Asked by: Julie Cooper (Labour - Burnley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people in (a) Burnley and (b) Lancashire are qualified to National Qualifications Framework level 2 or above.
Answered by Nick Boles
In 2015, it is estimated that 32,900 people aged 16-64 living in Burnley held qualifications at level 2 or above.
In 2015, it is estimated that 523,300 people aged 16-64 living in Lancashire held qualifications at level 2 or above.
These estimates use the Annual Population Survey (APS) which could potentially underestimate overall levels of attainment at level 2 or above. The Department produces national estimates of attainment (link below) using a methodology that enhances the use of the Labour Force Survey data, which forms part of the APS estimates provided, as well as matching to administrative data. This methodology was introduced because research demonstrated some people do not report some of their smaller qualifications.
More detailed information on the level of qualification held by residents of individual Local Authorities is available from the Annual Population Survey at the link below.
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/profiles.asp
Asked by: Julie Cooper (Labour - Burnley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many times he has attended public meetings of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee since his appointment.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Attendance at Committee meetings is a matter of public record. Transcripts of such appearances can be found in Hansard and on the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee web page here: www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-innovation-and-skills/inquiries/.
Asked by: Julie Cooper (Labour - Burnley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his Department's timetable is for the implementation of the provision of postgraduate student loans of up to £10,000.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to PQ UIN 18668.
Asked by: Julie Cooper (Labour - Burnley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many times she has attended public meetings of the Energy and Climate Change Committee since her appointment.
Answered by Amber Rudd
Since my appointment as Secretary of State, I have attended public meetings of the Energy and Climate Change Committee on three occasions.
Attendance at Committee meetings is a matter of public record, and transcripts of such appearances can be found in Hansard and on Committee web pages.
Asked by: Julie Cooper (Labour - Burnley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the University of Leeds, Bristol and Oxford's studies of the possible effects of geo-engineering on future populations.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Department monitors research into geoengineering and is familiar with the outputs of various programmes including IAGP (Integrated Assessment of Geoengineering Proposals; www.iagp.ac.uk) (conducted by several Universities including Leeds, Bristol and Oxford) and the GGR (Geoengineering Governance Research, conducted by several universities including University of Oxford): http://geoengineering-governance-research.org.
Based on these studies and other research we conclude that whilst geoengineering could cool the climate, it may also have unintended effects which could be detrimental to some regions eg in terms of rainfall.
For this reason and other identified risks associated with proposed geoengineering, it is premature to consider geo-engineering as a viable option for addressing climate change. For most geoengineering techniques, current understanding of the costs, feasibility, environmental and societal impacts is limited. The government’s position on geoengineering research is given here:
Asked by: Julie Cooper (Labour - Burnley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he has taken to ensure that the sale of the pre-2012 income contingent repayment student loan book will not affect the amount of debt current graduates owe.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Sale of Student Loans Act 2008 prevents Government from treating less favourably borrowers whose loans are sold, compared to the treatment of borrowers whose loans remain on the Government’s books.
After a sale, the Government continues to finance student loans and collect repayments through HM Revenue and Customs and the Student Loans Company. Purchasers will have no direct relationship with borrowers, and no power to amend the terms of repayment.
Asked by: Julie Cooper (Labour - Burnley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of removing student number controls for alternative providers of degree-level courses on national levels of student debt.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The majority of Alternative Providers remain subject to student number controls, with the exception of nine (as at 12th April 2016) alternative providers that have their own degree awarding powers. It is not possible to determine the impact on national levels of student debt – as any students recruited by these 9 providers may instead have been recruited by providers in the publicly funded sector, none of which are subject to student number controls.