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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase the level of retention in the Royal Navy.

    Mike Penning

    The Naval Service utilises a wide range of mechanisms to aid the recruitment and retention of personnel. For recruitment these include targeted marketing, specific recruitment events and staged remunerative awards to attract recruits in specialist areas. A number of initiatives have also been developed in order to retain experienced personnel, such as the use of targeted retention incentives and career extensions. Further developments under the Defence People Programme, such as flexible engagements, will help ensure that this process continues.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the reasons were for the recent changes in the proportion of resolvable Freedom of Information requests whose answers were fully withheld.

    Justin Tomlinson

    This Department considers and responds to each request for information under the Freedom of Information Act, on its own merits. I can confirm that there have not been any changes to Departmental Policy in doing so.

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to investigate whether employees of Sports Direct are paid the minimum wage.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage very seriously.Any worker who believes that they are being paid below the minimum wage should make a complaint to the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reviews every complaint that is referred to them by the Acas helpline. Additionally, HMRC collate and analyse data from various sources in order to identify those employers who are potentially more likely to be underpaying National Minimum Wage, so that they can undertake targeted enforcement against those employers.

    For reasons of confidentiality, HMRC do not divulge information relating to the affairs of an individual or company or confirm whether or not there is an ongoing enquiry.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the level of security of supply of rare earth metals required by industry.

    Anna Soubry

    There has been no recent assessment for the UK. However, the EU critical raw material list is reviewed every 3 years and the most recent review of that list, which currently includes rare earth elements, took place in May 2014. The UK uses this list to help in its assessment of which materials are of particular significance to UK manufacturing.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to protect the public from fraudulent organisations presenting themselves as Disclosure and Barring Service umbrella body companies seeking personal data.

    Karen Bradley

    Registered/Umbrella Bodies are governed by a Code of Practice, set out in Part V of the Police Act 1997, which includes the handling of personal data. Failure to comply with the Code of Practice may result in the suspension or cancellation of the umbrella body’s registration. In addition the Disclosure and Barring Service undertakes robust checks to ensure that its authorised Registered/Umbrella Bodies have appropriate safeguards in place to protect the personal data of people they are representing.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department plans to reinstate the bilateral aid programme with Burundi.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    There are no plans for DFID to re-open the office in Burundi. DFID’s bilateral programme in Burundi closed in 2012 following the 2010 Bilateral Aid Review. We have provided support to Burundi through Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA), an independent agency promoting trade and regional economic integration, given that this is central to Burundi’s growth and prosperity. DFID has provided £10 million for TMEA work in Burundi since 2012.

    DFID will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with counterparts across Whitehall, the international financial institutions (IFIs) and humanitarian partners in Burundi. DFID is working with the IFIs to identify options to support the provision of basic services, where there is none. DFID has prepared a response plan in the event of significant unmet humanitarian needs emerging.

    DFID has also provided technical support, in the form of secondment of experts, to support UN agencies working in Burundi. This includes support to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) to strengthen humanitarian coordination in Burundi.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much compensation her Department paid for the unlawful detention of individuals under immigration powers in each of the last three financial years; for what categories of reason compensation was so paid; and how many such payments were made for each such category of reason.

    James Brokenshire

    Our records indicate that over the past 3 financial years (covering 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15), that a total of £13.8 million has been paid out to 573 claimants, as per the below table. All of whom were paid compensation following a period of unlawful detention.

    Total Unlawful Detention Compensation payments (£ million)

    Number of claimants for the last 3 financial years

    FY 2012-13

    £ 5.0

    195

    FY 2013-14

    £ 4.8

    199

    FY 2014-15

    £ 4.0

    179

    Caveat to provided data: This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to extend the terms of reference of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to investigate the abuse of children in mainstream schools.

    Karen Bradley

    The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse already has wide-ranging terms of reference to examine the extent to which public and other bodies in England and Wales have failed in their duty to protect children from sexual abuse. Decisions around what it investigates, and the specific terms and scope of the investigations, are a matter for the Independent Inquiry. There are no plans to extend the terms of reference further.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-07-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what policies are in place to ensure that newly arrived asylum seekers placed in Home Office initial accommodation have immediate access to the education system.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The issue of education provision for children seeking asylum is an important one and the Home Office makes every effort to ensure that families with children who claim asylum support have access to education at the earliest opportunity.

    To enable access to education, internal checks are in place to triage applications involving children of school age for priority dispersal from initial accommodation facilities into permanent accommodation.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to ensure the Mandarin Excellence Programme is delivered to all local authorities in the UK; and how many (a) schools and (b) pupils in Birmingham are planned to start the programme this year.

    Nick Gibb

    The Mandarin Excellence Programme offers intensive study in the language. The programme is expected to result in at least 5,000 young people heading towards a high level of fluency in Mandarin Chinese by 2020.

    Secondary school pupils in an initial 14 secondary schools will study Mandarin for eight hours a week – a significant increase on the time pupils currently spend on the subject.

    Currently two schools in the Midlands, one in Coventry and one in Walsall, have joined the programme. Around 300 pupils are expected to join the programme this year. There will be further opportunity for schools to apply to join the programme in subsequent years.