The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an application to the EU Solidarity Fund before December 2016.
Andrew Percy
The Government finalised the UK’s application to the European Union Solidarity Fund on 22 September 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of changes to his Department’s policies on (a) the provision of secure colleges, (b) prohibiting prisoners from receiving books, (c) the sale of HM Courts and Tribunal Service, (d) Saudi prison contracts and (e) the timetable for the tender for criminal defence work.
Andrew Selous
I refer the honourable member to the answer given to PQ 13074 on 7th December 2015. There was never any plan to sell HM Courts and Tribunals Service. There is no cost to the public purse from the delay to implementation of new criminal legal aid contracts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what programmes there are for companies who will not be covered by the Apprenticeship Levy to assist with the creation of apprenticeship positions; and if he will make a statement.
Nick Boles
All employers in England will be able to access funding for apprenticeships after the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in 2017. We will set out further details about how this will operate in due course, including any programmes available for employers who will not pay the levy.
We will also continue to offer employers an apprenticeship recruitment service through Find an Apprenticeship on gov.uk. We are continuing the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) to support more small firms to take on 16-24 year old apprentices.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make support available to trainee nurses unable to complete their courses because of delays in the processing of their applications for Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks.
Karen Bradley
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) aims to process all applications within the shortest time possible. The vast majority of applicants do receive their certificates in a timely manner and in December the average processing time for DBS applications was 15.3 days.
It is important that checks undertaken are thorough and sometimes the DBS needs to refer an application to one or more local police forces as part of the enhanced certificate checking process. Unfortunately, a small number of forces have been experiencing difficulties in completing their checks within expected timescales.
Where delays occur in the processing of DBS certificates, prospective employers of trainee nurses and other healthcare employees who will be working with adults only are able to use a service known as Adult First. Adult First is an online facility provided for healthcare workers by the DBS that can be used in cases where, exceptionally, and in accordance with the terms of Department of Health guidance, a person is permitted to start work with adults before a DBS Certificate has been obtained.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress the Government has made on reforming the EU Emissions Trading Scheme as a result of discussions with her EU counterparts and the recent COP21 climate conference.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government strongly supports reform to strengthen the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). Ministers and officials have discussed this recently with counterparts in other Member States, as well as with members of the European Parliament, the European Commission and industry representatives. At the recent COP21 climate conference in Paris in December 2015 Ministers also participated in a session to promote the EU ETS and strengthen links to other national and international ETS. Whilst the Commission has not indicated an intention to change its proposals for the next phase of the EU ETS in light of Paris, the global climate deal means robust reforms of the EU ETS are now even more important.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of clinical commissioning groups that commission mental health services specifically for older adults.
Alistair Burt
No estimate has been made of the number and proportion of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) that commission mental health services specifically for older adults. All CCGs will have a cohort of older adults for whom there is mental health services provision. In recent years there has been a trend towards ageless mental health services.
However, one of the recommendations in the Mental Health Taskforce report The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health published by NHS England in February this year is that bespoke older adult services should be the preferred model until such time that general adult mental health services can be shown to provide age-appropriate care.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect on consumers of businesses issuing seven-day legal procedure notices with invoices.
Nick Boles
In response to the Law Commissions’ report on Consumer Redress for Misleading and Aggressive Practices in March 2012, the Government introduced an amendment to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 giving consumers new powers to pursue civil redress for misleading and aggressive practices.
The regulations expressly cover demands for payment from a consumer in full or partial settlement of the consumer’s liabilities or purported liabilities to the trader (regulation 2(1A)). This means that misleading and aggressive practices in respect of such demands could lead to both criminal sanctions as well as private redress.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel were medically discharged from the (a) Royal Navy excluding the Royal Marines, (b) Royal Marines, (c) Army and (d) Royal Air Force in each year since 2010.
Mark Lancaster
Information on the number of UK Regular Armed Forces personnel medically discharged by Financial Year and Service since 2010 is given in the attached.
Defence Statistics release annual updates on medical discharges in the UK Regular Armed Forces as an Official Statistic publication. The next statistical release is due in July 2016 which will present data for financial year 2015-16. The latest report for 2014-15 can be found at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has to encourage and support graduates in finding a job.
Damian Hinds
Jobcentre Plus is committed to providing a high quality service to all jobseekers and this includes graduates looking for employment in high level sectors.
Jobcentre Plus work coaches personalise the support they provide to claimants to help them find work, based on their individual need and circumstances. They have access to a menu of specialist support designed to assist graduates and professional executives.
From April 2017 we are introducing a new Youth Obligation to ensure that young people aged 18–21 are either earning or learning and are given the support, skills and experience they need to move into and get on in work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding per head is received for childcare in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.
Caroline Dinenage
Funding for the free early years entitlements is allocated on a local authority basis. In 2016-17[1], the relevant hourly funding rates per child were as follows:
|
Local authority |
Three and four year old entitlement |
Two year old entitlement |
|
Barnsley |
£3.99 |
£4.85 |
|
Bradford |
£5.19 |
£4.85 |
|
Calderdale |
£4.15 |
£4.85 |
|
Doncaster |
£3.87 |
£4.85 |
|
East Riding of Yorkshire |
£4.40 |
£4.85 |
|
Kingston upon Hull, City of |
£4.20 |
£4.85 |
|
Kirklees |
£4.37 |
£4.85 |
|
Leeds |
£4.09 |
£4.85 |
|
North East Lincolnshire |
£3.72 |
£4.85 |
|
North Lincolnshire |
£4.39 |
£4.85 |
|
North Yorkshire |
£4.49 |
£4.85 |
|
Rotherham |
£4.07 |
£4.85 |
|
Sheffield |
£4.51 |
£4.85 |
|
Wakefield |
£4.14 |
£4.85 |
|
York |
£3.63 |
£4.85 |
In 2016-17, the national average hourly funding rates paid by the Department for Education to local authorities in England is £4.51 for three and four year olds and £5.09 for two-year-olds.
All funding rates for three and four year olds are exclusive of the Early Years Pupil Premium which is an additional funding stream for disadvantaged children.
The figures given above relate to England. Childcare policy for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is devolved.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2016-to-2017
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