The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-02-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on training in each of the last three financial years.
Esther McVey
Departmental expenditure on training in each of the last three financial years, for which audited accounts have been published, is shown in the table.
|
Training |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
|
Total Spend |
£6,599,138.40 |
£8,613,542.60 |
£9,421,756.17 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-02-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the annual cost to the public purse of maintaining disused court buildings; and how many disused court buildings are currently lying empty because they have not been sold.
Lord Faulks
The Court Estate Reform Programme (CERP) was introduced in 2010 to improve efficiency through the closure of poor quality and underused court buildings. The total cumulative gross benefits expected from CERP is an estimated £152m over the SR10 period. At the end of June 2014, approximately £140m had been realised through resource savings of approximately £98m and gross capital proceeds of £42m.
There are 32 closed courts currently not in use. Of these, 27 were closed between May 2010 and March 2013 as part of CERP and business as usual closures. The full year cost of maintaining these courts in 2013/14 was £942,162. A further five courts were closed since then. The cost of maintaining these courts since their closure to date has been £122,444. All closed courts are being prepared for or undergoing sale processes.
The cost of maintaining courts following closure includes costs on rent and rates, maintenance, labour costs on facilities management, fuel and utilities and other property costs. One court, Stourbridge County Court, was closed but is being used for administrative purposes.
The Department is committed to disposing of surplus property assets expeditiously and reducing holding costs. The sale of former courts is dependent on a number of factors e.g. market, potential future use, location and the fact that some are occupied in part by the police and local authorities which also make disposal difficult. We have improved efficiency through the closure of poor quality and underused court buildings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-02-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to enhance the quality of careers guidance available in schools in England.
Lord Nash
It is essential that all young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. This includes finding new ways to broaden young peoples’ exposure to the world of work and ensuring they have key skills like character and grit. A new, independent careers and enterprise company, announced by my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, on 10 December 2014, will support schools by increasing the level of employer input into careers guidance, inspiration and enterprise. This is a vital part of our plans to strengthen links between schools and the world of work to ensure young people get the support they need. The company will have the specific remit of spreading existing good practice to every part of England. The company will receive start-up funding drawn from the £20 million for careers announced in the autumn statement.
The new company is a key part of a wider package of measures to improve careers guidance in schools. We have revised our statutory guidance to clarify our expectations of schools in relation to their duty to secure independent careers guidance, and will review it again in time for the next academic year. We have established a clear accountability system. Ofsted is giving a higher priority to careers guidance in school inspections and we publish destination measures which help schools and colleges to be held to account locally and inform choices by parents and students. We have also enhanced the role of the National Careers Service to help bring schools and employers closer together.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-02-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether copies of HM Revenue and Customs Board papers and minutes of Board meetings are provided to HM Treasury and the Board of HM Treasury or its Council of Economic Advisers.
Lord Deighton
Information provided to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) by the French tax authorities in respect of individuals indicated to hold accounts at the Geneva branch of HSBC Suisse and understood to be UK residents was supplied to HMRC under the terms of both the Mutual Assistance Directive 77/799/EEC[1] and the Double Taxation Convention in force between France and the United Kingdom at that time[2].
The Mutual Assistance Directive had been in force since 23 December 1977. The Double Taxation Convention has been in force since 18 December 2009, replacing an earlier convention which had been in force since 1969.
Since their entry into force each of these agreements has been a matter of public record.
There was, therefore, no new agreement for the Board of HMRC to negotiate or consider in connection with the provision of the information by the French tax authorities.
HMRC does not share copies of Board papers and minutes with HM Treasury. However, senior HM Treasury officials are standing invitees to HMRC’s monthly Executive Committee meeting, which is the Department’s main executive forum and the primary place where decisions are taken with regards to setting and delivering strategy and improving performance in key areas, and as such they have routine access to relevant committee meeting papers and minutes.
Each HMRC Executive Committee member also takes responsibility for the management of activities within a specific portfolio, including enforcement and compliance and business or personal tax customer services; HM Treasury officials do not have access to this level of information which contains operational compliance and taxpayer confidential information.
[1] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31977L0799
[2] http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxtreaties/in-force/france.pdf
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the shortest period was between the date on which a post office branch received public funding for improvement and the date on which it closed.
Jo Swinson
The Government understands the important role that post offices play in communities across the country and since 2010 has committed nearly £2 billion to maintain, modernise and protect a network of at least 11,500 branches that continues to meet strict access criteria that see, for example, 99% of the population nationally living within three miles of a post office outlet.
This Government has also committed that there will be no programme of Post Office closures and there are currently around 11,700 post office branches in the UK, with the Post Office network at its most stable for over two decades.
As the provision of post offices and the investment made under its network transformation programme are the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on these matters. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to better enforce building regulation inspections to ensure quality housing builds.
Stephen Williams
The duty to comply with the requirements of the Building Regulations lies on the person carrying out the building work. The duty of the building control bodies, local authorities and approved inspectors, is to take all reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that the requirements have been satisfied. Where they have not been complied with a compliance certificate should not be given. It is also possible for building control bodies to take formal enforcement action in the courts against builders for non-compliance where they consider this would be justified. Issues relating to warranties which may be provided for new homes are matters for the relevant warranty body.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the amount of land that will be sold by NDA Properties Limited in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16; and what estimate he has made of the revenue likely to be raised by those sales.
Matthew Hancock
NDA Properties Ltd will consider selling land at Dounreay, Harwell, Springfields and in West Cumbria in the next two or three years, depending on market conditions. For commercial reasons it does not make public its valuations of its holdings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Farrelly on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library copies of the full reports by KPMG he has commissioned into the health economies of (a) Staffordshire, (b) Eastern Cheshire, (c) South West London, (d) North East London, (e) Cumbria, (f) Mid-Essex, (g) Cambridge and Peterborough, (h) Leicestershire, (i) Northamptonshire, (j) East Sussex and (k) Devon.
Jane Ellison
As part of NHS England, NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) and Monitor’s joint project to support 11 challenged local health economies develop clinically and financially sustainable five-year strategic plans, four consultancy firms (including KPMG) were commissioned to support the local areas with the development and strengthening of their plans.
Reports were provided by the consultants to support the project’s Programme Board, consisting of NHS England, TDA and Monitor, to manage the contracts and ensure that the service specification was being met.
Work is ongoing based on the contents of these reports and there are a number of steps that have to be undertaken in each of the local health economies before these reports can be released: the production of the five-year strategic plan, consideration of the plan, consultation on possible reforms to the health economy, recommendations for possible reforms following consultation, and implementation of recommendations.
To release the reports ahead of the steps identified above being completed would be likely to prejudice their outcome. The timescales for the above processes will be different in each of the 11 areas and, as the strategic plans are produced, they are made available from the relevant clinical commissioning group websites through their board papers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to determine the application by CTC Aviation, dated 18 November 2014, for Highly Trusted Sponsor status for pilot training; and what the reason is for the time taken to determine that application.
James Brokenshire
The Highly Trusted Sponsor status application by CTC Aviation was granted on 12 February 2015. The application was decided within the published 18 week service standard.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grade of Yarmouth on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran about the detention of journalists in Iran.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Freedom of expression in Iran is severely restricted. Iran has one of the highest numbers of journalists in prison in the world. News outlets and online media are heavily censored and the majority of newspapers are now government controlled. The UK continues to urge Iran to guarantee the rights of all its citizens in line with its international obligations. We last raised our concerns around freedom of expression during Iran’s Universal Periodic Review during the UN Human Rights Council on 31 October 2014.