Asked by: Peter Luff (Conservative - Mid Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to safeguard the use of radio microphones and related equipment under the Government's spectrum allocation policy.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Ofcom is currently conducting a strategic review of the PMSE sector’s future spectrum requirements. One of the objectives of this review is to ensure audio PMSE devices have access to sufficient spectrum to continue delivering the benefits they provide following Ofcom’s decision to make the 700 MHz band available for mobile data. Ofcom is aiming to conlcude this review in 2015.
Asked by: Peter Luff (Conservative - Mid Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 2.227 of the Autumn Statement 2014, how the funds to improve careers advice and support for young people will be spent.
Answered by Nick Boles
The majority of the £20 million fund to improve careers advice and support for young people announced in the Autumn Statement will be used to provide initial funding to the new company announced by my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, on 10 December.
This includes a £5 million Investment Fund (as indicated in the Official Report of 10 December 2014, column 893). This will be administered by the new careers and enterprise company, into which schools, employers and voluntary organisations will bid for start-up funding for new, innovative projects and pilots to support careers advice and inspiration, as well as funding to support the scaling up of successful local approaches, or to evaluate and share learning from existing successful projects.
The further detail of how the remaining £15 million will be spent and what proportion will support the work of the company will be worked through. This company, independent of Government, will support engagement between employers and schools, ensuring young people get the support they need. The Chair and Board of the company will be responsible for determining the best use of their budget.
Asked by: Peter Luff (Conservative - Mid Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.117 of the Autumn Statement 2014, if he will take steps to compensate Programme Making and Special Event users of spectrum removed from the wavelengths they currently use to facilitate the further clearance of spectrum for mobile use.
Answered by Danny Alexander
As detailed in the National Infrastructure Plan and Autumn Statement, subject to the development of delivery options by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Ofcom, further details of the change of use of 700MHz spectrum will be set out in 2015. As part of that process, we will look at the impact for Programme Making and Special Events and other current users.
Asked by: Peter Luff (Conservative - Mid Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 1.117 of the Autumn Statement 2014, what discussions he has had with representatives of the Programme Making and Special Event sector on the consequences for their work and the wavelengths they use of the further clearance of spectrum for mobile use.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
As set out in the National Infrastructure Plan and Autumn Statement, further details of the change of use of 700MHz spectrum will be set out in 2015. As part of that process, Ofcom are currently carrying out work to find suitable alternative spectrum for PMSE. We would encourage the PMSE community to engage in that process.
Asked by: Peter Luff (Conservative - Mid Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department is providing to the Your Life campaign promoting take-up of maths and science subjects.
Answered by Baroness Morgan of Cotes
The Your Life campaign is independently led, with sponsorship from business, and backed by strong support across Government. It is a three-year campaign to ensure the UK has the maths and science skills it needs to succeed in a competitive global economy.
A 2014 CBI/Pearson report found that STEM skills are in widespread demand and nearly two in five firms that need employees with STEM skills and knowledge currently have difficulties recruiting staff.
It is essential that students leave school as fully-rounded individuals, with experience of a broad and balanced curriculum to prepare them for life in modern Britain. Maths and science are valuable skills to have, no matter what they choose to pursue.
Asked by: Peter Luff (Conservative - Mid Worcestershire)
Question
To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, how the Government Equalities Office pilot project to improve links between schools and businesses to raise the career aspirations of young people, which has been awarded to the British Chambers of Commerce, will be co-ordinated with the work in this area at (a) Engineering UK, (b) the Royal Academy of Engineering, (c) the Royal Society and (d) STEMnet.
Answered by Jo Swinson
The aim of the School-Business Partnerships pilot is to establish long lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships in which schools and businesses work together. The primary focus of the partnerships is on business, particularly local business, rather than national organisations. In addition, each partnership is focusing on the sectors best suited to the local area.
Four out of the five partnerships have incorporated some element of STEM activity in their programme. For example, two have partnered with STEM Ambassadors to deliver activities in schools and one partnership is hosting an event with The Royal Academy of Engineering next year. In addition, Government has shared information on the activities of Engineering UK, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society and STEMnet with the British Chambers of Commerce.
Asked by: Peter Luff (Conservative - Mid Worcestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made in establishing the Single Source Regulations Office; what budget has been set for the first year of operation of that office; and what estimate he has made of the number of contracts it will consider in financial year 2014-15.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Considerable progress has been made in establishing the Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) as the regulator for the new single source procurement framework. The Chair of the new body was formally appointed in May 2014 and non-executive directors were appointed in October. The SSRO held its first Board meeting on 13 October. The new body is in the process of recruiting staff, establishing its new offices in Finlaison House, and setting up its processes and IT systems. It has also been consulting closely with key stakeholders in industry and in Government over its role as the independent regulator. The SSRO issued its first newsletter in mid-November highlighting progress already made and its plans over the next few months. This is available on the gov.uk website.
The budget for the SSRO in the financial year 2014-2015 has been set at £2.9 million.
Secondary legislation to enable the new single source procurement framework is currently being considered by Parliament, having been laid at the end of October. In order to facilitate the implementation of the new framework, when it comes into force, it will initially only cover new qualifying defence contracts with a value of £500 million or more with this threshold falling to new qualifying defence contracts with a value of £5 million or more as from the end of March 2015 onwards. We therefore estimate that this higher initial threshold will only affect a handful of new contracts (and related subcontracts) signed before the end of March 2015.
Asked by: Peter Luff (Conservative - Mid Worcestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2014 to Question 209332, by what mechanisms his Department assesses the effectiveness of its communications to industry of its future requirements.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The membership and structure of the Defence Suppliers Forum (DSF) and its respective sub-committees are kept under review to ensure it is representative of the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) suppliers. Feedback from industry indicates that it continues to represent a valuable mechanism for engaging with the MOD on current and future priorities and requirements.
In addition the Industry days organised by the Department and/or domains are usually based on business cases that state the objectives and benefits of the event and which require evaluation of success. Some examples of key outcomes of an event include an increase in industry awareness of the aims and developments of the procurement strategy, an increase in MOD understanding of the key themes and issues faced by industry, and the early identification of potential risks to the strategy. The success of the event is then evaluated both in terms of the level of interest expressed by industry in the event, and the level of understanding and buy-in determined through a simple event questionnaire.
The MOD monitors the number of supplier and buyer enquires received via the Defence Contracts Online Portal. The latest available figures show that between January and July 2014, the total number of queries received was nearly 3,500. During this period, nearly 1,200 tender and contract notices were advertised on the portal.
Asked by: Peter Luff (Conservative - Mid Worcestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of NHS staff will receive a one per cent or higher pay award through non-consolidated increases or incremental pay awards this year.
Answered by Dan Poulter
All National Health Service staff who meet local performance standards will receive 1% or more pay through non-consolidated increases or incremental pay this year.
Just over 50% of staff are eligible for incremental pay progression subject to satisfactory performance, which averages a 3% rise.
The just under 50% of NHS staff who are at the top of their pay bands and therefore not eligible for incremental progression received an additional non-consolidated payment this year equal to 1% of basic pay.
Asked by: Peter Luff (Conservative - Mid Worcestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of NHS staff are eligible for incremental pay awards; and how many of those will receive at least (a) one per cent and (b) three per cent pay increases this year.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Government is committed to reforming progression pay in the National Health Service to ensure that the system is fair, consistent and sustainable.
Over 50% (around 620,000 headcount) of hospital and community health services staff are eligible for incremental pay increases; subject to meeting local performance standards.
All of these eligible staff will receive at least a 1% increase.
Two thirds of those staff are eligible for at least 3%, which is the average incremental increase. This is around 410,000 staff (headcount).