The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with how many local authorities his Department has worked to improve budgeting advice for universal credit claimants.
Damian Hinds
Universal Credit has introduced Personal Budgeting Support to provide budgeting and money advice to claimants as part of Universal Support provisions. We have engaged with all 380 local authorities in delivering this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what legislative provision exists to ensure that directors responsible for misconduct can be appropriately dealt with.
Anna Soubry
Where companies enter formal insolvency, there are powers under the Company Director’s Disqualification Act for the Secretary of State to apply to the court for the disqualification of directors who are found to be responsible for misconduct. Disqualification is a civil restriction which bars an individual from being appointed as a director, or being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company for a period of between 2 and 15 years. Contravention of a disqualification is a criminal offence which may lead to prosecution and civil penalty.
That Act provides other grounds for disqualification of up to 15 years following misconduct in relation to companies not necessarily subject to insolvency proceedings, including disqualification on conviction of an indictable offence, for repeated breaches of company legislation and following investigations under the Companies Act.
In addition to disqualification, there are a number of criminal offences in the Insolvency Act for misconduct related to Insolvency, and other offences particularly in the Companies Act and Fraud Act.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with colleagues and representatives from the automotive sector regarding the adequacy of the £600 million allocated in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 for the Plug-in Car Grant over the Parliament.
Andrew Jones
The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) comprises elements of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, Energy Climate Change and Transport and its work programme has cross-government support. The 2015 Spending Review settlement represents an increase of over £100 million on the Government’s manifesto commitment and means that the Plug-in Car Grant can run throughout the Parliament if there is a market need.
The government announced on the 17 December a long-term extension to the Plug-in Car Grant to encourage more low emission vehicles on Britain’s roads. The announcement confirms the grant will continue until at least the end of March 2018.
From next March, buyers of the greenest cars can save up to £4,500 off the price, bringing total funding for the scheme to £400m over the course of this Parliament. In addition the greenest vehicles will be exempt from the £60,000 price cap.
Ministers and officials frequently meet with representatives of both vehicle manufacturers and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to discuss the ULEV market. This helps to inform policy discussions about grant levels.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees from the Syrian conflict relocated in the UK to date are (a) adults with a vulnerable characteristic, (b) adults in a family unit, (c) adults not in a family unit or with a vulnerable characteristic, (d) children with parents and (e) unaccompanied children.
Richard Harrington
The Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme is based on need and prioritises those who cannot be supported effectively in their region of origin. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is responsible for identifying people in need of resettlement based on its established vulnerability criteria, which are: women and girls at risk; survivors of violence and/or torture; refugees with legal and/or physical protection needs; refugees with medical needs or disabilities; children and adolescents at risk; persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity; and refugees with family links in resettlement countries.
The Home Office is committed to publishing data as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release on 25 February 2016 and will cover the period October-December 2015. This adheres to the standard practice for the release of information about the work of the department, both through the quarterly national statistics and the additional transparency data that is released, which ensure that statistics are published properly in a way which is open and accessible to all. This information will not include a breakdown of the vulnerability criteria, or the family composition of the refugees that have been resettled.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with his Nigerian counterpart international assistance that can be provided to that country to tackle Boko Haram during 2016.
James Duddridge
We regularly talk to our Nigerian counterparts, at the highest levels, about UK assistance to Nigeria to help them tackle Boko Haram. I raised this with the Nigerian Foreign Minister earlier this month at the African Union summit. This week the Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Anelay of St John’s returned from Nigeria where she met Nigerian ministers and reiterated the UK’s support to Nigeria in combating Boko Haram.
We are providing a substantial and increasing package of intelligence, military and development support to Nigeria. This includes training and advice on counter-insurgency. Almost 1000 Nigerian military personnel have benefited from UK training to prepare them for counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria and up to 300 UK military personnel are expected to provide training to the Nigerian Armed Forces this year (2016). We have also provided £5m to support a regional taskforce against the group and are also providing £6.7m humanitarian assistance for Nigeria to support those affected by the Boko Haram conflict.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that (a) training and (b) emotional support is given to carers who work in residential homes.
Alistair Burt
Improving the capability of the care workforce through continued skills development is a vital investment in the future. This applies to the workforce as a whole but is particularly important for those working in residential homes.
Ultimately, it is the responsibility of employers to ensure their staff are suitably trained and appropriately supported to undertake the roles for which they are employed.
The Department is working closely with our delivery partners to support employers in improving the level of skills of the workforce and is spending significant levels of funding to support this work.
The introduction of the Care Certificate is delivering specific standards for the training of new care workers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on the proposal to the International Maritime Organisation to develop a work plan to define shipping’s fair share in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions ahead of the meeting on 18 to 22 April 2016.
Mr Robert Goodwill
We welcome the paper submitted to the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee proposing the development of a work plan to define international shipping’s fair share in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Negotiations on how the global shipping sector can contribute to the goal in the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts towards 1.5°C, are at an early, technical stage.
Department for Transport officials have been working closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other departments to ensure that the UK is well placed to play a leading role in the upcoming discussions regarding this “fair share” and will continue to do so as progress is made towards a global solution to tackling emissions from international shipping.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students were on the roll of university technical colleges in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015 and (d) 2016.
Nick Boles
According to published January census data, the number of pupils on roll in all University Technical Colleges (UTCs) was 795 in academic year 2012/13, 2,946 in 2013/14 and 6,363 in 2014/15.
The census data for January 2016 has not yet been published. However, the 2015 October census data shows 9,454 pupils on roll in all UTCs in the 2015/16 academic year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on supporting access to mobile digital technology for farmers.
Rory Stewart
Improving mobile connectivity across the country is a key priority for the Government. Defra works closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on this, with a key focus on rural and hard to reach areas. Defra Ministers are directly involved through meetings with DCMS Ministers and the Digital Implementation Taskforce.
4G mobile rollout in the UK has been one of the fastest in Europe; 90% of premises now have 4G coverage from at least one operator. Two legally binding licence obligations will help deliver improved mobile coverage across the UK. Telefonica will provide indoor 4G coverage to 98% of UK premises by the end of 2017. This complements the obligation on each of the UK’s four mobile network operators to provide voice and text coverage to at least 90% of UK landmass, also by the end of 2017.
To facilitate rollout, the Government is reforming the Electronic Communications Code to make it cheaper for the industry to provide coverage and is introducing reforms to the planning regime to allow, amongst other things, taller masts and to enable upgrades of communications infrastructure.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with HM Treasury on the use of Farepak unclaimed funds in 2019.
Margot James
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, has not held discussions with HM Treasury on the use of Farepak unclaimed funds in 2019; Farepak creditors will still be able to make claims for monies they are owed when they are handed over where the claims were accepted as valid by the joint liquidators.