Tag: Parliamentary Question

Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2016 to Question 46027, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the provision of Compass accommodation to asylum seekers is not let from property (a) where the landlord has lost registered social landlord accreditation and (b) deemed unsuitable for human habitation by the local authority.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Providers are monitored closely and accommodation is inspected frequently to ensure that accommodation for asylum seekers is contractually compliant and of the correct standard. We work closely with any local authority that raises concerns about asylum accommodation and dispersal to help address those concerns.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to tackle workplace bullying.

Justin Tomlinson

DWP takes any suggestions of workplace bullying in any form very seriously.

All employees are required to report instances of bullying and seek support through our internal HR Support teams. In the first instance they are directed to our dedicated HR Mediation and Investigation Service. These trained professionals are able to assist managers and employees in resolving workplace disputes including complaints of Harassment, Discrimination and Bullying.

Immediate telephone support for individuals is available through our Employee Assistance Programme. Employees contacting the service because of bullying receive extra support and counselling. This service is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Where problems have been identified we have also been able to arrange specific Bullying and Harassment awareness sessions aimed directly at managers, with positive results.

During this year’s anti bullying week all employees were reminded of the support and guidance available.

01/01/2023
Catherine West – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether apprentices are required to achieve a Level 1 qualification, including mathematics and English, in order (a) to be entered for an Intermediate Level Apprenticeship and (b) for entries to be in accordance with the Trailblazer Apprenticeships Standards.

Nick Boles

In order to maximise accessibility, there are no centrally set entry requirements to start an apprenticeship. However, as apprenticeships are jobs with training, individual employers may set their own entry requirements for a specific apprenticeship.

The government does set requirements relating to training and achievement in English and maths during apprenticeships. This is because English and maths are fundamental to career progression and access to further learning.

All apprenticeship frameworks must comply with the Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England (SASE). Under SASE, English and maths qualifications are a mandatory component of all Intermediate and Advanced apprenticeships. However, all adult apprentices are assessed for prior learning, and people who start an apprenticeship with current English and maths qualifications at the right level need not repeat these.

We are reforming apprenticeships to ensure that they are based on standards designed by employers.The government sets minimum requirements for apprenticeship standards, though employers are able to go further in the standards they design. They are able to specify a higher level of English and/or maths achievement or to specify a particular qualification or qualifications where this is needed for a particular occupation or sector. . The minimum requirements are – passing level 1 English and maths and taking the test for level 2 before taking the end-point assessment for an intermediate apprenticeship; and passing level 2 English and maths before taking the end-point assessment for an advanced or higher apprenticeship.

01/01/2023
Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of whether there have been market failures in green and low carbon investment over the last five years; and if she will make an assessment of the most important potential threats to such investment.

Andrea Leadsom

Electricity Market Reform was introduced to overcome barriers to investment and deployment of large scale low carbon UK power generation. The UK has enjoyed record levels of deployment of renewables in recent years and the Government has also agreed a deal to bring forward the first new nuclear power station in a generation. Increasingly, as we benefit from the lower technology costs arising from this deployment, we can expect competitive forces increasingly to stimulate further investment in the low carbon power generation that the country needs.

01/01/2023
Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to issue a response to the Migration Advisory Committee review of Tier 2 visas.

James Brokenshire

The Government is carefully considering the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations and has not yet made its final decisions. We will announce our response in due course.

01/01/2023

Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many and what proportion of officials of her Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of total sick leave that leave was in each such year.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The table below provides the overall sick leave taken by DFID staff, and the proportion of sick leave for reasons related to stress in each of the past three years. Information on 2011/12 and 2012/13 could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Period	Stress Related Absence (Days )	Total Sick Leave (Days)	Percentage Stress Related Absence against Total Sick Leave	No of Staff who took Stress Related Absence	No of Staff who took Sick Leave	Percentage staff who took Stress Related Absence against total staff who recorded a sick absence
March 2015 – February 2016	1485	9087	16.3%	63	1294	4.9%
April 2014 – March 2015	1642	8889	18.5%	58	1367	4.2%
April 2013 – March 2014	1137	8427	13.5%	39	1180	3.3%

01/01/2023

Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme since its inception; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Harrington

At the Spending Review, the Chancellor announced an estimated £460 million over the spending review period to cover the first 12 months’ costs for each of the 20,000 refugees being resettled in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Scheme. He also announced an estimated £129 million to assist with local authority costs for years two to five of each refugee’s stay in the UK. The cost of the scheme since inception is subject to audit by the National Audit Office as part of the finalisation of the 2015-16 Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, which are expected to be published this summer.

01/01/2023
Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will receive further funding from the Government to provide any extra A&E care required as a result of Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services no longer providing such care.

Ben Gummer

Additional funding for Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (SFHFT) would be a matter for the local clinical commissioning groups.

NHS England advises that SFHFT has neither requested nor received additional funding as a result of the new caretaker arrangements. Nottingham Emergency Medical Services, the new caretaker provider of out of hours urgent care services at King’s Mill and Newark hospitals, has met the needs of the patients.

We are advised by NHS England that in the period since the handover took place there has been no material impact on the performance of either SFHFT or the mid Nottinghamshire health and social care system against the national four-hour accident and emergency standard.

01/01/2023
Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-07-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Kurdistan Regional Government in the light of reports of the recent closure of the Kurdish Women’s Relations Office in Erbil, and what was the outcome of those discussions.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are aware of the recent closure of the Kurdish Women’s Relations Office, also known as REPAK. Our Consulate-General in Erbil raised this issue with the Kurdistan Regional government (KRG) through the Head of Asayish (part of the Kurdish Internal Security Services), General Esmat Argooshi, and the KRG Prime Minister’s Private Secretary.

We have also discussed the matter with the Human Rights Office at the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). UNAMI have engaged with the Kurdistan Regional government’s Department of Foreign Relations, who said that they would monitor the situation. We are encouraging the Kurdistan Regional Government to respect the legal rights of all legally registered Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and we support UNAMI’s efforts to promote the legal rights of NGOs operating in Iraq.

01/01/2023
Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on hearing and sight tests being carried out by school nurses in primary schools.

Nicola Blackwood

At the age of school entry, most children will have a hearing test and an eye test. The tests may be conducted at school but can be carried out elsewhere depending upon the arrangements in the local area.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the National Health Service about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. Using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation, it assesses the evidence for programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria.

In November 2013 the UK NSC re-affirmed its recommendation that child vision screening between four and five years of age should be offered by an orthoptic-led service. Public Health England is working to improve the quality and consistency of current vision screening services across the UK.

01/01/2023