Tag: Louise Haigh

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when it was decided to reduce the bursary for post-graduate primary teacher training; and what steps she has taken to communicate that decision to potential applicants for such training.

Nick Gibb

Bursary incentives are reviewed every year in response to recruitment performance and the need for new teachers in the coming years.

This year the new bursary rates were announced on 1^st October 2015, and publicised subsequently through the “Get into Teaching” website and advertised on social media.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of senior civil servants from her Department are from a lower socio-economic background.

Karen Bradley

In September 2014, the Government published data on the socio-economic status of recent entrants to the SCS:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/359079/socialmobility_revised.pdf

There is an ongoing review into the most effective and appropriate definition for social mobility which we will align with in future years. This work is being led by The Bridge Group, a charitable policy association promoting social mobility, as part of research they are undertaking on social mobility in the Fast Stream. The Outcome of this review will also inform future data collection on socio-economic status more widely and assist us in our further efforts to increase representation of people from less well-off backgrounds at all levels within the civil service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the level of staff turnover was in (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s digital team in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.

Joseph Johnson

The turnover rate for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), including UKTI for each of the 12 months from September 2014 – August 2015, is set out in the table below.

Month	Turnover rate
Sep-14	14.3%
Oct-14	15.1%
Nov-14	15.6%
Dec-14	15.6%
Jan-15	15.1%
Feb-15	14.9%
Mar-15	15.0%
Apr-15	15.0%
May-15	15.1%
Jun-15	14.7%
Jul-15	14.8%
Aug-15	14.8%

The digital capability within BIS is not limited to a single team and is not recorded separately.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to replace bursaries for nursing, midwifery and allied healthcare services tuition with student loans; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

The Department has received a number of representations from organisations, including Royal Colleges, professional bodies and representatives of universities, about a number of issues relating to healthcare student education funding in England including a potential move from the current system of funding to student loans.

No decisions have been taken on any changes to the funding of health care education and training in England. The Department will consider all of its expenditure as part of the Spending Review. The Government will announce the outcome of the Spending Review on 25 November 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases of debt repayment to his Department have been cancelled in each year since 2010.

Justin Tomlinson

The latest preliminary figures for 2014/15 estimate Fraud and Error levels as £3.2 billion, or 1.9% of benefit expenditure. The net figure after recoveries is £2.3bn, or 1.4%. This means that DWP Fraud and Error is at its lowest ever level.

We have interpreted this question to mean the volume of debts written off since 2010. The totals represent the number of transactions where debts have been written off either in full or in part, i.e. where some element remains recoverable.

The vast majority of these transactions are either cases where the Department has no legal right to recover or overpayments under £65 which are not value for money to pursue.

Year	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	To 30 Sept 2015
Total Write Off	1,312,421	1,198,463	1,513,404	1,460,734	1,213,838	571,008

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from (a) universities, (b) healthcare professionals and (c) the Royal Colleges on replacing bursaries for nursing, midwifery and allied healthcare service tuition with student loans.

Ben Gummer

The Department has received a number of representations from organisations, including Royal Colleges, professional bodies and representatives of universities, about a number of issues relating to healthcare student education funding in England including a potential move from the current system of funding to student loans.

No decisions have been taken on any changes to the funding of health care education and training in England. The Department will consider all of its expenditure as part of the Spending Review. The Government will announce the outcome of the Spending Review on 25 November 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total value is of outstanding benefit overpayments due to be recovered by his Department.

Justin Tomlinson

The latest preliminary figures for 2014/15 estimate Fraud and Error levels as £3.2 billion, or 1.9% of benefit expenditure. The net figure after recoveries is £2.3bn, or 1.4%. This means that DWP Fraud and Error is at its lowest ever level.

The total value of outstanding benefit overpayments as of 1 October 2015 is £2.5 billion. This represents less than 1.5% of the total benefit expenditure of £168 billion for 2014 – 2015.

The Department recovered over £1.3 billion of debt in 2014-2015, including benefit debts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the level of staff turnover was in (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s digital team in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.

Brandon Lewis

The turnover figures requested are as follows:

Month	DCLG	DCLG Digital team
October 2014	0.8%	0.0%
November 2014	1.0%	0.0%
December 2014	0.6%	0.0%
January 2015	0.8%	0.0%
February 2015	0.5%	0.0%
March 2015	2.5%	0.0%
April 2015	4.6%	0.0%
May 2015	1.0%	11.1%
June 2015	0.4%	0.0%
July 2015	0.6%	0.0%
August 2015	1.0%	0.0%
September 2015	1.4%	0.0%

The overall turnover rates in the 2014-15 financial year were 12.8% and 11.1% respectively. The turnover figures include all staff leaving the organisation, including those who transferred to another Government Department but remained in Civil Service employment, including those that transferred as a result of machinery of government changes. The Department’s Digital team is only made up of 9 staff, therefore small numbers of leavers heavily skew the turnover figures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total value is of benefit overpayments which have been written off by his Department due to a failure to keep and maintain adequate records since 2010.

Justin Tomlinson

This information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Hugo Swire

I am aware of concerns about human rights violations on both sides of the Line of Control. We have consistently maintained that any allegations of human rights abuses should be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently.