Tag: Parliamentary Question

Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of employee involvement in the workplace on productivity levels.

Nick Boles

The research report ‘Does Worker Wellbeing Affect Workplace Performance?’ was published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in October 2014 and can be found on GOV.UK. This examines the wide range of factors, including employee involvement, that can positively impact on worker wellbeing. The analysis carried out using the 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study suggests that well-being is also positively associated with workplace financial performance, labour productivity and the quality of output or service.

01/01/2023
Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to encourage discussions between business leaders and the education sector on improving young people’s readiness for work and their future employment prospects.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Government is taking a number of steps to encourage discussions between business leaders and the education sector.

We have provided funding for The Careers & Enterprise Company which is increasing the number and quality of links between the education and business sector. The Company’s national network of enterprise advisers is already brokering relationships in 30 LEP areas, working with schools, colleges, employers and careers and enterprise organisations. The Government’s forthcoming careers strategy will set out the additional steps we will take to encourage interaction between business leaders and the education sector to support young people to prepare for working life.

My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister, in his speech on life chances on 11 January, announced £70 million funding over the parliament to transform the quality of the careers education, advice and guidance offered to young people. It will include funding for The Careers & Enterprise Company to continue the excellent work it has begun. It will also include delivery of a campaign to recruit a new generation of mentors to support young people at risk of under-achieving or dropping out, many of who will be business people.

We are also planning reforms to technical education which will ensure that the skills system is simple and genuinely owned, understood and valued by employers.

01/01/2023
Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to replicate the Northern Ireland electoral registration/schools initiative before the May 2016 elections and EU referendum.

John Penrose

EROs are already free to work with local schools and colleges in their area and many already do. In addition the Cabinet Office has published a collection of free learning resources aimed at engaging young people in the democratic process. This includes Rock Enrol! which can be used in an educational setting and provides an opportunity for participants to register to vote. The N.I.registration is different from the rest of the UK, so the schools initiative might would not necessarily translate easily across.

01/01/2023
Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have spent on infraction proceedings in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Gibb

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given by my Rt Hon Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, in PQ 36288 on 11 May 2016.

01/01/2023
Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has taken steps to ensure that any UK Trade and Investment deals with China announced during President Xi’s visit to the UK of 2015 are consistent with the UK’s obligations and stated commitments under the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Government provides guidance to UK companies to help them comply with their obligations on human rights throughout their global operations, including with respect to China. We maintain the joint FCO-UKTI Overseas Business Risk (OBR) service, which ensures up to date information on relevant human rights issues in China. In line with the revised National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (published May 2016) we encourage all companies doing business overseas to follow the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We have published guidance on transparency in supply chains and reporting requirements under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The Government is also working to advance the rule of law in China to promote a fair, transparent and predictable business environment for British business in China.

01/01/2023
Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of registered farm businesses which have access to superfast broadband.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

The Government is investing £780 million in superfast broadband. This will enable 95% of homes and businesses, including those based on farms, to have access to superfast broadband by the end of 2017. Clawback from contracts could extend this further. Standard broadband of at least 2Mbps was made available to everyone by the end of 2015, enabling digital access to all public services, and superfast broadband is now available to over 90% of UK premises – up from 45% in 2010. We are looking at superfast solutions for the last 5%. Farmers will also benefit from the broadband Universal Service Obligation which we are working to introduce by 2020, with an ambition that this will be set at 10 megabits per second.

01/01/2023

Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools applied successfully to the Education Funding Agency for funding for asbestos removal between 2010 and 2016; and what the (a) name, (b) type and (c) local authority is of each such school.

Nick Gibb

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) does not hold a breakdown of funding information, in the format requested, in relation to the removal of asbestos or renovation of school buildings.

Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, the primary responsibility for managing asbestos lies with the person or persons responsible for the maintenance or repair of a building. For schools, this will be the local authority, school governors or academy trust.

The table below summarises the capital budgets from 2011-12 to 2016-17 that were provided for school maintenance, refurbishment and rebuilding, including where appropriate the removal and/or safe containment of asbestos-containing materials. As these works are covered by the capital funding programmes listed below, the Department does not allocate a separate budget for this purpose; and there are no plans to do so in future years.

The Department does not hold directly comparable allocation or expenditure data on prior years.

(All values £m)	2011-12 Budget	2012-13 Budget	2013-14 Budget	2014-15 Budget	2015-16 Budget	2016-17 Budget
School Condition Allocations (funding provided to local authorities and voluntary-aided schools)	1,054	861	749	699	690	661
Devolved Formula Capital (funding provided direct to schools)	185	162	149	138	134	130
Funding for academies, multi-academy trusts, state-funded special schools and other specialist providers for state-funded pupils (including DFC).	161	376	504	562	576	617
Priority Schools Building Programme (PSBP) (delivered by central government)	0	0	90	603	999	1,050
Total	1,400	1,399	1,492	2,002	2,399	2,458

01/01/2023

Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide support for women who have been affected financially as a result of changes brought about by the Pension Act 2011.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government will not be revisiting the State Pension age arrangements for women affected by the Pensions Act 1995 and Pensions Act 2011. These women will receive their State Pension either at the same age as men or earlier as we remove current gender timetable inequality.

The equalisation of State Pension age was necessary to meet the UK’s obligations under EU law to eliminate gender inequalities in social security provision. The Pensions Act 1995 contained legislation to equalise women’s State Pension age and, since April 2010, women’s State Pension age has been gradually increasing. Following sharp increases in life expectancy projections, and therefore the increase in the number of people living longer in retirement, this timetable was accelerated by the Pensions Act 2011.

A concession was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their State Pension, relative to the previous timetable, to 18 months. This concession benefited almost a quarter of a million women, who would otherwise have experienced delays of up to two years. A similar number of men also benefited from a reduced increase, and the concession was worth around £1 billion in total.

01/01/2023
Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff worked for the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation on 1 April 2015; and what the budget of that organisation is for 2015-16.

Anna Soubry

At 1 April 2015 the UK Trade & Investment Defence and Security Organisation had 140 staff-in-post. As at 1 April the 2015-16 budget for UKTI DSO was £9.75M NET.

01/01/2023
Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the security and logistical implications of the Queen Elizabeth class carriers being unable to berth directly alongside the Mina Salman Support Facility in Bahrain.

Mr Philip Dunne

The security and logistical implications of the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers while on operations overseas are subject to continual assessment and review. Irrespective of berthing or anchoring arrangements, it is normal business to conduct threat assessments prior to and during all port visits and deployed maintenance periods. This has been and will continue to be no different for Mina Salman port, and other port facilities in Bahrain.

The Department does not disclose details of security risks and assessments pertaining to deployed operations as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

01/01/2023