Tag: Phil Boswell

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in its report, Is Britain Fairer, published in October 2015, that the employment gap between the oldest and youngest age groups has increased.

Priti Patel

The employment rate of young people who have left full-time education is 73.9% – its highest level in more than a decade and above the UK working age average. The rate for young people not in full-time education is the highest for over ten years

Over time participation in education has grown, and the majority of young people in full-time education are outside the labour force. The proportion of all young people who have left full-time education and are unemployed is 6.2% – below where it was before the recession and close to the lowest on record. The UK performs well internationally, with the fourth highest youth employment rate in the European Union.

The employment rate for young people fell during the recession and, as a result, unemployment rose. The EHRC report did not take full account of the recovery in the labour market, including the youth labour market that has since taken place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-12-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the £70 billion due to be allocated under the Funding for Lending Scheme has been allocated so far.

Harriett Baldwin

UK banks and building societies that participate in in the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) are able to borrow funding from the Bank of England, with the amount they are able to borrow (their ‘borrowing allowance’) linked to their net lending performance. FLS usage and lending data is published on the Bank of England website at the following link: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/Pages/FLS/extensiondata.aspx

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2016 to Question 20474, whether any businesses in receipt of funding from the apprenticeship programme for the creation of apprenticeships in the retail and commercial enterprise sector subject area have employed staff using zero-hours contracts in the last two years.

Nick Boles

We do not hold this information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that apprentices in the retail and commercial enterprise sector are taught skills that they would not otherwise be able to learn on the job under a normal employment contract.

Nick Boles

In England, apprenticeships are jobs with an accompanying skills development programme to support the individual to achieve full competency in an occupation. The apprentice develops through a wide mix of learning in the workplace, formal off-the-job training and the opportunity to practise new skills in a real work environment.

A key expectation of apprenticeships is that they must be more than just training for a single job or employer: they must ensure that apprentices can adapt to a variety of roles, with different employers, and develop the ability to progress their careers. This is set out in the apprenticeship framework or standard.

The list of apprenticeships frameworks available for employers and training organisations is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-frameworks-live-list

A list of all the apprenticeship standards approved by the Skills Funding Agency that are ready for employers and training organisations to use is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-standards-ready-for-delivery

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-06-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Minister of the Scottish Government on the proposed Apprenticeship Levy.

Greg Hands

We are working with the Scottish Government and the other devolved administrations to ensure they can get their fair share of the levy and, as far as possible, to develop a system for administering the levy which complements the skills and apprenticeship policies of each of the devolved administrations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the alleged misselling of financial products by high street banks.

Simon Kirby

The Chancellor has meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

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

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the finding of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in its report, Is Britain Fairer, published in October 2015, that there are persistent gender pay gaps among graduates.

Caroline Dinenage

The EHRC is an independent body, and its report ‘Is Britain Fairer?’ covers a five-year period 2008-13 across both the Labour and coalition governments. We welcome the positive areas of progress it refers to and note the challenges it raises. The information in the report will be used by the EHRC to help develop its next strategic plan, covering the period 2016-19.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-12-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Bank of England is able to recover funds lent under the Funding for Lending Scheme from small and medium-sized enterprises which have subsequently defaulted on the loan.

Harriett Baldwin

The Bank of England does not lend directly to small and medium sized enterprises as part of the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS). Under the FLS, the Bank of England provides funding to UK banks and building societies participating in the scheme. The amount of funding participant banks and building societies are eligible to borrow from the Bank of England is determined by their net lending to certain sectors of the economy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2016 to Question 20474, whether any businesses in receipt of funding from the apprenticeship programme for the creation of apprenticeships in the retail and commercial enterprise sector subject area have participated in the Government’s work experience programme for those on jobseeker’s allowance.

Nick Boles

We do not hold this information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department’s practice in consulting manufacturers on policy of the findings by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in its report, Engineered in Britain, on the proportion of manufacturers who consider that the Government is performing well on manufacturing policy.

Anna Soubry

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers report “Engineered in Britain” states that the proportion of manufacturers who consider that the Government is performing well on manufacturing policy rose from 12% in 2011 to 24% in 2015. BIS Ministers and officials hold regular discussions with manufacturing companies and their representatives, including the Sector Councils, to develop a clear understanding of the capabilities and needs of UK manufacturing. Most recently, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills spoke at the EEF National Manufacturing Conference on 24 February 2016 and I attended and spoke at the EEF National Manufacturing Dinner on the same date.