Category: Speeches

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by HM Revenue and Customs’ Pay and Work Rights Helpline in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16; and what funding was provided to that team in each of those years.

    Nick Boles

    Broadcasting Support Services (BSS) was contracted in 2009 to run the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (PWRH) until March 2015.

    In April 2015 Acas took over responsibility for providing a one stop shop for workers and employers seeking advice on a wider range of employment matters.

    The budget was: 2009/10 – £968k, with 9 members of staff; and in 2014/15 it was £750k, with 7 members of staff. The cost of the service was then absorbed by Acas within their existing helpline functions when they took over responsibility for handling calls previously dealt with by the PWRH.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what financial savings she expects to result from the transfer of processing Bangladeshi visa applications to New Delhi.

    James Brokenshire

    Decision making on UK visa applications lodged in Bangladesh was transferred from Dhaka to New Delhi in September 2014. Logistical changes like this are made for operational reasons and to refine the longstanding hub and spoke structure of the visa network, where applications are decided at regional decision making centres. The hub and spoke structure increases resilience, improves security and enhances decision quality. The overall customer experience is unchanged as applications can be submitted at the same visa application centres and continue to be decided within the same global customer service standard. As result of this transfer of work we also estimate a saving of around £0.6m per year.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2016 to Question 23217, on local transformation plans, for what reasons not all plans have been published online; and when he expects all those plans to be available online.

    Alistair Burt

    The deadline for the assessment process was December 2015 but some local areas have needed extra time to ensure the approved plans are in an accessible format for the general public. All plans should now be available online.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People on 13 April 2016, Official Report, column 151WH, on personal independence payments, what the statistical evidential basis is for the statement that more often than not decisions are overturned at reconsideration and appeal because of additional evidence that has been provided.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department gathers information on the reasons why PIP decisions have been overturned from its Presenting Officers and the summary reasons it gets back from the Tribunal hearing. Internal Management Information for 2015/16 indicates that either new oral or documentary evidence supplied at the hearing are the leading reasons for PIP decisions being overturned in 75% of overturns recorded.

    These figures are from internal DWP systems, where only one of possible multiple reasons can be recorded, and are derived from unpublished information and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard.

    This is consistent with findings from a pilot held in 2012 which published statistics on why benefit decisions by DWP decision makers were overturned at Tribunal. Early analysis of appeals allowed from pilot data based on pilot data from July to October 2012 is available here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223139/sscs_appeals.pdf

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  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many civil servants in his Department are paid through limited companies.

    Mr Mark Francois

    No civil servants in my Department are paid through limited companies.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress the West Yorkshire police force has made on piloting and evaluating the use by police officers of body-worn cameras.

    Brandon Lewis

    We know that the majority of forces in England and Wales use Body Worn Video (BWV) to some extent. The deployment of BWV is an operational decision for chief officers. However, we are aware that West Yorkshire Police are operating a phased rollout of body worn video cameras to frontline officers following an initial pilot, with officers in the Bradford and Calderdale districts already equipped.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they ensure that funds spent by the British Embassy in Pyongyang or funds dispersed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for North Korea activities are not diverted by the government of North Korea for use in its nuclear programme or human rights abuses.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) projects in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) are usually delivered through international Non-Governmental Organisations who operate in-country and are aimed at assisting some of the most vulnerable groups in North Korean society. Before selecting an implementing partner relevant due diligence checks are carried out which include, but are not limited to, obtaining assurances about: training provided to staff in relation to reporting bribery and corruption; how those concerns are shared with donors; and what policies, principles and procedures the organisation has in place to regulate its own conduct.

    In line with standard FCO project requirements detailed budgets are required for all projects and these are carefully checked to ensure both in-country and other costs are reasonable. Project implementers are required to provide financial reports and originals or copies of all invoices and receipts, as well as a Project Completion Report containing a detailed breakdown of all expenditure during the project period. The final payment on any project is only released after submission of a satisfactory Project Completion Report.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress the Government has made on increasing the rate of employment in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) England since 2010.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in West Sussex were built (a) prior to 1870, (b) between 1870 and 1914, (c) between 1919 and 1939 and (d) post-1945.

    Edward Timpson

    Information on the age of school blocks was collected through the Property Data Survey (PDS) and the categories used to define the age of blocks were Pre 1919, Inter War, 1945 to 1966, 1967 to 1976, post 1976 and temporary premises.

    The PDS collected data on 244 schools in West Sussex and in response to the question we can confirm:

    (a) and (b) The PDS did not identify blocks built prior to 1870 or between 1870 and 1914 therefore we do not have this information. However we did identify buildings built prior to 1919 and can confirm that there are 21 schools in West Sussex in which all blocks on site were constructed before 1919.

    (c) The PDS collected information on blocks constructed between 1919 and 1939 and we can confirm that there are 4 schools in West Sussex in which all blocks were constructed during this time.

    (d) The PDS collected information on blocks built since 1945 and we can confirm that there are 163 schools in which all blocks have been constructed since then.

    Of the remaining 56 schools that were surveyed through the PDS, these schools comprise of blocks of mixed age across each of the categories listed within (a) and (b), (c) and (d).

    The PDS excluded all schools that were deemed to be modernised (rebuilt or refurbished since 2004), part of a PFI agreement or planned to be renewed or rebuilt under central capital programmes, therefore the above data excludes schools within these categories in West Sussex.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many PGCE places were allocated to universities and higher education providers for entry in 2015-16; and what the planned allocation of such places is for entry in 2016-17.

    Nick Gibb

    The National College for Teaching and Leadership is responsible for the management of initial teacher training places and national teacher recruitment.

    Data on allocations to universities and higher education providers for 2015/16 can be found online in table A2b: www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-itt-recruitment-controls

    We have introduced a new system for postgraduate ITT recruitment for the 2016/17 academic year. Full information has been published on GOV.UK: www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-itt-recruitment-controls

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