The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the projected increase in defence spending during this Parliament.
Mr Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Members for South East Cambridgeshire (Lucy Frazer) and Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of further delays to the DCC go-live date on the effectiveness of smart meter rollout.
Jesse Norman
The Data and Communications Company is in the final stages of testing the national new data and communications infrastructure for smart metering. It is important to get this right to ensure a good consumer experience from the outset.
In parallel, the roll out continues to make good progress. Consumers are able to receive smart meters ahead of the national infrastructure going live and more than 3.6 million smart meters are already operating in homes and businesses across the country.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his contribution of 28 October 2015, Official Report, column 429, on junior doctors hours, if he will publish the evidential basis for the proposition that hospitals are not rostering enough junior doctors at weekends.
Ben Gummer
NHS Employers’ evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration – “Reform of national contracts for consultant doctors and doctors and dentists in training” [1]– published in December 2014, included a profile of how the hours worked by doctors in training were spread across the week.
We have evidence that hospital leaders consider the junior doctors’ contract to be a significant barrier to delivering more seven-day services. NHS Providers’ written evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) on contract reform for consultants and doctors and dentists in training[2] stated that the junior doctor contract is still a significant source of barriers to seven day working and reform of the junior doctor contract is also required to support trusts to deliver more seven-day services. In particular, the pay banding system for junior doctors needs to be reviewed. There were concerns from employers that the banding system is too complicated, can create “perverse incentives” for junior doctors, and means that providing more seven-day services is unaffordable, since more junior doctors would be working outside core hours and receive premiums under the current banding system. NHS Providers also believe that more hours in a day and more days of the week need to be defined as core hours, as the current arrangement does not support the delivery of more seven-day services or reflect the needs and expectations of today’s patients. Professor Sir Bruce Keogh has also said that premium pay rates are hindering efforts to put services on a seven-day footing.
[2] http://www.nhsproviders.org/resource-library/written-evidence-ddrb-special-remit/
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the statement by the EU Commission of 18 June 2015 on the termination of intra-EU bilateral investment treaties, to which such treaties the UK is a party; what steps the UK is taking to terminate such treaties to which it is a party; and if he will make a statement.
Anna Soubry
The UK has bilateral investment treaties in force with twelve EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The UK is participating in discussions with the Commission and other Member States on possible options and approaches towards handling the Commission’s request, regarding the termination of these treaties. These discussions are at an early stage and no consensus has been reached among Member States.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is the policy of the Government that a written contract of employment is prerequisite to making a claim for working tax credit; and if he will make a statement.
Damian Hinds
A written contract of employment is not a prerequisite of a claim for working tax credit.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Building Skills for all: A Review of England, published in January, in respect of the report’s findings that (1) seven per cent of university graduates in England under the age of 35 have numeracy skills below level 2, and that 3.4 per cent have literacy skills below level 2; (2) competition between universities in England for the ablest students has intensified to the point that less successful universities have lowered their admission demands to attract applicants; and (3) with a record number of students now entering for degree courses, money should be diverted from universities and deployed to enhance basic school education.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government agrees it is critical that all students acquire the essential literacy and numeracy skills they need to make the most of their courses and progress into a fulfilling career.
Alongside the reforms to raise standards in schools and increase the number and quality of apprenticeships, our Higher Education Green Paper sets out further measures to ensure all students benefit from high-quality teaching.
Decisions about which students to admit is ultimately a matter for individual institutions, but by lifting the cap on student numbers we are ensuring that more students can benefit from higher education than ever before.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to increase the number of public appointments of BAME representation in the last three months.
Matthew Hancock
The Government is committed to increasing the diversity of public appointments. The Centre for Public Appointments in the Cabinet Office supports departments on all issues relating to the diversity of public appointments. Steps we are taking to increase diversity include streamlining the application process, placing an emphasis on ability over previous experience, and increasing awareness of opportunities by using a central website, social media. The Centre for Public Appointments also engages extensively with a variety of diversity networks and groups representing the views of ethnic minorities to raise awareness and increase the number of applications coming from BAME candidates and understand any potential issues or barriers.
I hosted an event in February for a variety of diversity networks to encourage people from underrepresented groups to apply for Public Appointments and to advertise them in their own networks. The Cabinet Office is also represented at events run by diversity networks to raise awareness of the opportunities available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers have left the teaching profession in each of the last five years.
Nick Gibb
The Department publishes statistics showing the number and rate of qualified teachers who enter service and the number and rate of qualified teachers leaving service.
The latest available statistics, for 2011 to 2014, are in Table C1b of the additional tables in the statistical first release ‘School Workforce in England, November 2014’, which was published in July 2015:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014
The statistics show that the qualified teacher entry rate has been higher than the qualified teacher leavers rate throughout 2011 to 2014.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authority schools have been found to have made irregular payments to third party suppliers without the necessary contracts in each of the last three years.
Edward Timpson
Local authorities are responsible for the oversight of the schools they maintain and carry out their own programmes of financial monitoring.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the imposition of sanctions on the Burundian government.
James Duddridge
The UK has led efforts to put into place sanctions against four human rights offenders in Burundi . Should Burundi continue to refuse to engage in dialogue and the political and security situation continue to deteriorate, we will push for further international sanctions against those blocking progress towards peace.