Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, whether the R&R Client Board has taken steps with stakeholders to maximise the number of UK-based companies carrying out the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Project.
Answered by Charles Walker
Restoring Parliament is already boosting UK industries, and the Restoration and Renewal Programme is committed to ensuring that the opportunities and benefits are spread as widely as possible across the whole of the UK.
The Programme will use UK materials wherever possible and create jobs and apprenticeships across the country, from engineering and high-tech design to traditional crafts such as carpentry and stonemasonry.
99% of the Delivery Authority’s supply chain expenditure to date has been with UK-based companies. The Delivery Authority’s procurements are advertised using the Government’s Find a Tender service.
A series of events is underway across all of the devolved nations and regions of the UK to raise awareness of the R&R Programme, promote the local benefits and opportunities that will be available through the works and listen to potential suppliers—including small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)—on how to make the investment from this Programme as accessible as possible while maintaining value for money for the taxpayer.
Since 2021 the R&R Delivery Authority has been delivering roundtable discussions with local business and political leaders across the English regions in partnership with the British Chambers of Commerce. Through these roundtables the Delivery Authority has to date met with over 100 local suppliers, SMEs and training providers in six regions of England, including the North East, the North West, the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, the West Midlands, and the East of England.
The Delivery Authority has also held introductory meetings with local political representatives and business leaders in the devolved nations to arrange roundtable discussions in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For Scotland, these will be delivered in collaboration with the Scottish Chambers, for Wales Chambers Wales, and Northern Ireland is being confirmed.
By the end of 2023 the Delivery Authority will have held roundtable discussions and visited sites of interest to the restoration and renewal across the whole of the UK—including Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and every region in England—to build understanding of how the Programme can support economic benefits in local communities around the whole of the UK.
Both Houses of Parliament will be asked to approve a way forward for the Programme later this year. Once this decision has been made, the Delivery Authority will be able to further focus its efforts to maximise the number of UK-based companies involved with the Programme.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of the increases in the cost of living on the number of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England that have fallen into arrears with their water supplier.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Every five years, Ofwat scrutinises each water company’s business plan to ensure value for customer money and sets an overall cap on the total amount that each company may recover from their customers, through a process called the Price Review. Each year, water companies must publish their charges, setting out the basis on which they will charge their customers within the cap set by Ofwat. This year’s increase in water charges relates primarily to the increase in the rate of inflation and subsequent increases to the water companies’ costs as a result of this. These costs and adjustments are in line with the revenue controls set by Ofwat for all water companies.
Severn Trent Water’s customers saw their average combined bill for a household in-crease by 7.2% and the average yearly water and sewerage bills in England and Wales increase by 7.5%. We do not track households that have fallen into arrears with their water bill payments, this would be undertaken by water companies. However, I am very mindful that consumers are concerned about their bills. All water companies offer WaterSure and social tariffs to help reduce bills for households who struggle to pay their bills in full. Water companies also offer a range of financial support measures to assist households to better manage their budgets and provide flexible payments including payment holidays, bill matching, benefit entitlement checks and money/debt advice referral arrangements. Government expects water companies to continue to actively engage with households and inform them of support measures they offer.
I encourage customers to access the Consumer Council for Water’s Advice Hub, which has information and useful tools to help customers reduce their bills or access financial support.
To support people with the cost of living, Government have put in place a substantial package of support. Further information can be found here: Cost of living support - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the increases in the cost of living on the number of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England that have fallen into arrears with their energy supplier.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ofgem publishes statistics on energy debt and arrears which can be found at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/debt-and-arrears-indicators.
The Government introduced the ‘Breathing Space’ scheme which aims to address the ability of consumers to tackle debt and offers legal protections from creditors for 60 days. Under Ofgem rules, energy companies must set appropriate repayment plans based on a customer’s ability to pay for those at risk of, or in, debt.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the (a) number of vacancies and (b) level of skills within the (i) IT programming, (ii) IT hardware and network engineering, (iii) cybersecurity and (iv) data analysis sectors.
Answered by Paul Scully
DCMS publishes rolling employment estimates for DCMS sectors. As of 2021, the Digital sector was made up of 1.8 million filled jobs, an increase of 108 thousand (6.3%) compared to the previous calendar year and 249 thousand (16.0%) since 2019. DCMS also published an assessment of the UK’s regional digital ecosystems, which has information on digital occupations and skills gaps for each UK region.
IT programming
Consistent with the trend of previous years, in 2021, employment growth in the Digital Sector was particularly driven by the “IT, software and computer services” (960 thousand filled jobs) and “Computer programming, consultancy and related activities” (967 thousand filled jobs). Within the “IT, software and computer services” sub-sector, employment increased by 88 thousand filled jobs, while the same increase stood at 82 thousand within the “Computer programming, consultancy and related activities” sub-sector. There were over 94k vacancies in total for Software, Java, Full stack and Front-end developers in 2022 (People and Skills report, 2022). Burning glass found that programming skills are not required in isolation. In IT roles, 25% of the skills required are employability skills, such as communication, teamwork, and problem solving.
IT hardware and network engineering
Engineering and security are in the top five most required skills for tech vacancies in 2021 (People and Skills report, 2022). The percentage of businesses in the ‘manufacturing and electronics and computers’ sub-sector with at least one skills gap in their workforce was estimated to be 17.4% (DCMS sector skills shortages and skills gaps). The highest number of network engineering vacancies advertised in 2019/ 2020 was in the South East England (12.6K) followed by South West England (5.6K), West Midlands (5.4K) and East of England (4.3K) (UK’s regional digital ecosystems). The percentage of ‘telecoms’ companies with at least one skills gap in their workforce was estimated to be 9.1% (DCMS sector skills shortages and skills gaps).
Cybersecurity
The DCMS-commissioned 2022 cyber security labour market survey estimates the cyber security sector requires approximately 21,600 individuals per year to meet demand. Around 7,500 individuals entered the cyber workforce in 2021, suggesting an annual shortfall of around 14,100. Increasing the number of people with good cyber security skills is a key objective in the government's £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy.
Data analysis
DCMS analysis published in 2021 found that UK businesses were recruiting for 178,000 - 234,000 roles that require technical data skills, and almost half (46%) of companies recruiting struggled to fill these roles (Quantifying the UK Data Skills Gap). To assess demand for digital skills, DCMS worked with Burning Glass to develop a skills projections model. This model identifies data analysis as the cluster likely to grow fastest over the next five years. DCMS have rolled out the highly successful pilot of degree conversion courses in data science which aims to widen the pipeline of talent entering the IT sector. The scholarships ensure the AI that is built and used in the UK reflects the needs and make-up of society.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take additional steps to ensure the effective operation of the West Coast Main Line prior to the expiry of the short-term contract for the management of that line with Avanti West Coast.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Effective operation of the West Coast Main Line requires Network Rail, as the infrastructure manager, and the train operating companies including West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast, and TransPennine Express to work collaboratively. Where train operating companies, including Avanti West Coast, perform poorly, the Department will continue to hold them to account for the things within their control using the mechanisms within the contract.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which companies have been appointed to perform the contract scorecard evaluations for the each of the following train operating companies (a) Avanti, (b) Great Western Railway, (c) Chiltern, (d) CrossCountry, (e) East Midlands; Greater Anglia, (f) c2c, (g) South Western Railway, (h) GTR, (i) TransPennine Express and (j) West Midlands Trains.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Upcoming Performance-Based Fee Scorecard evaluations for these train operators will use independent evaluators sourced through the following suppliers: Atkins, Jacobs, Arup, Steer and Costain.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which companies conducted the contract scorecard evaluations for (a) Great Western Railway, (b) Chiltern, (c) CrossCountry, (d) East Midlands, (e) Greater Anglia, (f) c2c, (g) South Western Railway, (h) GTR, (i) TransPennine Express, (j) Avanti, (k) West Midlands Trains, (l) Southeastern.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Performance-Based Fee Scorecard evaluations for Emergency Measures Agreements, Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements and National Rail Contracts for all private train operators have used independent evaluators sourced through Arup, Atkins and Jacobs.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of industrial action by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers on rail services between Shrewsbury and Birmingham.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The industry is taking all possible steps to ensure that as much of the railway as possible operates during periods of industrial action and that passengers are kept fully informed of the impact of disruption. Service levels during recent periods of industrial action varied by region. To ensure services run safely and reliably, Network Rail and train operating companies implement a Key Route Strategy focusing limited resources on those routes with the busiest passenger and freight traffic and on strike days, this means around 20 per cent of passenger services run, with a focus on protecting critical passenger and freight flows. Unfortunately, this means that on RMT strike days, generally there are no Transport for Wales, West Midlands Trains or Avanti West Coast services between Shrewsbury and Birmingham. My officials and I remain committed to playing our part in bringing a swift resolution to the industrial disputes.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had recent discussions with (a) Great Western Railway, (b) Cross Country Trains, (c) Greater Anglia, (d) LNER, (e) East Midlands Railway, (f) c2c, (g) Chiltern Railways, (h) GTR, (i) Northern Trains, (j) South Eastern, (k) South Western Railway, (l) TransPennine Express, (m) Avanti West Coast and (n) West Midlands Trains on the (i) quality and (ii) frequency of their train services; and whether he will take steps to mandate for those companies to negotiate the wages of railway staff.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is in regular discussion with all 14 train operating companies about the quality and frequency of train services to ensure that operators are held to account for delivering services that meet new passenger travel patterns, are fit for the future, and carefully balance cost, capacity and performance.
The Rail Delivery Group are negotiating with Trade Unions on proposed pay offers at a national level on behalf of Train Operating Companies (the employers). Ministers’ role is to facilitate and support the ongoing discussions between the rail industry and Trade Unions regarding workforce reform and pay.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was paid to private companies to manage the procurement of hotel accommodation for asylum applicants in each of the last 12 months by company.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Due to the continuing unprecedented high volume of small boats arrivals and the historical pressure from COVID-19 measures on the asylum system it has been necessary to continue to use hotels to accommodate some asylum seekers to meet our immediate statutory need.
The precise number of hotel spaces available will fluctuate through each day, therefore it is not possible to advise how many accommodation spaces were available to asylum seekers on each day since 5 September 2022.
Under the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts (AASC), three accommodation providers have been contracted to procure and provide hotel accommodation for asylum seekers; Clearsprings Ready Homes, Mears Group and Serco.
The contracts have been awarded on a regional basis as follows.
Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts