The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the differential payment regime in the Work Programme in reducing creaming and parking.
Esther McVey
The independent evaluation explores the pricing structure of the Work Programme. The Department will publish findings once the independent evaluation of the Work Programme is complete.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Harrington on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) enhanced frequency and (b) restoration of late night trains are mandatory requirements in the specification for the tendering process of Abbey Line between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey station.
Stephen Hammond
The Department for Transport intends to negotiate a Direct Award for the West Midlands franchise to run from April 2016 to June 2017. We will work with the incumbent train operator, London Midland, to consider service enhancements and we will include the Watford Junction – St Albans route in our discussions. Any improvements will have to demonstrate both a positive business case and that they are affordable within the budget provided for the franchise.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-03-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many applications to dispose of statutory allotments have been (a) submitted, (b) approved and (c) rejected in each local authority area in each year since 2010.
Stephen Williams
Further to the Allotments Act 1925, applications for consent to dispose of allotment land are submitted to the Department by local councils (parish councils and principal authorities). The table below shows the breakdown of applications since May 2010.
|
Granted |
Withdrawn |
Refused |
|
|
May 2010- March 2011 |
18 |
6 |
0 |
|
2011-12 |
17 |
5 |
0 |
|
2012-13 |
15 |
2 |
1 |
|
2013-14 |
17 |
1 |
4 |
|
2014-15 to date |
1 |
1 |
0 |
To place this in context, the Secretary of State granted 34 allotment disposals in 2007, granted 22 in 2008 and granted 18 in 2009, whilst only 2 were declined, which is a greater rate than under this Administration.
I observe that the rt. hon. Member has been quoted in the media attacking such consents. He would have been wiser however to have undertaken a closer examination of the 68 individual consents granted to the local councils since May 2010.
The table below provides some context to help explain why there was a reasonable case by the representative local bodies for changing the statutory status of the land.
In January 2014, my Department published Allotment Disposal Guidance: Safeguards and Alternatives replacing the previous guidance from 2002. The new guidance strengthens allotment protection, as the requirement for waiting lists to be taken into account must now be rigorously applied to all that council’s waiting lists, not just the waiting list for the site to be disposed of. This aims to ensure that poorly maintained sites are not used to justify disposal. Ministers will be closely monitoring to ensure that this new guidance is followed.
Notwithstanding, I have taken the opportunity to analyse these previous cases in the table below. The National Allotment Society was consulted in every case, and nine out of ten decisions were consistent with advice from the National Allotment Society (where advice was given); the remaining cases where the advice diverged related to land not actually in use as allotments, requiring a judgement call on whether it was realistic to bring the land back into productive use.
Having analysed these approvals, I can note that half of the land disposed was not actually in use as allotments. Moreover, in every case where existing allotment plot holders were displaced, evidence from local authorities indicates that alternative plots were made available to them.
More new plots were proposed to be created and/or vacant sites proposed to be brought back into use than the number of proposed disposals of in-use allotment plots. Consequently, the statutory disposal process overseen by the Secretary of State since May 2010 should have resulted in an increase in allotment provision not a reduction. This reflects this Government’s commitment both to supporting local communities grow their own food and to protecting important community assets.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2014-06-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of members of credit unions and (b) their total savings in each (i) region of the UK and (ii) London borough in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12, (C) 2012-13 and (D) 2013-14; and if he will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government does not hold information on the numbers of credit union members or their total savings or lending by region. The data is held by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr David Hanson on 2014-03-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people from Syria who will relocate through the vulnerable persons relocation scheme between 29 January 2014 and 30 May 2015.
James Brokenshire
The Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme has been put in place to relocate to the UK some of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees, displaced to neighbouring countries by the on going conflict. We anticipate that it will support several hundred people over the next three years. On-going discussions with a number of local authorities regarding participation in the scheme will determine exact numbers to be relocated between 29 January 2014 and 30 May 2015. Given the continuing nature of these discussions, it is therefore too early to have a clear indication of the type of accommodation that will be available to house the relocated refugees.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) permanent and (b) agency staff were employed by the Passport Office in (i) 2012, (ii) 2013 and (iii) 2014.
James Brokenshire
Table A sets out the requested information in respect of how many telephone
calls were received during the requested periods.
Table B shows income received in fees for premium and fast track services.
Table C provides information on the number of full time equivalent staff
employed by HM passport Office on 31 December for each of the years from 2010 –
2013.
Table D sets out the number of first time passport applications and the number
of passport renewals received during each month between January 2013 and May
2014.
In the period between 1 January and 31 May 2014, 31,188 straightforward
passport applications processed by Her Majesty’s Passport Office were not
processed within the 3-week target.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-13.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the future propensity to vote of those electors who (a) use and (b) do not use their vote in the first general election after reaching the age of 18 years old.
Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not made its own assessment of this issue, but is aware of the studies that have examined it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael McCann on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much public interest lawyers have received in legal aid for cases against the Minstry of Defence in each of the last 10 years.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) cannot separately identify legal aid cases against the Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office. Opponents are not systematically recorded against Legal Aid cases.
The net payments to Public Interest Lawyers over the past ten tears were:
|
Financial Year |
Net Payments |
|
FY2003-2004 |
£139,620.72 |
|
FY2004-2005 |
£158,282.52 |
|
FY2005-2006 |
£251,844.27 |
|
FY2006-2007 |
£299,667.99 |
|
FY2007-2008 |
£577,263.60 |
|
FY2008-2009 |
£628,527.75 |
|
FY2009-2010 |
£267,433.88 |
|
FY2010-2011 |
£439,268.02 |
|
FY2011-2012 |
£331,238.85 |
|
FY2012-2013 |
£50,633.27 |
These payments cover all work undertaken by the firm under legal aid. The payments made will be offset by recoupment on successful cases where the opponent has paid the costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-03-12.
To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of the empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database owned by (a) the Law Officers’ Departments and (b) any executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies of the Law Officers’ Departments in the current financial year.
Dominic Grieve
The Law Officers’ Departments have been actively reducing their estate running costs since 2010 in line with Government policy and have already made significant savings.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) estate rationalisation programme began in 2009 and is set to be completed in 2016, with most of the leases on empty property having expired by then. This programme has already led to a reduction in expenditure and increased efficiency. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has paid £320,178.38 in property business rates in the current financial year on the properties which are currently recorded as vacant on the ePIMS database as at 14 March 2014. The costs figure has been produced by DTZ who are CPS’ managing agents and has not yet been audited.
The Treasury Solicitor’s Department owns a lease on a building which has some vacant space. This building attracts full business rates in the current financial year. This lease is due to expire in 2016. The estimated business rates for the vacant proportion of the property for 2013/14 are £59 372.71
The remaining Law Officers’ Departments do not have any vacant properties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to recognise the service of members of the Royal Navy in patrolling operations to tackle piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Anna Soubry
The UK contribution to counter-piracy operations is held in the highest regard by our Coalition partners and by this Government, and it is right to pay tribute to all those involved in maintaining maritime security vital to the European and global economy.