Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the working group conducting the Post Implementation Review of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 will make recommendations on the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage for seafarers employed on (a) UK and (b) non-UK registered vessels.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Although the working group had considered looking at National Minimum Wage (NMW) enforcement it was quickly recognised by all members of the group that due to international law this is a very complex area and that it would be more beneficial to discuss in a separate forum. It has been agreed in principle to convene a cross government and social partners working group to look at the application of national minimum wage in regard to seafarers. As the Department responsible for NMW legislation, this would be led by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

    The working group has reviewed the existing guidance produced by BIS for seafarers and it is expected that revised guidance, taking into account recommendations of the group, will be published in Spring 2016. The Nautilus Telegraph will also publicise the revised guidance. This is a respected publication produced by the officer’s union Nautilus International but widely read by all seafarer ranks.

    I also understand from officials at RMT that they have recently had positive discussions with my Right Honourable Friend, the Minister of State for Skills and Equalities on the application of NMW to seafarers.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic progress has been made by the international community in delivering peace in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    On 11 February, the Foreign Secretary took part in the latest round of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting in Munich. At that meeting ISSG foreign ministers discussed how to support the political process, including through confidence building measures and steps towards a ceasefire, as called for in UNSCR 2254.

    The ISSG agreed the need to implement a cessation of hostilities within a week, to delivering humanitarian assistance to named besieged communities by the weekend of 13-14 February and to facilitate rapid progress in negotiations aimed at political transition. If implemented fully and properly by every ISSG member, this will be an important step towards relieving the killing and suffering in Syria.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2016 to Question 28606, how many cleaners working in buildings managed by her Department are paid at the rate of (a) £7.85 and (b) £9.15.

    Nick Gibb

    The number of cleaners working in buildings managed by the Department for Education paid at the rate of (a) £7.85 is 24, and (b) £9.15 is 23. This reflects the location of the contractor/staff.

    From 1 April 2016, the rates will be increased to reflect the 2016 Living Wage Foundation rates.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make a comparative assessment of how many deaths were caused by new psychoactive substances in the UK, Ireland and Poland in each year since 2010.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of households in which the occupants qualify for free television licences that will make voluntary payments in each year up to 2022.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government has agreed that the BBC will be able to ask for voluntary payment of the licence fee from those aged 75 and over who are entitled to a free licence. We are working with the BBC to implement the legal aspects of this agreement, but the number of households which may choose to make such a payment is unknown.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of levels of passenger satisfaction with light rail systems.

    Paul Maynard

    The Department for Transport has not made any assessment of passenger satisfaction levels in regards to light rail. However, Transport Focus, an independent transport user watchdog, published results in May 2016 which indicated overall journey satisfaction in 2015 had increased to 92% from 90% the previous year. This follows a survey conducted of over 5,000 passengers who had used light rail systems in operation in Blackpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh.

    A copy of the Transport Focus report can be found at the following weblink:

    http://www.transportfocus.org.uk/research-publications/research/tram-passenger-survey/

    “

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of over-staging by bus companies on journeys undertaken using a concessionary bus pass in England.

    Andrew Jones

    The destination printed on a bus ticket should not have any effect on the amount of reimbursement that the bus operator receives for carrying concessionary passengers.

    This is because reimbursement paid to operators is not based on the full commercial adult fare for a typical journey, but on the average equivalent full fare – taken from a “basket of fares” – that each concessionary traveller would have paid in the absence of the scheme.

    Reimbursement payments are also subject to audits of ticket sales data and, if required, ‘on-bus’ surveys of patronage.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the finding by The Times and the British Medical Journal that the board of a Clinical Commissioning Group in Birmingham awarded a £1.7 million contract to a company in which a number of its board members were shareholders or held a senior position.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We are aware of the reports in The Times and The British Medical Journal.

    Birmingham South Central CCG has provided assurances that it has robust and transparent governance arrangements in place that are in line with NHS England guidelines.

  • Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what account he has made of the reason for the failure to meet ambulance response time targets for Red 1 999 emergencies between June 2015 and September 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Ambulance services are experiencing a significant increase in demand compared with previous years.

    NHS England and trusts are responding to this challenge with a number of measures including the Ambulance Response Programme which enables trusts to provide a more clinically appropriate response to patients.In 2014/15, there were 1,048,500 more ambulance journeys compared with 2009/10 (2,800 per day). There are now almost 2,000 more paramedics compared to 2010.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what strategy they have in place to increase retention of teachers in the profession.

    Lord Nash

    Teacher retention rates have remained stable for over a decade and the turnover rate in teaching is lower than for the economy as a whole. Approximately 90% of all teachers are still in service in the year after they qualify and 72% of those who qualified in 2009 were still in teaching five years later. Over 60 percent of teachers remain in service 10 years after qualifying.

    The Government recognises that it is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers. That is why we have made policy interventions in areas such as improving pupil behaviour and reducing unnecessary workload.

    The Department has appointed behaviour expert Tom Bennett to lead a review to ensure new teachers are fully trained in managing behaviour in 21st century schools.

    Three groups have been established to address the biggest concerns that teachers raised in the workload challenge: marking, planning and data management. All three groups are due to report in Spring 2016 and the Department is commissioning a biennial survey to track teacher workload, starting in Spring 2016.