Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what additional support and training his Department offers to unemployed people in order for them to fill long-term vacancies in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

    Priti Patel

    The support provided by Jobcentre Plus work coaches is not dependant on the duration of a vacancy. Work Coaches deliver a personalised service to best meet the needs of the claimant and the local labour market across the UK.

    The flexible model of support available through Jobcentre Plus includes Work Experience, training and work placements through sector-based work academies, and support to become self-employed through the New Enterprise Allowance. In addition, the Work Programme offers tailored support to those people who are at risk of becoming long-term unemployed.

    Further education and skills policy in Scotland, including training for unemployed people, is the responsibility of Scottish Government. Jobcentres in Scotland work in partnership with Skills Development Scotland to ensure that benefit claimants who require training to find work can access the support they need.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 17 November (HL3653), whether they will require all EU advertising notices to include information about the ratio of UK contributions to the EU budget and sums returned by way of grants.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The government has no plans to require all EU advertising notices for Structural and Investment Funds to include information about the ratio of UK contributions to the EU budget and sums returned by way of grants. However we will seek to remove the requirement to display notices in future reforms of the CAP.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what restrictions exist for local authorities in respect of charging for membership of public libraries.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 restricts local authorities in England and Wales from charging for library facilities made available by the authority unless permitted by the Library Charges (England and Wales) Regulations 1991. These regulations empower local authorities in England and Wales to make certain charges for the provision of library facilities but this does not include charging for ordinary library membership.

    The Government has no plans to amend the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 to allow local authorities to specifically charge for ordinary membership of public libraries..

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to carry out a full ratio frequency allocation review; and whether he plans to coordinate future allocation of bandwidth with EU member states.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ofcom, the independent regulator, regularly review what spectrum is allocated when they update the UK Frequency Allocation Table which is published on their website at http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/information/uk-fat/ Ofcom takes into account allocations across Europe and the world when making decisions on spectrum allocation and represents UK at international spectrum meetings under direction by the UK Government.

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  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect on Ofsted’s budget of the expansion of Ofsted’s control over early years inspectors.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Ofsted’s budget, like those of all government departments, was considered as part of the spending review in 2015. Their settlement will be published in due course.

    As Ofsted are an independent non-ministerial government department, it is accountable for its own budget and operational decisions, including how to deploy and contract inspection resources.

    It would not be appropriate for me to comment on Ofsted’s operational or commercial matters.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has made an assessment of the extent to which the single departmental plans for the current Parliament are consistent with the UK’s sustainable development aims.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    The UK Government is committed to delivering the sustainable development goals as agreed by the United Nations in 2015. We will be reviewing the consistency of our plans and policies with the Global Goals.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department requires the armed forces to provide entrants aged under 18 with 280 guided learning hours per year towards accredited qualifications.

    Nick Boles

    The Education and Skills Act 2008 requires young people to participate in education or training until they are 18. Young people can participate through full-time education, work combined with part-time education or training, or by undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship.

    The 16 and 17 year olds joining the armed forces are under a contract of employment but they are not exempt from their duty to participate. Most of these young people meet their duty to participate by undertaking an apprenticeship.

    We have agreed with the Ministry of Defence that serving in the armed forces is a valid and valuable career route which provides relevant training for young people.

    Apprenticeships are embedded across initial training in the armed forces, with over 95% of all young recruits (no matter what their age or prior qualifications) enrolling in an apprenticeship each year.

    All apprenticeships require a minimum of 280 Guided Learning Hours (GLHs) within a 12 month period. The same GLH requirement applies to the small number of young people in the armed forces who are not on an apprenticeship.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent to which the Alevi community in Turkey has the right to exercise freedom of religious expression; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    We have noted the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling and regularly discuss issues concerning freedom of religion and belief, including those of the Alevi community, with our Turkish interlocutors. We will continue to do so. The Turkish government continues to improve protections for all religious minorities in Turkey. We welcome the continuing implementation of the Law on Foundations which has seen a number of properties returned to minority community foundations or the payment of compensation. As we highlighted to Turkey through the 2015 UN Universal Periodic Review of human rights, we would like to see Turkey implement legislation that increases protection of the rights of persons belonging to all minority religious groups, including the status of their places of worship.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government provides to the Kurdistan regional government related to the provision of education and language training in that region.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK is working with the Kurdistan Regional Government to promote education and language training, particularly through the work of the British Council. Working with institutions across the Kurdistan Region, the British Council is supporting projects to develop skills and build capacity in various sectors including in the vocational education sector. The British Council is also providing online English language opportunities for Kurdish learners and English training for educators. Some of this support is specifically targeted to assist refugees and host communities. We also support further education through our Chevening programme.

    Since June 2014, the UK has committed £129.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Iraq. The UK is the largest contributor to the UN’s Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund, which has funded education projects for the most vulnerable displaced Iraqi children, amongst other programmes.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2016 to Question 46532, what constitutes the extra support her Department will provide for 19 to 24 year old care leavers; and if she will provide extra support for ex-offenders.

    Robert Halfon

    Under the apprenticeship funding proposals published in August, we set out plans to pay employers and training providers £1,000 each when they train an apprentice aged 19-24 years old who was formerly in care, to help with the extra costs of providing support. We invited feedback on our proposals and the final funding policy for apprenticeships in England from May 2017 will be published shortly.