The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what change there was in the proportion of the working age population employed by the public sector in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland between 2005 and 2015.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many vacancies for (a) paramedics and (b) doctors there are in the East Midlands Ambulance Service.
Ben Gummer
The information requested is not held centrally. It may be available directly from East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the targets were for recruitment for each of the armed forces in each of the last five years.
Mike Penning
Information on the targets for recruitment for each of the Armed Forces in each of the last five years is shown below.
|
Financial Year |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
|
Regular Naval Service |
2,230 |
2,925 |
3,433 |
3,260 |
3,571 |
|
Maritime Reserves1 |
– |
– |
– |
740 |
760 |
|
Royal Fleet Auxiliary |
36 |
52 |
122 |
353 |
336 |
|
Total Naval Service |
2,266 |
2,977 |
3,555 |
4,353 |
4,667 |
|
Regular Army Service |
11,190 |
10,300 |
7,020 |
8,160 |
7,320 |
|
Army Reserves1 |
– |
– |
– |
4,900 |
7,270 |
|
Total Army Service |
11,190 |
10,300 |
10,575 |
13,060 |
14,590 |
|
Regular Royal Air Force Service |
1,561 |
1,586 |
1,731 |
2,212 |
2,670 |
|
Royal Air Force Reserves1 |
– |
– |
– |
600 |
750 |
|
Total Royal Air Force Service |
1,561 |
1,586 |
1,731 |
2,812 |
3,420 |
Notes:
1 There are no figures for these periods as centralised recruitment targets were not set until October 2013 following publication of the Reserves White paper.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the increased tax revenue from extending the National Living Wage to those aged 18 to 25.
Damian Hinds
Younger workers tend to have less experience than older workers in the labour market, and so there is a risk that too high a wage rate may make them relatively less attractive to employers. So, to minimise any negative impact on employment of younger workers, the National Living Wage is limited to those 25 and over. The Government has not therefore made an estimate of what the fiscal impact of this policy change would be.
The Office for Budgetary Responsibility estimate that, by 2020-21, the National Living Wage will increase income tax and NICs receipts by around £0.1bn, as set out in Table B.3 in of their July 2015 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. They assume that, by 2020-21, the overall impact of the policy on the public finances is to reduce public sector net borrowing by £0.2bn.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changes to the severe disability premium on young carers.
Justin Tomlinson
The Government has no plans to make changes to the existing Severe Disability Premium which is available in means-tested benefits such as Income Support. It is not a qualifying condition for an award of Carer’s Allowance that the person being cared for is entitled to the Severe Disability Premium. Neither Carer’s Allowance nor Universal Credit (which also contains an additional amount for carers) are available to claimants aged under 16.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has conducted research on the total cost to the public purse of tax credits paid to private hire vehicle drivers in London in each of the last two financial years.
Mr David Gauke
No such research has been conducted.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he has taken to ensure that young people in West Cumbria are equipped with the skills they need to access newly-created jobs in the nuclear and renewable energy sectors.
Anna Soubry
The Government is working with the energy industry to maximise economic benefits from new electricity generation projects and is providing support to enhance the competitiveness of the supply chain, including improving the skills and employability of the construction workers in the industry.
In addition Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership has identified nuclear and energy excellence as a key priority contributing significant growth opportunities for the Cumbria economy. The Local Enterprise Partnership has strong ambitions to drive growth across the Cumbria area by improving the delivery of skills, infrastructure, environmental sustainability and business support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Jones on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions (a) he and (b) ministers of his Department have had with their Welsh Government counterparts on the potential benefits to North Wales of the Northern Powerhouse.
Anna Soubry
The Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Wales jointly hosted a roundtable in August to discussthese potential benefits. Ministerial and official engagement continues across Departments to capitalise on the opportunities for North Wales from the Northern Powerhouse.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) survivability, (b) sustainability and (c) readiness of NATO forces.
Mr Julian Brazier
The Readiness Action Plan (RAP), agreed at the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014, is progressing well and it will deliver enhanced NATO Response Forces, including the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), by the time of the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July 2016. The UK has played a leading role in the implementation of the RAP: we have committed to spending 2% of GDP on Defence, and 20% of that on new equipment; we will lead a capable and credible VJTF (Land) Brigade in 2017; we have increased our commitment to NATO’s Standing Naval Forces this year; and will continue to provide Airborne Early Warning, Air to Air Refuelling, Tornado and Typhoon aircraft to the VJTF (Air).
Considerable work on survivability, sustainability and readiness of NATO forces has been undertaken. The RAP includes a commitment to generate an enhanced NATO Response Force (eNRF) including a VJTF. To enhance survivability, the eNRF has been designed from the outset as a Joint, Multi-National force with an appropriate quantity and balance of forces needed to effectively conduct the full range of potential operations. Integral logistic structures, which include the newly created Multi-National Corps Headquarters in Poland and a Multi-National Division Headquarters in Romania, ensure the sustainability of the enhanced NRF and VJTF. Enhanced NRF forces are designed to meet the readiness timelines that are laid down in NATO’s strategic planning documents, including the Alliance’s Graduated Response Plans.
Considerable work on Interoperability has also been undertaken since the end of combat operations in Afghanistan at the end of 2014. This has built upon NATO’s Connected Forces Initiative to ensure that NATO’s Multi-National forces force are able to continue to operate together effectively beyond the end of combat operations in Afghanistan. For our lead of the VJTF (Land) in 2017, the British Army will operate alongside the armed forces from 13 contributing nations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-05-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made in updating tax treaties between the UK and (a) Malawi, (b) Lesotho and (c) Ghana.
Mr David Gauke
The UK is not currently involved in active treaty discussions with Tanzania.
Discussions with Malawi over a new tax treaty began some years ago, and substantive agreement has been reached at official level. The Government of Malawi have stated that they hope to be in a position to sign the new treaty in the near future.
The UK has negotiated a treaty with Lesotho and are currently seeking to arrange signature.
The UK is currently involved in negotiations with Ghana in agreeing a new tax treaty.
Nepal has approached the UK to begin negotiation of a tax treaty. We are seeking suitable dates for discussions.