Category: Speeches

Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of incorporating flood rescue into the statutory duties of the fire and rescue services.

Mike Penning

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 already set out clearly the roles and powers of fire and rescue authorities in respect of emergency response and rescue in a wide range of situations, including flooding.

Fire and rescue authorities are required to produce Integrated Risk Management Plans which identify the full range of risks to which an authority’s service is expected to respond, and these plans are subject to consultation with local communities. This approach is enshrined in the National Fire Framework which was given statutory effect in August 2012.

01/01/2023
The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to combat Daesh in Libya.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are extremely concerned about the rise of Daesh in Libya. We are engaging with the new Libyan government and working closely with international partners to develop a comprehensive approach to defeat Daesh in Libya. Initial planning has focused on building the capabilities of Libyan security forces.

01/01/2023
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to ensure that NHS England works closely with the Wheelchair Leadership Alliance to produce a positive outcome for the future arrangements for wheelchair users through Wheelchair Services; and what resources will be made available for that process to be completed.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Minister for Community and Social Care (Alistair Burt), together with the Minister for Disabled People (Justin Tomlinson) recently met with Baroness Grey-Thompson, Chair of the Wheelchair Leadership Alliance, and NHS England to discuss what action could be taken to improve wheelchair services. This includes NHS England discussing the focus and content of a model service specification for wheelchairs with the Alliance.

NHS England made available a further £10,000 to the Wheelchair Leadership Alliance for support during 2015/16.

01/01/2023
Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on future collaboration with the European Commission on competition enforcement and cooperation between the Competition and Markets Authority and the EU.

Margot James

The Competition and Markets Authority works in cooperation with other competition authorities internationally on enforcement cases and other issues of mutual interest. It will continue to seek to work with other competition authorities in the future, where appropriate.

01/01/2023
Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which contractors have been sanctioned for breaching contractual obligations in relation to accommodation for asylum seekers in (a) Birmingham, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in the last two years; when each such contractor was sanctioned; and what each sanction so applied was.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The COMPASS contracts include Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for monitoring and measuring performance against required standards.

If a breach of the contractual obligations in relation to accommodation is identified then the Provider has a set timescale in which to rectify the breach. Should this not be rectified within that timescale then a KPI failure is recorded and may result in the application of a Service Credit. A ‘Service Credit’ is a rebate / money deducted from the Providers monthly invoice.

There were no service credits recovered from providers of the COMPASS accommodation in a) Birmingham, b) the West Midlands and c) England in the last two years, in relation to accommodation standards.

01/01/2023
Fiona Mactaggart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Mactaggart on 2015-11-02.

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what discussions the Speaker’s Committee has had on the extent of electoral fraud; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Speaker’s Committee is in regular dialogue with the Electoral Commission on matters concerning electoral fraud, most notably in advance of the Commission publishing its corporate plan on an annual basis.

The Commission provides advice to those who are involved on the frontline in identifying, investigating and prosecuting cases of electoral fraud. Before each set of elections the Commission provides advice to the police, electoral administrators and others on ways to prevent and detect electoral fraud, based on the best practice it has identified through working with partners across electoral administration and the justice system. Each year the Commission publishes data on allegations of electoral fraud that are reported to the police.

The Commission targets additional support for those on the front line in 18 areas in England where there is a higher risk of allegations of electoral fraud. This includes Slough and the Commission will be working again with these areas before the elections in May 2016 to build on what was done prior to the General Election. The Commission issued briefings to all honourable members in the last parliament on the work it was undertaking prior to the General Election to help tackle electoral fraud and will do so again before the elections in May 2016.

In its 2014 review of electoral fraud, the Commission recommended that voters in Great Britain should be required to produce ID at polling stations, although it is yet to receive a response to this recommendation from the Government. The Commission has submitted evidence to the review being undertaken by Sir Eric Pickles and hopes that he agrees with it and that the Government accepts the Commission’s recommendation.

01/01/2023
Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which listed properties owned in London by the Government are leased out; and to whom and on what terms such properties are leased.

Matthew Hancock

Records held by the Cabinet Office show that New Burlington House, Piccadilly is leased out via five separate leases for ten years, renewable, at a market rent to each of the five Learned Societies (Geological Society of London, Linnean Society of London, Royal Astronomical Society, Society of Antiquaries of London, Royal Society of Chemistry). Records also show that 157-197 Buckingham Palace Road is part sub-let by the National Audit Office to commercial sub-tenants.

Information is only held centrally on the Government Estate in London. Any information outside of this is held locally by departments.

01/01/2023
Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the economic effect on (a) London and (b) the UK economy of international services stopping at Stratford International station.

Claire Perry

The Department for Transport has made no specific assessment of the economic effects of international services stopping at Stratford International station. The Department for Transport has no powers to specify that an international operator – whether current or future – must stop at Stratford International station. The Department for Transport has recently published an interim evaluation of the impact of the HS1 network setting out the current and anticipated benefits of the HS1 link^{^[1]}.

^{^[1]} https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs1-first-interim-evaluation

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01/01/2023
Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-01-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the effect on the number of teaching assistants of the Government’s policy to consider for deportation after five years non-EU migrants earning less than £35,000 per annum.

Nick Gibb

The Department does not collect data on the nationality or immigration status of the school workforce.

This is a local matter for schools and all schools must employ members of the school workforce in accordance with employment law.

01/01/2023

Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was levied in respect of service credits in each key performance indicator designated met in respect of each Compass region in each year from 2012-13 to 2015-16 to date.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office has a rigorous contract compliance regime in place to ensure that the required performance standards expected of all providers, as defined in the contracts, are met. This includes monthly contract management and quarterly strategic review meetings, as well as regular daily discussions with COMPASS providers’ operational delivery managers about day to day issues. The Home Office investigates complaints it receives from service users and third parties and works with contractors to ensure that any issues raised are addressed promptly.

Performance against each key performance indicator (KPI) is measured and may, dependent upon the level of non-conformance, lead to the application of a KPI score. The overall/total score across all KPIs is then used to determine the value of Service Credit (rebate) which should be deducted from the monthly invoice. If an individual KPI is met, no score is accrued and no service credit applies. The following table indicates the amount of service credits recovered following KPI non-conformance for each of the COMPASS contracts from the start of the contracts.

	2013-2014	2014-2015	2015-2016 (YTD)	TOTAL
Serco SNI	£773, 792	£156,156	£443, 545	£1,373,493
Serco NW	£3,137, 017	£1,974	0	£3,138,991
G4S MEE	£1,349, 475	0	0	£1,349, 475
G4S NEYH	£368, 107	0	0	£368, 107
CRH WSW	0	0	0	0
CRH LSE	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	£5,628, 391	£158,130	£443, 545	£6,230,066

01/01/2023