Tag: Iain Wright

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department intends to cease any existing or planned business support mechanisms in order to implement the apprenticeship levy.

Nick Boles

We are not cutting business support mechanisms to implement the levy. We are improving our business services by developing the Digital Apprenticeship Service.

Through this online mechanism employers will have access to a number of services to help them choose and pay for apprenticeship training in a simple way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the estimated (a) cost of establishing and (b) annual running cost of the Institute of Apprenticeships is; whether his Department has made an assessment of the effects of funding that institute on his Department’s annual programme budget; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles

The final size and structure of the Institute for Apprenticeships will be determined by the shadow chair and CEO later in the spring and this will then determine its final running cost. The body will be funded by Government using public funds, as the rest of the governance system is, and it is expected that some funding will be freed up from savings across the Department.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish his Department’s impact assessment of the apprenticeship levy.

Nick Boles

HM Treasury published a Tax Information and Impact Note on 4 February 2016 at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-levy/apprenticeship-levy.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the apprenticeship levy on the training requirements of small and medium-sized firms unable to access the levy.

Nick Boles

When the apprenticeships levy is introduced in April 2017, small and medium sized employers will continue to have access to government funding to support apprenticeships. We will provide further details on the support available later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the apprenticeship levy on training and skills funding for people aged over 21.

Nick Boles

The combination of the apprenticeship levy, the protection of the Adult Education Budget and the extension of loans mean that by 2019-20 the total spending power of the FE sector to support participation will be £3.41bn, an increase in cash terms of 40% compared with 2015-16.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that adequate funding is provided to North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust to maintain a full range of services during the winter period.

Jane Ellison

Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees Clinical Commissioning Group received an additional £1,994,000 in its baseline in 2015/16 with the specific purpose of ensuring resilience throughout the year, of this funding around two-thirds was allocated to North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation Trust.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department intends to cease any existing or planned business support mechanisms in order to implement the apprenticeship levy.

Nick Boles

We are not cutting business support mechanisms to implement the levy. We are improving our business services by developing the Digital Apprenticeship Service.

Through this online mechanism employers will have access to a number of services to help them choose and pay for apprenticeship training in a simple way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the fit and proper test for individuals running care homes for the elderly; and what plans he has to make changes to that test.

Alistair Burt

All providers of regulated health and adult social care activities in England are required to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and to meet a set of registration requirements relating to safety and quality. The CQC has a range of enforcement powers that it can use when these standards are not met. These registration requirements include the fitness of service providers where the provider is an individual or partnership, as well as the fitness of registered managersand the fitness of staff. Since April 2015, the directors of all registered service providers have also been required to meet a fit and proper person requirement. The registered provider is responsible for ensuring that these requirements are met. The Department keeps the requirements for registration with the CQC under review. There are no current plans to make changes to the fit and proper person requirements that apply to registered providers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the estimated (a) cost of establishing and (b) annual running cost of the Institute of Apprenticeships is; whether his Department has made an assessment of the effects of funding that institute on his Department’s annual programme budget; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles

The final size and structure of the Institute for Apprenticeships will be determined by the shadow chair and CEO later in the spring and this will then determine its final running cost. The body will be funded by Government using public funds, as the rest of the governance system is, and it is expected that some funding will be freed up from savings across the Department.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many times the working groups on (a) public procurement, (b) international comparisons and (c) competitiveness and productivity have met since the Steel Summit on 16 October 2015; and what the actions and outcomes of each of those groups has been since their formation.

Anna Soubry

There have been three meetings of the International Comparisons Working Group, which has been examining the application of EU state aid rules in other EU member states and the issue of dumping of steel into the EU. A review of how other EU countries support their steel sectors showed that the UK was not missing an opportunity to provide assistance within the existing rules. It has also helped strengthen the partnership between industry and government, including on the evidence base on dumping of steel.

The Competitiveness and Productivity Working Group, which has met twice under the chairmanship of my Noble Friend Lord O’Neill of Gatley, has held discussions with steel industry representatives on the regulatory regime, energy costs and business taxation issues, as well as looking at broader issues around the future competitiveness of the steel industry. My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister has already announced on 28th October during Prime Ministers Questions that we are, subject to state aid clearance, bringing forward compensation for the costs of Renewables Obligation for Energy Intensive Industries and have confirmed the steel industry will be able to take advantage of the available flexibilities under the Industrial Emissions Directive.

The Steel Procurement Working Group, chaired by my Rt Hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office, has met twice, looking at how better to take account of socio-economic considerations in procurement, at achieving better transparency of the pipeline of steel needs in future infrastructure projects, and at steel standards. Following the first meeting, the Government published on 30 October new guidelines for departments to apply on major projects when sourcing and buying steel. The new instructions will help steel suppliers compete on a level playing field with international suppliers for major government projects.