Tag: Parliamentary Question

Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will fund the NextGen Skills Academy higher apprenticeships in order better to support games employers.

Nick Boles

We are introducing a UK-wide levy for all larger employers to help fund the increase in quantity and quality of apprenticeship training in England. The levy will put employers in charge of how and where apprenticeship budgets are spent by creating a fund which they can use to pay for external training for their apprentices.

As part of the apprenticeship reforms, employer-led Trailblazers are designing new apprenticeships to meet their skills needs. Over 1300 employers – including in the Digital Industries and Visual Effects sectors, such as Framestore – are currently involved in designing new apprenticeship standards. These include apprenticeships in occupations at a range of levels such as Digital & Technology Solutions Professional (L6); Software Developer (L4); Junior 2D Artist (Visual Effects) (L4); Games Quality Assurance Technician (L4) and Assistant Technical Director (Visual Effects) (L4).

The NextGen Skills Academy links to Amersham and Wycombe College and was awarded £2.7m of Employer Ownership Pilot funding for a 3 year project focusing on the VFX, animation and games industry in September 2014. The project is now led by Framestore and managed by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

January 1, 2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has received from his French, US and German counterparts on the UK’s decision to extend airstrikes to Syria.

Michael Fallon

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 December 2015 to Question 18966.

January 1, 2023
Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support female start-up company founders in the light of the study by MIT, Harvard and Wharton Universities in 2014 showing that males are 60 per cent more likely to get funding.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The UK is a great place to start a business, with an increase of 760,000 businesses between 2010 and 2014. There are more women-led businesses in the UK than ever before – around 1 million (20%) of all Small and Medium sized Enterprises. But we know more needs to be done to ensure we create the right environment for women to start and grow their own businesses.

Women can benefit from the full range of wider business support available from government. This includes Start-Up Loans which provides funding and intensive support to new entrepreneurs (38% of Start-Up Loans have been awarded to women); and the New Enterprise Allowance which provides a business mentor and access to financial support for Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants who want to start their own business (37% of NEA loans have been awarded to women).

We have developed a specific web page on the Business is Great website for potential and existing female entrepreneurs to find out what help is available to them (http://www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/women-in-enterprise/). We are also currently undertaking research to increase our understanding of the best way to reach female entrepreneurs.

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January 1, 2023
Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times (a) knife, (b) shiv, (c) shank, (d) chib and (e) another slang word for a blade were recorded on the Incident Report System in HM Prison Wandsworth in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Andrew Selous

The information requested, in respect of each of these four questions, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

January 1, 2023
Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people found to be committing benefit fraud and not prosecuted in court in each of the last two years (a) have repaid monies due in full, (b) are actively making repayments, (c) are in arrears with their repayments and (d) have since been prosecuted for breaching their agreement to pay.

Justin Tomlinson

Information in the form requested for questions a, b and c is not readily available and could only be compiled at disproportionate cost.

In answer to question d, the Department does not hold this information.

January 1, 2023
Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it remains his policy that Learn Direct will take over the driving theory test contract from September 2016; what arrangements have been made between Learn Direct and the current contract holder to ensure a smooth handover; and what the total cost to the public purse was of the procurement process and associated fees.

Andrew Jones

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and learndirect have concluded an exit from the contract for the provision of the UK Driving Theory Test, which was due to transfer to learndirect in September 2016. Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd (formally Pearson Driving Assessments Ltd) will therefore continue to provide the service for some time.

The cost of running the procurement process was reported to have been £510,380. This covers pay costs of £350,865 and £159,515 non-pay costs, which consists primarily of professional fees.

January 1, 2023
Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of employment and support allowance (ESA) applicants from Brighton and Hove are being sent to (a) Lewes and (b) Vauxhall for assessment; for what reasons such ESA applicants are being sent to those locations; what impact assessment has been made of sending ESA applicants to centres out of their home city; when and how applicants are remunerated for transport costs; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel

All Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) customers within the Brighton and Hove postcode areas are being asked to attend for an assessment at Lewes Assessment Centre as Lewes is the nearest Assessment Centre to Brighton and Hove.

DWP policy ensures that claimants do not have to travel for more than 90 minutes by public transport (single journey) for a consultation. However, this limit is an absolute maximum and for the majority of claimants their journey will be less than this. For example, it would take applicants from Brighton and Hove approximately 20-30 minutes by bus to reach Lewes Assessment centre.

All claimants who are asked to travel to an assessment are reimbursed either by cheque or directly into a bank account via BACS.

If an ESA customer is unable to attend an appointment, they are asked to contact the provider to discuss their individual circumstances. A home visit can be arranged if there is supportive medical evidence about the claimant’s inability to travel due to their medical condition.

ESA claimants are not asked to travel to the Assessment Centre at Vauxhall which is specifically for claimants of Personal Independence Payment and not ESA.

January 1, 2023
Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward proposals to enable people who have previously undertaken university education to be eligible for funded apprenticeships.

Nick Boles

Currently the apprenticeship funding rules allow a university graduate to take an apprenticeship standard at a higher level than their current qualification. Further detail on the proposed funding rules that will apply from 2017-18 will be published shortly.

January 1, 2023
Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 43629, what plans he has to review the aspects of the BIS 2020 programme that do not relate to staff posts and office locations in the light of the restructuring of government departments.

Joseph Johnson

As part of the recent Machinery of Government changes, over the coming months we will be considering how to bring together the reform agendas of BEIS’s two predecessor Departments.

January 1, 2023

Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the relationship between household income and (a) taxi and (b) bus use.

Andrew Jones

The number of trips and distance travelled per person per year for different household income levels (based on data for households in England in 2014) are given in the table.

Household income is gross equivalised income, which accounts for household size and composition.

	Real household income quintile
	Lowest real income level	Second level	Third level	Fourth level	Highest real income level	All income levels
Trips per person per year by main mode:
Local and non-local buses	96	72	53	43	35	60
Taxi/minicab	14	11	9	9	10	10
Distance (miles) per person per year by main mode:
Local and non-local buses	465	407	308	251	193	326
Taxi/minicab	61	43	42	51	85	56

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January 1, 2023