Tag: Lord Taylor of Warwick

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-12-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to promote Small Business Saturday.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government is a strong supporter of Small Business Saturday, which was this year held on Saturday December 5. As part of a programme of activity to get behind the event and encourage communities to support their local businesses at a key time in the commercial calendar, the Government worked with Small Business Saturday organisers to hold a flagship market with a diverse range of small companies at HM Treasury. All 21 Government departments were also briefed to raise awareness of the campaign, with many using social media channels to highlight the initiative. In addition, 50 Ministers visited a local business in their area on the day, endorsing the campaign through their own social media channels. We also distributed message packs online to 588 stakeholders to encourage them to reach out to their own memberships and support the day. We are now planning to work with organisers to support Small Business Saturday 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-01-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage larger companies to form partnerships with creative entrepreneurs.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Government is supportive of the concept of larger organisations forming partnerships with creative entrepreneurs and is keen to encourage an environment in which such relationships can thrive. In addition, this is a matter for individual entrepreneurial endeavours in the cultural sector.

In the last 4 years, Creative England has pioneered new partnership models with global brands opening up new networks and opportunities for creative talent across England. My ministerial colleague, Ed Vaizey recently launched Creative England’s latest call to action in seeking a new corporate partner to co-fund ‘Creative Nation’ – a new initiative aimed at finding the best creative and digital businesses to develop innovative solutions to address non-creative sector issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is being done to ensure there is clear communication to people about the new state pension.

Baroness Altmann

The Department undertakes extensive research to ensure our communications are clear, targeted and effective.

The ‘Know the Facts’ campaign, launched in November 2014, uses radio, print and digital advertising to raise awareness of the changes to the State Pension. It directs people to detailed information and material including blogs, videos and resource packs on GOV.UK, and encourages those closest to State Pension age to get a new State Pension statement.

We continually improve all our communications, based on regular evaluation and feedback, to ensure messages are clear and informative. We also work closely with key intermediaries and stakeholders to share our messages widely.

The new State Pension campaign includes specific messages to those who may benefit from ways to increase their State Pension; those who may be most at risk of not meeting the minimum qualifying period; and to explain the impact of past periods of contracting-out. We have also reassured pensioners on the old system that they are not affected by these changes.

People can now also get a personalised State Pension statement online. They will be given a forecast of how much they could get when they reach State Pension age, and find out how to increase this amount. People who do not want to, or cannot use the online service, can continue to request a statement by phone or post.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to improve trade data for the next calendar quarter.

Lord Price

Increasing exports is a key factor in the Government’s long-term economic plan. Government departments are working together to support UK businesses looking to take advantage of overseas opportunities and to create a strong business environment that allows them to flourish both at home and overseas.

A key part of this work is to identify export opportunities, many of which are based around the needs of high-growth and emerging markets. We are making those opportunities available to UK businesses through the Exporting is GREAT campaign which has elicited over 25,000 responses to the 7,000 export opportunities published online since it launched in November 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to help young people who are concerned about their debts from student loans and mortgages.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government recognises that there are those who face problem debt. The Money Advice Service (MAS) is responsible for the coordination of publically funded free to client debt advice and is financed by a levy on the financial services industry.

Mortgage lending is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The regulation of mortgage lending is based on the principle that mortgages should only be advanced where there is a reasonable expectation that borrowers can repay. All lenders must conduct a thorough affordability assessment in order to ensure any lending is responsible.

Graduates only have to start repaying their student loans when their earnings are above the repayment threshold of £21,000. Any outstanding debts are written off 30 years after graduation.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to prevent the late cancellation of operations.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The commitment that ‘all patients who have operations cancelled, on or after the day of admission (including the day of surgery), for non-clinical reasons to be offered another binding date within 28 days, or the patient’s treatment to be funded at the time and hospital of the patient’s choice’ is included as a pledge in the Handbook to the NHS Constitution. A copy is attached.

Every quarter, NHS England publishes the number of operations cancelled at the ‘last minute’ for non-clinical reasons. A last minute cancellation is defined as ‘when a patient’s operation is cancelled by the hospital on or after the day of admission (including the day of surgery) for non-clinical reasons’. The financial sanction for not meeting the pledge in 2016-17 is non-payment of costs associated with cancellation and non-payment or reimbursement (as applicable) of the re-scheduled episode of care.

Every month, NHS England also publishes data on urgent operations that are cancelled by the trust for non-medical reasons, including those cancelled for a second or subsequent time. This includes all urgent operations cancelled, not just those cancelled at the last minute. Although there is no pledge for cancelled urgent operations, NHS England has set a National Quality Requirement that no urgent operation should be cancelled for a second time, and the NHS Standard Contract provides for a financial sanction of £5,000 per incidence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve social support for unemployed young people, in particular in adapting to changing technology.

Lord Freud

As our Manifesto said, we are committed to abolishing long-term youth unemployment and ensuring that young people are either earning or learning.

DWP provides a broad range of additional support, over and above the standard Jobcentre Plus offer, to all young people on benefit, which is tailored to their needs. Through the Youth Obligation, from day 1 young people will participate in an intensive support regime equipping them with the skills to not only find a job but build capability to sustain work, and after 6 months they will be supported to apply for an apprenticeship, traineeship, gain work skills or go on a work placement. In addition, if needed, young people already receive support to help them to make and manage their claims on-line and to acquire and improve their digital skills.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support is available for disabled entrepreneurs.

Baroness Altmann

Anyone, including disabled people, can apply for financial and practical help through the Government’s Start Up Loans scheme.

Access to Work, which helps people with a disability or health condition to stay in work or start work, now features a new specialist self-employment team to support entrepreneurs and the self-employed.

Unemployed potential entrepreneurs, including those with disabilities or health conditions, can talk to their Jobcentre Plus Work Coach, or where appropriate, Disability Employment Adviser (DEA), regarding national programmes like Work Choice, Work Programme and the new Specialist Employability Support. These programmes offer tailored services which can include practical support and advice for becoming self-employed.

Work coaches can also refer claimants, including disabled clients, to the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA). Over 73,000 new businesses have started up through the scheme and 20% of NEA business starts have been made by disabled people. Disabled jobseekers who are accepted onto the NEA scheme may also be entitled to receive an Access to Work grant.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-12-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of why there has not been an improvement in the proportion of female high earners in the UK despite initiatives to reduce the gender pay gap.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

New figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that the gender pay gap in the UK remains the lowest on record.

I am proud of our achievements, but recognise there is still more we must do. To help eliminate the gender pay gap within a generation, we are requiring larger employers to publish information about their gender pay gaps and bonuses. We are also working with business to support and promote Lord Davies’ target of 33% of women on boards in the FTSE 350 by 2020.

The government is also introducing new regulations that will require larger employers to publish their gender pay gap information. This will encourage companies to take action and drive change on this important issue

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-01-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to support the UN Secretary-General’s first high-level panel on women’s economic empowerment.

Baroness Verma

The High Level Panel on women’s economic empowerment, convened by the UN Secretary General, will bring together leading politicians, expert economists, leaders from business and civil society to lead a step change in improving economic opportunities and choices for women and girls globally.

The Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, is a founding member of the Panel. In addition to our policy and technical inputs, DFID will also provide support for the Panel’s independent Secretariat to conduct a global consultation process, produce a research synthesis, and build momentum around tangible actions to unleash the full global potential of women’s economic power.