Category: Speeches

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people currently receiving a UK state pension and living in the UK who would move abroad if pensions were up-rated for all UK pensioners living overseas.

    Steve Webb

    The Department has not made any estimate of the number of people currently receiving a UK state pension and living in the UK who would move abroad if pensions were up-rated for all UK pensioners living overseas.

    It would be difficult to develop a robust estimate of this, as in practice there will be a wide range of factors that determine decisions to emigrate.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many registered nurses were made redundant by each NHS health trust in England in 2013.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The number (Headcount basis) of Qualified Nursing Staff made redundant, from National Health Service trusts, during 2013 is estimated in the attached table.

    In November 2013 there was a record full time equivalent number of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in the NHS of 312,900.

    The 489 redundancies represent just 0.14 % of the total Qualified Nursing workforce in Hospitals and Community Health Services.

    The data used in this reply has been extracted from the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Data Warehouse which is a monthly snap shot of the live ESR system. This is the Human Resources and payroll system that covers all NHS employees other than those working in General Practice, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and organisations to which functions have been transferred, such as local authorities. ESR was fully rolled out across the NHS in April 2008. The ESR data used in this response is not centrally validated and its reliability is subject to local coding practice.

    Redundancies are identified as those individuals with a reason for leaving of either voluntary or compulsory redundancy. Only those individuals coded as Qualified Nurses, Midwives or Health Visitors are included in the figures. Only redundancies from NHS Trusts are included in these figures, it is possible that Qualified Nurses were also made redundant from other NHS bodies.

    ESR reports based on the current organisation structure. This means that if organisations merged during 2013 it is possible that redundancies from, now defunct, organisations are recorded as being from the newly created organisation.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Insolvency Service paid for fruitless payments in respect of individual and corporate insolvencies in each of the last five years.

    Jenny Willott

    The information requested is presented in the following table.

    Year

    Amount Paid

    Number of cases

    2012-13

    172,560.24

    55

    2011-12

    247,231.73

    100

    2010-11

    279,527.57

    93

    2009-10

    575,783.47

    80

    2008-09

    256,956.93

    41
  • David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she expects to respond to the recommendations of the Report by the Joint Committee on the Draft Modern Slavery Bill by the time of Second Reading of that Bill.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government’s response to the report from the Joint Committee on the draft
    Modern Slavery Bill was published on 10 June 2014. Copies of the report are
    available in the House Library.

    The response was also published on the Gov.UK website:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-modern-slavery-bill–2

  • Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Priti Patel on 2014-04-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the loss to the public purse as a result of illicit, illegal and smuggled tobacco in each of the last five years.

    Nicky Morgan

    Estimates of the volume and total revenue losses associated with the tobacco illicit market are published in ‘Tobacco Tax Gap estimates: 2012-13′. The figures are available in tables 4.1 and 4.5.

    These estimates cannot be disaggregated by the type of illicit activity, e.g. through smuggling, counterfeiting or other fraud.

    The methodology for producing the estimates are provided in the ‘Methodological Annex for Measuring Tax Gaps 2013′.

    Both documents can be accessed via the following page on the HMRC website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/measuring-tax-gaps

    “

  • Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what the criteria were for the choice of members of the panel of selection to consider the appointment of the next Clerk of the House and Chief Executive; and who selected those members.

    John Thurso

    The selection panel that will consider the appointment of the next Clerk of the House was chosen by Mr Speaker and its composition was considered by the House of Commons Commission at its meeting on 16 June. The criteria for selection of panel members included party balance, gender balance and the need for external independent input.

  • Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tracey Crouch on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help older people with their housing needs; and if he will make a statement.

    Kris Hopkins

    The Government is committed to increasing the supply of suitable housing for older people and also to helping people to live independently at home for longer.

    The Government is improving choice for those who wish to move by providing £315 million between 2013-14 – 2017-18 through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund. Phase I of the fund was announced last year and will deliver more than 3,500 affordable homes for older people and adults with disabilities or mental health needs. The successful bids for Phase II of the programme, which aims to stimulate development in the wider private market, will be announced later this year.

    The National Planning Policy Framework asks local planning authorities to assess the full housing requirements in their area and plan for a mix of housing based on demographic trends and the needs of different groups in the area, including older people. The planning guidance advisesthat local planning authorities should count housing provided for older people, including residential institutions in Use Class C2, against their housing requirement. The approach taken, which may include site allocations, should be clearly set out in the Local Plan. Copies of the Framework and the guidance have been placed in the Library of the House.

    To help extended families, the Government introduced in April a 50 per cent council tax discount on family annexes. We have also made amendments to the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations, exempting from the levy those wanting to extend their own homes, or install residential annexes within their own property boundary.

    The Department for Communities and Local Government is providing funding of £785 million between 2011-12 – 2014-15 for the Disabled Facilities Grant which is administered by local authorities in England and provides adaptations to the homes of disabled people to help them to live as independently as possible in their own home. A further £220 million will be made available in 2015-16.

    Since 2011-12, the Government has funded FirstStop with over £2 million to provide a national information and advice service to older people, their families and carers on housing, care and finance.

  • 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 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure or compromise agreements have been included in the departure packages of former employees of probation trusts since 1 January 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    There have been no non-disclosure or compromise agreements included as part of the departure packages of the Trust Chief Executives who have taken early retirement. The terms of departure for other former Trust staff were agreed through their own local arrangements.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the service complaints investigation teams there are in each branch of the armed forces; what their qualifications are; what training is provided to them; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    The Ministry Of Defence maintains a cadre of Harassment Investigation Officers who investigate complaints raised within the Services and by MOD civilians concerning bullying and harassment, and who are not permanent employees of the Department; Appendix six to the 2013 Annual Report of the Service Complaints Commissioner provides further details. Beyond this centrally-managed team, the three Services maintain teams of investigators, many of whom are drawn from their own Service police force, who can investigate complex complaints.

    The Royal Navy has one Complaint Investigation and Mediation Team (CIMT), comprising two members of the Royal Navy Police with many years of investigative experience. In addition to their extensive police investigative training, they are Equality and Diversity Advisers, and have undertaken the MOD Harassment Investigation Course and professional Mediation Training (through an external training provider).

    The Army currently has six permanent members and three temporary assigned (12 months) soldiers in its Service Complaints Investigation Team (SCIT), which replaced the Equal Opportunities Investigation Team. All members of the SCIT are serving Senior Non-Commissioned Officers from the Royal Military Police, and hold the following qualifications:

    Initial Military Police Investigation Course

    Volume Crime Investigation Course

    Management Investigation Course

    Police and Criminal Evidence Act Interviewing Course

    Disclosure Officers Course

    Equality & Diversity Advisor Course

    On arrival in the SCIT, investigators receive work place training and are allocated a supervising investigator for a period of three months or as necessary.

    The RAF has a Service Complaints Team, and an Equal Opportunities Investigation Team (EOIT), which investigates complex equality and diversity complaints. The latter team comprises a Warrant Officer and a Flight Sergeant, both members of the RAF Police, and an administrator. The investigators complete the following courses as part of their role training:

    Equality and Diversity Advisor

    Harassment Investigation Officer

    Fundamentals of Employment Law (through CIPD)

    Preparing for Employment Tribunal (through CIPD)

    Certificate in Bullying and Harassment Investigation – City and Guilds

    Level 4

  • James Duddridge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    James Duddridge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Duddridge on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received about deaths of young people in traffic accidents; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The number of young people being killed on our roads is far too high and we are determined to tackle this issue. It is an issue which, understandably, features prominently in the range of representations which we receive about road safety generally.

    As part of our consideration of the way forward, we met the insurance industry on 27 January 2014 to discuss novice drivers and, in particular, our proposed research into the role which telematics can play in changing the behaviours and attitudes of new drivers. My officials regularly talk to the insurance industry and current discussions are aimed at encouraging participation in the research project before we can get it underway. We will publish the results of the research when they are available.

    We will also publish the findings of the focus groups comprising parents, young people and employers which we undertook in order to get a better understanding of the issues from their perspective.