Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average hourly earnings were of her Department’s (a) BME and (b) non-BME employees in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.

    George Eustice

    Defra employees are paid within salary bands according to their grades, they are not paid by the hour. The tables below set out a calculation of average hourly pay for all employees within the central department, by grade, and by BME, Non-BME, and Undeclared ethnic status (employees that have not declared their ethnicity).

    2015

    BME

    Non BME

    Undeclared

    AA

    *

    *

    £8.96

    AO

    £12.15

    £12.17

    £11.43

    EO

    £14.96

    £13.92

    £13.80

    HEO

    £17.29

    £16.79

    £15.98

    SEO

    £20.54

    £19.96

    £20.05

    G7

    £27.43

    £27.33

    £26.30

    G6

    *

    £32.62

    £33.10

    SCS

    *

    £39.77

    £46.42

    2016

    BME

    Non BME

    Undeclared

    AA

    *

    *

    £9.84

    AO

    £12.06

    £12.17

    £12.16

    EO

    £14.89

    £14.41

    £13.99

    HEO

    £17.23

    £16.66

    £16.05

    SEO

    £20.47

    £20.51

    £20.42

    G7

    £27.40

    £27.35

    £26.65

    G6

    *

    £33.04

    £32.84

    SCS

    *

    £42.62

    £48.85

    *Number of staff in this group are below publishable level

    Good progress is being made on actions in the Government’s Talent Action Plan and Defra’s Diversity Strategy to ensure that Defra is able to recruit and retain employees from a diverse range of backgrounds, and to enable them to develop and progress on merit.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason his Department deploys speed cameras that photograph vehicles from the front in addition to speed cameras that photograph vehicles from the rear; and for what reasons his Department does not have a single policy on the deployment of such cameras.

    Andrew Jones

    It is for local authorities and police to decide how they wish to operate speed cameras. The Department issued guidance in 2007 entitled “Use of speed and red-light cameras for traffic enforcement: guidance on deployment, visibility and signing”. I wrote to all local authorities in England and Wales on 20 October 2015 to remind them of the guidance which is available on gov.uk.

  • Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many trainee GPs have been informed by Capita and Primary Care Support England that they are no longer allowed to practice as they are not currently on the national list for medical performers.

    David Mowat

    NHS England advises that, currently, there are approximately 720 applications for general practitioner (GP) trainees to be added to the performers list.

    The processing of applications to join the National Performers List was taken over by Capita in September 2015, and there have been some delays in Capita’s processing of applications. NHS England is working closely with Capita to identify all cases which may be affected by delays in processing applications, and those identified are being investigated and urgent cases prioritised. NHS England expects all GP trainees to be on the performers list by the end of October when their grace period for inclusion ends.

    The decision to admit a GP trainee to the performer list is the sole responsibility of NHS England rather than Capita. There have been some instances where Capita have informed GPs that they cannot practice because their application to the performer list has not been completed. Where we are aware of such instances, those GPs have been contacted by NHS England and provided with the correct advice relating to their individual circumstances. Where necessary, NHS England has taken further action to expedite the performers’ list process.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of tenants in the private rented sector were in receipt of housing benefit in each of the last 10 years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information from 2008 to 2015 is available and is published at:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

    Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

    https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html

    Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit caseload data prior to 2008 can be found at:

    http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107093842/http:/statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/index.php?page=hbctb_arc

    “

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many press and public relations staff are employed by (a) the Forestry Commission, (b) the Water Services Regulation Authority, (c) the Animal and Plant Health Agency, (d) the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, (e) the Rural Payments Agency, (f) the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, (g) the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, (h) the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, (i) the Consumer Council for Water, (j) the Environment Agency, (k) the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, (l) the Marine Management Organisation, (m) the National Forest Company, (n) Natural England and (o) the Sea Fish Industry Authority; how many of those employees are paid more than (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by each of those orqanisations in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    George Eustice

    Defra is in the midst of a corporate services and network transformation programme which is yielding significant reductions in communication staff. Our rigorous controls on communication spending are expected to save £1 million in 2015-2016. The detail requested will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2016 to Question 23508, by what mechanisms his Department plans to check and monitor standards and quality of apprenticeships until the Institute for Apprenticeships is fully operational in April 2017.

    Nick Boles

    Existing quality checks will remain in place until the Institute for Apprenticeships is fully operational in April 2017. These include scrutiny and approval of standards and assessment plans by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department for Education, Skills Funding Agency and education advisors, inspection of training provision by Ofsted, and quality assurance of qualifications by Ofqual.

    Employer-led reforms continue to improve the quality of apprenticeships, providing the skills that employers need. All apprenticeships must be full time paid jobs; have a minimum duration of 12 months and involve substantial, sustained training including at least 20% off-the-job training. Apprentices develop transferable skills and English and maths to enable them to progress in their careers. New quality measures for training providers and assessment organisations have also been developed to help employers make informed choices.

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-02-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for the effectiveness of the ring-fence between retail and investment banking of the Prudential Regulation Authority’s proposal to allow cross-selling and cross-lending between ring-fenced bodies and other entities in the parent group in some circumstances.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Prudential Regulation Authority’s proposed rules allowing cross-selling and cross-lending between ring-fenced bodies and other entities in the parent group in some circumstances are consistent with the ring-fencing legislation and the Independent Commission on Banking’s recommendations. These agency arrangements simply allow for the customer to access products provided by the wider banking group within their local premises.

  • – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking with regard to claims that Eritreans face human rights violations, in the light of the report by the UN Commission of Enquiry on human rights in Eritrea in June 2015 which concluded that the government of Eritrea engages in abuses that occur in a context of a total lack of rule of law” and that it “is not law that rules Eritreans

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK recognises the important work of the UN Commission of Inquiry and is concerned by their findings on Eritrea. In particular we are concerned by reports of arbitrary detention, and shortcomings in the rule of law and respect for fundamental freedoms. At the Human Rights Council in July 2015, we supported an extension of the Commission’s mandate so that it could continue its work. Bilaterally and through the Human Rights Council we have made clear we want the Government of Eritrea to take concrete action to improve respect for human rights and the rule of law. We have also called on Eritrea to engage fully in Article 8 Dialogue with the EU and cooperate with UN human rights bodies. In May 2015 the Eritrean government announced it would reform the civil, criminal and penal codes. The EU is currently providing funding to help reform local community courts in Eritrea to improve access to justice. The project is working with local community courts to put the reforms of May 2015 into practice.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Caroline Ansell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Life Chances Strategy will include the provision of funding to support positive family relationships; whether funding under that strategy will include families with teenage children; and if he will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    This government believes that families play an essential role in improving the life chances of children of all ages. As the Prime Minister announced in his speech on 11th January, funding for relationship support is being doubled in this Parliament with an extra £35 million to support family relationships. More details will be set out in the forthcoming Life Chances Strategy.

  • Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the Brazilian government on ensuring the safety of athletes and tourists travelling from the UK for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I met the Brazilian Minister for Sport on 7 June and discussed preparations for the Rio 2016 Games, including security. The British and Brazilian Governments, as consecutive hosts of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, have cooperated across a range of areas in preparation for the Rio 2016 Games. We have shared our experience of hosting London 2012 through visits to both the UK and Brazil by security and safety experts and through regular discussion of athlete and tourist safety. In advance of the Rio 2016 Games, we encourage all visitors to Brazil to consult our ‘Stay ahead of the Games’ consular campaign, which provides further advice on how visitors can best ensure their own safety during Games time.