The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.
Jane Ellison
The Department does not directly employ cleaners. Cleaners employed by the Department’s contractors are paid £8.25 an hour.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-04-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review and consolidate landlord and tenant legislation.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Government has already introduced important reform to landlord and tenant legislation through the Housing and Planning Bill. Legislation is always kept under review given the complexity of issues in this area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether account is being taken in the proposed sale of the Land Registry of whether interested bidders are based in tax havens; what assessment his Department made in the awarding of such contracts of the competitive advantage given to companies based in tax havens; and what recent discussions he has had with his Ministerial colleagues on banning companies based in tax havens from purchasing assets sold during privatisations.
Anna Soubry
No decision on the future of Land Registry has been taken and as such, no bids have been received. The consultation on moving operations of Land Registry to the private sector closed on 26 May and Government are currently reviewing the responses. Until this is completed, no decision will be made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to include Scottish universities in the Government’s tier 4 Visa Pilot.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Tier 4 visa pilot has been introduced to test the benefits of a differentiated approach within the education sector on the basis of compliance with immigration sponsorship requirements.
The pilot is deliberately narrow in scope, with institutions selected due to their consistently low visa refusal rates. This is to ensure that the outcomes can be adequately monitored, whilst minimising the risk of unintended consequences, before considering rolling-out the scheme more widely.
Should the pilot be successful, the Home Office will liaise with stakeholders, including Scottish universities, over plans for extending the scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the estimated (1) numeracy, and (2) literacy, rate among prisoners in each of the last three years.
Lord Keen of Elie
Prisons should be places of safety and reform. I am determined to make sure that we achieve better outcomes for all prisoners including in education, and I want to see much clearer accountability for prison governors for the education delivered in prison and the results prisoners achieve. Mandatory education assessments were introduced for the first time in August 2014, for all new receptions to custody in England. This shows that in the year to September 2015 fewer than half the people entering prisons had basic standards of English and maths, and around a third had identified learning difficulties or disabilities. Data prior to August 2014 is not available.
Prison education is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hoare on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress of Pakistan in securing justice for people killed in the 2007 Mumbai attacks.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The 2008 Mumbai attacks were a deplorable act of terrorism in which a British national was amongst the 166 innocent people killed. Many hundreds of others were seriously wounded. Given the gravity of those horrific events, the UK Government is deeply concerned by the release on bail of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, one of the alleged planners, in April. Pakistan has committed to bring to justice the perpetrators and sponsors, and we continue to urge Pakistan at the highest levels to follow through on that commitment.
The UK Government recognises that Pakistan is on the frontline of terrorism, and continues to make considerable sacrifices on a daily basis. We remain fully committed to working in partnership with Pakistan to tackle the scourge of violent extremism which threatens both our interests. It is essential for stability in the South Asia region and for the safety of UK nationals that Pakistan delivers on its commitment to tackle all terrorist groups.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on introducing (a) flexible rail season tickets and (b) rail season tickets targeted at part-time workers.
Claire Perry
We have challenged the rail industry to develop proposals for pricing and delivering more flexible season tickets for people who work or commute part-time, which could also attract new customers onto the railway. Some operators, like Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and Arriva Trains Wales, already offer carnet products on selected routes. In addition, GTR and c2c have franchise obligations to offer carnet-based season tickets, and the prospectus for the South-Western franchise includes the expectation that bidders will introduce new, more flexible products that benefit passengers who work or commute part-time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20367, what the educational basis is of adults adopting safer online behaviours; and under what cost headings the Cyber Streetwise campaign spent its funds in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.
Mr John Hayes
Cyber Streetwise is a cross Government campaign, developed by private and public stakeholder partners and coordinated by the Home Office’s Research, Information and Communications Unit. It is designed to measurably make the UK a safer place to interact and do business online by increasing individual and SME adoption of safe online behaviours.
The impact of Cyber Streetwise on behaviours is evaluated via regular quantitative tracking research. Since its launch in January 2014, it is estimated that 2 million adults have adopted safer online behaviours that will better protect them. Cyber Streetwise has spent its funds in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 under the following categories:
• Media spend and production
• PR, partnership and social
• Research
• Website
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what submissions she has received from teachers’ representatives on the rollout of the English Baccalaureate in the last year; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
On 3 November 2015 we launched a consultation seeking views on how to ensure that pupils receive a rigorous education in the core academic subjects; an education that includes the English Baccalaureate GCSEs: maths, English, science, a foreign language and history or geography. The consultation closed on 29 January.
Alongside the consultation, we have discussed the English Baccalaureate with more than 50 head teachers from schools or academy trusts in roundtable discussions, individual meetings or phone conversations. We have also met representatives from teaching unions to discuss the EBacc consultation.
We will publish the results of the consultation and the government’s response later in the spring. This will include information about the submissions received from teachers’ representatives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect on the number of people employed in roles classed as an essential public service who are from non-EU countries of the salary threshold increase for Tier 2 visa applications to £35,000.
James Brokenshire
The Government announced in 2012 that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 visa holders who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000. PhD level roles and those in recognised shortage will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold.
Data of the number of people employed in specific regions of the United Kingdom is not available. The Home Office holds individual records showing the working location of Tier 2 (General) migrants, but centralised records show the registered address of the Tier 2 Sponsor, which is normally that organisation’s Head Office.
The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. This includes the impact on the top ten occupations and is available on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf