Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the UK ceramics industry of China being granted Market Economy Status.

    Anna Soubry

    We are awaiting a European Commission proposal on granting Market Economy Status (MES). We understand that the Commission will also be undertaking a detailed assessment of the economic impacts of granting MES as part of their consideration of this issue. We will examine any proposal and assessment carefully. In considering the Commission’s proposal it will be important to take into account the wider trade and international context including China’s compliance with international commitments. If China is granted MES, the Commission will still be able to pursue anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases and impose measures where evidence of dumping or subsidy is found; this is the case with the US and Russia, both of whom have MES status.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 26025, for what reason Thea Rogers’ salary increased from £69,250 in 2014 to £98,000 in 2015.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Like any employer HM Treasury does not comment on individual personnel matters. Special Advisor salaries are determined accurately to the responsibilities and seniority of each individual role.

  • Lord Smith of Leigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Smith of Leigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Leigh on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will secure the skills necessary for students and businesses, and the improved productivity for the economy, given the pattern of delivery for 16–19 year olds through School Sixth Forms, Sixth Form Colleges and Further Education Colleges.

    Lord Nash

    We are ensuring that all 16-19 education institutions provide high quality academic and technical education through reforming A Levels and technical qualifications so that our standards match the best education systems in the world. A Levels are now linear, allowing more time for teaching and learning, and all approved technical qualifications now meet rigorous standards and are backed by employers. We are planning further reforms to technical education to simplify the 16+ skills system by providing clear progression routes into employment. These reforms will ensure that young people gain the skills and knowledge required by employers and universities.

    The government will verify that post-16 provision is meeting the current and future needs of learners and employers by means of area reviews, which will be based on the best available evidence, including mapping current curriculum provision and the travel to learn patterns that show how all learners currently access learning. These area reviews will create a stronger educational offer whilst also ensuring there is a high quality and financially resilient set of colleges in each area of England. They will also show the role technology is playing, and help to improve understanding of the quality and relative costs of provision and the financial implications of potential options.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to make announcements on progress on his plans for the next BBC Charter.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government will set out its plans for the future of the BBC in a White Paper in May.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policy of the conclusion of the Energy Technologies Institute report, published on 12 May 2016, that there are no technical hurdles to permanently and safely storing large quantities of carbon dioxide off the coast of the UK.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government views Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as having a potentially important role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s economy. The Government will set out its approach to CCS in due course, and the recent Energy Technologies Institute report, funded by DECC, will inform the Government’s thinking.

  • Lord Allen of Kensington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Allen of Kensington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the changes that have transferred policy on apprenticeships and the responsibility for the Institute for Apprenticeships to the Department for Education, how they plan to ensure that employers and business leaders are involved in future development of policy on apprenticeships.

    Lord Nash

    Prior to recent Government changes, the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills were jointly responsible for apprenticeships policy. The Department for Education remains fully committed to working with and involving employers and business leaders in the development and implementation of apprenticeships policy.

    The Institute for Apprenticeships will be employer-led and have responsibility for ensuring the quality of apprenticeship standards in England. The board will comprise primarily of employers, business leaders and their representatives. This will ensure that employers are fully engaged and continue to play a key role in improving apprenticeship quality.

    Employer-led groups will continue to develop apprenticeship standards that meet their skills needs. Over 1,400 employers are currently involved in designing the new apprenticeship standards.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has received on the compatibility with (a) Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and (b) other elements of international law of the Israeli Supreme Court’s rejections of cases where demolition orders have been contested; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​While we have not received any representations on these specific issues, we have repeatedly raised our opposition to demolitions with the Israeli authorities and have urged them to provide a legal route for Palestinian construction. On 7 September, during a meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Lieberman in London, I raised our concerns about demolitions.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is his Department’s policy that a jobseeker who is telephoned by a Jobcentre Plus adviser and does not answer the telephone on more than one occasion should be considered for a sanction.

    Priti Patel

    Under JSA, claimants are not sanctioned for failing to answer their telephone. In Universal Credit, claimants who have a prearranged telephone interview with their Work Coach, and who fail to participate without good reason, can be referred for a sanction decision.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the case of Abdullah al-Zaher.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The British Government is very concerned about the case of Abdullah al-Zaher. We have raised this case at a senior level in the Government of Saudi Arabia. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country, especially in cases which do not meet the minimum standards defined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This includes the execution of a minor and the use of the death penalty for a crime which isn’t deemed “the most serious”. We take every opportunity to make the Saudi authorities aware of our views.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of savings to his Department as a result of (a) ISSC1 and (b) ISSC2 in each year since 2013.

    Matthew Hancock

    Cabinet Office does not hold current financial information for Independent Shared Service Centre 1 (ISSC1). As the sole customer receiving services as part of ISSC1, responsibility for the majority of the programme and contract management is now undertaken by DfT.

    ISSC2’s Founding customers achieved net savings of £0.9 million in financial year 2013-14 and £8.19 million net savings in financial year 2014-15. There was a 17% reduction in costs of service in 2014-15 compared with the 2012-13 baseline.

    The Cabinet Office achieved £0.12 million net savings in 2013-14 and £0.31 million net savings in financial year 2014-15 as a result of receiving services through ISSC2. The figure for 2014-15 represents a 17% reduction in costs compared with the 2012-13 baseline.