Tag: Tom Blenkinsop

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he made an estimate of the number of foreign companies employing migrant workers in the UK who have sued their employees for overpayment of wages upon their return to their country of origin.

Damian Hinds

DWP has received no representations on migrant employees in the UK being forced to repay funds paid to them as a result of shortfalls in wages to their employers upon return to their country of origin.

DWP has not made an estimate of the number of foreign companies employing migrant workers in the UK who have sued their employees for overpayment of wages upon their return to their country of origin.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure greater collaboration between businesses and education to promote skills for potential future careers.

Nick Boles

We are strengthening business influence in schools, further education, the skills system, higher education and in giving young people a broad experience of the careers options open to them. Our education reforms are ensuring that young people leave school or college with everything they need to get on and succeed in life. The new Careers and Enterprise Company aims to help schools and colleges in England to prepare young people aged 12 to 18 for the world of work, and increase the level of employer engagement in schools and colleges across England.

In further education we have given employer-led Local Enterprise Partnerships significant local influence over the skills system. National Colleges are being established by employer-led partnerships to design and deliver specific higher level training, and we are working in direct partnership with employers in reforming technical and professional education to ensure the new system provides the skills most needed for the 21st century economy. In trailblazer apprenticeships, employers develop the standards themselves.

In higher education, the government fully supports and actively encourages collaboration between universities and business. Partnership is needed to ensure graduate skills and employability meet the needs of business, to maximise the university sector’s capabilities in business-led research and innovation, and to realise the benefits of a strong role for Higher Education Institutions in the development of their local economies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which flood defence maintenance works were undertaken in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each year since 2010; and what the cost to the public purse was of each of those works.

Rory Stewart

The Environment Agency regularly cleans and maintains several debris screens on the upper reaches of the Ormesby Beck, Middle Beck and Marton West Beck in Middlesbrough. Other maintenance works by the Environment Agency consist of works to maintain, or improve, the flow of water in rivers where it reduces flood risk to homes.

In accordance with data retention rules, the Environment Agency does not hold financial records for more than five years. The table below outlines expenditure since 2011/12.

2011 – 12	2012 – 13	2013 – 14	2014 -15	2015 – 16
£1,370	£22,990	£21,730	£16,920	£116,220

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of apprentices in the Tees Valley area (a) went on to work full-time with the employer with which they trained and (b) were subsequently unemployed in the last year for which figures are available.

Nick Boles

Statistical data broken down by region on (a) apprentices working full-time for the employer with which they trained or (b) were subsequently unemployed, is not available.

Latest Apprenticeship Evaluation Learner Survey 2016 data show that 9 out of 10 of all recent apprenticeship completers were in employment 12-20 months after completion. And 72% of those in employment were with the same employer with whom they completed their apprenticeship.

Information on Apprenticeship starts by region and local authority is published as a supplementary table (first link) to a Statistical First Release (second link).

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509995/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.XLS

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to tackle obesity in (a) the North East and (b) England.

Nicola Blackwood

We launched Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action on 18 August. A copy of the plan is attached and is available at:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546588/Childhood_obesity_2016__2__acc.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2016 to Question 40370, when his Department plans to outline its new approach to the carbon capture and storage industry; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has a potential role to play in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK but its costs must come down.

We continue to work with industry to help develop CCS cost effectively and we will set out our future approach to CCS in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Pensions Regulator on using its powers to oblige Tata Steel to increase its support for the British Steel Pension Scheme.

Richard Harrington

The Pensions Regulator is independent, and how it uses its powers is a matter for the regulator. The Secretary of State and I regularly meet the independent Pensions Regulator about a variety of matters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, from what part of his Department’s budget the support package for Redcar steelworkers will be funded.

Anna Soubry

The support package will be funded through central budgets.

As part of this, we have agreed over £40 million of support following proposals put forward by the Task Force chaired by Amanda Skelton, including:

• £2.42 safety net fund, to support workers with short-term financial challenges;
• £2.65m skills funding to plug any gaps in skills provision not available via the Further Education Offer;
• £1.7m to help ensure that the fifty apprentices who were with SSI can continue their apprenticeships with alternative employers;
• £16.5m Jobs and Skills Fund to help local firms employ former SSI workers or their spouses in full-time or part-time jobs for a minimum of three years;
• £16m support for firms in the SSI supply chain and wider Tees Valley impacted by the Redcar steelworks closure, to safeguard jobs, provide the stimulus to create new posts and provide expert assistance to help them expand their business; and
• £750,000 to fund advice and grants to start up a new business.

All of the requests for spend in 2015/16 have been transferred from Government to the SSI Task Force, which is beginning to implement its planned programme of interventions. This is on top of the up to £3m that has been made available to four Further Education colleges in the region to support re-training activity, and redundancy and final salary payments of former SSI employees.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if (a) statutory redundancy payments and (b) final salaries will be paid from the Government’s support funding package for those affected by recent redundancies in the steel industry.

Anna Soubry

I can confirm that the support package covers both of these aspects. The money allocated towards redundancies factored in payments for owed salaries and does not affect the money for training and regeneration of the local economy. I also note that without Government action, SSI workers would not have been paid their salaries in September.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to address the reported shortfall of £107 million in the Department’s 2015 budget and the consequent imbalance in funding for mental health services.

Alistair Burt

With the financial controls package and help from system leads, we are working towards delivering a balanced position against the overall spending controls in this financial year, despite an unprecedented level of deficit in the National Health Service provider sector.

The NHS must now put in place cost-control measures we have introduced, like clamping down on agency spend, limiting the use of management consultants and making sure trusts have to justify the pay package of any manager who is paid more than the Prime Minister, while we continue to work with hospitals on ways to improve productivity and reduce waste.

This year, we are investing £173 million of additional money in mental health, including £30 million for services for young people with eating disorders. We are taking a targeted and phased approach to the additional investment, to enable local areas to develop additional capacity and a collaborative approach across health, education and children’s services. This is what is needed to make a real difference.

We remain committed to providing the additional £1.25 billion investment in mental health services over the next five years, as announced in the Budget 2015.