The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-02-26.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the proportion of manufacturing jobs held by women in (a) each English region, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.
Mr Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Elfyn Llwyd on 2014-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria will be used to identify preferred bidders for probation contracts.
Jeremy Wright
Under our Transforming Rehabilitation proposals we are opening up the market to a diverse range of new providers across the public, private and voluntary sectors to bring innovation to rehabilitative services and help deliver reductions in reoffending rates. We are currently engaged in a competition to appoint the 21 owners of the new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) which will be responsible for the provision of services to all but those offenders which pose the highest risk. We will assess the bids we receive over the summer, and appoint CRC owners later this year. Offers will be evaluated using quality and financial criteria. We expect the new owners to implement their new operating models during 2015.
We are taking a staged approach to implementation and are rolling out business readiness tests at key stages of implementation so that we can ensure we are managing the transition to the new system in a safe and measured way which maintains public protection.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Barry Sheerman on 2014-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to promote gas safety among leaseholders in local authority-managed properties.
Kris Hopkins
The Department does not provide advice on gas safety specifically for leaseholders in local authority–managed properties. However, the lease of a property will set out the responsibilities of the freeholder and the leaseholder, including responsibility for maintenance of gas appliances.
In the private rented and social rented sectors, landlords are required by law to: repair and maintain gas pipework, keep flues and appliances in safe condition; ensure an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue; and keep a record of each safety check.
For the social housing sector, the Homes and Communities Agency ‘Home Standard’ says that registered providers must “meet all applicable statutory requirements that provide for the health and safety of the occupants in their homes”. The Homes and Communities Agency has recently issued three ‘serious detriment’ notices against Gallions, Your Housing Group and the Guinness Partnership for failing to maintain gas safety and they have all had their Governance ratings downgraded partly based on that.
The Home Standard is a ‘consumer’ standard and therefore applies to all registered providers, including local authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2014-01-20.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employers participated in the regional employer National Insurance contributions holiday in each region.
Mr David Gauke
This Government is committed to helping UK businesses grow and create jobs. The NICs holiday was a temporary, targeted scheme to help start ups take on new staff within their first year of trading. Although take up was lower than expected, the holiday benefitted over 26,000 businesses and supported over 90,000 jobs.
Building on the lessons learnt from the holiday, we are taking action to reduce the employer NICs burden on small businesses and have created the new Employment Allowance which is simple to administer, permanent and available to all business and charities in the UK, this is reducing their employer NICs bill by up to £2,000 each year. As a result, 450,000 employers will pay no NICs at all in 2014-15.
According to the latest available figures the break down of employers that applied for the National Insurance Holiday by region, throughout the scheme is as follows:
|
Region |
Total |
|
Northern Ireland |
1265 |
|
Scotland |
3975 |
|
Wales |
1695 |
|
East Midlands |
2645 |
|
North East |
1840 |
|
North West |
4840 |
|
South West |
3975 |
|
West Midlands |
3100 |
|
Yorks. And Humber |
3265 |
|
Total |
26600 |
The NICs Holiday attracted around 26,600 applicants over a three year period. Further statistical information on the scheme is available on a factsheet at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/nics-hol.htm. The factsheet only covers periods from the start of the scheme to December 2012.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alun Cairns on 2013-05-08.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department scrutinises the Fundraising Standards Board; when a review was last conducted; and what the outcome was of this review.
Mr Nick Hurd
Lord Hodgson assessed the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) as part of his review of the Charities Act 2006 and concluded in his report ‘Trusted and Independent: Giving charity back to charities’ that it had broadly met 10 of the 12 success criteria set out when it was established in 2006. The FRSB and Cabinet Office are members of the Steering Committee established in response to Lord Hodgson’s recommendations to drive forward further progress in strengthening self-regulation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Parminter on 2015-10-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what services they will introduce to replace the advisory, training and assessment services on the government’s timber procurement policy currently provided by the Central Point of Expertise on Timber when funding for its work comes to an end in 2016.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) has been in place since 2004 and has advised and trained procurers across the public sector on implementation of the UK Government’s Timber Procurement Policy (TPP). CPET has been educating public procurers to meet their requirements under TPP and guidance will continue to be made available via the GOV.UK website. The certification schemes FSC and PEFC have been recently reviewed and it has been confirmed that they continue to provide Category A evidence of meeting the TPP. Defra is working with stakeholders who may wish to create additional support services for procurers of timber.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people completed more than one apprenticeship at the same qualification level between May 2010 and May 2015.
Nick Boles
Individuals who have successfully completed an Apprenticeship are not normally allowed to repeat an Apprenticeship at the same Level. A recent piece of research focusing on value added post learning shows that of the 280,000 people with a Level 2 Apprenticeship as their highest qualification held between 2004/2005 to 2010/2011, 8,000 (3 per cent) had previously achieved a Level 2 Apprenticeship in the same period. And of the 233,000 people with a Level 3 Apprenticeship as their highest qualification held between 2004/2005 to 2010/2011, 5,000 (2 per cent) had previously achieved a Level 3 Apprenticeship in the same period.
Funding for Apprenticeships is managed by the Skills Funding Agency through funding rules. These rules state that Apprentices who have successfully completed an Apprenticeship at any level are not expected to start a second Apprenticeship at the same or lower level. Apprentices will be expected to progress to a higher level.
In general, to receive funding for an Apprenticeship, the training provider and SFA must be satisfied that, for all Apprentices, this is the most appropriate learning programme and that they are carrying out a new job role or an existing job role where the individual needs significant new knowledge and skills. If an individual changes jobs, remaining in the same sector or changing sector, and fulfils these criteria, funding is available for an Apprenticeship.
In certain circumstances, Apprentices may need to be multi-skilled. In this case, the SFA will fund an Apprenticeship at the same or lower level if the Apprenticeship is supporting the Apprentice in an extended job role.
However, individuals who have a prior qualification at Level 4 or above are only eligible for funding for a Higher Apprenticeship at Level 5 or above. They are not eligible for funding for an Intermediate Level (Level 2), Advanced Level (Level 3) or Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship, even if they change their job role or the sector they work in.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Argar on 2015-10-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to review the amount of compensation for losses paid to Equitable Life policy holders over the course of this Parliament.
Harriett Baldwin
The Chancellor announced in the Summer Budget 2015 that, as part of the Scheme closedown, the Government will double the payments to non With-Profits Annuity policyholders in receipt of Pension Credit. The Government has no further plans to review the payments made by the Equitable Life Payment Scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hammond on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the implementation of the proposed General Data Protection Regulation; which non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and agencies overseen by his Department will be affected by that regulation; and what estimate he has made of the potential liability of his Department, its agencies and NDPBs in connection with that proposed regulation.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Negotiations on the proposed General Data Protection Regulation are still continuing and we are taking into account the likely impact on Government Departments, NDPBs and agencies. Once the outcome of trilogue negotiations between the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the Commission are complete, and the Regulation has been adopted, the liabilities will be further assessed. There will then follow a maximum implementation period of two years. Between now and then, Government departments who will be affected by the Regulation are closely involved in work led by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport to consider the implications of the text as it develops through the negotiating process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hammond on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to prepare for the implementation of the proposed General Data Protection Regulation; which non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and agencies overseen by her Department will be affected by that regulation; and what estimate she has made of the potential liability of her Department, its agencies and NDPBs in connection with that proposed regulation.
Nick Gibb
Negotiations on the proposed General Data Protection Regulation are still continuing and our negotiating position has taken into account the likely impact on Government Departments, NDPBs and agencies. Once the outcome of negotiations between the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the Commission are complete, and the Regulation has been adopted, the liabilities will be further assessed. There will then follow a maximum implementation period of two years. Between now and then, Government departments which will be affected by the Regulation will be closely involved in work led by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport to consider the implications of the text as it develops through the negotiating process.