Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2015-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last five years.

    Esther McVey

    Information requested is as follows:

    a) Recruitment agency fees

    £

    Spend on recruitment agency fees

    2009/10

    457,498

    2010/11

    3,944

    2011/12

    0

    2012/13 ¹

    394,511

    2013/14 ¹

    362,616

    ¹ Includes Child Maintenance Group expenditure which joined DWP in August 2012.

    Data excludes NDPBs

    b) Outplacement agency fees

    £

    Spend on outplacement agency fees

    Outplacement support provided (heads)

    2009/10

    -¹

    2010/11

    -¹

    2011/12

    32,100

    1275

    2012/13 ²

    16,950

    813

    2013/14 ²

    2,235

    4397

    Outplacement agency fees are for displaced or redundant staff for all grades. This includes:

    i) outreach services procured directly by the department; and

    ii) outplacement services procured via Civil Service Resourcing’s Outplacement Services Framework contract, which has been in place since January 2014.

    It does not include Department’s in house outplacement activity or the outplacement services delivered by Civil Service Resourcing’s Career Transition Service (CTS).

    ¹ The spend on outplacement agency fees is not available for 2009/10 and 2010/11.

    ² Includes Child Maintenance Group expenditure which joined DWP in August 2012.

    Data excludes NDPBs

    c) Staff training costs

    £

    Spend on staff training costs

    Average headcount

    £ per head

    2009/10

    19,920,326

    117,425

    169.64

    2010/11

    10,219,848

    114,449

    89.30

    2011/12

    6,599,138

    103,094

    64.01

    2012/13 ¹

    8,613,543

    98,295

    87.63

    2013/14 ¹

    9,421,756

    95,287

    98.88

    ¹ Includes Child Maintenance Group expenditure which joined DWP in August 2012.

    Data excludes NDPBs

  • Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances disability living allowance is payable for a child who has dyslexia.

    Mr Mark Harper

    Entitlement to Disability Living Allowance is not linked to particular conditions such as dyslexia but is assessed on the extent to which an individual person has personal care needs and/or mobility difficulties as a result of their disability.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the case of Raif Badawi in Saudi Arabia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Whilst the latest flogging has been postponed, we remain seriously concerned by Raif Badawi’s case. The UK condemns the use of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment in all circumstances. We have raised Mr Badawi’s case at a senior level with the Saudi authorities.

    The UK is a strong supporter of freedom of expression around the world. We believe that people must be allowed to freely discuss and debate issues, challenge their governments, exercise the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and speak out against violations of human rights wherever they occur.

  • George Hollingbery – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    George Hollingbery – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Hollingbery on 2015-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Irish counterparts on the management of sea bass stocks.

    George Eustice

    I met the Irish Minister in the margins of the European Union Agriculture and Fisheries Council of 15-16 December to discuss key fisheries items on the Council agenda including management of sea bass stocks.

    Under longstanding Irish national measures to protect bass stocks their commercial fishing vessels are not permitted to land bass for sale, which means a degree of discarding of bass by-catch from mixed fishing activity will occur. I have not, however, seen the Bass Discards report published by the Irish Bass Group.

  • Meg Munn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Meg Munn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Munn on 2015-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will introduce a fast track service for continous positive airways pressure therapy for people who drive for a living.

    Jane Ellison

    Local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for assessing the needs of their local populations and for commissioning services to meet those needs. For patients with obstructive sleep apnoea, NHS England expects CCGs to take into account the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines when deciding what services should be made available.

    NICE has published technology appraisal guidance which recommends the use of continuous positive airway pressure as a treatment option for adults with moderate or severe symptomatic obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome, where certain criteria are met.

    NICE has been commissioned to develop a quality standard on sleep disordered breathing and will in due course consider which conditions will be covered under the scope of the quality standard and the need for associated clinical guidance.

    There are currently no special provisions for people with sleep apnoea who drive for a living, but this will be considered as part of the guideline.

    Individuals diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea and who are waiting for continuous positive airways pressure therapy are prioritised according to clinical need.

    We do not collect information centrally on the time people wait between diagnosis and treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea. The Referral to Treatment operational standards state that 90% admitted and 95% of non-admitted patients should start consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks of referral. In order to sustain delivery of these standards, 92% of patients who have not yet started treatment should have been waiting no more than 18 weeks. Whilst individual National Health Service organisations are monitored on their performance in this area, obstructive sleep apnoea is not separately identified.

  • Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much public expenditure was allocated from her Department to the London Stock Exchange Group in each financial year from 2009-10; and how much public expenditure is allocated to that Group for 2015-16.

    Justine Greening

    Information on previous budget allocations is available at http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/. 2015-16 allocations remain subject to ministerial approval.

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-01-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of government financial support to business through grants and tax forgone.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government offers a wide range of financial support to business through different grants and tax reliefs. For example the Regional Growth Fund has so far committed £2.6 billion of support to over 400 awards which are expected to deliver £16 billion of private sector investment and 573,000 jobs.

    Overall Government grants and reliefs serve to support UK businesses to invest and grow, generating jobs and economic growth. Business investment has grown 26% since early 2010, there are more people in work now than ever before, and the IMF have forecast the UK as having the fastest growing economy in the G7 in 2014.

  • Mike Freer – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mike Freer – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Freer on 2015-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the military capability of Hamas.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We assess that Hamas maintains the ability to launch rocket attacks and armed attacks through tunnels on Israel from within Gaza.

    We call on Hamas to renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previously signed agreements.

  • Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2015-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that students undertaking a level 6 diploma in professional dance are consistently regarded as being in higher or further education for the purpose of housing benefit and access to student loans and financial support.

    Nick Boles

    An Upper Tribunal of HM Courts and Tribunal Service affirmed in July 2013 that, for the purposes of Housing Benefit, all courses of Level 4 and above were courses of higher education, and students undertaking a Level 6 Diploma in professional dance are not eligible for Housing Benefit. This decision was to be disseminated to all Local Authorities to ensure any Housing Benefit payment discrepancies would cease.

    For the purposes of Higher Education student support, a course must be designated in accordance with the relevant Education (Student Support) Regulations. A key eligibility requirement is that a course should lead to an award granted by a body with UK degree awarding powers. These Level 6 Diplomas are not granted by such a body and therefore are not eligible for HE student funding.

    The Department continues to provide funding through the Dance and Drama Awards scheme for a small number of dance and drama higher vocational Diplomas.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andy Slaughter – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on marketing for the Right to Buy scheme in (a) Hammersmith and Fulham and (b) Hammersmith constituency in each year since 2010.

    Brandon Lewis

    I refer the hon. Member to my answer today to Question UIN 219547. Identifiable spending in the local authority area was £9,986 in 2012-13 and £1,461 in 2013-14. Further information cannot be disaggregated . Figures are not available at a constituency level.