Tag: Parliamentary Question

Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what process the trade supplement for an RAF weapon technician was decided under Armed Forces Pay Reform.

Penny Mordaunt

For Other Ranks, the Ministry of Defence uses a long-standing and rigorous process of Job Evaluation (JE) to determine the pay treatment of each trade. In the current binary pay model which consists of High and Low Pay Bands, JE evidence assigns the role of the RAF Weapon Technician to the High Pay Band. In the new pay system, with its four supplements and greater flexibility, the same JE evidence assigns the Weapon Technician to Supplement 2, while other trades in the RAF’s Trade Group 1 (TG1) (Aircraft Engineering) are assigned to Supplement 3. This does not mean there has been a reduction in the Weapon Technician’s technical status or intrinsic value. It reflects the fact that the other trades in TG1 continue to score higher in the JE process and therefore continue to be treated differently in pay terms.

No-one will take a pay cut on transition to the new model and Service personnel will continue to be eligible for any Government approved pay award. Incremental progressions will also continue to be a feature of the new pay model, though rationalised.

01/01/2023
Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s policy is and what guidance it issues to civil servants on the acceptance and declaration of corporate gifts.

Mark Lancaster

The Department’s rules on the acceptance of gifts and hospitality state that every head of Division or Commanding Officer must maintain a hospitality log in which to record contact with persons, firms or organisations holding, or seeking to obtain, Government contracts. All offers of gifts, complimentary vouchers, other incentives, and hospitality made to Crown Servants whether accepted or declined must be recorded in the log. Senior management are responsible for undertaking regular reviews of the hospitality log. The guidance is set out in the "Defence Business Services Gifts, Reward, and Hospitality Policy" documents which are available on the Department’s intranet site.

The Department’s policy is based on the rules of standards and conduct found within the Civil Service Code and is consistent with approaches taken by other Government Departments.

01/01/2023
Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the change was in the level of government reimbursement to local authorities for the cost of the English National Concessionary Transport Scheme between 2010 and 2015.

Andrew Jones

This data is not held by the Department for Transport.

In 2010-11, £223m was paid to local authorities as a specific grant to deliver the National Concessionary Transport Scheme. In 2011-12, this funding was transferred to the Local Government Finance Settlement, from where it has been delivered since. As the settlement distributes un-ringfenced funding to cover a number of services delivered by local authorities, it is not possible to identify the level of funding within the settlement specifically for national concessionary transport from the point the funding was transferred.

01/01/2023

Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many civil servants were employed in each location at the Skills Funding Agency in the last year for which figures are available.

Nick Boles

The number of civil servants employed by the Skills Funding Agency is shown in the attached table and represents the position as at 31 December 2015.

Location	Total
SFA Birmingham	53
SFA Bristol	18
SFA Cambridge	24
SFA Chatham	20
SFA Coventry	381
SFA Fareham	23
SFA Gateshead	51
SFA Home	7
SFA Leeds	61
SFA Liverpool	16
SFA London	114
SFA Manchester	50
SFA Nottingham	17
SFA Plymouth	16
SFA Reading	30
SFA Sheffield	13
Grand Total	894

01/01/2023

Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the taper arrangements will be for the proposed phasing in of EU migrants’ entitlement to in-work benefits.

Mr Shailesh Vara

I refer the right hon. Member to the February European Council Conclusions. The restrictions on in-work benefits will apply to each newly arriving EU worker for a period of four years from the commencement of employment, with the limitation tapered “from an initial complete exclusion but gradually increasing access to such benefits to take account of the growing connection of the work with the labour market of the host Member State”. Precise details are a matter for the implementation of the proposal, and further announcements will be made in due course.

01/01/2023
Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has given permission for Southern rail services to be cancelled during the planned strike in July 2016.

Claire Perry

We are not aware of any planned official strike in July 2016.

01/01/2023
Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guarantees they plan to give that, once the new funding system for supported housing comes into place in 2019–20, existing tenants will not be affected negatively by any changes.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable through our welfare reforms. That is why we have exempted supported housing from the Local Housing Allowance policy until 2019/20, from which point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents. The new funding model will include a ring-fenced local top-up to ensure that funding is used only for supported housing provision and will support existing tenants.

The funding will be administered locally so that local authorities can respond flexibly to local need. We believe local authorities are best placed to make decisions about how to support vulnerable people in their areas and to commission the supported housing services that are needed locally.

01/01/2023
Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what procedure his Department follows in investigating cases of discrepancies between statements in disability benefit claimant questionnaires and assessor reports.

Justin Tomlinson

Following the gathering of evidence, including the assessor’s report which would reflect the claimants own evidence from the consultation and the questionnaire, a DWP decision maker will decide the facts of the case and then make a decision, applying those facts to the conditions for benefit. Any contradictions within the evidence will be decided on the balance of probabilities. The claimant can raise any such issues again at the Mandatory Reconsideration stage.

01/01/2023
Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to paragraph 19 of the Prime Minister’s written response to the Foreign Affairs Committee’s report on British military operations in Syria published on 26 November 2015, what the evidential basis is for the statement that within Syria local councils and emerging local governance structures (a) have become stronger and (b) deliver basic services to a population of over 1.1 million people.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK, through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund, is supporting local councils and emerging local governance structures in 28 communities across Syria. These communities contain a population of 1.1 million people. Our support means that local councils have the assistance they need to deliver essential services, including health, education and utilities, in a way that they were not able to previously. This also includes specific support for building good governance practices. This is confirmed by our project partners who operate in Syria.

01/01/2023
Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the £70 million funding towards careers in this Parliament, announced by the Prime Minister on 11 January 2016, will be spent in each of the next four years.

Mr Sam Gyimah

On 11 January 2016, my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister announced that we are committing £70 million to our careers strategy over this Parliament to continue the transformation of the quality of the careers education, advice and guidance offered to young people. This is on top of the £20 million in 2015-16 announced for careers in the 2014 Autumn Statement.

This £70 million will be spent over the next four years to 2020. We have not yet finalised how much will be spent each year or how it will be allocated but can confirm that there will be continued funding for the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to continue its excellent work. We anticipate that this will include funding to support the Enterprise Adviser Network, the Careers and Enterprise Fund, the Enterprise Passport, the CEC’s research programme and its wider activity to bring schools, colleges, business, and careers and enterprise organisations closer together, and to deliver the new mentoring campaign announced by the Prime Minister on 11 January 2016. We will make further announcements in due course.

01/01/2023