First elected: 6th May 2010
Left House: 3rd May 2017 (General Election)
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
These initiatives were driven by Michael Dugher, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Michael Dugher has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Crime (Assaults on Emergency Services Staff) Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Holly Lynch (Lab)
In 2014, renewables provided nearly one fifth of the UK’s electricity needs[1] and we are on track to reach our aim of delivering 30 per cent by 2020. Generation from solar PV is making a significant contribution to achieving this aim, partly due to the support the technology receives through the small-scale Feed-in Tariff (FITs) scheme, and partly through the support to larger, mostly ground mounted solar PV, through the Renewables Obligation (RO); as of the end of October, we had a total of nearly 8.2GW of solar PV deployed across the UK.
We are required by our EU state aid approval to carry out a review of FITs this year to ensure that tariff levels provide sufficient incentive to potential generators whilst not over-compensating applicants to the scheme. The Government proposed changes to FITs as part of that review, on which we consulted widely between 27th August and 23rd October. We are currently analysing feedback submitted during the consultation and intend to publish a Government response in due course.
This review, along with other measures to control costs under the levy control framework, should help ensure that renewables deployment remains affordable. Consultations have closed and we expect to provide the government responses in due course.
[1] Energy Trends
The Student Loans Company (SLC) administers student support for each of the UK Government Administrations. Information on English loan borrowers is published annually by SLC in the Statistical First Release ‘Student Loans in England: FY 2014-15’.
http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/student-loans-debt-and-repayment/england.aspx
The numbers of borrowers at the end of the 2014-15 financial year with post-2012 student loan arrangements who had been domiciled in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) Yorkshire and the Humber when they applied for financial support is set out in the following table:
Borrowers at the end of the 2014-15 financial year(1) with post-2012 Loan Arrangements by Domicile | |||
Geographical Area | Students (2,3,4) | ||
Barnsley East and Mexborough | 1,330 | ||
Barnsley | 3,610 | ||
South Yorkshire | 20,350 | ||
Yorkshire and the Humber | 94,370 | ||
Source: Student Loans Company | |||
Notes: | |||
(1) As of 31/03/2015 | |||
(2) Includes only students with loans with a non-zero balance | |||
(3) Excludes Further Education students (4) Figures rounded to the nearest multiple of 10 | |||
Freezing the repayment threshold will not affect the up-front cost of attending university. It would mean that students on average meet a greater share of these costs over their working life through loan repayments, helping ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the system. Those earning below the repayment threshold will not be affected by the proposed changes.
The Government proposed changes to the feed-in tariff scheme (FITs) as part of the FIT review, on which we consulted widely between 27th August and 23rd October.
Part of the purpose of that consultation was to gather views on the broader economic impact of the proposals. The actual impact on the sector will, of course, depend on the options taken forward after all responses to the consultation have been considered. We are currently analysing feedback submitted during the consultation and intend to publish a Government response in due course.
The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills has published information on the number of people employed in in onshore wind, offshore wind and solar PV sectors across the UK as set out in its report, The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy.[1]
In 2013, onshore wind employed 12,800 people, offshore wind employed 10,900 people, and solar PV employed 28,700 people in England. 2,100 people were employed in onshore wind, 500 people in offshore wind, and 2,900 people in solar PV, in the Yorkshire and Humber region in 2013.[2]
Information is not broken down to show the number of people employed in these sectors for South Yorkshire or Barnsley.
[1] The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy: Report for 2010 to 2013 (March 2015), Department for Business, Innovation & Skills:
[2] Employment stated here includes headcount in both direct activates and supply chain.
The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills has published information on the number of people employed in in onshore wind, offshore wind and solar PV sectors across the UK as set out in its report, The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy.[1]
In 2013, onshore wind employed 12,800 people, offshore wind employed 10,900 people, and solar PV employed 28,700 people in England. 2,100 people were employed in onshore wind, 500 people in offshore wind, and 2,900 people in solar PV, in the Yorkshire and Humber region in 2013.[2]
Information is not broken down to show the number of people employed in these sectors for South Yorkshire or Barnsley.
[1] The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy: Report for 2010 to 2013 (March 2015), Department for Business, Innovation & Skills:
[2] Employment stated here includes headcount in both direct activates and supply chain.
The Warm Home Discount scheme operates across Great Britain. Data for the number of people applying for or receiving assistance under the Warm Home Discount scheme are not available on a regional or constituency basis.
The estimated number of business start-ups in a) Barnsley East constituency, b) Barnsley local authority, c) South Yorkshire and d) Great Britain between 2009 and 2014 are shown in the table below.
These statistics are compiled from BankSearch data, which does not cover Northern Ireland. BankSearch does not report on the size of start-ups, nor the proportion of start-ups that were still trading in subsequent years.
Estimated number of business start-ups (2009 to 2014)
Year | Barnsley East constituency | Barnsley local authority | South Yorkshire | Great Britain |
2009 | 310 | 1,010 | 6,630 | 428,400 |
2010 | 400 | 1,190 | 7,350 | 482,830 |
2011 | 380 | 1,150 | 7,580 | 507,870 |
2012 | 370 | 1,120 | 7,400 | 489,780 |
2013 | 360 | 1,050 | 6,610 | 446,830 |
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Source: BankSearch: number of new business bank accounts opened. All figures rounded to nearest 10.
Start Up Loans | Barnsley East | South Yorkshire | England | United Kingdom |
Volume of Drawn Loans | 12 | 321 | 19,901 | 21,470 |
Value of Drawn Loans | £60,000 | £1,551,421 | £106,326,369 | £113,485,492 |
Data for each of the last 3 years on the number of Apprenticeship starts by workplace location is shown in Table 1. Geographic information for workplace location is not available for earlier years.
Table 1: Apprenticeship starts by workplace location
| 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 |
Barnsley East Constituency | 350 | 780 | 660 |
South Yorkshire | 14,400 | 16,490 | 15,130 |
All Apprenticeships | 457,200 | 520,600 | 510,200 |
Source: Individualised Learner Record (ILR) | |||
Additional information on the number of workplaces employing apprentices by geography is published at:
There is no data source that gives a complete answer for all FE students. Data for students under the age of 19 is compiled by the Department for Education (DfE); data for students aged 19 or over is compiled by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The Departments use different methodologies in collecting the data.
DfE has published experimental data on destinations of Key Stage 5 school leavers, by parliamentary constituency, local authority, and institution are published by the Department for Education at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/destinations-of-key-stage-4-and-key-stage-5-pupils-2011-to-2012.
The latest data (published 26 June 2014) are for those who entered an A Level or other Level 3 qualification in 2010/11 and their sustained destination in 2011/12. A summary of this data is shown in Table 1 below. Data for the previous years are available on a different basis and are published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/destinations-of-key-stage-4-and-key-stage-5-pupils-2010-to-2011 and https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/destinations-of-key-stage-4-and-key-stage-5-pupils-academic-year-2009-to-2010
Table 1: KS5: Percentage of students, in 2010/11, who entered an A Level or other Level 3 qualification, going to, or remaining in, an education or employment destination in 2011/12: all mainstream schools and colleges, including independents
| Number of Students | % into a Higher Education Institution (sustained) | % into Sustained Employment and/or training1 | % into apprenticeship |
Barnsley East | 10 | 46% | 0% | x |
Barnsley LA | 1,140 | 43% | 4% | 6% |
Doncaster LA | 1,720 | 48% | 5% | 6% |
Rotherham LA | 2,140 | 47% | 6% | 7% |
Sheffield LA | 3,160 | 51% | 5% | 5% |
England | 370,940 | 54% | 6% | 4% |
x indicates data suppressed due to small cohort size or small numbers in the reporting lines.
1) it is not possible to identify full-time job from other employment and/or training. Data for the Local Authorities in South Yorkshire County have been shown separately. See publication for further details on definitions and measures
BIS publishes destinations data by provider and provider-type for adult (19+) learners and 16-18 Apprenticeships. The data is not compiled on a geographical basis so it cannot be used to answer the PQ directly. A full breakdown of the learner destinations indicators by provider can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-choices-performance-indicators
In Rounds 1-5 of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) three projects in the Barnsley East constituency applied for RGF funding. As of September 2014 one project has been selected to receive RGF funding and it has received a final offer letter.
Final data for the 2012/13 academic year show that there were 5,930 adult (19+) learners participating in government funded further education and skills in Barnsley East constituency.
Information on Apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release (SFR):
The Church of England supports food banks across the country in various partnership models including with other Churches and the Trussell Trust. Figures for the years specified are not currently available in all the areas requested. The Church of England is currently in the process of conducting a large-scale survey of Church of England parishes, which will provide updated figures, due to be published in 2015.
The Department reported that there were 42 Green Deal Cashback vouchers paid in Barnsley East constituency up to 30th June 2014, and 59 ‘live' Green Deal Plans (with measures installed) had been taken out in Yorkshire and The Humber. We cannot break this down to a lower geographic level at present for confidentiality reasons:
Geographic breakdowns on the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) will form part of the more detailed quarterly series planned for publication on 18th December 2014, covering the period up to the end of September 2014.
The British Business Bank oversees the management of two loan programmes that can be accessed by small and medium–sized businesses seeking debt finance; Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) and Start-Up Loans (SUL).
EFG is delivered by participating lenders, including all the main high street banks, while SUL is delivered by a network of delivery partners contracted by the Start-Up Loans Company.
The delivery of both programmes is fully devolved to the participating lenders and for consistency they primarily report the numbers of loans offered or drawn rather than the number of applications received.
Programme | Volume of Loans drawn Barnsley East | Volume of Loans drawn South Yorkshire | Volume of Loans drawn England and Wales |
EFG | 22 | 515 | 20806 |
Start Up Loans | 12 | 321 | 20435 |
Total | 34 | 836 | 41241 |
Final data for the 2012/13 academic year show that there were 5,930 adult (19+) learners participating in government funded further education and skills in Barnsley East constituency.
Information on Apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release (SFR):
The Cabinet Secretary will respond to the hon. Member on this matter shortly. I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
The Cabinet Secretary will respond to the hon. Member on this matter shortly. I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
The Cabinet Secretary will respond to the hon. Member on this matter shortly. I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
The Cabinet Secretary will respond to the hon. Member on this matter shortly. I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
The Cabinet Secretary will respond to the hon. Member on this matter shortly. I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Since 2010, Community Organisers have worked in over 400 neighbourhoods across England. Of the 551 Senior Community Organisers recruited and trained through the Community Organisers programme to date, 63 have worked in Yorkshire and the Humber. Organisers do not necessarily work where they live.
Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly.
We encourage all users of public services to go to our award-winning gov.uk, the official website for government information and services.
The Cabinet Office is working with Google and other search engine providers to address the problem of misleading websites advertising on their search engines. Work with other bodies such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) and Which? continues to raise awareness of this issue and ensures action is taken where appropriate.
Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly.
We encourage all users of public services to go to our award-winning gov.uk, the official website for government information and services.
The Cabinet Office is working with Google and other search engine providers to address the problem of misleading websites advertising on their search engines. Work with other bodies such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) and Which? continues to raise awareness of this issue and ensures action is taken where appropriate.
Public government documents are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications. Information on costs is not held centrally.
All Government communications officials are bound by the Civil Service code. There is no longer a Permanent Secretary of Government Communications.
Public government documents are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications. Information on costs is not held centrally.
All Government communications officials are bound by the Civil Service code. There is no longer a Permanent Secretary of Government Communications.
The impact of the proposed changes will be highly sensitive to future ownership models that determine the rateable values to apply; it is therefore not possible to project this impact at present.
In 2014, 9,500 FTE employees were estimated to have been directly employed in the solar photovoltaic sector in the UK, including 9,000 in England. BEIS does not hold data that is broken down by region, and data for the solar thermal sector is not available.
Further detail can be viewed online through the UK Environmental Accounts: UK Solar Photovoltaic Sector 2014, (part of Low carbon and renewable energy economy, final estimates: 2014) at:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/datasets/lcreestimatesdataset.
My Department regularly reviews the impact of changing economic conditions on business including in specific sectors such as steel. We also talk regularly to companies to understand their view on market conditions including in formal meetings such as sector councils.
Steel companies are impacted differently by exchange rates depending on the balance of raw materials they import from outside the UK and the location of their export markets.
The Government is committed to every home and small business being offered smart meters by the end of 2020. The Programme is making good progress. Over 3 million meters have been installed in homes and business across Great Britain in the Foundation stage of the Programme, ahead of the nationwide roll-out.
Suppliers’ annual projections on the number of smart meters installed each year to 2020 can be found on page 28 of the Fourth Annual Report on the Roll-out of Smart Meters:
The Department has worked with industry and security experts, including GCHQ, to design a smart metering system that has robust end-to-end security. The Department’s Data Access and Privacy Framework puts consumers in control of who has access to their data except where energy suppliers and networks have access for regulated purposes, such as to enable accurate monthly billing. All organisations involved in communicating with smart meters are required to comply with a detailed set of security obligations, with each aspect of the system subject to regular, independent security assurance.
Smart meters will not store data such as a consumer’s name, address or bank details. A key design principle for the system is the maintenance of user privacy. Any transaction of data which could be deemed ‘personal’, including energy consumption data, is encrypted so only the intended recipient can see it.
The Department for Business Innovation and Skills published a report in March 2015 on “The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy”. This contains estimates of the number of people employed directly within different sectors of the low carbon economy, and in their supply chains:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/low-carbon-economy-size-and-performance.
The report estimates that for 2013 in Yorkshire and Humber there were 2,900 people employed in the solar photovoltaics sector, with equivalent estimates of 2,100 and 500 for the onshore and offshore wind sectors respectively. These figures include those directly employed by firms in the sector, and resulting jobs within the supply chain.
One thousand new jobs will be created in Hull at Siemens’ offshore wind manufacturing plant which is due to be operational from 2017 and will also create additional jobs in the supply chain.
The level of installed capacity for wind and solar PV in Yorkshire and the Humber, for the ten years to 2014, is given in the attached table. Data for 2015 will be available on 29 September, 2016.
As part of the discussions leading to the publication of the White Paper, A BBC for the future: a Broadcaster of Distinction, the government discussed accessibility of the BBC's archive with the BBC. As set out in that White Paper, the government encourages the BBC to do more to open up its archive and ensure that it can be used by the public and as wide a range of institutions and organisations as possible.
The Department does not publish full year DEL and AME forecasts. During the year, expenditure to date is published on the government's transparency website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-transactions-over-25000-2015-16). At the end of the financial year, the Annual Report and Accounts will be published detailing actual expenditure for the year.
Ofcom have reported that Internet availability is virtually 100% across the whole United Kingdom.
Ofcom has also published fixed broadband data by local area, for example in its infrastructure report (stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/other/telecoms-research/broadband-speeds/infrastructure-report-2013/) and map (maps.ofcom.org.uk/broadband/), which included the data for 2013:
Area | Next Generation Access broadband availability 2013 | Broadband take-up (including superfast broadband) 2013 | Superfast broadband take-up 2013 |
England | 76% | 72% | 16% |
Wales | 48% | 70% | 9% |
Barnsley | 70.3% | 66.9% | 17.3% |
Doncaster | 76.1% | 69.3% | 15.9% |
Rotherham | 72.6% | 70.3% | 13.8% |
Sheffield | 81.3% | 68.5% | 17.7% |
Ofcom is likely to publish updated numbers later in 2014. It did not however publish data on a constituency basis.
Broadband take-up may be higher than these numbers suggest, as some households use mobile broadband but not fixed broadband and Internet usage likely to be higher still, as some individuals access the internet away from home.
The total ACE Funding in South Yorkshire in 2013/14 was more than £1 higher than it was in 2009/10. The Barnsley East figure increased by almost four times over the same period.
Barnsley East – Spend per year – per head of population | |
2009/10 | £0.30 |
2010/11 | £0.12 |
2011/12 | £0.71 |
2012/13 | £0.33 |
2013/14 | £1.11 |
South Yorkshire– Spend per year – per head of population | |
2009/10 | £4.68 |
2010/11 | £3.44 |
2011/12 | £4.39 |
2012/13 | £8.07 |
2013/14 | £5.71 |
England and Wales – Spend per year – per head of population | |
2009/10 | £10.05 |
2010/11 | £9.33 |
2011/12 | £9.48 |
2012/13 | £13.49 |
2013/14 | £10.91 |