Tag: Steve Rotheram

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people were undertaking a construction apprenticeship in the most recent period for which figures are available; and how many of those people are studying for an NVQ (a) Level 2 and (b) Level 3.

Nick Boles

There were 32,980 learners participating in Apprenticeships on the ‘Construction, Planning and the Built Environment’ Sector Subject Area (SSA) in the 2014/15 academic year, the most recent period for which data is available.

In the same period 26,300 Apprentices on the ‘Construction, Planning and Build Environment’ SSA participated in Level 2 NVQ component aims and 6,050 participated in Level 3 NVQ component aims.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations (a) his Department and (b) the Information Commissioner’s Office have received on the failure of organisations to register as data controllers with the Information Commissioner’s Office under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998; and what steps (i) his Department and (ii) the Information Commissioner’s Office have taken to ensure that organisations (A) are compliant with such terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 and (B) pay their notification fees.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Data Protection Act 1998 requires every data controller who is processing personal information to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) unless they are exempt. The ICO’s website sets out the criteria for notification and provides guidance on the level of fee organisations should be paying. The ICO have also made it easier for organisations to notify and pay the fee by introducing online payments.

At the end of 2015/2016 there were 441,000 data controllers registered with the ICO, which generated a total income of £18.3 million. Due to the very broad range of exemptions from the need to notify, and because these exemptions do not need to be actively claimed, there is no recognised figure for the number of notifiable data controllers in the UK. It is for data controllers to seek registration; the ICO periodically reminds organisations of the requirement to notify.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-01-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to tackle racist and discriminating behaviour.

Mr Marcus Jones

This Government deplores racism in all its forms and is determined to ensure everyone has the opportunity to get on in life free from harassment and fear.

50 years ago Britain introduced its first race equality legislation and in that time our country has undoubtedly become fairer. The Equality Act 2010 protects all individuals against racial and other forms of discrimination.

On 12 October 2015 a new Cross Government Hate Crime Action Plan was announced, to drive forward action against all forms of hate crime. This will be taken forward in partnership with communities to ensure we target the harm that hate crime causes. More broadly, my rt. hon. Friend, the Prime Minister has set out a series of ambitious government commitments to reduce racial inequalities by the end of the current Parliament in 2020.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to support research into mesothelioma.

George Freeman

The Government agrees that more mesothelioma research is needed and has taken measures to stimulate an increase in the level of research activity.

Patients, carers, clinicians and funders have worked in partnership to identify what the priorities in research are. Following a survey and a workshop, the top 10 mesothelioma research priorities were announced in December 2014. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) published a final report from the Priority Setting Partnership in July 2015. In advance of the identification of research questions by this partnership, the NIHR highlighted to the research community that it wanted to encourage research applications in mesothelioma.

The NIHR subsequently invited researchers to apply for mesothelioma research funding, in particular to address the research questions identified through the partnership. Eight NIHR programmes participated in this themed call. Fifteen individual applications were received, of which two have been approved for funding.

In addition, the NIHR Research Design Service continues to be able to help prospective applicants develop competitive research proposals. This service is well-established and has

10 regional bases across England. It supports researchers to develop and design high-quality proposals for submission to NIHR itself and also to other national, peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research.

The National Cancer Research Institute is facilitating ongoing dialogue between relevant research funders on the topic of mesothelioma, to discuss what the barriers to research are and what is needed to stimulate research in the field.

The Chancellor’s Budget Report committed £5 million of LIBOR fines over the next four years for the National Mesothelioma Centre.

The Department has received recent representations relating to funding of mesothelioma research from the Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK and from several hon. Members on behalf of constituents.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-01-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of trends in the rate of race-related crimes in England and Wales over the last five years.

Karen Bradley

The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates that there were 106,000 incidents of race hate crime a year, based on the combined data from the 2012/13 to 2014/15 surveys (the most recently available figures). There has been a clear downward trend in the number of hate crime incidents between the 2007/08 to 2008/09 and 2012/13 to 2014/15 crimes surveys, which have fallen by 28% for all hate crimes over this period. The Home Office also collects information from the police on hate crimes. This shows that were 42,930 race hate crimes recorded by the police in 2014/15, a 15% increase on the previous year. This increase is largely thought to be due to improvements in recording practices by the police over the last year rather than a real increase in race hate crime. However, it is possible in some police forces areas that recording may not be the only reason and there could be an element of real increases in certain areas.

The Government is committed to tackling all forms of hate crime, including that perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person. That is why we announced in October last year the intention to bring forward a new cross Government hate crime action plan. This is being developed with the communities most affected by hate crime and will be published later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will receive a lower state pension under the single-tier pension system.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested can be found in the Impact of the New State Pension (nSP) on an Individual’s Pension Entitlement – Longer Term Effects of nSP published in January 2016. The link can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/491845/impact-of-new-state-pension-longer-term-reserach.pdf

Figure 1 of the assessment shows the proportion of all pensioners from 2016 until 2060 at each time point with changed notional State Pension outcomes under the new State Pension.

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprenticeship starts there were in each construction occupational area in 2015.

Nick Boles

Apprenticeships are categorised according to the Sector Subject Area of the apprenticeship, not the industry sector of the employer.

The Department does not produce forecasts for apprenticeship starts by Sector Subject Area. Apprenticeships are paid jobs and their availability is dependent on employers offering opportunities and hiring apprentices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that customers who were sold cashback warranties by PowerPlan and who did not receive their cash deposits having not claimed against those warranties receive compensation.

Anna Soubry

The liquidation of the companies involved in the cashback scheme is ongoing. The liquidators have the right to take action against the company if they consider the cashback scheme created an obligation to fund any liabilities.

My hon. Friend from Grantham and Stamford is meeting the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group to discuss their findings shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprenticeship starts his Department forecasts there will be in the construction sector for 2016.

Nick Boles

Apprenticeships are categorised according to the Sector Subject Area of the apprenticeship, not the industry sector of the employer.

The Department does not produce forecasts for apprenticeship starts by Sector Subject Area. Apprenticeships are paid jobs and their availability is dependent on employers offering opportunities and hiring apprentices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department plans to respond formally to (a) the recommendations relating to corporate dishonesty and regulatory failure and (b) other recommendations in the report of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Scottish Power Cashback Mis-selling, published on 20 April 2016.

Anna Soubry

The Government notes the APPG’s report on Scottish Power and the PowerPlan Cashback Promise.

Two investigations have already been undertaken into the ‘cashback companies’ and Scottish Power. The first in 2002 was by the Office of Fair Trading, which made recommendations concerning the rules for customers to claim cashback and which the companies implemented. The second, in 2004, was by the Department of Trade and Industry under s447 of the Companies Act 1985. This investigation is confidential, and the findings are prevented by law from publication.

However it was concluded that there were no grounds for taking further action either against the companies, Scottish Power or the directors involved. This was reviewed again in 2014 when reports were received from the liquidators of the companies, but the position did not change. I can confirm that no new s447 investigation will be taking place.

The Government has no power to determine liability in this case and has no legal standing to intervene in what is a commercial claim by the liquidator of a limited company against Scottish Power. The liquidation of the companies involved in the scheme is still under way, and the creditors of those companies will receive reports from the liquidators if they are to be paid further dividends.