The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Attorney General, whether he has been consulted by the Crown Prosecution Service about a charging decision in Operation Lydd.
Robert Buckland
The Crown Prosecution Service routinely provides the Law Officers with updates on cases and casework issues. In accordance with the practice adopted by previous Law Officers I do not usually comment on which individual cases are raised with me.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will investigate whether the reported comments of 22 February 2016 by Peter Wilkinson, director of Rail Passenger Services at the Department for Transport, are in breach of the Civil Service code.
Matthew Hancock
This has been dealt with by the Department for Transport who have issued a statement in respect of this matter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage greater diplomatic co-operation between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan is crucial for the security and prosperity of both countries. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runneymede and Weybridge, visited Afghanistan and Pakistan last month and urged their leaders to work closely together, including on the reconciliation process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock on 2016-04-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the corrected Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 13 April (HL5044), how many of those Writs were sent to Peers in (1) each region of England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland.
Lord Faulks
A total of 808 Writs were sent to Life and Hereditary Peers across the regions of England and the counties of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as follows:
East of England 61; East Midlands 15; North East 19; North West 26; South East 108; South West 49; West Midlands 19; Yorkshire & Humber 27; Central London 164; Greater London 221; Scotland 61; Wales 18; Northern Ireland 20.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress he has made on implementing the request by the governments of British Overseas Territories during the December 2015 Joint Ministerial Council on establishing parity of treatment between all British Overseas Territories on the uprating of pensions for UK state pension holders residing in those territories.
Justin Tomlinson
The Government has a clear position which has remained the same for around 70 years and we have no plans to change this policy: UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and are uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so, for example in the European Economic Area or countries where we have a reciprocal agreement that allows for uprating. Annual increases are paid to UK state pension recipients in Bermuda and in Gibraltar.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Foster on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what forms of medical evidence his Department accepts for personal independence payments claims from a person suffering from (a) myalgic encephalopathy and (b) other illnesses with variable symptoms that permit part-time work.
Penny Mordaunt
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a non-means-tested, non-taxable cash benefit that is paid regardless of the employment status of the claimant. It has been designed to take full account of fluctuating and variable conditions.
The Department encourages claimants to provide as much relevant evidence as necessary to support their claim. The “How your disability affects you” form and accompanying guidance sets out the range of information that can help the Department reach a decision. The guidance for Health Professionals also sets out sources of further evidence which could help inform their advice to the Department (Section 2.3 Further Evidence); this includes family members, carers or anyone else who supports them.
This guidance can be accessed on the gov.uk website:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-10-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to give local authorities the power to issue on the spot fines to commercial vehicles that disregard weight and other restrictions on the public highway.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and the Police are the bodies empowered to issue fixed penalty notices for commercial vehicle offences, including for breach of weight limits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2015-10-28.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps the Electoral Commission is taking to tackle electoral fraud in (a) Peterborough and (b) England; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Gary Streeter
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 Peterborough 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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many pirate radio broadcasting installations have been taken off air by enforcement action in each of the last five years.
Mr Edward Vaizey
As part of Ofcom’sresponsibilityfor protecting and managing radio spectrum, enforcement operations arecarried out every year to remove pirate radio broadcasts. After the success of these operations, and the combined effort of local authorities, the number of pirate stations still broadcasting has significantly reduced, explaining the decline in number of pirate stations taken off air in 2014. This success has led Ofcom to launch a new initiative involving local authorities and other owners of high rise residential buildings to remove the presence of illegal broadcasters. The results have already been positive, with the complete removal of pirate radio broadcasters in the London Boroughs of Haringey and Islington.
| Year |
Number of Pirate Radio Stations Taken off the air |
| 2010 | 104 |
| 2011 | 96 |
| 2012 | 99 |
| 2013 | 102 |
| 2014 | 69 |
Background
This year Ofcom began a new initiative involving local authorities and other owners of high rise residential properties to remove the presence of illegal broadcasters from their buildings. Ofcom has implemented this strategy with a number of London boroughs already. The results have been positive, with the complete removal of pirate broadcasts in the London Boroughs of Haringey and Islington. Ofcom intends to pursue this further.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the effect on the wholesale price of electricity of an increase in low carbon generation.
Andrea Leadsom
DECC estimates that wholesale electricity prices were around £1/MWh lower (equivalent to £5 lower for an average household energy bill) in 2014 than they would have been in the absence of policies to incentivise investment in low-carbon generation, and reduce electricity demand. In 2020, wholesale electricity prices are estimated to be around £4/MWh lower (or £12 lower for an average household energy bill) than they would be in the absence of the same policies.1
[1] All figures are real 2014 prices. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimated-impacts-of-energy-and-climate-change-policies-on-energy-prices-and-bills-2014.
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