Category: Speeches

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Payments System Regulator on its market study into the ownership of payments systems by the largest banks.

    Andrea Leadsom

    At Budget 2014, the Chancellor announced that the competition powers of the Payment Systems Regulator would be switched on with immediate effect. This enables the Regulator to conduct a market study on ownership of the payment systems and, depending on the outcome, to refer the question of ownership to the Competition and Markets Authority. The decision about whether to commence a market study is one for the Regulator.

  • 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 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what sentence was received by each employee of the Prison Service found guilty in 2013 of criminal activity in the workplace.

    Jeremy Wright

    The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not hold records of employees found guilty of all types of criminal activity.

    Whilst the vast majority of its staff are honest and hard working, NOMS is committed to detecting, deterring and disrupting all corrupt behaviour by individuals working in prisons. A dedicated NOMS Corruption Prevention Unit was set up to ensure staff corruption is identified and tackled. As part of this work NOMS has compiled a central record of staff convicted of criminal offences which meet the NOMS definition of corruption.

    This definition is that corruption occurs when a person in a position of authority or trust abuses their position for their or another person’s benefit or gain. This would include the misuse of their role in order to plan or commit a criminal act, or a deliberate failure to act to prevent criminal behaviour.

    There were 23 convictions for corruption-related offences during 2013. A breakdown of the different sentences is provided below.

    Sentences

    4 years 6 months imprisonment

    4 years imprisonment

    3 years imprisonment

    1 year 9 months imprisonment

    1 year 4 months imprisonment

    1 year 1 month imprisonment

    1 year imprisonment

    9 months imprisonment

    8 months imprisonment

    6 months imprisonment

    4 months imprisonment

    10 months imprisonment

    12 month custodial sentence suspended for 2 years.

    11 months custodial sentence suspended for a year

    9 months custodial sentence suspended for 12 months. 200 hours community service

    8 months custodial sentence suspended for 2 years and a 6 month residency order

    4 months custodial sentence suspended for 2 years

    4 months custodial sentence suspended for 2 yrs. 100 hrs unpaid work

    12mths Community Order. 150 hours unpaid work

    100 hours community service and 12 months probation

    Community Order. Ordered to pay £85 costs and £60 to complainants

    The total number of convictions by year for corruption-related offences is shown in the table below. The number of convictions has remained broadly constant over the last five years.

    2013

    23

    2012

    25

    2011

    21

    2010

    18

    2009

    21

    The information provided has been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the target waiting time is for work capability assessment for both (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit reassessment; and what proportion of such assessments have been carried out within the target timescale in the last four quarters for which figures are available.

    Mike Penning

    We are working closely with our supplier to deliver the best possible service for claimants, driving up performance and quality to help reduce waiting times and process claims as quickly as possible. We are continuing to monitor and robustly manage this contract.

    We do not have a target timescale for waiting time for an Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment Work Capability Assessment.

  • Gavin Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gavin Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Williamson on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in South Staffordshire constituency under the age of 25 years old were in receipt of housing benefit in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Steve Webb

    The number of people in South Staffordshire constituency under the age of 25 in receipt of housing benefit, as at November 2013 is 258.

    This information is published and can be found at:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

    Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

    https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

    “

  • Robert Flello – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Robert Flello – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times officials from the British Embassy have asked to visit Huber Ballesteros in La Picota prison in Bogota.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK cannot interfere in Colombia’s judicial process but will continue to raise any concerns regarding due process and conditions with the Colombian authorities.

    The Embassy is currently awaiting authorisation from the Municipal Criminal Court to visit Huber Ballesteros in prison.

    To date, the British Embassy has not yet been authorised to visit Huber Ballesteros in prison, this is despite requesting permission on six different occasions.

    No representatives of the British Embassy were able to attend the preliminary hearings in the case of Huber Ballesteros due to unrelated security concerns. His trial will take place on 26 and 27 of June and the British Embassy intends to send Officials to observe this.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and Humber continued into (i) further education, (ii) higher education and (iii) apprenticeships in the last five years for which figures are available.

    Matthew Hancock

    Destination Measures data, following key stage 4 and key stage 5, are published at local authority level for the years 2009/10 and 2010/11. Parliamentary constituency level data are published for 2010/11 only.

    The requested data, for the available years, are shown in the attached tables.

    The information is taken from Statistical First Release data, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations

    “

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many consultancy groups currently have global contracts with her Department as development implementers.

    Justine Greening

    Procurement tendering processes conducted by my department are completed in accordance with EU directives. Contracts are awarded following a competitive tendering process. Invitations to tender are specific to the nature of the intervention required.

    DFID has no contracts providing global services.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Jobmatch employer accounts have been found to be in breach of its rules since the service started.

    Esther McVey

    Today, many jobs are only advertised on the internet. That’s why we are doing everything we can to give those looking for work the skills and the opportunities to access them. Universal Jobmatch is a powerful tool for successfully connecting people to jobs, and it is delivering.

    The website launches a public service into the digital age, allowing people to search for work from their home, handheld devices, local libraries, as well as the traditional Jobcentre. It allows employers to match jobseekers to their vacancies and gives our customers access to a greater number of opportunities. It puts them on an equal footing with everyone else seeking a new job in the UK. With over 6 million job searches per a day, the service is clearly popular, successful, and value for money.

    At 18 March 2014, there were 507,474 vacancies on the service.

    All internet job sites face the issue of duplicate vacancies. We take this issue very seriously, and whenever we have a doubt about the validity of a job offer we will intervene, suspend the vacancy and investigate. If an employer breaches our terms and conditions we remove their right to advertise. Our continuing removal of such employers or jobs demonstrates that our system of checks works.

    Since Universal Jobmatch was launched in November 2012, we have removed 1216 employer accounts that did not comply with our terms and conditions. That figure is equivalent to 0.2% of the total number of registered employer accounts.

    Universal Jobmatch has revolutionised the way we deliver the public employment service. With over 6,000,000 job searches per day at a cost of far less than 1 pence each, it represents excellent value for money.

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the provision of debt advice for carers in a) Glasgow North West, b) Glasgow, c) Scotland and d) the UK.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Money Advice Service (MAS) is responsible for the coordination of debt advice funding across the UK and has a statutory duty to improve the quality, consistency and availability of debt advice. In 2013/14 MAS funded 163,000 debt advice sessions in England and Wales. MAS also co-funds debt advice in Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Government, which in the last financial year led to more than 11,000 people receiving advice.

    MAS research shows that 4% of the clients of its funded services are carers. Research also suggests that advice over the phone can be particularly useful for carers and MAS has expanded its funded services to enable them to provide advice in this way. Carers are also able to access free debt advice over the phone from National Debtline and StepChange Debt Charity.

    In Glasgow, there are two targeted projects which meet carers’specific needs. These are:

    · Yorkhill Families Money and Debt Advice Support Project: Yorkhill hospital and Glasgow Central Citizens Advice Bureau together provide advice to families who are financially vulnerable because of their children’s long-term health condition; and

    · Glasgow Association for Mental Health Money and Debt Project, which provides free face-to-face advice debt advice to people with mental health problems across Glasgow and their carers.

  • 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 2014-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what was the (a) capacity and (b) population of each (a) secure training centre, (b) young offender institution and (c) secure children’s home on 1 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013 and (v) 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    Overall crime and proven offending by young people has fallen in recent years. Fewer young people have entered the criminal justice system, and as a result fewer young people have ended up in custody. This has allowed excess capacity in the youth secure estate to be decommissioned.

    The Table below shows the (a) capacity and (b) population of each Secure Children’s Home, Secure Training Centre and under-18 Young Offender Institution at the end of February in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 and at the end of January in 2014 (this is the latest available published data for 2014). This relates to either the last Friday of the month in question, or the first Friday of the following month, depending on which is closest to final day of the month. Data for the end of February therefore offers the closest available published data to 1 March.

    The “capacity” figure relates to the number of beds available, allowing for any “out of commission” beds due to for example, damage to rooms or contractual changes.

    This information comes from the Youth Justice Board’s Secure Accommodation Clearing House System (SACHS) database and eAsset database. The January 2014 database is provisional. The final 2013/14 figures will be finalised in 2013/14 Youth Justice Statistics to be published in January 2015.

    These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.