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  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) men and (b) women were serving custodial sentences for non-payment of (i) a television licence, (ii) vehicle excise duty and (iii) council tax on 1 March 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    The offences of using a TV receiver without a valid licence and of failure to hold a valid vehicle excise duty licence (tax disc) are not punishable by imprisonment, so offenders cannot be sentenced to custody for these offences. Failing to pay council tax is not a criminal offence. Accordingly, there were no men or women serving custodial sentences on 1 March 2014 for non-payment of a TV licence, vehicle excise duty or council tax.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, columns 652-3W, on special educational needs, whether his Department has any plans in future to commence publishing figures on the proportion of hearings where (a) local authorities and (b) parents were legally represented.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Ministry of Justice and HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) publish data on the First-tier Tribunal Special Educational Needs & Disability (FtT SEND) regularly in a quarterly internet publication which includes data on a number of other Tribunals. Data for the academic year September 2012 to August 2013 were published in December 2013 and can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2013

    The published data do not provide information on representation at hearings because. The current IT system does not have the facility to record details of legal representation at the actual hearing. To change this position would incur cost which could not be justified by any benefit to HMCTS. Therefore, there are no plans to collect this information.

  • Mike Kane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mike Kane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of recent changes to the funding of Greater Manchester Police on crime rates in that region.

    Damian Green

    The funding settlement for the police is a challenging one. However, as the
    vast majority of forces, including Greater Manchester Police are
    demonstrating, it is manageable. The latest report from Her Majesty’s
    Inspectorate of Constabulary (Policing in Austerity: Rising to the Challenge
    July 2013) found that crime is falling and the proportion of officers on the
    front line is increasing. The Government has protected the police from the
    additional 2014/15 reductions that were announced in the Chancellor’s December
    Autumn Statement, which means the police will face a 3.3% cash reduction in
    central Government funding (5.75% in real terms) compared to 2013/14. Once
    future police precept income is taken into account, the reduction in overall
    funding is even lower.

    In the Greater Manchester Police force areas, recorded crime fell by 7% between
    September 2012 and September 2013.

  • Lindsay Roy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Lindsay Roy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lindsay Roy on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on maximising tourism opportunities in Scotland.

    David Mundell

    Scotland Office Ministers meet regularly with Scottish Government Ministers to discuss a range of matters, including tourism.

    As a part of the UK, Scotland’s tourism industry benefits from the UK’s integrated single market; the ability of visitors to move freely across its constituent parts; and the work of VisitBritain, the GREAT Campaign and UKTI to promote the whole of the UK as a destination for tourism and overseas investment.

    In recent months, the Government has been actively working to help ensure the successful delivery of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the World War 1 commemoration programme and Armed Forces Day, all of which present excellent opportunities to promote Scotland on the world stage.

  • Lindsay Roy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Lindsay Roy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lindsay Roy on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on NHS Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

    David Mundell

    NHS is an almost devolved matter; the Secretary of State and I have had no such discussions.

  • Lindsay Roy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Lindsay Roy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lindsay Roy on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the number of homeless (a) single people and (b) families in Scotland.

    David Mundell

    Homelessness statistics in Scotland are published by the Scottish Government who gather the information from local authorities.

    The last such publication was on 25 March 2014 and is available at:

    http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/RefTables/HomelessOcttoDec2013.

    “

  • Lindsay Roy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Lindsay Roy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lindsay Roy on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs in Scotland that depend on the UK’s membership of the EU.

    David Mundell

    The Single Market gives UK businesses access to the world’s largest trading bloc with 500 million people and 21 million companies generating £11 trillion in economic activity.

    Since 1992, the UK’s bilateral trade with EU member states has more than trebled and trade with Europe accounts for roughly 3.5 million jobs in the UK, around 11% of the workforce.

    In 2012, Scottish exports to the EU are estimated to have amounted to approximately 45% of Scotland’s total international exports (excluding oil and gas). The Government does not collate figures for the number of jobs in Scotland that depend on UK membership of the EU. However, independent analysis published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research in March 2014 suggested that, in 2011, approximately 335,000 jobs in Scotland were associated with Scottish exports to the EU.

  • Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) net franchise payment, (b) revenue support sum and (c) net subsidy are for the 22 month direct award of the northern franchise to Northern Rail Ltd.

    Stephen Hammond

    For the 22 month Northern franchise direct award there is no revenue support mechanism and there is a £632.7 million contracted subsidy over the full period of the franchise.

  • Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with Transport for London on the South East Flexible Ticketing scheme.

    Stephen Hammond

    As a key delivery partner for the South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) programme, Transport for London are a signatory to the SEFT Memorandum of Understanding and have membership of the SEFT Programme Board. This is intended to ensure that their extensive experience of developing smart ticketing in London is fully utilised in delivering the SEFT programme.

    TfL has therefore been fully involved in all significant discussions on the strategic direction, design and delivery of SEFT. Significant work has also been carried out with them to ensure that the scheme will interoperate properly with their existing infrastructure in central London, including system testing.

  • Stephen Mosley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Stephen Mosley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Mosley on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many students obtained eight GCSE B grades or above in (a) Flintshire council area and (b) Wrexham council area in (i) 2009 and (ii) 2013.

    Mr David Jones

    This information relates to a devolved matter and is not held by the UK Government. I have therefore written to the Minister for Education and Skills in the Welsh Government seeking the information requested.

    I will write to the hon Gentleman when further information is received, and place a copy in the Library of the House.