Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what he plans the size of the Frigate fleet will be in 2025.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review announced that we will maintain our fleet of 19 frigates and destroyers whilst also conducting a concept phase for the design and build of a new class of lighter, flexible general purpose frigate so that by the 2030s there is potential to increase the total number of frigates and destroyers.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2016 to Question 33501, on equal pay tribunals, how many individual equal pay claims have been brought against employers by (a) men and (b) women in each year between 2010 and 2015.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The two large multiple cases consisted of 11,585 men and 3,475 women, plus one claimant who did not state their gender. We are not able to provide further information about these cases as they have not yet been listed for hearing.

    The table below shows the number of equal pay claims accepted by the Employment Tribunal for each calendar year since 2010:

    Calendar Year

    Gender

    Female

    Male

    2010

    29,754

    4,083

    2011

    24,049

    3,647

    2012

    15,697

    4,340

    2013

    18,398

    5,039

    2014

    6,052

    1,509

    2015

    6,423

    13,312
  • Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-06-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress has been made in improving construction sector productivity since publication of the Government’s Productivity Plan in July 2015.

    Nick Boles

    Working with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), the Government has identified skills, business models and innovation as the major sources of improved productivity in the sector.

    To promote increased investment in skills, an Apprenticeship Levy will be introduced in April 2017 on all companies with a pay bill above £3 million per annum. The CLC Review of the Construction Labour Model launched in January 2016, is examining the labour model in construction and will recommend measures which will help lead house-building and other construction firms to ensure they have the skills, and the skills pipelines, that they need.

    The Government Construction Strategy 2016-2020 published in March this year has a focus on smarter procurement, using Government’s position in the market to help drive improved productivity in construction and better value for the tax payer.

    Businesses need money to invest in productivity improvement, and a review of the practice of cash retention and of the effectiveness of the legislation covering construction contracts (Part 2 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996), is currently underway.

    Digital technology has great potential to drive productivity improvement through innovation in construction, and the UK is among the world leaders thanks to the Government’s support for the use and development of Building Information Modelling. In the Budget the Government announced support for the development of the next digital standard for the construction sector, Building Information Modelling 3.

  • Karin Smyth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Karin Smyth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will take steps to provide additional support for people who need to dispose of a property after the death of a relative by reviewing existing council tax liabilities.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government provides an exemption from council tax for up to 6 months to people who have inherited properties which are left empty due to the death of the occupier. This applies after the granting of probate, or after letters of administration have been signed. Local authorities additionally have discretion to offer discounts of between 0% and 100% for empty homes. Authorities can also defer payment of council tax until the proceeds of a sale are made available.

    The Government has no plans to change this support.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the costs and benefits of the NHS internal market; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As with many healthcare systems worldwide, the National Health Service has employed a purchaser-provider split for a number of years, and under successive governments in order to ensure that resources are used to the maximum benefit of patients.

    A number of evaluations of aspects of this approach have been conducted, including work undertaken by organisations such as the Nuffield Trust and the King’s Fund. The Government remains committed to supporting both commissioners and providers to secure value by controlling costs and improving quality of care.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what change there has been in median gross weekly pay for (a) men and (b) women in Ashfield constituency in each year since 2010.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what student satisfaction surveys are conducted after training at (a) MOD Grantown-on-Spey, (b) MOD Llanwrst, (c) MOD Fairbourne and (d) MOD Crickhowell; what the average satisfaction rate is; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    Student surveys at Joint School for Adventurous Training Instructors (JSATI) Llanrwst, Force Development Training Centre (FDTC) Crickhowell, Fairbourne and Grantown-on-Spey are conducted at the end of each training course. The information is analysed against training objectives and used for continuous improvement purposes. Students are not requested to provide an overall rating for satisfaction.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of medicines selected by NHS England Clinical Reference Groups for the development of commissioning policies have been (a) approved and (b) not approved by each Programme of Care board.

    George Freeman

    National Programmes of Care boards do not approve or decline proposed investments in specialised services.

    Decisions on proposed investments are made by NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group and the Specialised Commissioning Committee following recommendations from the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group.

    National Programmes of Care boards provide assurance that proper process has been followed in the development of proposals for consideration.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Prime Minister has seen a draft childhood obesity strategy document.

    Jane Ellison

    As part of the development of the Childhood Obesity Strategy, the Secretary of State has regular meetings to discuss its content. The Childhood Obesity Strategy will be published shortly.

  • Lord Harrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Harrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Bank’s methodology for producing its Resolving Insolvency rankings.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    It is not simple to compare different insolvency regimes. The World Bank methodology for ‘Resolving Insolvency’ uses principally an assessment of speed and amount of returns to creditors but also has introduced more subjective tests of the strength of the framework. In the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report, the UK continues to be 7th in the world for returns to creditors, and is quicker and costs less than the US, Germany and France, but does somewhat less well on the subjective factors, which may understate the strengths of our regime. We keep the UK’s insolvency regime under review to ensure it remains at the forefront of best practice and that possible new features are properly considered.