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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26069, whether trades unions which are not formally recognised by an employer will be entitled to request and receive the Chair’s Statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government remains committed to ensuring that members of pension schemes are able to obtain information about the costs and charges which they bear. Although it is not a legal requirement, the Government expects that many schemes will choose to publish their annual Chair’s Statement. In due course, the Government intends to make regulations requiring information about scheme costs and charges to be published.

    Trade unions that are recognised to any extent for the purposes of collective bargaining in relation to members of the scheme are entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. Trade unions which do not meet these criteria are not entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. However, beneficiaries of pension schemes who are members of trade unions which are not recognised for collective bargaining purposes may still request the information and pass it on to their union or any other person.

    We intend to publish a summary of the evidence received on transaction costs in pension schemes when we announce our next steps, which will follow in due course.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether unemployed 18 to 21 year olds will be referred to specialist employment support providers under the Youth Obligation from 2017 if they are unemployed after one year of claiming benefits.

    Priti Patel

    We will be introducing the Youth Obligation for all 18-21 year olds who are claiming Universal Credit and are in the All Work Related Activity Conditionality Group from April 2017.

    They will receive intensive support from Day 1 of their claim. After 6 months, if they have not found employment, they will be expected to apply for an apprenticeship, a traineeship, gain work-based skills employers value, or go on a work placement to give them the skills they need to get on in work.

    The detailed policy design is still under development. We will make further announcements over the coming months as we develop the policy detail.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of young people from Dartford who went to university in the last five years.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) publishes data on the entry rates for full-time undergraduate courses by parliamentary constituency. UCAS does not publish data on the number of entrants by parliamentary constituency, only entry rates.

    Latest statistics from the 2015 UCAS End of Cycle Report for the Dartford constituency are provided in the table. The entry rate is given as the proportion of 18 year olds that accepted a place during a UCAS application cycle.

    Table: Higher Education entry rates for 18 year olds from the Dartford Constituency

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    28.6%

    23.2%

    29.9%

    27.3%

    32.5%

    “

  • Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has analysed the potential economic effect of the soft drinks levy on the British soft drinks manufacturing industry.

    Damian Hinds

    The government will shortly be consulting on the detail of the soft drinks industry levy, and we will publish an initial impact assessment alongside the consultation. This assessment will be updated and refined when the policy detail is finalised.

    For Finance Bill measures, HMRC provide a Tax Impact Information Note alongside the draft Finance Bill legislation, which we expect to publish in the winter.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which of the UK’s allies has aircraft which are capable of refuelling P-8 Poseidon aircraft to be procured by the UK.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The P-8 Poseidon is currently undertaking air-to-air refuelling trials in the United States to clear the aircraft to receive fuel in flight. The initial clearance will be against the Boeing KC-135 operated by the United States Air Force. In addition, the Royal Australian Air Force is expected to conduct trials using their Airbus KC-30A multirole tanker aircraft in 2017.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what modifications are needed to the two Queen Elizabeth-class carriers in order for them to deploy Bell-Boeing MV-22 Osprey aircraft.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Bell-Boeing MV-22 is not part of the resourced plan to deliver the UK Carrier Strike capability. However, in aspiring to high levels of interoperability between UK and US carriers, the Ministry of Defence will continue to explore the options and implications of operating US aircraft from the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers, potentially including MV-22 on an opportunity basis.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much (a) her Department and (b) each of its public bodies allocated to (i) the Greater London Authority, (ii) the Mayor of London and (iii) London boroughs to support cultural projects in the last fiscal year.

    Matt Hancock

    a) The Government has been clear that the right balance of funding between London and the regions continues to require attention, and, as such, there has been a shift in spending on National Portfolio funding away from London over the last five years. £25.28 was spent per head in 2015/16 compared with £29.09 in 2011/12. ACE have also confirmed that the amount of funding for NPOs outside London will increase in the 2018-2022 portfolio.

    In addition, in May last year, Arts Council England (ACE) announced they will increase the percentage of Lottery funding distributed outside London from 70% to 75% by the end of 2018; and invest over £35 million in the Ambition for Excellence fund – over £31 million of which will be spent outside London.

    b) This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to ensure that the access and waiting time standards for mental health set out in the NHS Five Year Forward plan are implemented in full.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government provides direction and ambitions for the National Health Service through the NHS Mandate. NHS England are held to account in achieving the NHS Mandate commitments including the new mental health access and waiting time standards detailed in the NHS Mandate for 2015/16.

    NHS England published guidance in February this year for clinical commissioning groups that set out how the new access and waiting time standards for mental health services are to be introduced and implemented.

    Implementation of the new access and waiting time standards is supported by an £80 million funding package for 2015/16.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total number is of national insurance numbers registered to EEA nationals and linked to (a) an active claim for benefits, (b) an active claim for tax credits and (c) active payments under PAYE; and how many in each such category are for EEA nationals who received national insurance numbers in the last four years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Department for Work and Pensions has published statistics on National Insurance number (NINo) allocations, including nationality at point of NINo registration, of those of working age who were in receipt of a Department for Work and Pensions administered benefits. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-insurance-number-allocations-to-adult-overseas-nationals-entering-the-uk

    HM Revenue and Customs are planning to publish further information early in 2016 once it has been properly collated.

    “

  • Lord Lingfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Lingfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lingfield on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking in response to (1) the finding of the National Autistic Society publication School report 2015, in particular on parents’ and carers’ views of the new system for children and younger adults with special educational needs and disabilities introduced under the Children and Families Act 2014; and (2) the October 2015 Driver Youth Trust report Joining the Dots.

    Lord Nash

    The Department is monitoring the implementation of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reforms and securing a wide range of feedback. This feedback is collected through statutory data collection; regular surveys of local authorities, parents and carers; regular inputs for the Special Educational Consortium (which represents more than 30 organisations); and reports from contractors such as the Council for Disabled Children, which provides Independent Support services in all local authority areas, and Contact a Family, which runs a national helpline for parents of children with SEND. The reports from the National Autistic Society and the Driver YouthTrust have added to this picture.

    The Department has already demonstrated its willingness to listen and respond to questions of national policy and policy implementation. In 2015, the Department adjusted the time allowed for the process of transfer from a statement of SEN (or post-16 Learning Difficulty Assessment) to a new Education, Health and Care Plan.

    From May 2016, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) plan to begin an inspection of the effectiveness of local areas in fulfilling their new SEND duties. The SEND inspections will evaluate local areas’ effectiveness in identifying and meeting the needs of children and young people with special educational needs or a disability. Inspections are expected to begin in May 2016 and all local areas will be inspected over a five year period. Feedback from these inspections will also add to the national level picture.