The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the value is of property not in use which was purchased by the Education Funding Agency since 2012.
Edward Timpson
The Department currently holds two sites, acquired at a cost of £2.635 million, which are not currently allocated for a Free School project. We are currently considering the options for each of these properties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many arrests were made under the Street Offences Act 1959 for the offence of soliciting by (a) age, (b) sex, (c) ethnicity and (d) police authority under which the arrest was made in each of the last five full years for which records are available.
Brandon Lewis
The information requested is not held centrally by the Home Office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to prevent wage discrepancies between male and female apprentices.
Robert Halfon
The Apprentice National Minimum Wage (NMW) applies equally to all apprentices regardless of gender (for the first year, if aged 19, the appropriate NMW for age applies). From October 2016, this rate increased to £3.40 per hour.
Most apprentices receive more than the minimum wage; the latest Apprenticeship Pay Survey (2014) estimates that the median hourly pay for Level 2 and Level 3 apprentices across Great Britain is £6.31. For males it was £6.19 and for females it was £6.36. Differences in pay may occur due to the proportion of males and females in higher or lower paid apprenticeships.
The Government places importance on compliance with minimum wage legislation and the effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy brokers there are; and how much her Department spent on academy brokers in each financial year since 2010.
Edward Timpson
The Department no longer has dedicated academy brokers. We have procured a pool of educational experts, through open competition. Notionally, each Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) will have a pool of experts to support them in their work, to call upon as required.
The Department has spent the following on Education Advisers, doing brokerage work, in each financial year since 2010:
2010/11 £1,497,856 [1]
2011/12 £2,829,582.59[2]
2012/13 £4,438,358.13 [3]
2013/14 £3,031,794.39 [4]
2014/15 £2,192,228
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/request-for-numbers-costs-contracts-and-pay-of-academy-brokers/request-for-numbers-costs-contracts-and-pay-of-academy-brokers
[2] http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201213/ldhansrd/text/130225w0003.htm
[3] http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm130610/text/130610w0004.htm
[4] http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm140721/text/140721w0003.htm
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-01-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the effect on the number of teachers of the Government’s policy to consider for deportation after five years non-EU migrants earning less than £35,000 per annum.
Nick Gibb
The Department does not collect data on the nationality or immigration status of the school workforce.
This is a local matter for schools and all schools must employ members of the school workforce in accordance with employment law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what grants and schemes his Department offers to small and medium-sized businesses to encourage innovation.
Joseph Johnson
My Department and its partner organisations are working to make the UK the best place in Europe to innovate, patent new ideas, start and grow a business. Innovate UK delivers a range of programmes to support business-led innovation, including tools specifically designed for early-stage small and medium sized businesses.
The Spending Review protects, in cash terms, total spending on innovation through Innovate UK. We are also expanding the network of Catapult Centres, which provide valuable innovation support to businesses, and helps turn their ideas into world-beating commercial applications. There are currently nine Catapults with a further two due to open later this year.
The UK Intellectual Property Office provides a wide range of support to businesses of all sizes through its on-line tools and direct engagement, including an IP audit scheme targeted at high growth SMEs.
Support is also provided by the Government through R&D tax credits, which now support between 70% and 80% of all business investment in R&D. In 2013/14 there were 18,000 companies using the R&D tax credit schemes, claiming a total of £1.75 billion. In addition, in the area of capital allowances, the permanent level of the Annual Investment Allowance has increased from £25,000 to £200,000 for all qualifying investment in plant and machinery made by business on or after 1 January 2016. 100% relief for capital expenditure incurred in the course of R&D activities is available under the Research & Development Allowance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of children were subject to child protection procedures in each year since 2010.
Edward Timpson
The requested information can be found within table A2 of the ‘Characteristics of children in need: 2014 to 2015’ statistical first release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/characteristics-of-children-in-need-2014-to-2015
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to pilot his policy on tax-free childcare before it is launched.
Damian Hinds
Tax-Free Childcare is being designed to be as straightforward as possible for parents. It will be quick and easy to apply online for the vast majority who are able to do so. However, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will ensure that assistance is provided to families who cannot access the internet so that they do not miss out on the support available via Tax-Free Childcare.
Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.
The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested before the scheme is launched.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will suspend immediately UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application. A licence will not be issued for any country, including Saudi Arabia, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the mandatory Criteria. Our export licensing system allows us to respond quickly to changed circumstances, with the option to suspend or revoke any export licence, including those for Saudi Arabia, where we consider that this is a necessary step.
The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37442, what the (a) budget and (b) spend was for the three Northern Fund competitions for academy sponsors.
Edward Timpson
The Chancellor announced the £10m Northern Fund budget, for 2015-16, in his 2014 Autumn Statement. A total of £9,457,033.00 was spent on the three Northern Fund competitions. These are broken down as follows:
Competition 1: £4,717,464.00
Competition 2: £2,189,229.00
Competition 3: £2,550,340.00