Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the study of STEM subjects by girls; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is determined to ensure all young people have access to a range of options across a variety of subjects. This includes increasing the number of young people studying science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects post-16, and in particular the number of girls studying these subjects. While similar numbers of girls and boys take science and mathematics GCSEs, and achieve similar results, many fewer girls than boys progress to physics and mathematics A levels. For example, last summer some 130,000 students studied physics GCSE (64,000 girls and 66,000 boys), but at A level, this had dropped to just 25,000 boys and 7,000 girls.
There are some positive signs. A record number of students are now studying science A levels, with mathematics being the most popular subject. Since 2010 A level entries by female students have risen in all STEM subjects: mathematics entries have risen by 10%; physics by 16%; chemistry by 23%; and biology by 16%.
To encourage greater take up of STEM subjects among girls, we are taking a range of measures. On 7 May 2014, the “Your Life” campaign (www.yourlife.org.uk) was launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. “Your Life” is an independent campaign involving some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs and leading employers. The campaign aims to increase significantly the numbers taking A level physics and maths within three years. This will enable tens of thousands more students, and in particular female students, to gain degrees in engineering, physics and maths and have successful careers in these fields.
As part of our overall drive to increase take up of STEM subjects post-16, the Government is also funding the Stimulating Physics Network and the Further Maths Support Programme. The STEM Ambassadors Programme (funded by BIS) is raising awareness among children of the range of careers that science and technical qualifications offer, and 40% of STEM ambassadors are women. The Department is also supporting programmes such as the expansion of the STEM Club network which is aimed at engaging 11- to 14-year-olds to explore and discover STEM subjects. The Big Bang science and engineering fair attracted over 60,000 people in 2013, of whom 54% were girls. To improve teaching of STEM subjects we have introduced bursaries of up to £25,000 and scholarships worth £25,000 to attract top science and maths graduates into teaching.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of progress by Burma towards establishing democracy; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
We recognise the significant steps towards democratic reform that the government of Burma has taken over the past two years. This includes releasing hundreds of political prisoners and discharging hundreds of child soldiers. It has also included lifting of restrictions on the media, which has opened the space for the growth of a vibrant civil society.
At the same time, we recognise much more needs to be done, and that in some areas progress has declined. We remain deeply concerned about the recent intimidation, detention and sentencing of reporters and political activists, the appalling situation of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, and about ongoing conflict in ethnic areas and associated human rights abuses, including sexual violence. All of our concerns are thoroughly documented in our Annual Report on Human Rights, and the quarterly updates to them. I personally raise our concerns regularly with the government of Burma.
Burma’s elections, scheduled for October or November this year, will be a critically important test of the government’s commitment to see the reforms through to their conclusion. It is vital for Burma’s future development that these are inclusive and credible. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) made this point to President Thein Sein at the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Brisbane in November.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve UK-Burmese diplomatic relations; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
The UK’s relations with Burma have improved since 2011 when President Thein Sein embarked on a programme of reform. Since then we have been a critical friend, using our bilateral relationship to encourage reforms and speaking out where Burma has fallen short of accepted international standards of democracy and human rights. As a result of our engagement, the UK has been able to increase our access and influence with the government of Burma.
Since the reform process began, the government of Burma has made progress in a number of areas, not least by releasing hundreds of political prisoners and child soldiers, and opening up space for the media and civil society to operate. The UK’s support has included a package of development assistance, worth £82 million in financial year 2015-16. We will continue to use our diplomatic relations to encourage reform in 2015, when elections due to be held towards the end of the year will be a critically important milestone in Burma’s transition to a more open and democratic society. At the same time, we recognise there is still a lot further to go, including on human rights, and we will continue to make our concerns known to the government of Burma, both publicly and privately.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities in the West Midlands on the devolution of his Department's powers to that urban area; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
We have regular discussions with local authorities on a range of issues associated with localism.
I refer my hon. Friend to the recent command paper, Implications of devolution for England (Cm 8969) which sets our approach to further decentralisation in England.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/implications-of-devolution-for-england
I would also note the recent Written Ministerial Statement on the governance of Birmingham City Council of 9 December 2014, Official Report, Column 27WS, which follows the review by Sir Bob Kerslake.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with Brighton and Hove City Council on the recycling rate for household waste; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
We have not had any recent discussions with Brighton and Hove City Council on recycling rates for household waste. This Government is committed to recycling 50% of household waste by 2020 and we've made a great deal of progress: 44% of household waste is now recycled in England compared to 11% in 2001. While we are pleased that Brighton and Hove City Council has maintained weekly collections of residual waste for its residents, it is interesting to note it has a recycling rate of only 25.8% as other, perhaps similar, coastal towns with weekly collections of residual waste such as Bournemouth Borough Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council are now recycling over or around 50% of their household waste, in part because of funding received through the Weekly Collection Support Scheme. These and many other councils are demonstrating that you do not need to switch to fortnightly collections to achieve high recycling rates. We would urge Brighton and Hove City Council to learn from these other councils and take steps to improve its recycling rate.
We are aware that projects are being implemented in the city and expect them to have an impact in the coming months. In November 2012, Brighton and Hove City Council was awarded £840,000 from the £250 million Weekly Collection Support Scheme to improve recycling in the city centre by: replacing the existing service with communal recycling points, making the service more user-friendly and introducing associated recycling reward schemes. In May 2014 we received an update stating the communal recycling roll- out should be completed by June 2014. We would therefore expect to see an increase in Brighton and Hove's recycling rate in its 2014/15 figures.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the economic effect of the Brighton and Hove City Deal.
Answered by Greg Clark
The Greater Brighton City Deal, announced on 12 March 2014, initiated some important measures to boost the local economy. These include the expansion of the area’s tech cluster, and funding for flood defence works at Shoreham and Newhaven. Local leaders expect the deal to deliver 8,500 jobs and unlock £173 million of investment over its lifetime.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Commonwealth Secretary-General about the admittance of new member states with no historic or constitutional link to the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
I discussed Commonwealth membership with the Secretary-General on 16 December. He is currently considering a number of expressions of interest in membership of the Commonwealth. Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed recommendations on criteria for membership in 2007. Under that agreement, countries aspiring to join the Commonwealth should generally have a constitutional link to an existing member to be considered eligible. However a country without such a connection may exceptionally be admitted.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities in England have allowed staff-led mutuals to run services; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
This data is not held centrally.
Information from the Community Rights Support Programme suggests that 30 groups of local authority employees have been helped to explore use of the Community Right to Challenge to help them mutualise a service and 10 local authorities have been provided with advice on the issue.
The Cabinet Office has engaged with around 200 emerging and established public service mutuals across multiple sectors, ranging from social care and integrated health to libraries and youth services. Over 100 are live and trading, employing more than 35,000 people and delivering well over £1.5 billion of public services. In England today there are now over 100 live public services mutuals, employing more than 35,000 people and delivering well over £1.5 billion worth of services.
The Local Government Association carries out research for the local government sector on workforce matters. The latest Local Government Association’s Workforce Survey for 2012/13 includes information collected on staff–led organisations and can be found at:
http://www.local.gov.uk/research-pay-and-workforce/-/journal_content/56/10180/6033972/ARTICLE
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will assess the effectiveness of staff-led mutuals in providing value for money for local authorities; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
It is for locally elected council leaders to decide how best to deliver the services that their communities rely upon. If council leaders decide to deliver services using staff–led mutuals or other staff-led initiatives than they must ensure they clearly demonstrate that they offer good value for local taxpayers and provide the best outcomes for services users.
The Government is encouraging the development of public service mutuals because of the benefits they bring to public sector staff, local commissioners and service users. By freeing employees to deliver and improve their services as they know best, mutuals enable innovation and because they feel more engaged, staff are likely to stay longer with the organisation and miss fewer days of work. Research shows that absenteeism and staff turnover fall 20% and 16% respectively after an organisation has spun out.
Mutuals are proving successful at generating new business, expanding into more areas and winning additional contracts, acting as engines for small business growth in their local communities. Our latest data shows that mutuals have average projected revenue growth of 10% over the next year.
The Community Right to Challenge complements the work to support formation of new staff-led mutuals in local government by providing a mechanism for local authority employees to set out their proposals for delivering services as a mutual or other service spin–outs. Information from the Programme suggests it has helped 30 groups of local authority employees to explore using the Community Right to Challenge to help them mutualise a service and has given advice to 10 local authorities.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people working in his Department are over 65 years old; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
HM Treasury’s current diversity monitoring data shows there are 10 Treasury employees over 65 years old. Information on the age profile of government departments’ employees is published by the Office for National Statistics http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-375368