Tag: Paul Blomfield

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether proposals for Northern Powerhouse Rail are based on city centre to city centre connectivity and on ensuring half-hour journeys between Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester.

Andrew Jones

Northern Powerhouse Rail is the government and Transport for the North’s shared vision to dramatically improve frequencies and journey times between the city centres of Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Hull, Newcastle, and Manchester Airport.

The aspiration for journey times between Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester is 30 minutes.

Since the publication of the March 2015 Northern Transport Strategy, the government and Transport for the North have undertaken significant work to understand what the capability of the rail infrastructure would need to be, by route, to deliver such transformational connectivity.

An updated Strategy will be published in the spring.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff in his Department have relocated (a) out of London and (b) into London in each of the last five years.

Joseph Johnson

The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold that information centrally. To gather and analyse this information would incur disproportionate costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 28094, on minimum wage: enforcement, if he will provide details of the assurance process used to make sure that employers who have been found to be non-compliant with the national minimum wage have fully self-corrected their pay system and paid all workers any national minimum wage arrears that they are owed.

Nick Boles

The assurance process involves Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) performing a sample check that arrears have been paid to workers under self-correction. Workers are selected and contacted by telephone and correspondence to confirm that they have received the arrears they are owed, and the amount that the employer has reported. If HMRC do not receive a self-correction report from the employer they will remind the company and then follow up with an unannounced visit, where appropriate. If HMRC has concerns following the above processes then an investigation is re-opened.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department spent on upgrading its IT systems in 2014-15.

Joseph Johnson

The Department spent £38m on upgrading IT systems in 2014-15, including both software and equipment development. This includes around £31m for internally developed software, predominantly within delivery bodies of the department such as the Student Loans Company. It also includes the Core Department roll out of a new ICT system, Evolve, for use by all staff. This replaced the previous IT service. The total cost of the Evolve rollout was £3.5 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the annual cost is of policy staff (a) from his Department’s office at St Paul’s Place, Sheffield and (b) from his Department’s office at 1 Victoria Street, London travelling to Sheffield.

Joseph Johnson

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Written Statement of 18 April 2016, on immigration detention, HCWS679, whether notice will be given to pregnant women who will be detained.

James Brokenshire

At present, detention is authorised by an officer of at least the rank of Chief Immigration Officer (CIO) or Higher Executive Officer (HEO). As stated in the Government’s Written Ministerial Statement of 14 January, the Government is developing a new approach to the case management of those detained. This is intended to replace the existing detention review process with a clear removal plan for all those in detention.

It will ensure that all detainees, including pregnant women, spend the minimum possible time in detention. Under the new policy in order for detention to be extended beyond 72 hours ministerial authorisation will be required and the maximum detention period will be one week.

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons and Independent Monitoring Boards already provide independent oversight of detention facilities and conditions of detention. Individuals, including pregnant women, are given prior notification of their liability to removal from the UK by the Home Office and they would be detained only for the purposes of identification or removal.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 14 January 2016, HCWS70, on immigration detention, when she plans to publish the joint Department of Health, NHS and Home Office mental health plan.

James Brokenshire

The Government is still considering the arrangements for publishing the joint Department of Health, NHS England and Home Office mental health action plan.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 17 November 2015 to Question 15358, what recent progress has been made on the review into the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-Human Primates.

George Eustice

We are continuing to consider which aspects of the current Code of Practice might need revisiting.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 25631, whether HM Revenue and Customs has completed its investigations into the six social care companies; and what recent assessment he has made of the extent of National Minimum Wage compliance in the social care sector.

Mr David Gauke

The government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage should receive it. Employers who pay workers less than the minimum or living wage not only have to pay back arrears of wages at current rates but also face financial penalties of up to £20,000 per underpaid worker.

HMRC has not completed all the investigations into the six social care companies. HMRC continues to be aware of the risks of underpayment of NMW in the social care sector and is prioritising complaints from workers; working with other agencies and departments to raise awareness of the rules; and undertaking targeted enforcement to ensure that workers are paid what they are legally owed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39321, on Civil Service recruitment, what assessment he has made of the effect of the geographical focus on London of fast stream recruitment on his Department’s plans to diversify the civil service.

Matthew Hancock

Research undertaken within the Civil Service (by the Bridge Group in 2015/16) and externally (e.g. by Trendence in 2015) shows that lower socio-economic applicants are potentially more likely to be less mobile and less willing to move to London.

A dedicated new assessment centre will open in Newcastle in Autumn 2016. From Autumn 2017 we intend to regionalise further, introducing ‘pop up’ centres in support of our fixed assessment locations.

Beyond the assessment process, we also require all centrally managed Fast Streamers to undertake a regional place.