The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20554, when he plans to carry out a post-implementation review of the Localism Act 2011.
Mr Marcus Jones
As indicated in my earlier answer, the review will be completed by November 2016, the 5th anniversary of the Act receiving royal assent
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of Senior Civil Servants in each department in each year since 2010.
Matthew Hancock
The number of Senior Civil Servants serving in each department in each year from 2010 to date, is set out in the table below:
Centrally Managed SCS by Main Department (2010-2015)
|
Department |
Q1 2010 |
Q1 2011 |
Q1 2012 |
Q1 2013 |
Q1 2014 |
Q1 2015 |
Q3 2015 |
|
BIS |
217 |
267 |
254 |
263 |
273 |
265 |
255 |
|
CO |
213 |
233 |
208 |
214 |
238 |
281 |
284 |
|
DCLG |
122 |
120 |
99 |
84 |
84 |
90 |
88 |
|
DCMS |
41 |
36 |
35 |
24 |
34 |
44 |
46 |
|
DECC |
66 |
86 |
100 |
105 |
121 |
109 |
111 |
|
DEFRA |
174 |
161 |
145 |
143 |
143 |
133 |
127 |
|
DfE |
120 |
121 |
168 |
155 |
139 |
139 |
147 |
|
DfID |
95 |
79 |
79 |
83 |
80 |
81 |
80 |
|
DfT |
227 |
185 |
173 |
174 |
198 |
174 |
174 |
|
DH |
392 |
370 |
312 |
383 |
393 |
406 |
396 |
|
DWP |
381 |
325 |
275 |
296 |
258 |
259 |
266 |
|
FCO |
59 |
54 |
56 |
58 |
67 |
78 |
77 |
|
HMRC |
391 |
362 |
360 |
319 |
313 |
325 |
342 |
|
HMT |
159 |
106 |
105 |
97 |
94 |
94 |
106 |
|
Home Office |
237 |
208 |
198 |
199 |
196 |
224 |
220 |
|
MoD |
275 |
266 |
227 |
227 |
219 |
236 |
248 |
|
MoJ |
290 |
241 |
200 |
200 |
199 |
198 |
213 |
|
SG |
270 |
238 |
215 |
225 |
227 |
230 |
222 |
|
WG |
147 |
125 |
118 |
137 |
155 |
155 |
152 |
|
Other |
477 |
329 |
289 |
309 |
370 |
456 |
463 |
|
Total |
4353 |
3912 |
3616 |
3695 |
3801 |
3977 |
4017 |
Source: SCS Database
Notes: FCO does not include the Diplomatic Service as they are not part of the Centrally Managed Senior Civil Service
Figures also do not include a number of health professionals and military personnel that work at a senior level that are not part of the Centrally Managed Senior Civil Service
Caution is advised when interpreting changes at a departmental level due to the following Machinery of Government changes over the period that have moved into and out of departments:
Office of Government Commerce moved from HMT to Cabinet Office in June 2010
Government Equalities Office moved into Home Office in April 2011 and to DCMS in Q1 2013
Directgov transferred from DWP to Cabinet Office in June 2010
Buying Solutions moved from HMT to Cabinet Office in June 2010
Postcomm (BIS) were abolished in October 2011
The Better Regulation Delivery Office moved from the wider public sector into BIS in Q2 2012
Ordnance Survey moved from DCLG to BIS in July 2011 and left the Civil Service in April 2015
Land Registry moved from MoJ to BIS in July 2011
Met Office moved from MoD to BIS in July 2011
Fire Service College (DCLG) was abolished in February 2013
Standards and Testing Agency (DfE) was created in October 2011
Education Funding Agency and the National College and Teaching Agency (DfE) were created in April 2012
A number of Probation Trusts staff moved from the wider public sector to MoJ in June 2014
Public Health England (DH) was created in April 2013
Legal Aid Agency (MoJ) was created in April 2013
National Crime Agency was created in October 2013
Criminal Records Bureau (Home Office) left the Civil Service in December 2012
The Asset Protection Agency (HMT) was abolished in October 2012
Competition Commission moved from the wider public sector into the Office of Fair Trading in April 2014 to become Competition and Markets Authority
Part of the Defence Support Group (MoD) was privatised and left the Civil Service in April 2015
The Food and Environment Research Agency (DEFRA) left the Civil Service in April 2015
Government Internal Audit Agency (HMT) was established in April 2015
Highways Agency (DfT) left the Civil Service in April 2015
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence her Department holds on the relationship between the A-level grades achieved by prospective teachers and their later performance in the classroom.
Nick Gibb
Evidence, including a seminal McKinsey study from 2007 (How the world’s best-performing schools come out on top), shows that teacher quality and impact cannot be predicted by a single factor such as A-Level grades, but result from a complex combination of factors including academic achievement combined with characteristics and attributes such as communication skills, willingness to learn and motivation to teach.
The Teachers’ Standards, developed by a group of leading teachers and heads, clearly define the core elements of effective teaching – including strong subject knowledge and the promotion of scholarship, as well as skills such as classroom management. All new teachers must demonstrate that they are meeting the standards at the end of their initial training.
It is important that providers of initial teacher training are able to select and recruit candidates on the basis of their potential and their academic achievement to date; this is why we are giving schools much greater say in recruiting and training candidates who can be successful in the classroom. This year, over half of all postgraduate trainees are coming through school-led routes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Altmann on 28 April (HL7905), whether the Pensions Regulator has taken any action in the case of the BHS pension scheme in order to fulfil its statutory duty to reduce the risk of situations that may lead to claims for compensation from the Pension Protection Fund, and what assessment they have made of whether the Pensions Act 2004 provides adequate protection to pension scheme members.
Baroness Altmann
The investigation into the BHS pension schemes and any associated action is a matter for the independent Pensions Regulator.
Once the Regulator has completed its investigation, any subsequent determination will be published on its website.
The Government considers that the Pensions Act 2004 provides the Regulator with a sufficient range of measures to protect pension scheme members and the Pension Protection Fund, including anti-avoidance powers to enable it to act where corporate transactions are aimed at avoiding debts to the pension scheme. The powers of the Regulator are kept under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-06-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the expenditure on soil research by all UK research councils in each year since 2006.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The annual spend on research related to soil science through the Research Councils is provided in the table below.
|
Financial Year |
Spend |
|
2005-06 |
£13.3M* |
|
2006-07 |
£16.9M* |
|
2007-08 |
£19.7M* |
|
2008-09 |
£15.4M* |
|
2009-10 |
£17.3M* |
|
2010-11 |
£24.1M |
|
2011-12 |
£20.6M |
|
2012-13 |
£24.2M |
|
2013-14 |
£31.2M |
|
2014-15 |
£20.8M |
|
2015-16 |
£45.1M |
*Data is not available for the Arts and Humanities Research Council prior to 2010-11.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-09-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding (1) night raids of Palestinian refugee camps in Area A of the West Bank, (2) the number of injuries to the youth in that camp as a result of those raids, and (3) reports that the Israeli commander responsible for the Dheisheh area threatened to disable the Palestinian youth living there.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have not made specific representations to the Israeli authorities over these issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment support allowance claimants in the work-related activity group have (a) come off that allowance and (b) had periods of reclaiming that allowance and what proportion of those claimants had fluctuating illnesses in the latest period for which figures are available.
Penny Mordaunt
Statistics on Employment and Support Allowance off-flows, by phase of claim, are published and available at:
http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/flows/flows_off/tabtool.html
Guidance on how to extract the information can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance
The information requested on Employment and Support Allowance claimants reclaiming ESA and the proportion of claimants who had fluctuating illnesses is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s press release, Prison building revolution announced by Chancellor and Justice Secretary, published on 9 November 2015, what plans he has for relocating prison populations in prisons in central London that are planned for closure.
Andrew Selous
On 9 November the Chancellor and Secretary of State announced their intention to build a prison estate which allows prisoners to be rehabilitated, thereby enabling them to turn away from a life of crime. This will involve building nine new prisons and closing old and inefficient prisons which do not support the aims of a redesigned estate. No decisions have yet been made on where new prisons will be built.
We are currently considering which of our old and inefficient prisons will close. We will engage with stakeholders during the process of sale including valuation experts and potential developers in order to maximise the value achieved.
Any relocation of prisoners will be done with careful planning. Where staff are affected they will be managed through the process of change using processes deployed during previous closures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will develop a carbon capture and storage strategy for energy intensive industries.
Andrea Leadsom
The provision of ring-fenced capital support for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) was judged against other Government funding priorities as part of the Spending Review. Government has not taken the Spending Review decision lightly. The Government continues to view CCS as having a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors. Neither CCS Competition project proposed to capture CO2 from energy intensive industries.
The detailed design and implementation of CCS policy changes have yet to be determined. The Industrial 2050 Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency Roadmaps reports published in March 2015 identified a potential role for industrial CCS technologies in decarbonising the steel, oil refining, chemicals and cement sectors. DECC and BIS continue to engage with the energy intensive industries and academics to develop decarbonisation Action Plans by the end of 2016 as the second phase of this process.
The Government remains committed to working with energy intensive industries including those in the Northern Powerhouse area. DECC provided £1million funding to Tees Valley Unlimited as part of the 2013 City Deal agreement to undertake an Industrial CCS feasibility study based on the chemicals and steel industry in the Teesside cluster and we continue to support that work. The devolution deal for Tees Valley, published in October this year, also included a commitment to explore how it can continue to develop its industrial CCS proposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether borough councils which provide sandbags to all residents to protect their properties during incidents of flooding are able to recover the costs of those sandbags under the Bellwin Scheme.
James Wharton
To date, 35 local authorities have registered an intention to claim under the activated Bellwin scheme but no final claims have yet been received.