Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Executive Remuneration Working Group’s conclusions, and whether they have any plans either by statutory means or by Ministerial engagement to ensure greater transparency in relation to executive pay, clearer alignment of shareholder, company and executive interests, more accountability on the part of remuneration committees and greater engagement with and control by shareholders working through company boards.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government welcomes the interim conclusions of the Executive Remuneration Working Group. They represent a valuable source of ideas for ensuring more effective engagement between investors and directors and ensuring that executive pay policies are tailored to the needs of individual businesses. We also welcome the Working Group’s plans to consult interested stakeholders on practical ways of improving the current approach to executive pay. Departmental officials will be engaging with the roundtables that are being planned.

    The Government made significant reforms to the governance of executive pay in 2013. Under these reforms, companies are required to put their pay policies to shareholders at least every three years. These policies have to include information on how each director will be paid and how that is linked to different levels of performance. This is subject to a binding vote. Companies also have to provide shareholders with an Annual Remuneration Report which reports the pay of each director in a single figure and again has to set out clearly how the actual payments relate to performance. Shareholders have an advisory vote on this report, but if they reject the report, the company must submit a revised pay policy to a binding vote at the next AGM.

    These reforms give shareholders effective powers to challenge excessive pay and hold boards to account on executive pay policies. There is strong evidence from the current AGM season that shareholders are willing to use these powers, particularly where levels of pay are out of line with performance.

    The Government has no current plans for further legislation or regulation, but is looking for firm evidence that companies are liaising effectively with shareholders and adjusting pay policies where there is shareholder dissatisfaction.

  • Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to require applicants for jobs in the public sector to state whether they went to an independent school.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Appointments should always be made on merit. Her Majesty’s Government do not have plans to require applicants for jobs to state whether they went to an independent school. We are engaging on proposals to develop a set of potential measures for employers to understand the socio-economic backgrounds of their workforces and applicant pools. Type of school attended (primary and secondary) make up two of twenty-six measures which employers and organisations have been asked to consider

    Over the past few years’ real effort has been put into broadening access to the Civil Service. It is important to be able to measure, overall, the success and impact of these policies. Any background measures would be collected on an entirely voluntary basis and used anonymously. They will not form the basis of any individual recruitment decision.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of when the UK will lose EU funding previously allocated to the UK for carbon capture and storage programmes.

    Jesse Norman

    Two UK carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects have been allocated funding by the European Commission (Don Valley and White Rose); the status of this funding is subject to further discussions with the European Commission. The UK is also participating in a European Research Area Network (ERA-NET) on CCS under the Horizon 2020 programme. On 13 August 2016, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) confirmed that the Government will underwrite certain EU funding, including approved Horizon 2020 research and development and innovation projects, regardless of the UK’s relationship with the EU.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2016 to Question 44352, for what contracts the largest three total payments were made to (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young and (d) KPMG in the last three years.

    Rory Stewart

    Detail on all DFID spend is available via our departmental website.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which funding proposals developed by multilateral development banks her Department voted against in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Multilateral development banks consider many hundreds of funding proposals each year. The UK decides on its voting position taking account of development impact and value for money. We are ready to vote against projects where they do not meet the required standards.

  • Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on his proposal in the Autumn Statement of 2014 to offer a student loan provision for postgraduate masters degrees.

    Joseph Johnson

    My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, Ministers and officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and HM Treasury meet regularly to discuss policy.

    The Government announced its proposals for a Master’s Loan at Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015. Further information is available via the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/postgraduate-study-student-loans-and-other-support

    “

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with businesses on increasing the gender balance on corporate boards.

    Caroline Dinenage

    I have met with many business representatives since taking on the role of Minister for Women and Equalities and always ensure I use these opportunities to raise the issue of achieving a better gender balance on boards. More recently (October 2015) I spoke at the launch of Lord Davies’s final report where I was able to engage with a broad range of stakeholders who all have a key role to play in this agenda including Executive Search Firms, Chairs and Investors.

    Lord Davies’s collaborative approach, which engaged all parties, was crucial in achieving the unprecedented number of women on boards we now have in the FTSE 350. The Government looks forward to continuing this approach with the new review on the executive pipeline.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 21375, what information her Department holds on the population estimates for each of the Environment Agency regions.

    Rory Stewart

    Population figures are sourced from the Office for National Statistics from the 2011 Census for England and Wales.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the variation in the number of teaching hours provided to and fees paid by university students.

    Joseph Johnson

    No such assessment currently exists. However, in our Green Paper: “Fulfilling our potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice,” we proposed that the new Teaching Excellence Framework could consider information about levels of teaching intensity and contact hours. We will be setting out our response to the Green Paper in due course.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Prime Minister, whether representatives of the UK’s Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories will be invited to the anti-corruption summit in May.

    Mr David Cameron

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Illford South (Mr Gapes) during my Oral Statement today.