Tag: Paul Blomfield

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate the Student Loans Company has provided to his Department of the costs of the preparation, introduction and administration of the amendments to the fees and student support system in England arising from the (a) replacement of maintenance grants by maintenance loans, (b) introduction of the postgraduate loan scheme, (c) extension of maintenance loans to part-time students, (d) extension of advanced learner loans to those aged 19 years and above and (e) Teaching Excellence Framework.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) fully funds the cost to the Student Loans Company (SLC) of implementing Higher and Further Education student finance policy in England. Funding is allocated on a demand-led basis whereby BIS requests services, SLC estimates the cost of delivery and then BIS pays the costs in full.

As set out in the SLC’s public Annual Performance and Resource Agreement (APRA) for financial year 2015-16, BIS made approximately £8.8m available to SLC to meet the estimated costs of implementing all new policies related to student support for Higher and Further Education in England, including (but not exclusively) the implementation of policies a, b and d above.

Overall implementation costs for individual policies are usually spread over a number of financial years reflecting the different stages of the implementation process. The amount of funding to be made available to SLC for financial year 2016-17, including for delivery of policies a-e above, will be confirmed in this year’s APRA and published on SLC’s website shortly.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on his Department’s plans to diversify the civil service.

Matthew Hancock

The Civil Service is committed to becoming representative of the modern Britain it serves and our aim is to be the most inclusive employer in the UK. This ambition is set out in our Talent Action Plan, refreshed in March 2016. This plan commits the Civil Service to actions that aim to remove barriers to success faced by underrepresented groups. All government departments are committed to the delivery of this plan. Permanent Secretaries have clear accountability for the diversity agenda and progress within their departments is measured through their personal diversity objectives. The plan is being delivered as part of the wider Civil Service Workforce Strategy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39321, what progress his Department has made on plans to diversify the civil service.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is in line with the Civil Service Talent Action Plan, refreshed in March 2016. The Plan commits departments to actions that aim to remove barriers to success faced by underrepresented groups. The Department is committed to promoting a culture of inclusivity which celebrates, respects and encourages diversity in its workforce and recognises the benefits a diverse workforce provides and the improved business practices this can create.

BIS’ commitment to building a diverse workforce is demonstrated by activities such as supporting staff on Civil Service diversity talent schemes and establishing an internal diversity mentoring programme. The Department has undertaken an extensive internal communications campaign to build awareness and promote inclusivity. The Department has appointed a Board level Diversity Champion and director-level champions. The champions are responsible for promoting diversity issues, acting as a senior role model and providing strategic support to colleagues and internal staff networks.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2016 to Question 39715, on his Department’s vacancies, what plans he has for his Department’s graduate recruitment to take place outside London.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is developing a Resourcing Strategy that will include targeted recruitment over the next few years that includes graduate recruitment. We have recently recruited 3 graduates on 1 year internships who will be based in Cardiff and Sheffield, working in Vocational Education, Higher Education and Infrastructure and Materials. We will be developing our graduate resourcing plans in line with business requirements, which will include consideration of roles both inside and outside of London. The Department also participates in a cross-Government graduate scheme. Within this scheme, graduates are centrally recruited from all over the UK and short-term placements are offered by departments, including BIS, across various departmental locations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department consulted workers’ representatives and groups representing victims of labour exploitation during the appointment process for the Director of Labour Market Enforcement.

Margot James

The appointment of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement is being made through a formal recruitment process. A campaign was jointly launched by the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS) and the Home Office in June after the Immigration Act received Royal Assent in May 2016. Shortlisting took place during the summer and interviews are scheduled for early October.

My Rt hon Friends the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Home Department plan to meet appointable candidates following interviews, and will have discussions before making a joint decision. The successful candidate will be announced as soon as practicably possible.

BEIS and the Home Office are working together to implement a Labour market Enforcement programme. This followed a formal consultation, Tackling Exploitation in the Labour Market, to which groups representing workers and victims of labour market exploitation responded.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications for medicine courses were (a) received and (b) accepted at higher education institutions in England in each of the last five years.

Joseph Johnson

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) publishes data on applications and acceptances to full-time undergraduate courses. The table below shows the number of main scheme applications (applications submitted by 30 June each year) and the number of acceptances for ‘pre-clinical medicine’ for applicants domiciled in England.

Table: applications and acceptances to pre-clinical medicine¹

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Number of acceptances	5,525	5,705	5,510	5,630	5,515
Number of main scheme applications	55,280	53,740	54,710	55,065	48,525

Notes:

1. Pre-clinical medicine is based on Joint Academic Coding System (JACS) code A1

The figures were extracted from the UCAS 2015 end of cycle data resources (tables DR3_017_01 and DR3_017_03) available via the following weblink:

https://www.ucas.com/corporate/data-and-analysis/ucas-undergraduate-releases/ucas-undergraduate-end-cycle-data-resource-5

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the reasons are for the proposal to include in the new postgraduate loans scheme proposed for England part-time taught masters students studying at a minimum of 50 per cent intensity not via distance learning.

Joseph Johnson

A consultation on the proposed postgraduate Master’s loan scheme was held earlier in the year. The consultation covered proposed terms and conditions, including an age eligibility criterion and the eligibility of distance learning. Consultation responses are currently being analysed and the Department will respond in the autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he made of the effect of NHS England taking over responsibility for commissioning health services within the immigration detention estate in England on the adequacy of health provision within that estate.

Ben Gummer

In 2014 Health and Wellbeing Needs Assessments were carried out at all Immigration Removal Centres to ascertain the needs of the detainees, which in turn informed the quality and standard of services commissioned by NHS England, from 1 September 2014, to meet those needs.

National standards have been developed, against which health care providers are measured as part of contract management. A suite of indicators of performance are now in place to support this and to provide national data to demonstrate improvements in service delivery and outcomes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the reasons are for his proposal to exclude taught masters students who are over the age of 30 from the new postgraduate loans scheme proposed for England.

Joseph Johnson

A consultation on the proposed postgraduate Master’s loan scheme was held earlier in the year. The consultation covered proposed terms and conditions, including an age eligibility criterion and the eligibility of distance learning. Consultation responses are currently being analysed and the Department will respond in the autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the reasons are for the proposed exclusion from the new postgraduate loans scheme proposed for England of taught masters students who are studying via distance learning at a minimum of 50 per cent intensity.

Joseph Johnson

A consultation on the proposed postgraduate Master’s loan scheme was held earlier in the year. The consultation covered proposed terms and conditions, including an age eligibility criterion and the eligibility of distance learning. Consultation responses are currently being analysed and the Department will respond in the autumn.