Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the equipment procured by his Department was sourced from UK small and medium-sized enterprises in each year between 2010 and 2015.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Cabinet Office Data published in February 2015 shows that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) combined direct and indirect expenditure with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a proportion of total procurement spend was 19.4%. This represents some £3.9 billion in 2013-14 and £3.8 billion in 2014-15.

    The MOD published details of its direct contracts with SMEs in the Finance and Economics Annual Statistical Bulletin: Trade Industry and Contracts. Details for each year since financial year 2010-11 can be found at the link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015

    It should be noted that the statistics are for all contracts placed with SMEs, including those for equipment and other services.

    It is the MOD’s ambition to spend 25% both directly and indirectly with SMEs by the end of this Parliament.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the number of people who live within 30 minutes’ travel time of Stratford International Station by public transport.

    Claire Perry

    The Department for Transport has made no assessment of the number of people who live within 30 minutes’ travel time of Stratford International Station by public transport.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the correction of 9 February 2016 to Question 13206, what the cause was of the error in information on former unaccompanied minors removed between 2007 and 31 December 2015; and what steps she is taking to ensure that correct information is collected and published in future.

    James Brokenshire

    The mistake given in the original response to Question 13206 resulted from two errors in the query for extracting information from the relevant database. One error involved the use of an incorrect definition which excluded former unaccompanied asylum seeking children who now had linked dependants. The other was an error in the computer code which extracted the data. In this instance, the code for the query was mistyped and so the data returned was incorrect. These errors have now been resolved and a correction issued. Such mistakes are rare and when they occur they are taken very seriously.

    It is regrettable that human error caused the original response to this Parliamentary Question to be incorrect and improvements have been put in place. The appropriate definition has been reviewed and confirmed. This definition, and the correct approach on careful coding, have been made clear to the officials involved. We are reviewing other Parliamentary Answers about unaccompanied asylum seeking children to see if these were affected by similar issues. While these respond to different specific questions, we wish to review the methodology used thoroughly. We are also reviewing whether additional processes are needed for Parliamentary Questions that require complex data queries.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made on devolving local transport schemes to local enterprise partnerships (LEP); and if he will assess the effect of such policies on the work of the Solent LEP in developing Southampton’s infrastructure.

    Andrew Jones

    Funding for major local transport schemes is devolved as part of the Local Growth Fund to which the Department is contributing over £7billion. It is for LEPs to determine the priority projects in their areas. I understand that schemes that Solent LEP is undertaking in Southampton include the Cross Solent Connectivity Project, junction improvements near the Western Docks, and the recently completed Station Quarter scheme.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what methodology the Pubs Code Adjudicator appointment panel employed in order to ensure the appointed Pubs Code Adjudicator had no conflicts of interest.

    Anna Soubry

    Mr Newby was appointed in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ (OCPA) Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies. As is standard practice, Mr Newby was asked during this appointments process to declare any potential conflicts of interest. The appointment panel discussed conflicts of interest with him at interview. The Panel was satisfied there were no conflicts of interest, and put this advice to ministers.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many representations she has received from headteachers on academisation in each of the last 12 months.

    Edward Timpson

    The Secretary of State, Ministers and officials at the Department regularly receive many representations from head teachers about schools converting to academies. All of the Department’s responses make clear that the conversion of schools to academies is part of the Government’s commitment to achieve educational excellence everywhere.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will issue a response to EDM 211, 2016 Report by UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, tabled on 14 June 2016.

    James Duddridge

    Following the publication of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, we remain concerned about human rights issues in the country. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s latest Human Rights Report includes Eritrea in its list of 30 priority countries for the UK government and sets out the changes needed. We continue to press the government of Eritrea, including at ministerial level, to take concrete steps to improve its respect for human rights.

    We welcome the recent increased engagement between Eritrea and the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Eritrea’s agreement to work with the United Nations Development Programme to implement the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review on human rights. We urge further such cooperation to help bring about human rights reform in Eritrea.

    We will give a full statement when the UN Human Rights Council discusses the COI’s report on 21 June.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the examination boards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland collect data on the number of private candidates who sit GCSE and A-Level examinations.

    Nick Gibb

    These questions are a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write directly to the Hon. Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House libraries.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many families have been assisted by the Troubled Families programme in Southampton.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    In Southampton, the local authority achieved significant outcomes with 685 families under the first Troubled Families Programme (2012 – 2015).

    In the new Troubled Families Programme (2015 – 2020), they have so far engaged 1,065 families. This means that each of these families has a named key worker or lead worker, a full assessment of the problems they face and an agreed plan with stretching goals to tackle all of these problems.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will fund the NextGen Skills Academy higher apprenticeships in order better to support games employers.

    Nick Boles

    We are introducing a UK-wide levy for all larger employers to help fund the increase in quantity and quality of apprenticeship training in England. The levy will put employers in charge of how and where apprenticeship budgets are spent by creating a fund which they can use to pay for external training for their apprentices.

    As part of the apprenticeship reforms, employer-led Trailblazers are designing new apprenticeships to meet their skills needs. Over 1300 employers – including in the Digital Industries and Visual Effects sectors, such as Framestore – are currently involved in designing new apprenticeship standards. These include apprenticeships in occupations at a range of levels such as Digital & Technology Solutions Professional (L6); Software Developer (L4); Junior 2D Artist (Visual Effects) (L4); Games Quality Assurance Technician (L4) and Assistant Technical Director (Visual Effects) (L4).

    The NextGen Skills Academy links to Amersham and Wycombe College and was awarded £2.7m of Employer Ownership Pilot funding for a 3 year project focusing on the VFX, animation and games industry in September 2014. The project is now led by Framestore and managed by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.