Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Yvette Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Yvette Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yvette Cooper on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of (a) jobs and (b) businesses that have been created in Yorkshire and the Humber through European Regional Development Fund projects since 2010.

    Anna Soubry

    The number of jobs estimated to have been created in Yorkshire and the Humber through European Regional Development Fund projects from the start of the 2007-2013 programmes to the end of February 2016 is 20,149. The number of businesses created in the same period is 2,748.

  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of fixed-odds betting terminals operating in Northern Ireland in each of the last six years.

    Damian Hinds

    Regulation of Fixed Odds betting Terminals is devolved and in Northern Ireland it is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Department for Communities.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2016 to Question 40256, what steps she is taking to ensure that a school which is not required formally to consult about academy conversion takes into account the views of local stakeholders.

    Edward Timpson

    As set out in the answer to question 40256, the Education and Adoption Act 2016 requires that where schools are eligible for intervention, the incoming sponsor of the academy is required to communicate to parents its plans for improving the school. The Department will confirm that sponsors have complied with this duty prior to enter into a Funding Agreement with the Trust.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the Marine Accident Investigation Branch’s report on the collision between the stern trawler MV Karen and a dived Royal Navy submarine in the Irish Sea on 15 April 2015 to be published.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Marine Accident Investigation Branch’s report of its investigation into this accident is due to be published in mid-October.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on the matter of reclamation and archaeological investigation of HMS Victory 1744.

    Mike Penning

    Recent progress on the wreck of HMS Victory 1744 has included a survey of the site by HMS Echo. When the results of this survey have been analysed they will be discussed by the members of the Victory 1744 Advisory Group as part of the ongoing work to protect this historically important site.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that it provides its staff with sufficient guidance to ensure that sanctions are not placed on universal credit claimants who do not have an applicable box to tick on NHS charges claim forms when claiming help with NHS health costs.

    Alistair Burt

    Various sources of information for the public and relevant staff, such as NHS Choices, are provided on the arrangements for Help with Health Costs, including how Universal Credit claimants should claim. However, the Department for Work and Pensions has also issued general guidance to staff signposting key information.

    Any claims for exemption from National Health Service charges or remission or repayment of relevant health costs made by a person because they meet the qualifying criteria may be the subject of a validation check. This is to protect NHS resources from fraud and error.

    Where a patient meets the criteria in place for Universal Credit and is therefore entitled to claim entitlement to Help with Health Costs, but there is no Universal Credit box available to tick on relevant forms, they can claim by ticking the “gets income based Jobseekers Allowance” box. Those whose claim is selected for a validation check will be able to explain their position to the relevant authority, and use their Universal Credit award notice to support their claim.

  • Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the debate on the North Sea on 30 November (HL Deb, cols 1002–1024), whether they will provide definitions of the different types of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in the UK’s coastal waters, the locations of those MPAs, of each type; and where new MPAs are to be introduced, to which type those belong.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Marine Protected Area (MPA) network is made up of different types of designations, made under national law, EU directives and international agreements. As designation of MPAs is a devolved matter, Defra is responsible for designations in Secretary of State waters only, which are, English inshore and offshore waters, Northern Irish offshore waters, and Welsh Offshore waters, with responsibility for conservation in the latter proposed to be devolved to the Welsh Government in the Wales Bill. In these waters, the MPA network is made up the following types of sites.

    • Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs), which are designated under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. They protect marine habitats and species that are either typical of the life in our seas, or are rare or vulnerable.
    • Two types of MPA can be designated under European legislation: Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), which protect habitats listed in Annex I and species listed in Annex II of the Habitats directive (92/43/EEC); and Special Protection Areas (SPAs), which protect birds listed in Annex I of the Wild Birds directive (2009/147/EC) and migratory species.
    • Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which are designated under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. These sites can be designated for either biological or geological interest.
    • Ramsar sites, which are wetlands of international importance, designated under the Ramsar Convention. This includes marine areas with a water depth at low tide of less than six metres. Ramsar sites are generally also underpinned by designation as SSSIs.

    Together, these sites contribute to the Blue Belt, a network of sites around the coasts of the UK, which forms our contribution to an ecologically coherent network of MPAs in the North East Atlantic.

    We have already made good progress in designating a network of sites in the Blue Belt. Over 16% of UK waters and almost a quarter of English inshore waters are now within MPAs.

    Based on current evidence the SAC network contribution for habitats can be considered complete. UK governments are considering advice on SACs for harbour porpoise, although no decision with regard to consultation has yet been taken.

    Defra and the devolved administrations in the UK plan to complete the identification of SPAs for birds in the UK marine area during 2016.

    Defra is seeking to fill the remaining gaps in the Blue Belt through two more tranches of MCZs. Details of this will be announced shortly. A map showing the existing network of MPAs in the waters for which the Secretary of State is responsible is attached.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support the Asian Restaurant Skills Board.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Asian Restaurant Skills Board is an independent industry-led initiative set up to promote the opportunities that the Asian cuisine industry offers for exciting and rewarding careers, increasing social mobility and celebrating the importance of Asian cuisine in modern Britain. DCLG has worked closely with the Board, helping it to promote the industry through a publicity campaign and raise funding for four degree-level scholarships in Asian Cuisine at the University of West London.

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of employee involvement in the workplace on productivity levels.

    Nick Boles

    The research report ‘Does Worker Wellbeing Affect Workplace Performance?’ was published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in October 2014 and can be found on GOV.UK. This examines the wide range of factors, including employee involvement, that can positively impact on worker wellbeing. The analysis carried out using the 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study suggests that well-being is also positively associated with workplace financial performance, labour productivity and the quality of output or service.

  • Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to encourage discussions between business leaders and the education sector on improving young people’s readiness for work and their future employment prospects.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Government is taking a number of steps to encourage discussions between business leaders and the education sector.

    We have provided funding for The Careers & Enterprise Company which is increasing the number and quality of links between the education and business sector. The Company’s national network of enterprise advisers is already brokering relationships in 30 LEP areas, working with schools, colleges, employers and careers and enterprise organisations. The Government’s forthcoming careers strategy will set out the additional steps we will take to encourage interaction between business leaders and the education sector to support young people to prepare for working life.

    My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister, in his speech on life chances on 11 January, announced £70 million funding over the parliament to transform the quality of the careers education, advice and guidance offered to young people. It will include funding for The Careers & Enterprise Company to continue the excellent work it has begun. It will also include delivery of a campaign to recruit a new generation of mentors to support young people at risk of under-achieving or dropping out, many of who will be business people.

    We are also planning reforms to technical education which will ensure that the skills system is simple and genuinely owned, understood and valued by employers.