Tag: Parliamentary Question

Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2016 to Question 32897, how many nationals of other EEA member states of school age migrated to the UK in each year since 2000; from which countries those people migrated; and what nationality those people were.

Mr Rob Wilson

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

01/01/2023
Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the report by Lord Heseltine, entitled Tees Valley: opportunity unlimited, published in June 2016, recommendation 6.6.7, whether he plans to devolve responsibility for the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers to the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Nick Boles

The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) is available until the end of the 2016/17 academic year to incentivise smaller employers to offer apprenticeships. The AGE grant will be devolved to The Tees Valley Combined Authority from this August. They will be free to vary the criteria associated with the grant (e.g. size and sector of business) to meet local needs.

01/01/2023

Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times his Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

Harriett Baldwin

Detailed information about the work undertaken in individual contracts could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The table below shows the number of times the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has used the services of PwC, Deloitte, Ernst and Young and KPMG and the total expenditure for each financial year.

Vendor Name	Number of Contracts	2013-14 Payments	2014-15 Payments	2015-16 Payments
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP	20	£12,291,493	£10,495,047	£17,459,400
DELOITTE LLP	44	£22,239,558	£12,325,152	£12,342,592
DELOITTE MCS LIMITED	12	£6,142,266	£6,792,413	£2,675,673
ERNST & YOUNG LLP	10	£17,258,841	£16,996,746	£18,786,874
KPMG LLP	24	£25,284,417	£38,350,698	£33,175,164
Total	110	£83,216,575	£84,960,056	£84,439,703

Although the MOD can identify its direct expenditure with individual companies it does not specifically record centrally if the company is a consultancy firm. It is therefore not possible to identify (e) other consulting firms without being provided with a list of specific companies. Non-consulting companies can also provide consultancy services to the MOD as part of a larger contract.

01/01/2023

Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on forcing local authorities to offer flexible business rates for private nurseries.

Caroline Dinenage

The Government does not collect data on particular types of premises that might have benefited from local discretionary relief.

Central Government has given local authorities wide-ranging, discretionary powers to grant business rates discounts as they see fit – they are best placed to serve the needs of their community. All local authorities which grant a local discount will receive 50% of the cost from central Government funds.

The Minister for Childcare wrote to all local authorities in November 2014 to encourage them to apply business rates relief to nurseries and reminded them that central Government will meet 50% of the costs involved. He also encouraged nurseries to follow up with their local authorities themselves. The Department for Communities and Local Government wrote to local authorities in January 2015, reinforcing this message. This letter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/395333/BRIL_1__-_2015__-__General_-_14_Jan.pdf

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01/01/2023
Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-11-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how many public sector employees will be affected by the proposed £95,000 public sector exit cap.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government set out its proposals for the cap on public sector exit payments in the consultation document published on 31 July 2015 and confirmed the design of the cap in the consultation response document published on 16 September 2015. The consultation document gave details of the number of exits over recent years that cost the taxpayer more than £100,000.

The precise number of those affected by the public sector exit payment cap will depend on the number and type of exits in coming years. However, in recent years the large majority of exits in the public sector are below the level of the cap. For example, the Whole of Government Accounts states that, in 2013-14, 1,838 out of 72,445 pay outs were in excess of £100,000.

The exit payment clauses currently before the House of Lords in the Enterprise Bill set out how the cap is expected to apply.

01/01/2023
Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-12-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the current proportion of air passenger duty revenues which are raised from Manchester Airport and (b) the potential effect on that proportion of air passenger duty in Scotland being reduced by 50 per cent.

Damian Hinds

Air Passenger Duty is payable by airlines and not on a per airport basis. Therefore HMRC does not collect the data to produce a reliable estimate.

The government is currently undertaking a consultation into options to support regional airports from the impacts of air passenger duty devolution. We are carefully considering the evidence we have received from stakeholders and will respond in due course.

01/01/2023
Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2015 to Question 657, what tangible progress towards the EU-US Free Trade Agreement had been made by the end of 2015; and whether any agreement in principle had been reached on that matter by that date.

Anna Soubry

There have now been eleven rounds of negotiations for the EU-US Free Trade Agreement also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). A significant step forward was taken last June when the US Congress passed the Trade Promotion Authority bill (fast track authority for trade agreements). The agreement reached at the end of negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (in the Asia Pacific region) last October is further good news, and allows the US to increase focus on TTIP.

The last negotiating round took place in October. A significant milestone was reached with the exchange of revised tariff offers, which would see tariffs almost completely removed. Negotiators also discussed all aspects of market access in public procurement. This helps prepare the ground for the first exchange of procurement offers expected in February.

We are making tangible progress and our ambition remains to reach an agreement under the Obama presidency.

01/01/2023
Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the Clean Clothes Campaign memorandum, published on 28 January 2016; and if she will raise the matters discussed in that memorandum with the Bangladeshi government.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Ensuring the safety of garment sector workers around the world is of critical importance. Whilst progress has been made since the Rana Plaza factory collapse in 2011, the Clean Clothes Campaign is right to say safety improvements in factories in Bangladesh need to speed up. The second review of the EU-US-Bangladesh Sustainability Compact, conducted in the first week of February, acknowledged the complexities involved in making improvements across the garment sector and highlighted it as a priority area where all involved – brands, factories and the government – need to work together to make progress.

The UK is addressing this sector-wide issue in two ways. Firstly, our programme is improving the institutional capacity of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments to enable this government body to follow up on Corrective Action Plans; there are now 270 inspectors in place (up from around 90 in 2013) who are trained and equipped to do their jobs. We are also active in the 3+5 high-level platform that meets periodically to monitor progress of the Sustainability Compact action plan. Through future 3+5 discussion, we will continue to emphasise the urgency of taking forward remediation in factories.

01/01/2023
Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders of each nationality are serving custodial sentences of (a) less than six months, (b) six months to one year, (c) one year to two years, (d) two years to three years, (e) three years to four years, (f) four years to five years, (g) five years to 10 years and (h) more than 10 years.

Andrew Selous

Information on Foreign national offenders is regularly published on gov.uk website on the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015

The specific information requested can be found in the attached annex.

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01/01/2023
Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to highlight play as a key strand of the Government’s policy on parenting and life chances.

Lord Nash

I refer the noble Baroness to the answer given on 9 March to PQ 29736, which I have also set out below:

The Department for Education recognises that play has an important role in supporting all young children to develop and prepare for later learning.

Play is integral in the early years and is covered in the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage framework which states: “Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others.” The framework is attached.

The Government’s forthcoming Life Chances Strategy will set out a comprehensive plan to fight disadvantage and extend opportunity. Within this, we are considering how we can support early years and parenting to give children the best start in life.

01/01/2023