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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Report Is Britain fairer?, particularly with regard to the employment and earnings prospects of young people aged 16 to 24.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is an independent body, and its report “Is Britain Fairer?” covers a five-year period spanning the Labour and Coalition governments. We welcome the positive areas of progress and note the key challenges to which it refers. The information in the report will be used by the EHRC to help develop its next strategic plan, covering the period 2016-19.

    Giving young people the skills that businesses need is important. That is why our work to ensure 3 million apprenticeship starts in England over this Parliament is crucial.

    According to London Economics, the lifetime benefits associated with the acquisition of Apprenticeships at Level 2 and 3 are very significant, standing at between £48,000 and £74,000 for Level 2 and between £77,000 and £117,000 for Level 3 Apprenticeships.

    The latest data shows that 89% of apprentices are satisfied with their apprenticeship; 85% of apprentices said their ability to do the job had improved, and 83% of apprentices said their career prospects had improved.

  • Yvonne Fovargue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Yvonne Fovargue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yvonne Fovargue on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what conditions the Financial Conduct Authority has placed on the rent-to-own firms it has authorised in respect of low income users of such firms.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This question has been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply to directly to the Honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bernard Jenkin on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department are working on matters related to (a) European policy, (b) the future of Europe, (c) reform of the EU, (d) the renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU, (e) the EU referendum and (f) the consequences of the EU referendum; how many full-time equivalent staff are working on such matters; what the (i) staff and (ii) other cost of such work is; what proportion of that work is undertaken by such staff on (A) communications, (B) strategy and (C) policy; whether her Department has established any specific unit or units to deal with those matters; to whom such (1) staff and (2) units report; whether her Department has issued guidelines to staff on those matters; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain – so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe, including the renegotiation and referendum.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-01-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to increase public awareness of National Savings and Investments.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The core purpose of NS&I remains to raise cost-effective finance for the Government, using an operating framework that balances the interests of savers, taxpayers and the wider financial sector.

    An indication of NS&I’s cost effectiveness in raising finance for the Government, as measured by the Value Indicator, is published annually. The Value Indicator is calculated by comparing the total cost of delivering Net Financing and servicing existing customers deposits with how much it would cost the Government to raise funds through the wholesale market via equivalent maturity gilts. Last year £330m was saved.

    As an arms-length body, NS&I is responsible for its own brand strategy. In line with government Spend Controls, Cabinet Office approval is required for advertising, marketing and communications spend of £100,000 or above.

    NS&I relocated its operations within Glasgow from the Cowglen site to the Capella building in the centre of Glasgow in May 2015. The closure of Cowglen facilitated the move to more modern and cost effective accommodation and released the surplus site for redevelopment for housing, together with a capital receipt for the Exchequer. NS&I’s mail processing and scanning operations previously located at Cowglen, moved to Orbital House in East Kilbride in October 2015. NS&I remains committed to its operations in Scotland.

  • Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wendy Morton on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s spending was on Overseas Development Aid in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) the first 10 months of 2015-16; and what the recipient countries of that aid were.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Official Development Assistance spending was:

    in financial year (FT) 2013-14 – £321 million;
    in FT 2014-15 – £344 million;
    and in the first 10 months of FY 2015-16 – £260 million

    We have provided ODA funds to all countries on the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list except for Central African Republic, Djibouti, Sao Tome and Principe, Micronesia, Tokelau, Gabon, Niue, Palau, Wallis and Futuna. The DAC list can be found here: http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats/documentupload/DAC%20List%20of%20ODA%20Recipients%202014%20final.pdf.

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  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society on use of results from the European Accredited Laboratory Assay related to Lyme disease to inform the provision of treatment on the NHS for that disease.

    Jane Ellison

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has had no discussions with the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34222, on the humanitarian situation in Madaya, what estimate she has made of the number of civilian deaths due to blocked medical evacuations.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK condemns the blockage of medical evacuations from hard to reach and besieged areas inside Syria, which has led to unnecessary death and suffering. In March 2016, for example, three children and a young man in Madaya and al-Wa’er died after having their evacuations rejected by the parties restricting access to these towns. Access to healthcare and medical treatment is a fundamental human right protected under international law.

    Some progress is being made. For example, we are pleased by UN reports that nearly 500 people were evacuated for medical reasons from besieged areas on 20 April.

    However, more needs to be done to provide for all those in need in Syria. The UK is pressing for an end to the removal of medical equipment from convoys by the regime, the evacuation of critical medical cases and regular access to healthcare for besieged populations. We will continue to use our position in the UN Security Council and the International Syria Support Group to draw attention to the atrocities being carried out in Syria and press for urgent action, while maintaining the pressure for a political settlement to bring the suffering of the Syrian people to an end.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34939, on local housing allowance, when he expects to publish information on the proportion of local authorities that will receive Targeted Affordability Funding.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We plan to publish information about which areas and Local Housing Allowance rates will benefit from the Targeted Affordability Fund later this year.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people working for her Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    George Eustice

    There are no direct employees paid less than the Living Wage in core-Defra, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).

    There are 2 direct employees currently paid less than the Living Wage in the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), none of which are employed on zero-hours contracts. One is an apprentice and the other is about to have their salary increased to the Living Wage rate.

    There are no employment agency staff paid less than the Living Wage in core-Defra, APHA, and VMD.

    There are 95 employment agency staff paid less than the Living Wage in RPA. None are employed on zero-hours contracts. All are paid at least the National Living Wage as defined by the Government.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the proportion of households without working smoke alarms in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Redcar and Cleveland and (d) Middlesbrough in each of the last five years.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Department for Communities and Local Government holds data on the proportion of households without smoke alarms in England from the English Housing Survey which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2014-to-2015-smoke-alarms-in-english-homes-report

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