The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax credit claimants lost their entitlement as a result of action taken by Concentrix in the last financial year.
Mr David Gauke
5,244 tax credit claims were amended as a result of checks undertaken by Concentrix during 2014-15. This includes both partial and full loss of entitlement cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with the oil and gas industry on the relationship between maintaining safety standards and reducing the cost of production.
Andrea Leadsom
The regulation of the safety of offshore oil and gas installations in external waters is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), working as part of the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator partnership. DECC and the Oil and Gas Authority are in regular contact with the industry and HSE regarding a range of offshore infrastructure issues, including the relationship between maintaining safety standards and reducing the cost of production. Together, we aim to ensure that industry resources are directed to maximising safe, sustainable production.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether UK personnel were involved in checking the target selections for any (a) deliberate and (b) unintended breaches of international humanitarian law during the recent Saudi Arabian military action in Yemen.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK is not a member of the Saudi Arabia-led military Coalition. British personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets, and are not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process. We have deployed a small number of military personnel serving as liaison officers in Saudi Arabia’s headquarters to provide insight into Saudi operations. They remain under UK command and control.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2015 to Question 16115, if he will make it his policy to collect centrally data on Flexible Support Funding spent on childcare support.
Priti Patel
The Flexible Support Fund is used at the discretion of Jobcentre Plus District Managers and Work Coaches to support people back into work. Given this is a localised, discretionary fund we do not, and do not have plans to, create additional bureaucratic reporting on how the fund is spent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department owed in late payments to small and medium-sized enterprises in each year for which data is available.
Anna Soubry
When making payments, the core Department does not differentiate between small, medium and large enterprises as many small and medium sized businesses can be found at various tiers of the procurement chain.
The Department takes prompt payment very seriously and records show that in the current financial year to the end of February 2016, 96.4% of all valid invoices (by volume) were paid within 5 working days. When looking at the overall value, this equates to 99.8% paid within 5 working days and 99.99% of invoices were paid within the 30 day standard contractual terms.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) female and (b) other students are encouraged to take modules in entrepreneurship and business mentoring.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The government is committed to improving the extent and quality of the careers guidance and inspiration that all young people receive. This should begin with activities to enable children in primary school to explore the world of work. Primary Futures is an example of an initiative that helps primary age children to see a clear link and purpose between their learning and their futures.
The Department for Education has funded The Careers & Enterprise Company to take a lead role in transforming the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people aged 12 to 18 in England. This work includes ensuring that all students have access to high quality careers and enterprise provision, including interactions with employers. The Company helps employers, schools and colleges and other organisations to navigate their way through the existing landscape and find appropriate careers and enterprise organisations to partner with. An example of a successful initiative is the three-year industry-led Your Life campaign, which was launched by the Government in 2014. This aims to inspire young people, particularly girls, to study A level maths and physics as a gateway to an exciting and wide-ranging career.
Entrepreneurship education is an important component of high quality careers provision. The careers statutory guidance requires schools in England to offer pupils the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills and have access to advice on options available post-16 including entrepreneurship.
We are giving more young people access to a mentor to help raise aspirations, improve focus and attainment and help prepare them for the next stage in their lives. The Prime Minister announced on 14 March 2016 that the government will commit £12 million over this parliament for an investment fund to build capacity in the system to recruit and train a new generation of high-quality mentors, focussing on teenagers most at risk of under-achieving or dropping out of education. This will be supported by a national advertising campaign.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the Government’s proposals to reform the UK human rights framework and its potential effects on policing in Northern Ireland.
Dominic Raab
We continue to engage with the devolved administrations to deliver a modernised and reformed human rights framework for the whole of the United Kingdom. We are committed to consulting fully on our proposals prior to the introduction of any legislation and will announce further details in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the number of drop-in sexual health clinics in (a) Liverpool, Wavetree constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England operational in each year since 2010.
Jane Ellison
The Department does not collect this information. Since April 2013, local authorities have been responsible for commissioning most sexual health interventions and services as part of their wider public health responsibilities, including open access sexually transmitted infection services and contraception services for everyone present in their area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Aldous on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with supported housing providers on future funding for that sector; and when the Government plans to announce the outcome of its review on the funding of that sector.
Gavin Barwell
My Department has had extensive discussions over the last few months with commissioners, providers and representatives of supported housing tenants.
The Government will make an announcement in the autumn setting out its plans for the future funding arrangements for the supported housing sector.
It will also set out our plans for working with the sector and other key stakeholders to ensure the safe transition to the new model.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to (a) continue to take part in the European Arrest Warrant system, (b) remain signed up to the Europol Information System, (c) retain voting rights in Europol and (d) remain a member of the European Criminal Records Information System; and what measures are being taken to ensure that the UK can remain a member of each of those schemes once it has left the EU.
Brandon Lewis
The Prime Minister has made clear that law enforcement cooperation with our European partners will continue after the UK leaves the EU – we will do what is necessary to keep our people safe.
We are exploring options for cooperation arrangements once the UK has left the EU but it is too early to speculate at this stage what future arrangements may look like.