Tag: Peter Kyle

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of higher education students continued to (a) further study and (b) employment when leaving (i) university and (ii) a further education college in each of the last five years.

Joseph Johnson

Research by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) into the destinations of leavers from Higher Education by provider type was published as part of the report ‘Destination of Leavers from Higher Education in Further Education Colleges’. The report includes breakdowns of the activities leavers were engaged in six months after leaving their course and refers to the academic years 2008/09 to 2010/11.

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2013/201301/

More recent data showing combined employment and study rates has been published by HEFCE as part of the series ‘Higher Education Indicators for Further Education Colleges’. The most recent analysis covers the 2011/12 and 2012/13 academic years.

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2016/201601/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of people taking degree apprenticeships by the 2019-20 academic year.

Nick Boles

Degree Apprenticeships are designed by groups of employers working with higher education institutions and will be driven by employer demand. We therefore do not have an estimate of the number that will be delivered by 2019/20, but believe that they provide a valuable route for people to obtain a degree-level qualification alongside training for a career, with the prospect of a job from day one.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made by his Department and train operating companies on ensuring compliance with the relevant legislative provisions by the expiry date of the (Commencement No. 3, Transitional Provisions, Savings and Consequential Amendments) (Amendment) Order 2016 in October 2016.

Claire Perry

It is for the rail industry to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Consumer Rights Act when the services provisions of the Act come into force. Train companies, working with the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), are currently reviewing their working practices to ensure that this is the case. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a statutory enforcement body for the Consumer Rights Act for this sector.

The Department for Transport, ATOC and the ORR are working together to co-ordinate industry wide improvements in the way that rail passenger compensations schemes are publicised and administered.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which budget will supply funding for the estimated running costs of the Institute of Apprenticeships.

Robert Halfon

The Institute for Apprenticeships will be funded by the Government using public funds. It is expected that part of its budget will be provided by funding freed up from savings across the Department.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he had with Monitor on South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust’s project relating to the prioritisation of NHS 111 calls in winter 2014-15 before Monitor announced it was taking action on that matter.

Jane Ellison

Departmental officials were first notified of a project which was run between December 2014 and February 2015 in the south of England on 23 October 2015 by Monitor, the independent health sector regulator.

We are advised that Monitor is taking action with South East Coast Ambulance Service Foundation Trust regarding concerns about the project and the regulator is working with the Trust now to identify the negative impact this project could have had on patients. It is Monitor’s function to undertaken such investigations independently of the Department where there are no immediate patient safety issues. Monitor and Departmental officials regularly discuss such issues on a routine basis.

As part of regulatory action, Monitor advises it has asked the trust to carry out a detailed independent review of the impact the project had on patients. Monitor has asked the Trust to do this with the help of an external expert, who the regulator will select. The full details of what the review will look at and how long it will take are being worked on by the trust and Monitor, including consideration of publication of the review finding.

In March, NHS England convened a risk summit meeting involving all partners following the suspension by South East Coast Ambulance Service of their unofficial call-handling project. It was agreed that NHS England would undertake an external investigation. The report of the investigation was published by NHS England today and is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of small firms likely to be affected by the expiry of the Small Business Rate Relief scheme at the end of March 2016.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government is continuing to consider representations, which included business rates reliefs, to inform decisions on reform of the business rates system. The Government has confirmed the review will conclude by the end of the year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 2.82, page 94 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what progress his Department has made on introducing flexible season tickets on the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise.

Claire Perry

The introduction and roll-out of part-time season tickets will give people who commute part-time a better deal than they currently have access to. We have challenged the rail industry to develop proposals for pricing and delivering more flexible season tickets for those who work or commute part-time which could also attract new customers onto the railway.

Progress on delivery of more flexible tickets is beginning to be made. Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) have a franchise commitment to introduce carnet style tickets on their smartcards which is subject to the Secretary of State’s approval.

A number of costed options are being reviewed and a pilot programme has been developed, benefitting from and delivering the Key smart ticketing capability, this is expected to be introduced in May 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the time needed to devolve the adult skills budget; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles

We expect to be able to fully devolve the adult education budget to local areas that have agreed devolution deals with Government and where readiness conditions (as set out in the devolution agreements) have been met during this parliament. This timetable will ensure other important work such as the further education area reviews can first be completed and implementation plans put into action.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the total amount of time passengers were delayed on rail services from the Sussex coast into London Victoria in 2015.

Claire Perry

This data has never been collected, but consideration is being given to how to do so across the network.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring staff from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills to the Institute for Apprentices to allow continuity of collected labour market information when government funding for that commission ceases in 2016-17.

Nick Boles

The Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) will have a very small research role, focused around its tight set of core functions. It will not continue the UKCES function of carrying out research into the wider labour market.

BIS has consulted the Devolved Administrations and other users of labour market information on future research priorities. These discussions have identified the significance of the Employer Skills Survey, the Employer Perspectives Survey and the LMI (Labour Market Information) for All Portal. We are considering how these can best be delivered in future and will announce future arrangements as soon as final decisions are made.