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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-12-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will implement the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Joint Committee on Human Rights to raise the minimum age of armed forces’ recruitment to 18; and if not, why not.

    Earl Howe

    All recruitment into the UK military is voluntary and no young person under the age of 18 years may join our Armed Forces unless their application is accompanied by the formal written consent of their parent or guardian. We take the duty of care towards all recruits seriously, in particular those under 18 years of age. We have robust, effective and independently verified safeguards in place to ensure that under-18s are cared for properly.

    The Armed Forces do not intend to phase out the recruitment of personnel under the age of 18. Our policies on under-18s in Service are robust and comply with national and international law. In addition to the comprehensive welfare system that is in place for all Service personnel we remain fully committed to meeting our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and have taken steps to bestow special safeguards on young people under the age of 18.

    The provision of education and training for 16-year-old school leavers provides a route into the Armed Forces that complies with Government education policy and offers a significant foundation for emotional, physical and educational development throughout an individual’s career.

    All recruits aged under 18 receive key skills education in literacy and numeracy, should they need it, and all are enrolled onto apprenticeships. The Armed Forces remain the UK’s largest apprenticeship provider, equipping young people with valuable and transferable skills for life. Over 95% of all recruits, no matter what their age or prior qualifications, enrol in an apprenticeship each year. The Armed Forces offer courses in a wide range of skills, such as engineering, information and communications technology, construction, driving, and animal care. Ofsted regularly inspects our care of newly joined young recruits, and we are very proud of the standards we achieve.

    Our policy on under-18s is published in Part 2 of Joint Service Publication 898, "Defence Direction and Guidance on Training, Education and Skills", available at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433762/20141126-JSP_898_Part2_Guidance_v1_1.pdf

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the total compensation expected to be paid by insurers to people with mesothelioma who were exposed to asbestos by their employer negligently or in breach of statutory duty over the next (a) five, (b) 10, (c) 20 and (d) 30 years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department does not make estimates of the total amount of compensation expected to be paid by insurers to people with mesothelioma who were exposed to asbestos by their employer negligently or in breach of statutory duty.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of clinical staff have suffered from work-related stress in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department does not collect the number or proportion of clinical staff who have suffered from work related stress. However, the annual NHS Staff Survey[1] records the proportion of staff responding to the Survey who reported having felt unwell as a result of work related stress during the previous 12 months. This proportion for clinical staff in each of the last five years is as follows:

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    31%

    39%

    39%

    38%

    37%

    [1]www.nhsstaffsurveys.com

    “

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) nursing homes and (b) dual registered nursing homes there were in the North West of England in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC has provided the following information.

    Number of active nursing homes1 in the North West region at end of 2012, 2013 and 2014 fiscal years

    Date

    Care homes with nursing service type only

    Care homes with nursing service type and other service types

    Total care home service with nursing locations

    31 March 2013

    566

    79

    645

    31 March 2014

    568

    75

    643

    31 March 2015

    570

    77

    647

    1Nursing homes are defined as “care homes with nursing service type only”. Dual registered nursing homes are defined as “care homes with nursing service type and other service types”.

    Source: CQC database as at 7 April 2015

    Note: Service types can change over time. The numbers provided are based on the service type(s) of the location as at April 2015 or date the location de-activated if inactive as at April 2015.

    Local authorities in the North West Region: Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Cumbria, Halton, Knowsley, Lancashire, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Sefton, St. Helens, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Warrington, Wigan and Wirral.

  • Andrew Bridgen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Bridgen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the total cost was of maintaining the UK Permanent Representation to the EU in each of the last five years.

    Mr David Lidington

    We cannot provide a figure for the total cost of maintaining the UK Permanent Representation to the EU (UKRep) in each of the last five years, except at disproportionate cost.

    The budgets involved are aggregated in different ways, normally across HMG’s Brussels platform as a whole, which consists of UKRep, the British Embassy in Belgium, including UKTI and Consular operations, the UK Joint Delegation to NATO and Corporate Services Benelux.

    Administrative resource spend, which includes, but is not limited to, Locally Engaged staff salaries, travel costs, telecoms, catering and entertainment and IT, is shared across the Brussels platform and difficult to disaggregate. Facilities management costs (eg security, reception, cleaning) are also shared across the Brussels platform and difficult to disaggregate. The rent spent on the offices which house UKRep and the British Embassy is aggregated. Salaries and allowances paid to UK-based staff working at UKRep are captured in further separate budgets, and would involve significant resource to disaggregate.

  • Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are providing support to the central bank of Yemen to avert financial collapse.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Central Bank of Yemen (CBY) is a key Yemeni institution. We have made sure that the economy and the state of the CBY are not ignored during the peace talks in Kuwait. We continue to lobby the Government of Yemen and the Houthis and Pro-Saleh General People’s Congress at the highest levels to emphasise the seriousness of the economic situation, including pressing for all Yemeni parties to cooperate, take ownership of the issues, and ensure key institutions such as the CBY are protected.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the results of the post-occupancy data on schools built under wave 1 of the Priority Schools Building Programme will be published before wave 2 begins.

    Edward Timpson

    The Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) is rebuilding and/or refurbishing those school buildings in the worst condition across the country. We expect to deliver the vast majority of the new school buildings in Phase 1 by the end of 2017, two years earlier than originally planned. Work on schools in Phase 2 of the programme has recently begun and good progress is being made.

    The Department is collecting a range of post-occupancy data on schools under Phase 1. For post-occupancy evaluation to be truly representative, schools need to be operational for a full year to experience all the seasons. The results of the post-occupancy exercise will be published once it is complete. Lessons learnt on Phase 1 are being transferred to Phase 2 of the PSBP.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what proportion of staff on the payroll of his Department who work in Westminster are (a) British nationals and (b) nationals of another country.

    Kris Hopkins

    All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

    Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

    More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax credit claimants have reported difficulties in renewing their claim online in the last 12 months.

    Damian Hinds

    The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lucas on 2015-12-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the liability of online marketplaces for unpaid VAT where a business trading in that marketplace evades VAT.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Online marketplaces have no liability for unpaid VAT where the operator merely provides a marketplace for businesses to sell goods. However, HM Revenue and Customs is continuing to work with major online marketplaces to tackle this issue.