop summary contains a list of organisations represented:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/496182/bus_reform_workshops_summary.pdf.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-07-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of proposed insurance-based reimbursement funding models, including cap and collar models, on the UK’s ability to appropriately reward innovation whilst also tackling antimicrobial resistance.

Nicola Blackwood

The Department is in discussions with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry regarding possible future approaches to the pricing and reimbursement of new antimicrobial products, including insurance-based reimbursement arrangements such as ‘cap and collar’ models.

These discussions are not yet at a point where an assessment of their effect can be made. However there is potential for such models to reconcile the current contradiction between conservation goals and industry revenue, facilitating appropriate stewardship of antibiotics.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the proportion of maintenance and repair technicians who are qualified in electric and hybrid car maintenance.

Mr John Hayes

The government recognises the need to develop servicing skills to support the UK’s transition to ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs).

The Institute for the Motor Industry estimates there are currently around 1,000 vehicle technicians qualified to work on electric vehicles, with another 1,000 in training and due to be qualified by 2018. The 2020 Vision for English Apprenticeships supports an industry-led approach to skills training that puts employers in the driving seat of new apprenticeship standards.

The establishment of the employer-led Institute for Apprenticeships and the introduction of an employer levy fund provides an opportunity for the ULEV sector to lead the development of training programmes to meet the skills needs they have identified.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to include students from other EU countries in the eligibility criteria for student loans in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 admissions years.

Joseph Johnson

The UK has a long-established higher education system that supports, and therefore attracts, the brightest minds, at all stages of their careers. Existing rules on EU and other EEA students remain in force. Future arrangements for EU students wishing to study in the UK will need to be considered as part of wider discussions about the UK’s relationship with the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to increase the number of people in the UK with high-level specialist skills in data science.

Joseph Johnson

The Government recognises the need to increase the number of people with high-level skills in data science for the benefit of the UK, and is taking a range of measures to boost the supply of people with these skills.

The Alan Turing Institute is a £67 million joint venture between the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and five leading UK Universities (Cambridge, Edinburgh, Oxford, UCL and Warwick). It is the UK’s national institute for data science, and training the next generation of researchers is a key part of its mission.

Other institutes supported by the Research Councils include the Hartree Centre (a centre of excellence in High Performance Computing), the Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research, and the Isaac Newton Institute in Cambridge, which are all helping researchers to develop their skills to make better use of data.

The Research Councils are taking other steps to increase the supply of researchers with data skills, for example all Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council-funded doctoral students are required to be trained in informatics, data analysis and computational methods as a core part of their training. They support numerous Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) involved in data analysis, including the University of Edinburgh’s Data Science CDT, and the Big Data and Cloud Computing CDT at the University of Newcastle. And the £19.5 million Q-Step programme is designed to promote a step-change in quantitative social science training in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the contribution made by bus commuters to economic output in the last year for which figures are available.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport has not estimated the contribution made by bus commuters to economic output. According to the latest statistical data, available for 2014 from the National Travel Survey, an estimated 8% of all commuting trips (including private transport) in England are made by bus.According to the same data source, 40% of all commuting trips made by public transport in England are made by bus, which is why I am pleased to see that bus fares in the period 2010-2015 have risen at a slower rate in real terms than in the period 2005-2010.

For non-London residents, an estimated 6% of all commuting trips and 52% of all public transport commuting trips are made by bus. London residents use buses for 16% of all commuting trips, and bus trips make up 28% of all public transport commuting.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to improve access to buses for blind and partially-sighted people.

Andrew Jones

I understand how important affordable and accessible bus services are too many visually impaired people, and Government continues to support initiatives to improve access.

By January 2017 all local and scheduled buses designed to carry more than twenty-two passengers must comply with the Passenger Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR), which include the provision of low floor boarding facilities, colour-contrasting step edges and handholds, and priority seating. We also encourage the bus industry to increase the uptake of audio-visual systems, and have supported projects to design innovative and low-cost approaches to providing accessible on-board information.

Further, Government remains committed to maintaining the national concession , which provides almost a million disabled people with free off-peak bus travel throughout England, helping them to remain mobile without worrying about the cost of doing so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to review the rate at which small businesses can recover statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave pay.

Priti Patel

Small employers, defined as those who have paid £45,000 or less in gross national insurance in the preceding tax year, can recover all of the Statutory Maternity, Adoption, Paternity and Shared Parental Pay they pay out plus an additional amount in compensation for the employer’s share of the National Insurance Contributions (NICs) due on the statutory payments.

The current rate of compensation paid to small employers is 3%. The Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of Employers) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations 1994 set out how compensation is calculated and, in addition, require it to be assessed annually which is done alongside the annual uprating of benefits.

The rate derived for Statutory Maternity Pay is also applied to Statutory Adoption, Paternity and Shared Parental Pay.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of buses in England are (a) zero-emission capable, (b) Euro 4 or above and (c) hybrid diesel-electric.

Andrew Jones

We do not hold detailed numbers on the information requested. However, in relation to points (a) zero –emission capable and (c) hybrid diesel-electric we understand that over one hundred zero-emission capable buses and over 1300 hybrid diesel-electric buses are currently in service in England.

This Government is continuing to build on the good work of the Coalition government, which saw nearly £60million grants awarded through the Green Bus Fund to help purchase around 900 low carbon buses. In addition, around £14million was allocated to help modify over 900 buses outside of London to significantly reduce their emissions and to upgrade over 400 London buses with pollution reducing technology, following £5m (match funded by the GLA) of earlier funding to upgrade 900 buses in London. This Government will shortly announce the winning bids for the second round of the Clean Bus Technology Fund.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 3.15 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what steps he plans to take to address the effects of regional variation in council tax revenue on funding for social care under the proposed council tax precept for social care.

Mr Marcus Jones

It is for local authorities to allocate funding to individual services from their overall budget. In recognition of increasing demand for social services, the Spending Review announced an ambitious plan to integrate health and social care across the country by 2020, and a £3.5 billion package to support local authorities with responsibility for adult social care to meet the needs of their local population. This includes giving councils the additional freedom to introduce a social care precept onto council tax bills, which local authorities with responsibility for Adult Social Care services can choose to take up from 2016-17. The consultation on the provisional local government finance settlement will soon be published and it will include proposed changes to rebalance support, including to those authorities with social care responsibilities, by taking into account the main resources available to councils.