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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Willis of Knaresborough – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Willis of Knaresborough – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, according to the latest data available, how many young people in England were claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance at age (1) 18, (2) 19, (3) 20, (4) 21, (5) 22, (6) 23 and (7) 24; and, for each age group, how many were claiming for (a) less than 3 months, (b) 3–6 months, (c) 6–12 months, and (d) 12 or more months.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming universal credit were (a) unemployed and (b) self-employed in the most recent period for which information is available.

    Esther McVey

    The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013 which can be found at :

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics

    Statistics will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics

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  • Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to Growth is Our Business: A Strategy for Professional and Business Services published in July 2013, how many further education colleges have engaged with business as a condition of achieving chartered status.

    Matthew Hancock

    These questions ask about a number of actions related to skills development from “Growth is our business: a strategy for professional and business services”, published in July 2013 as part of Government’s industrial strategy. The strategy was developed in collaboration with the professional and business services sector, focusing on the industry’s agenda for long term growth. It is led by the Professional and Business Services Council.

    The strategy reflects two key business priorities in skills development. First, to expand recruitment routes into the sector, in particular higher apprenticeships, to access a wider, more diverse talent pool. Second, to help businesses engage with the education system to raise aspirations and promote work readiness. A business-led skills taskforce for professional and business services has been established. It is developing approaches to implement the strategy and will report progress at the end of this year.

    The skills taskforce is leading work to help towards the strategy’s ambitious target to treble the number of higher apprenticeship starts across professional and business services to 10,000 over five years; and to follow progress in the interim, so that the numbers of these apprenticeships can be monitored. As a first step, the taskforce is supporting the London Professional Apprenticeship scheme, which was launched in December 2013, and is now recruiting apprentices and employers to take part. The scheme will pilot the proposal for a “clearing house” to help small firms access higher apprenticeships in professional and business services. In addition, the taskforce is backing new ‘trailblazer’ initiatives, announced in March 2014, to develop employer-driven standards for apprenticeships in several professional and business services occupations.

    The skills taskforce is currently researching the metrics for schools’ reporting and their effect on the prestige of higher apprenticeships as initial career destinations. It will consider if more could be done to ensure higher apprenticeships have parity of esteem with higher education.

    The taskforce is also mapping current school engagement activity involving professional and business services firms with a view to identifying and sharing good practice.

    The new emphasis on wider use of higher apprenticeships across professional and business services should contribute towards a greater diversity of routes into these careers in the years to come; potentially offering opportunities to a wider pool of talent.

    The skills taskforce intends to consider how the employability of young people can be supported within the national curriculum, but believes that greater engagement between employers and young people is the best way of improving employability skills.

    My noble friend Lord Lingfield has set up the independent Institution for Further Education to take forward work on a new chartered status quality schemeand is considering the application and assessment process for Further Education providers.

    The skills taskforce is exploring how web-based services can support engagement between firms and the education sector, including a planned digital “inspiration” tool being developed by this Department to encourage business-schools engagement.

    Further information on the implementation of “Growth is our business: a strategy for professional and business services” is included in a progress report on industrial strategy, published on 23 April 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-early-successes-and-future-priorities.

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  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of recent trends in employment in the private sector.

    Esther McVey

    There are more people in private sector jobs than ever before, up over 2 million since 2010.

  • Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to reduce taxation on small businesses; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is committed to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business and has focused a number of measures specifically on small businesses.

    These include a £2,000 Employment Allowance available from April 2014 to support small businesses aspiring to hire their first employee or expand their workforce; and, as set out in the Autumn Statement 2013, a £1bn package of business rates measures, 90% of which is going to businesses occupying small premises. The Government is also increasing the payable R&D tax credit for loss-making SMEs from 11 per cent to 14.5 per cent from April 2014, providing particular support for early-stage companies and start-ups, who face the greatest risks and barriers to R&D investment.

    Fuel costs are also significant for many small businesses so the Government has implemented the longest duty freeze for over 20 years. In total, by 2015-16 a small business with a van will have saved £1,300 and a haulier £21,000.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Government expects to receive from (a) the 20 per cent deduction from the child maintenance payment of the paying parent and (b) the four per cent deduction of total payment of support to the child from the receiving parent.

    Steve Webb

    Paragraph 106 of the CSA Case Closure, Introducing CMS Fees, Supporting Family Based Arrangements Impact Assessment gives an estimate of the total income by year raised through the parent with care fee and the non-resident parent fee. This Impact Assessment, published on 22 November 2013, is available at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/259694/cm-case-closure-and-charges-regs-ia-final.pdf

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  • Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naomi Long on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on (a) armed forces recruitment and (b) armed forces recruitment marketing in 2012-13.

    Anna Soubry

    The Ministry of Defence does not report the costs of recruitment marketing separately. The costs detailed in the following table show the total cost of regular recruiting by Service and include manpower costs; marketing campaigns (specific advertising); marketing operations (provision of the recruiting process i.e. call centres and website maintenance), and contract costs (i.e. medical and fitness testing).It should be noted that despite the redundancy notice, the Armed Forces are required to constantly recruit every year to maintain the levels of young personnel entering the three services.

    Financial Year

    Royal Navy

    Army

    Royal Air Force

    TOTAL

    2012-13

    £33.2million

    £122.8million

    £35.4million

    £191.4million

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people started apprenticeships in (a) Swindon and (b) the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.

    Matthew Hancock

    Information on the number of apprenticeship starts in England by geography is published in a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release (SFR):

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships–2

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/298401/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls

    The Department does not collect further education information relating to the devolved administrations.

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  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on renegotiating overseas fishing agreements with Guinea-Bissau and other countries along the West African coast.

    George Eustice

    The fisheries agreement between the European Union and Guinea-Bissau has been inactive since 2012 when the protocol was suspended due to political tensions in the country. I am unaware of any further discussion about this agreement since that time.

    At present, the EU has active fisheries agreements with the following countries in Western Africa: Cape Verde,Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, São Tomé e Príncipe and Mauritania. In addition, there are a number of agreements which are currently dormant.

    The UK plays an active role within the EU when these agreements are negotiated. Our views are based on the following principles: that agreements allow EU fleets only to fish against genuinely surplus stocks; that best available scientific advice is taken into account to fish sustainably; that due consideration is given to human rights issues; and that agreements be financially beneficial to the EU and thethird country in question, with sufficient controls in place to ensure funds received by third countries are used in appropriate ways. Furthermore, the UK also believes that the financial burden of agreements should be moved towards vessel operators, from the EU taxpayer, taking into account the profitability of the stock.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date each of the 25 firms named and shamed for breach of the national minimum wage by his Department on 8 June 2014 was issued with the relevant Notice of Underpayment of the minimum wage by HM Revenue and Customs.

    Jenny Willott

    I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

    The dates that the Notice of Underpayments (NoU) were issued for the 25 firms named and shamed for breach of the national minimum wage (NMW) are as follows.

    Month NoUs

    December 2013

    1

    January 2014

    9

    February 2014

    10

    March 2014

    4

    April 2014

    1

    They were issued under the revised Naming Scheme which was introduced on 1 October 2013. It takes time for cases to work their way through the system as there is a process to follow before an employer can be named. If HMRC investigates an employer that is breaking NMW law they will be issued with a Notice of Underpayment (NOU) by HMRC. An employer has 28 days to appeal against the NOU and 14 days from when the case closes to make representations to BIS.