The Secretary of State has met the Minister for Women and Equalities on a number of occasions and they have discussed a range of issues. <\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4084", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Esther McVey"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Wirral West"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Esther McVey"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-03-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-03-25T12:00:00.00Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-03-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Minister for Women and Equalities about highlighting the importance of women in the workplace in discussions on decent work at the UN Commission on the Status of Women 2014; 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" : "193277"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/44354", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/44354/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme is coming to a close, with the final schemes moving in to construction. The Government's main programme to address the condition needs of the school estate is the Priority Schools Building Programme (PSBP) and the majority of work will be procured using the Education Funding Agency's (EFA) Contractors' Framework, which commenced in November 2013.<\/p>
All PSBP procurements carried out by the EFA through this Framework will require the use of project bank accounts (PBAs)<\/p>
PBAs differ from traditional construction industry payment arrangements whereby the procuring party under the building contract makes payment to the main contractor, who in turn makes payment down his supply chain. This can lead to delay and cashflow problems for small and medium sized businesses, who typically make up a significant proportion of the supply chain.<\/p>
Instead, the procuring party will make payment into a trust account established specifically for the project. The majority of members of the supply chain are nominated as beneficiaries of that trust account, and the building contract requires that payment must be made from the PBA to the supply chain as soon as possible after the PBA is placed in funds, typically within three to four working days (although varying slightly depending on the specific banking arrangements).<\/p>
There are a small number of PSBP projects being procured through a private finance route. For these projects, the project agreement does not deal with construction payments as no payment is made until the project is operational. Before that, payments for construction works are made by the single-purpose company (SPC) set up to carry out the project, to its subcontractors, and then down the contractual chain. The SPC's solvency is, in its contracts with first-tier subcontractors, protected by industry-standard provisions with which PBAs are not compatible. We are considering whether more can be done to encourage prompt payment further down the contractual chain.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1473", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr David Laws"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Yeovil"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr David Laws"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-03-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-03-25T12:00:00.00Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-03-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to ensure that the contracts for the Building Schools for the Future programme include provisions to ensure prompt payment to small and medium-sized businesses.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1438", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North Durham"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Kevan Jones"} ], "uin" : "193063"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/44355", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/44355/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The table below, supplied to the Department for Education by Teach First, sets out how many applications were received for the Teach First initial teacher training programme for each cohort since 2010 from applicants holding first degrees from Russell Group Universities.<\/p>