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Written Question
Immigration: Applications
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether original copies of language certifications are required when applying for (a) citizenship and (b) settlement status.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Original copies of language certificates are not always required when applying for citizenship or settlement. Applicants required to take the Secure English Language Test must provide a unique reference number which the Home Office checks against a central database to verify the qualification. However, where there is insufficient evidence provided to verify that an applicant has passed an approved English language test, an original copy of a language certificate may be required.


Written Question
Employment Schemes: Young People
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many starts by region have been recorded for the youth offer as of 01 March 2024.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Youth Offer launched on the 20 September 2020 and provides support for 16–24-year-olds who are on Universal Credit to help them move into employment. It includes three elements:

  • The Youth Employment Programme, which provides young people dedicated intensive Work Coach support in finding & applying for jobs, with additional assistance available for those who have recently begun their Universal Credit claim.
  • Youth Hubs, which bring together in one location DWP services with local support provided by youth experts. This ensures that the needs of young people are matched to services that help them tackle barriers to employment.
  • Youth Employability Coaches, who are focused on supporting young people furthest from the labour market overcome complex challenges so that they can move into work.

As of 01 March 2024, there have been 1,123,000 starts on the Youth Offer.

Starts by strand nationally:

Starts between dates

Youth Employment Programme

Youth Hub

Youth Employability Coach

Youth Offer

21/09/2020 – 31/03/2021

206,700

206,700

01/04/2021 – 31/03/2022

259,300

14,800

21,700

295,800

01/04/2021 – 31/03/2023

272,700

15,100

18,300

306,200

01/04/2023 – 29/02/2024

282,800

13,000

18,500

314,300

Total Starts

1,021,500

43,000

58,500

1,123,000

Starts by strand and region:

Region

Youth Employment Programme

Youth Hub

Youth Employability Coach

Youth Offer

East Midlands

69,000

1,000

2,500

72,500

East of England

78,400

400

3,800

82,500

London

157,800

3,100

5,900

166,800

North East

51,100

2,800

3,300

57,200

North West

131,500

10,700

9,600

151,800

Scotland

85,300

3,000

7,900

96,200

South East

107,000

3,700

3,800

114,600

South West

64,700

700

4,100

69,500

Wales

51,500

300

2,200

54,000

West Midlands

108,900

8,900

7,800

125,600

Yorkshire and The Humber

96,400

8,200

7,300

112,000

Unknown

19,800

200

400

20,400

Total

1,021,500

43,000

58,500

1,123,000

Notes:

  1. Eligible claimants who have recently begun their Universal Credit claim, and are actively searching for work, start in the Youth Employment Programme element of the Youth Offer. A Work Coach may later refer them to a Youth Hub, Youth Employability Coach or other employment support as appropriate based on their needs.
  2. When a claimant starts on any of the three elements of the Youth Offer, this is recorded as a start on that element, as well as a start on the Youth Offer.
  3. A claimant may take part in multiple elements of the Youth Offer. They may start any element of the Youth Offer multiple times. Each of these starts is recorded as a start on the Youth Offer.
  4. Claimants do not take part in multiple elements of the Youth Offer simultaneously.
  5. Data for Youth Hubs and Youth Employability Coaches is not available prior to April-21.
  6. Youth Hub and Youth Employability Coach data is produced from a manual process and although care is taken when processing and analysing Youth Hub and Youth Employability Coach referrals, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system which features manual data. Therefore, Youth Hub and Youth Employability Coach figures are likely to underestimate the number of young people who have started at a Youth Hub and/or with a Youth Employability Coach.
  7. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. Therefore, the individual elements in the table may not sum to the total figure.
  8. Figures are subject to retrospective revision.
  9. Youth Offer starts are categorised as “unknown” in cases where limited data is available.

Written Question
Visas: Families
Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his timetable is for announcing further dates on which the minimum income threshold for family visas will increase.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Net Migration is simply too high. This is why we have set out a package of measures to reduce net migration including bring the Minimum Income Requirement for family visas is in line with the new minimum general salary threshold for Skilled Workers, which is £38,700.

We will raise the minimum income for family visas incrementally, in stages. We intend to lay the family Immigration Rules we intend to lay on 14 March which will set out that from 11 April, we will raise the threshold to £29,000, that is the 25th percentile of earnings for jobs which are eligible for Skilled Worker visas.


Written Question
Sector-based Work Academy Programme
Thursday 8th February 2024

Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sector-based work academies have taken place in total and in each (a) country and (b) region of the UK since the programme began.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Sector-based work academies were launched in August 2011 in England and January 2012 in Scotland. Regular statistical releases on sector-based work academies, covering participation by those on legacy unemployment benefits, began in 2011 and ended in 2017. These statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/employment-schemes-work-experience-sector-based-work-academy-and-skills-conditionality-starts-to-november-2017

The scheme was relaunched as Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) in July 2020 as part of the Government’s Plan for Jobs. Due to data limitations, we are unable to provide a geographical breakdown for SWAPs that took place before the start of the 2021/22 financial year.

Data for the financial years 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 to date shows that, as of 28 January 2024, there were a total of 266,330 starts to a Sector-based Work Academy Programme. The breakdowns of these starts are provided in the attached tables. Final start figures for 2023/24 will be available early next financial year.

Notes on the data:

Attached are tables listing the number of SWAP starts to date by Country, Region, Local Authority, Sector and Age band. The figures used are correct as of 28 January 2024 and these figures have been rounded according to departmental standards.

These figures reflect the number of starts by claimants in receipt of Universal Credit (UC), Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Income Support (IS).

It is important to note that the information provided shows the current home location of the person who has started a SWAP. For starts by those in receipt of JSA, ESA or IS, due to data limitations a location cannot be assigned to these starts and as such they are categorised as unknown within the figures. SWAPs are run in England and Scotland, where a person’s current home location is outside of this they have also been categorised as unknown.

Although care is taken when processing and recording SWAP starts, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any clerical recording system, but is provided in the interests of transparency.


Written Question
Domestic Waste: Recycling
Thursday 1st February 2024

Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help improve recycling for households.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are introducing Simpler Recycling in England to drive up recycling rates and reverse a trend of stagnation. From March 2025 for businesses and March 2026 for households, Simpler Recycling will ensure that the same materials can be recycled at home and at work, replacing the current wild west system where neighbouring local authorities can have completely different recycling systems.


Written Question
Motor Vehicles: Insurance
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with car insurance regulators on helping ensure that rises in car insurance premiums do not disproportionately impact elderly drivers.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules.

Department for Transport officials regularly liaise with representatives of the motor insurance industry and discuss issues as they arise. However, it is the responsibility of individual motor insurers to set their premiums and the terms and conditions of their policies, and the Government does not intervene or seek to control the market.


Written Question
Unemployment
Thursday 14th December 2023

Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people aged (a) 16 and over and (b) 16 to 64 were (i) in employment and (ii) unemployed between February and April 2010.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity data for various age groups is published and available at:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/summaryoflabourmarketstatistics

  • The headline measure of the UK employment level is for people aged 16+ whereas the headline measure of the employment rate is for people aged 16-64.
  • The headline measure of the UK unemployment level and the unemployment rate is for people aged 16+.
  • The headline measure of the UK economic inactivity level is for people aged 16-64.

Written Question
Unemployment
Thursday 14th December 2023

Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people aged 16 to 64 were economically inactive in the period between February and April 2010; and how many people aged 16 to 24 were (a) in employment and (b) unemployed in that period.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity data for various age groups is published and available at:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/summaryoflabourmarketstatistics

  • The headline measure of the UK employment level is for people aged 16+ whereas the headline measure of the employment rate is for people aged 16-64.
  • The headline measure of the UK unemployment level and the unemployment rate is for people aged 16+.
  • The headline measure of the UK economic inactivity level is for people aged 16-64.

Written Question
Unemployment
Thursday 14th December 2023

Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total rate of employment was for people aged 16 and over in the period between February and April 2010; and what the total rate of unemployment was for people aged 16 to 64 in that period.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity data for various age groups is published and available at:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/summaryoflabourmarketstatistics

  • The headline measure of the UK employment level is for people aged 16+ whereas the headline measure of the employment rate is for people aged 16-64.
  • The headline measure of the UK unemployment level and the unemployment rate is for people aged 16+.
  • The headline measure of the UK economic inactivity level is for people aged 16-64.

Written Question
Planning Permission
Monday 11th December 2023

Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to announce funding levels for local planning authorities to help tackle planning backlogs.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

Local councils are responsible for ensuring that they build skills pipelines in their area to discharge their responsibilities. We recognise, however, that there have been challenges in recent years in plan and so, on a temporary basis, the Government is providing additional funds.

The £24 million Planning Skills Delivery Fund will help local authorities to recruit, retain and upskill planners to build a more sustainable planning system for the benefit of communities by helping local planning authorities clear planning backlogs and get the skills in place that they need to respond to changes in the planning system. This has been supplemented at Autumn Statement by an additional £5 million to clear the planning applications backlog.

We will announce the successful local authorities who applied for funding as part of the year one application process shortly.