Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 on small businesses.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 introduced a number of reforms to increase transparency, streamline processes and ensure prompt payment. These reforms were introduced to support all businesses, especially smaller ones. The impact of these reforms is being assessed by our Mystery Shopper service, who will publish a report on progress in due course.

    Direct SME spend in central government increased from under £3 billion (direct only) in 2009-10 to over £12 billion in 2014-15 (direct spend and spend through the supply chain).

  • Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with London Underground (LU) on the effect on passenger safety of reducing staffing on LU.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department’s Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Transport for London (TfL) where many issues are discussed, including TfL’s plans to change the way Underground stations are operated and staffed, and to improve the service they provide to customers. I am assured that the changes introduced by TfL will not have a detrimental impact on passenger safety.

  • The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Southwark on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the Department for International Development’s humanitarian effort in Iraq has been transferred to partners and agencies working in Iraq.

    Baroness Verma

    Since June 2014, the UK has committed £79.5 million in humanitarian assistance to the crisis in Iraq. With the exception of emergency humanitarian supplies delivered by the UK to Iraq in summer 2014, all of this funding is delivered through UN agencies and NGO partners working in Iraq – including through those who have access to some of the most challenging areas. The Department for International Development does not provide any direct financial support to the Government of Iraq or Kurdistan Regional Government.

  • Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations and advice they have received from (1) the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, (2) the Civil Nuclear Police Authority, and (3) the Civil Nuclear Police Federation, regarding the normal retirement age of 60 for Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Energy has met with the Chair of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority (CNPA) and the Chief Constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) on two occasions since taking office where the pension age of officers was discussed. In October 2015 and March 2016.

    The Minister of State has recently written to the Civil Nuclear Police Federation about meeting representatives of that organisation to discuss issues including the age at which CNC officers receive their pension.

    Officials at the Department of Energy and Climate Change have worked closely with officials at the CNPA and CNC at all levels, up to and including the Chief Constable, on the issue of the pension age of CNC officers since May 2014. The Department has received frequent and substantial advice on all aspects of this issue. This includes, but is not limited to, the impact of fitness standards on CNC officers and how those standards affect deployability of officers, and the costs of administering a pension scheme with a lower effective pension age.

    The Minister of State has received two letters from the Civil Nuclear Police Federation outlining their legal case for a lower pension age. Officials have met with the Civil Nuclear Police Federation to discuss the pension age of CNC officers on two occasions in 2015.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 1.89 of Budget 2016, what progress has been made on Professor Sir Adrian Smith’s review of mathematics teaching for 16 to 18 year olds; and when her Department plans to publish the terms of reference for that review.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government asked Professor Sir Adrian Smith to review the case for how to improve the study of mathematics from 16 to 18, to ensure the future workforce is skilled and competitive, including looking at the case and feasibility for more or all students continuing to study mathematics to 18, in the longer-term. The review will report during 2016.

    Sir Adrian Smith has begun his review and the terms of reference will be published in due course.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to respond to the concluding observations and recommendations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the UK’s sixth periodic report in relation to working conditions, discrimination against migrant workers, the national minimum wage and trade union rights; and if he will make a statement.

    Margot James

    In paragraph 73 of the UN recommendations, the UN requested that the UK submits its next period report under the Covenant (inclusive of a response to all the recommendations from this year’s examination) by 30 June 2021; it would therefore not be appropriate for me to pre-empt this report by anticipating what we, or indeed a future UK Government in 2021, might say.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the number of skilled construction apprenticeships required to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to build new homes.

    Robert Halfon

    It is for individual businesses to determine how they meet the skills challenges arising from the Government’s ambitious home building programme.

    Our reforms to apprenticeships will be a key tool to enable employers to meet their skills needs and the construction sector is currently developing a range of apprenticeship standards as part of the reform process.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from mental health charities on the adequacy of mental health provision in NHS services; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    Ministers and Departmental officials regularly meet with various stakeholders, including charities, to discuss how to improve mental health services in the NHS. We will continue to seek opportunities to enhance the charitable sector’s valuable role in providing support to people with mental illness and their carers and families.

    The independent Mental Health Taskforce, which is chaired by the Chief Executive of Mind, brings together health and care leaders and experts in the field, including people using services, to lead a programme of work to create a mental health Five Year Forward View for the NHS in England.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what mechanisms are in place to ensure transparency of the ownership of limited partnerships; what plans he has to (a) improve such transparency and (b) ensure that such partnerships are not set up for money laundering purposes; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    To improve transparency, the Department has established a publicly accessible central register of people with significant control (PSC register) through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015.

    The PSC register will be an easily accessible single source of information about the ultimate owners and controllers of UK companies, Limited Liability Partnerships and Societas Europeae. From June 2016, these corporate entities will be required to make their beneficial ownership information publically available through the UK register of companies.

    It is already a legal requirement that the name of each of the partners of limited partnerships be submitted to Companies House on registration. This information is available to the public free of charge through the new Companies House beta service. Companies House also works collaboratively with other government departments and agencies to tackle crime and fraud, including money laundering.

    We are currently considering the scope of the UK register to ensure we comply with the European Union’s Fourth Money Laundering Directive, which requires corporate and other legal entities to obtain and hold beneficial ownership information.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many jobs in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.

    Nick Gibb

    No jobs in either the Department for Education or any of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies or other accountable statutory bodies have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010, and no such jobs will be abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020