Tag: Lord Taylor of Warwick

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risks that companies may delay investment and hiring new staff in the UK in the light of the result of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

My Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Governor of the Bank of England have been clear that although there is uncertainty ahead, the UK is very much open for business and investment.

Since the referendum, the Government has been actively engaged with businesses of all types and in all sectors to understand their concerns. In the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and other ministers are holding a series of roundtables with business organisations and with CEOs and senior representatives from many of our biggest employers. The Secretary of State also chairs the new business engagement inter-ministerial group, which brings ministers across Government together to discuss issues and challenges facing business, including creating opportunities for investment and trade.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the figures released by the Office for National Statistics showing that 29 per cent of graduates earn less per hour than an average non-graduate who has completed an apprenticeship.

Lord Nash

The evidence consistently points to good returns both for graduates and for those who have completed an apprenticeship. According to the same statistical release from the Office for National Statistics, median gross hourly pay for graduate employees is £15.38, compared to £11.02 for non-graduates who have completed an apprenticeship.

The Government recognises, however, that the benefits of further and higher education will differ between individuals, and between subjects and institutions chosen. It is important for young people to consider the available information and select a route through education that is right for them; whether that be an apprenticeship, higher education study or further education. They may also consider factors other than salary, when selecting their courses of study.

That is why the Government is introducing policies such as a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) that will provide clear information to students on where the best outcomes from higher education provision can be found. The Department for Education will also continue to release information through websites such as Unistats and other channels to help young people make the right choices when considering whether to enter further or higher education. This includes taking advantage of the Longitudinal Education Outcomes dataset to provide better information on the potential returns from different education routes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote the role of women researchers in the global agriculture sector.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Government is committed to developing a strong, diverse research community. The Research Councils and National Academies share this commitment.

Government is working with its partner organisations to promote equality across all research disciplines and has established a Diversity Steering Group to guide this work.

To improve the diversity of research fellowship awards, the National Academies are working to encourage more applications from under-represented groups and to guard against discrimination in the selection process. Government has also commissioned the Research Councils to develop an action plan to improve the diversity of grant applications and peer-review rates.

As an international example, Government and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council have jointly funded four research programmes involving collaborative projects between UK researchers and partners in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.

All programmes have included research capacity building in developing countries and have had an increasing focus on integrating gender into agricultural research.

The most recent programme, Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (ZELS) includes a studentship programme and of the twelve PhD students who have been appointed, eight are women.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to promote racial diversity in the film industry.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

This Government is committed to promoting diversity in the film industry. We support the British Film Institute’s (BFI) newly launched £1 million Diversity Fund, which works to provide professional development opportunities to people from underrepresented groups, as well as funding to organisations that are looking to support diversity projects. The BFI has also recently extended its Diversity Standards to cover all Film Fund Lottery schemes which support film development, production and distribution, and widen access to film in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is being done to overcome the low level of exports contributing to the UK’s trade deficit.

Lord Maude of Horsham

I refer the noble Lord to the written statement I made on trade on Tuesday 19th January

The statement outlines a new, whole-of-government approach to expanding the number of exporters and the value they generate for the British economy. This will be delivered through a transformed UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), focused on priority markets and sectors. We will develop better digital platforms, work more closely with partners (including in the private sector) and make sure that our services match the needs of companies.

UKTI will co-ordinate and review the UK’s export performance on behalf of the Cross-Government Exports Implementation Taskforce, led by the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for £50 notes no longer being issued by central banks in order to help tackle crime.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government is fully committed to fighting all forms of financial crime, including money laundering and terrorist financing. In 2010, UK banks voluntarily withdrew the €500 note from sale in this country on the basis of analysis from our law enforcement agencies regarding its use by criminal groups. Such high denomination notes are attractive to criminals due to their high-value to low-volume ratio.

By contrast, the highest denomination note issued by the Bank of England is the £50 note whose value is far less than that of truly high denomination notes. Furthermore, the £50 note plays an important role as a reliable store-of-value and enables financial inclusion.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address the pay gap between women and men with vocational qualifications.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Whilst girls outperform boys at school, many still do not choose paths that lead to careers in the highest-paying professions. We know that occupational segregation is a cause of the gender pay gap, and the Government is taking action to address this. Eliminating the gender pay gap is a key priority for this government, and that’s why we are encouraging girls to consider a wide range of careers through the independent ‘Your Life’ campaign, and guidance called ‘Your Daughter’s Future’, which helps parents support their daughters’ subject and career choices.

Last year 53% of apprenticeships were started by women and the number of women starting apprenticeships in engineering and manufacturing, which carry a significant wage premium, has more than tripled since 2009.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the result of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, whether they now intend to bring forward an emergency budget including tax rises and spending cuts, or whether they have plans to increase public investment.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

As the Chancellor has said, decisions on what action the government will take in response to the impact of the referendum on the economy and public finances will wait until the Office of Budget Responsibility has made an economic forecast in the Autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the claim by the Intergenerational Foundation that high house prices increased segregation in society.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

We accept that our failure for many years not to build enough homes has serious consequences. House prices have risen faster then incomes; while renters are paying, on average 50 per cent of their income in rent which makes saving for a deposit all the more difficult. This means that the dream of home ownership is further away for younger people today when compared to previous generations.

This Government is committed to solving the housing crisis by every means possible. That means taking action to ensure that we build more homes in this country. We have doubled the housing budget to almost £20 billion over the next five years, including £8 billion to deliver over 400,000 affordable homes by 2021.

We have also taken steps to help people on the path to home ownership. Our Help to Buy: Equity Loan has helped over 91,000 households to buy a new-build home since the scheme was introduced in 2013. 81 per cent of these sales have gone to first-time buyers.

But we recognise the need to go further. That’s why we launched the £3 billion Home Building Fund that will help deliver 225,000 badly-needed new homes on sites throughout England. Further measures will be included in a Housing White Paper later this autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the OECD global trade outlook and its recommendation that governments should step up investment to support growth.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The latest OECD Economic Outlook forecasts the UK to be the joint fastest growing major advanced economy in 2015. The OECD have revised down the forecast for both world trade growth and global GDP growth in 2015 and 2016. This demonstrates the need to continue to fix the economy to ensure the UK can deal with risks from abroad.

The government remains committed to encouraging long-term investment and promoting a dynamic economy, and recently set out comprehensive reforms to support productivity growth in “Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation”.