Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulation of debt collection agencies (DCAs) provides strong protections for consumers.<\/p>
<\/p>
In particular, DCAs under FCA regulation have to comply with the FCA\u2019s high-level principle to treat customers fairly, offer appropriate forbearance, and signpost individuals to free, impartial debt advice should a consumer be in default, or in arrears difficulty.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4051", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for John Glen"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Salisbury"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "John Glen"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-12-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-12-10T15:11:06.04Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-12-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Debt Collection"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidelines his Department issues on appropriate working practices for the debt collection industry.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/308", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Coventry South"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Jim Cunningham"} ], "uin" : "198727"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1019814", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1019814/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK Digital Strategy set out our commitment to enabling a more diverse digital workforce. As the digital revolution progresses, many more jobs will require digital skills and many more tech roles will be created, both in technology companies and in the general economy. We cannot afford for women, who we know only make up 19% of the tech workforce (Tech Nation Report 2018), to be excluded from or unable to progress within these roles.<\/p>
<\/p>
While there is substantial progress that still needs to be made, there are also significant initiatives aiming to solve the issue.<\/p>
<\/p>
For example, over 270 companies, from international tech giants right through to start-ups, SMEs and charities, have already signed the Tech Talent Charter (TTC) - an industry led initiative, supported by Government. The TTC gives organisations tangible actions and principles they can adopt to change their hiring and retention practices to become more gender-diverse and commits signatories to measuring the diversity profile of their UK employees and to share this data for (anonymous) collective publication in an annual report.<\/p>
<\/p>
There are also other industry-led programmes, across the tech ecosystem, doing valuable and innovative work to help make tech more diverse. These include the #SheMeansBusiness initiative (by Facebook in collaboration with Enterprise Nation and FSB); PWC\u2019s Tech She Can charter, focused on getting more school-age girls to choose STEM subject and see a career in tech as a viable option for them; and Backstage Capital, which is an investment fund committed to investing in start-ups with diverse founders.<\/p>
<\/p>
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Local Digital Skills Partnership (LDSP), launched in Coventry this month, has increasing diversity built in from the start. The PWC-led Tech She Can project mentioned above has piloted their Tech We Can lesson plans in 4 schools in the Coventry area (all with very diverse and different pupil-bases), with a view to replicating and scaling the programme nationally after the pilot phase. In a similar vein, TTC has created regional \u2018communities\u2019 of tech employers to share best practice on regional diversity, with the WMCA LDSP a future regional focus for this work.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4115", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Margot James"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Stourbridge"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Margot James"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-12-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-12-10T17:27:36.093Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-12-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Technology"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment his Department has made of levels of gender diversity within the UK tech industry; and if he will make a statement.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/308", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Coventry South"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Jim Cunningham"} ], "uin" : "198728"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1019820", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1019820/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Department for Transport (DfT) does not hold estimates of the number of rail passengers who have been delayed by (i) at least thirty minutes, (ii) one hour or more, or (iii) more than two hours each year since 2010.<\/p>
<\/p>
However, DfT recently published (1 October) the compensation amounts paid by TOCs to passengers for delayed journeys since 2009. It shows the total amount of compensation paid to passengers has risen 80% in the past two years, as the government has increased the requirements of train operators to publicise passengers\u2019 rights.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3996", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Jones"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harrogate and Knaresborough"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrew Jones"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-12-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-12-10T14:47:11.313Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-12-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Railways: Standards"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of rail passengers who have been delayed by (a) at least (i) 30 minutes and (ii) one hour and (b) more than two hours in the UK in each year since 2010.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/308", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Coventry South"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Jim Cunningham"} ], "uin" : "198729"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1019824", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for International Development"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1019824/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK takes the threat of Ebola to global health security very seriously. The Secretary of State has engaged regularly with the Director General of the World Health Organisation about the current outbreak in DRC and how the UK can provide support to the response. The current response is building on previous UK investments on preparedness and health systems; the experimental vaccine used in DRC was developed with UK support after the West Africa outbreak in 2014-15.<\/p>
More broadly DFID is investing £40million over four years through the Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme (TDDAP) to support preparedness, detection and response work for diseases including Ebola in the countries most at risk. Our ongoing work to support WHO reform is paying dividends in the current response.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4107", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "West Worcestershire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Harriett Baldwin"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-12-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-12-10T17:44:50.337Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "20"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "International Development"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "International Development"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-12-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Ebola"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with the World Health Organisation on global preparedness in the event of further Ebola outbreaks.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/308", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Coventry South"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Jim Cunningham"} ], "uin" : "198730"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1019833", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1019833/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Teachers\u2019 Standards (2011) set out the key elements of effective teaching and the minimum expectations for the professional practice and conduct of teachers. In order to gain Qualified Teacher Status, trainees must satisfy the standards, which include a requirement that they have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special education needs and disabilities (SEND), and are able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them. A framework of core content for initial teacher training (ITT) (2016) provides guidance which states that \u201cproviders should ensure SEND training is integrated across the ITT programme.\u201d<\/p>
<\/p>
The Teachers\u2019 Standards (2011) is available to view here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p> <\/p>