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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many officials in his Department were involved in preparatory work for London International Shipping Week 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Departmental team of three who lead on maritime promotion and partnership worked on the preparatory work for London International Shipping Week 2015, among their other duties, and were overseen by a Senior Civil Servant.

    Due to the importance, scale and complexity of the week, the core team received ad hoc support and advice from across the Department and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, many of whom were volunteers and assisted alongside their day to day duties.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support to meet caring needs is available for older people with a disability whose principal carer has net earnings of less than £110 per week.

    Justin Tomlinson

    This Government recognises and appreciates the vital contribution made by carers.

    A variety of support is available to both carers and the severely disabled people that they care for. Support is both financial, including through the benefit and Tax Credit systems and the Universal Credit service, and in other ways through local councils and health services.

    Carer’s Allowance is designed to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person. For this reason it is not available to people earning more than £110 a week net of allowable deductions and expenses.

    Carers earning more than £110 a week may be entitled to other financial support, such as Universal Credit or Tax Credits if they satisfy the qualifying conditions.

    People with a disability can claim benefits in their own right in order to meet their needs. Depending on individual circumstances, such financial support can be through universal, extra costs benefits and/or means-tested benefits. Means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit, include an additional amount for people with a severe disability (currently £61.85 a week for a single person) which can be paid to a disabled person to help meet the costs of caring if their carer is not receiving Carer’s Allowance.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which employers who have provided work placements for participants in (a) help to work and (b) mandatory work activity since the start of programme in question.

    Priti Patel

    The Department does not disclose details of organisations who have provided work experience placements for participants in Help to Work and Mandatory Work Activity.

    Contracted providers source work placements for individuals referred to Help to Work Community Work Placements and Mandatory Work Activity. The names of the contracted providers are published on Gov.uk.

    Mandatory Work Activity contracted providers:
    https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive/contract/166545/

    Help to Work contracted providers:
    https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive/search/?q=Community+Work+Placements

    “

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they set aside the agreement in principle with the British Medical Association on junior doctor working and instead acted to impose a new contract, and if so, why.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No agreement ever existed – in principle or otherwise – beyond the Heads of Terms that were the basis for negotiations. No agreement has been set aside by the Government or the Department.

    NHS Employers and the British Medical Association (BMA) agreed Heads of Terms for negotiations in July 2013 and commenced negotiations in October 2013, the intention being to conclude negotiations by the end of October 2014. The BMA walked away from those negotiations on 16 October 2014.

    As part of negotiations, proposals for a new contract had been made by the management side (employers from each of the four United Kingdom countries). The BMA said it could not agree to these. The Government therefore asked the independent Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) to make recommendations.

    The DDRB took evidence from the BMA, NHS Employers, the Department of Health and other parties. NHS Employers’ evidence, on behalf of the four UK countries, set out the proposals made by employers in negotiations, illustrating how these related to the jointly agreed Heads of Terms. The BMA’s evidence set out alternative proposals, which had not been made during negotiations.

    The DDRB’s report broadly endorsed the proposals made by NHS Employers and made recommendations, identifying some areas where further discussion was needed. The Government invited both parties to return to the table with the DDRB recommendations forming the basis for further negotiations.

    The Government, in England, has made clear its desire for the BMA to be involved in work to introduce a new contract. The Government has asked NHS Employers to work on the detailed design of a new contract for introduction in August 2016 and has continued to encourage the BMA to return to negotiations and take part in that work.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have made for seaborne links with Tristan da Cunha now that St Helena has an airfield.

    Baroness Verma

    Her Majesty’s Government has no plans to change seaborne links with Tristan da Cunha.

  • Baroness Greengross – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Greengross – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Greengross on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when there will be further announcements regarding the future development of the Disability Facilities Grant.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Helping disabled people to live independently in their own homes for longer through adaptations remains a key priority for this Government. The Government will have invested just over a billion pounds into the Disabled Facilities Grant between 2011-12 and 2015-16. This has delivered around 200,000 adaptations to the homes of disabled people. Future funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant is a matter for the Spending Review.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a scheme for naming and shaming employers who fail to pay an employment tribunal award.

    Nick Boles

    The Government believes that naming schemes can be a useful tool for encouraging compliance with legislation. For example, a naming scheme for non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage has been in place since October 2013 and has named 285 employers to date.

    The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 introduced a new financial penalty for non-payment of employment tribunal awards to encourage the full and prompt payment of awards. The Government is considering what other levers could be used to support the effectiveness of this measure, including the potential of a naming scheme.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the schedule of comparable programme objects in his Department’s publication, Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly: Statement of Funding Policy, published in October 2010, what projects were funded by the revenue support grants; and what the total capital cost was of each of those projects.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Local authorities are free to use Revenue Support Grant as they see fit in support of their statutory functions. Whilst the Department collects information on revenue and capital spending by local authorities, it does not ask authorities for information on the particular use to which they put Revenue Support Grant, or any of the other revenue sources available to them.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the level of problem debt in the UK.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Office for National Statistics does not publish data on problem debt in the UK. According to the latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics, unsecured debt as a proportion of income currently stands at 37 per cent in Q2 2015, down from its pre-crisis peak of 46 per cent in Q1 2007.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will hold discussions with the FA about the affordability of tickets to Premier League matches for people on the national average wage.

    Tracey Crouch

    The pricing of tickets is a matter for the clubs to decide on, however we would encourage all clubs, whether in the Premier League or not, to think carefully about affordability for all fans when setting their ticket prices.