Tag: Phil Boswell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-10-30.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to shorten waiting times for customers.

Mr David Gauke

In the summer, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recruited 3,000 additional staff into customer facing teams. The recruitment process included bringing people in on contracts to work in the evenings and at weekends, thus building capacity to handle calls outside of normal working hours.

HMRC have also implemented their biggest ever training programme, ensuring that customer support teams can move across a wide range of work according to customer demand.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for his polices of the conclusions of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, entitled Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2015, published in November 2015 that (a) the number of people working part-time who wish to work full-time is higher than in 2009 and (b) 600,000 people on temporary contracts want permanent contracts, compared to 400,000 people before the recession.

Nick Boles

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation Report “Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2015” is one of a number of reports and surveys undertaken on the UK labour Market and Government considers them in the round with regard to Government policy. This report makes use of the Office for National Statistics data and Labour Force Survey which Government uses as a source of information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the conclusion of the Social Market Foundation report, Educational Inequalities in England and Wales, published in January 2016, that the performance gap between students from the richest and poorest backgrounds has remained persistently large between the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s.

Mr Sam Gyimah

We refer the Right Honourable MP to our response to PQ 22192, submitted to Parliament on Tuesday 19 January, which provides information on our policies to deliver educational excellence everywhere so that every child in England reaches their potential, regardless of background.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 2.48 of the National Minimum Wage Low Pay Commission Report Spring 2016, Cm 9207, what assessment he has made of the potential incidence of employers hiring apprentices to avoid paying the new higher minimum wage.

Nick Boles

No assessment has been made of the potential incidence of employers hiring more apprentices to avoid paying the national minimum wage.

The current minimum wage rate for an apprentice is £3.30 per hour. This applies to apprentices who are aged under 19 or those in the first year of their Apprenticeship. Apprentices aged 19 or above and in the second year of their apprenticeship must be paid at least the minimum wage rate that relates to their age. This means an apprentice aged 25 or above in the second year must be paid at least the National Living Wage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are paid as personal independence payment assessors in Scotland.

Penny Mordaunt

378 people were working as Personal Independence Payment Health Assessors in Scotland (6 October 2016).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 11169, what discussions the Government has had with the devolved administrations on the recommendation in the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s report, State of the Nation 2014: Social Mobility and Child Poverty in Great Britain, published in October 2014, that unpaid internships should be eliminated by 2020.

Nick Boles

No formal discussions on unpaid internships have taken place between the UK Government and the devolved administrations following the publication of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s report in October 2014. The UK Government recognises that a number of the levers that can be used to influence social mobility are the responsibility of the devolved administrations, and we are keen to work closely with all partners to help improve social mobility across the United Kingdom.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his polices of the conclusion of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, entitled Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2015, that the number of people living in poverty who depend on housing in the private rented sector has doubled in the last decade.

Brandon Lewis

No such assessment has been made. The Government believes that the key to improving affordability is to build more homes. We have several initiatives to improve affordability, including a £10 billion debt guarantee scheme to support the delivery of new homes purpose built for private rent, up to 30,000 additional affordable homes and the delivery of 200,000 Starter Homes at a minimum 20% discount for young first time buyers through the planning system.

In addition to existing powers already in place, measures being taken forward through the Housing and Planning Bill will give councils stronger powers and incentives to tackle rogue landlords, to prevent those members of society in most need of affordable housing from becoming victims of poor quality and unsafe accommodation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy on apprenticeships of the finding of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in its report, Engineered in Britain, published in December 2015, that more than half of manufacturers think that a lack of skilled people is the biggest danger to UK manufacturing.

Nick Boles

Skills policy is a devolved area so the Devolved Administrations have complete flexibility over how to support businesses in all sectors to ensure there are sufficient skilled workers. In England, our 2020 Vision sets out how we will reach 3 million apprenticeship starts by 2020. We are supporting the growth of apprenticeships in all sectors by working with large and small businesses to begin or expand their programmes, setting new expectations for public sector bodies, and through public procurement.

Employer-led reforms continue to improve the quality of apprenticeships, with employers designing new apprenticeship standards that fully meet their skills needs. Employers in the advanced manufacturing and engineering sector are involved in developing apprenticeship standards in over 30 occupations, including aerospace engineer and manufacturing engineer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the security of pensions invested in the British Steel pension fund.

Justin Tomlinson

The government continues to work closely with Tata on the future for the members of the British Steel pension fund. Members of defined benefit occupational pension schemes in the UK are covered by a robust framework of protection.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department’s staff performance monitoring includes key performance indicators on how many personal independence payment (PIP) claims are (a) accepted and (b) rejected by those staff who are PIP assessors.

Penny Mordaunt

The role of contracted Assessment Providers is to carry out health and disability assessments on behalf of the Department. They do not determine if a claim to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is successful. They provide a report to DWP decision makers who then determine entitlement to benefit. No targets are in place as to how many applications are successful.