Category: Speeches

Kevin Brennan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2014-03-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Statement of 13 March 2014 by the Minister for Schools, Official Report, columns 427-42, on school funding, whether any of the funding announced will generate a Barnett consequential.

David Laws

The Government has agreed to provide £350 million in 2015-16 to the least fairly-funded local authorities in England. We are able to achieve this without any local authority receiving a cut to its per-pupil schools budget.

The Department for Education intends to find the majority of the £350 million from within its existing protected schools budget as determined at the Spending Round in June 2013, with additional money from the Treasury as required. Any funding provided by the Treasury will be agreed by the end of 2014 and will attract Barnett consequentials in the normal way.

01/11/2022
Julian Sturdy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s report entitled Hope for More: Improving access to lung transplantation and care for people with cystic fibrosis, what assessment he has made of the donor lung utilisation rate for transplantation; and what measures he has identified as having the greatest potential to increase such utilisation.

Jane Ellison

Currently donated lungs are allocated to the designated cardiothoracic transplant centres on a zonal basis. However, the Cardiothoracic Organs Advisory Group (CTAG) have recently reviewed the allocation policy and have recommended that the size of the allocation zones be adjusted to help ensure equity of access. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) have therefore confirmed that for cardiothoracic organs, the zones will be reviewed in August 2014 to coincide with changes in liver allocation zones and from August 2015, heart and lung zones will be disaggregated and the zones reviewed separately.

CTAG have also recommended that NHSBT reviews the consequences of introducing two levels of priority for listing for lung transplants – urgent and routine, and suggest a national allocation scheme for urgent listed patients, and zonal allocation for routine listed patients.

Any proposed change would need to be validated by NHSBT, who will review the criteria for urgent listing and the statistical modelling of the potential impact of such a system. NHSBT will continue to work closely with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to improve outcomes for patients requiring lung transplants.

01/11/2022

Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much in victim surcharge has been imposed by adult courts since October 2012; and how much of that figure has been collected to date.

Shailesh Vara

The amount of victim surcharge imposed and collected from October 2012 to September 2013 (latest published period) is set out below:

Imposition month	Amount imposed	Amount collected by end of September 2013
October 2012	£1,253,491	£826,583
November 2012	£1,460,874	£941,311
December 2012	£1,263,756	£788,671
January 2013	£1,900,543	£1,158,226
February 2013	£1,869,900	£1,068,110
March 2013	£2,086,393	£1,139,143
April 2013	£2,424,548	£1,240,960
May 2013	£2,543,344	£1,201,270
June 2013	£2,556,998	£1,096,358
July 2013	£2,982,204	£1,096,130
August 2013	£2,707,508	£776,618
September 2013	£2,626,937	£357,217
Total	£25,676,496	£11,690,597

The balance of the amount imposed that is remaining at the end of the period will include amounts that are being paid by instalments or were not due for payment by that time. The closer to the point of imposition the greater the proportion will be that remains outstanding as many offenders will be paying by instalments.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) takes the issue of financial penalty enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. HMCTS actively pursues all outstanding impositions until certain they cannot be collected. Total collection reached an all time high at the end of 2012/13 and collection has continued to rise in this financial year.

HMCTS are actively seeking an external provider for the future delivery of compliance and enforcement services. This will bring the necessary investment and innovation to significantly improve the collection of criminal financial penalties and reduce the cost of the service to the taxpayer.

01/11/2022

Tony Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tony Cunningham on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons legal aid funding in relation to the case of the constituent of the hon. Member for Workington, Gary Tomlinson, Claim Number OWH0080, Cert number JBIRQK61BB77/A/E/1, was withdrawn.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The receipt of legal aid is considered to be personal data and the Department has obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 which would prevent it from disclosing this type of information. Furthermore, the Legal Aid Agency is further prohibited by statute from disclosing information relating to the provision of legal aid in individual cases (under section 34 of the LASPO Act 2012, section 20 of the Access to Justice Act 1999, and before this under section 38 of the Legal Aid Act 1988).

01/11/2022
Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-03-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people referred by Jobcentre Plus to the Work Programme in each month since June 2011 failed to start on the Programme.

Esther McVey

The information we have on the number of Work Programme referrals, since June 2011, who failed to start on the Programmecan be found in table 2.6 of the Work Programme Statistical Summary through the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-programme-statistical-summary-december-2013

“

01/11/2022
Kwasi Kwarteng – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kwasi Kwarteng on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what rights prisoners in HM Prison High Down Sutton have to association and exercise; and whether he has received representations that prisoners at that prison are being permitted less than half an hour to exercise per day.

Jeremy Wright

Prisoners at High Down have the same access to exercise and association as in all prisons in England and Wales. The details are set out in Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 58/2011 Physical Education for Prisoners. In addition, prisoners are entitled to association time outside of their cells that may include forms of exercise.

We have no record of any formal representations made by prisoners at HMP Highdown on the lack of opportunity to exercise

01/11/2022
Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-03-12.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database owned by (a) his Department and (b) any executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies of his Department in the current financial year.

Francis Maude

At the time of the last General Election the central Government estate was far larger than required and taxpayers were paying to maintain, run and rent properties which were under-occupied while other part of the freehold estate remained vacant.

The Government Property Unit has been supporting departments to rationalise rapidly the Government’s estate including by taking a whole of Government view of property. Since the 2010 General Election over £1.25 billion has been raised by selling surplus freehold properties. Through the exiting of property across the central civil estate, we have also delivered cumulative, gross run rate savings of over £454 million per annum.

Where surplus property is awaiting disposal or lease end, the government looks to explore all disposal options, including commercially sub-letting all or part of the space. Surplus property is listed on gov.uk

There is no liability at taxpayers’ expense for business rates on any vacant Cabinet Office properties in the current financial year.

01/11/2022
Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of song birds in the UK.

George Eustice

The UK has designated 615 sites as Special Areas of Conservation under the Habitats Directive, and 270 sites as Special Protection Areas under the Birds Directive to provide protection to our most vulnerable and threatened wild birds.

Agri-environment schemes are the principal means of improving habitat for farmland songbirds, assisting farmers to provide additional habitat and food on their farms for birds and other wildlife. The Government also supports the Campaign for the Farmed Environment to provide better habitats for farmland birds.

The Government has provided £7.5 million to establish twelve Nature Improvement Areas. These are intended to benefit birds by improving existing habitat, creating new habitat and improving connectivity between habitats.

01/11/2022

Dame Anne Begg – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dame Anne Begg on 2014-03-12.

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in (a) Aberdeen City Council and (b) Aberdeenshire County Council.

Gary Streeter

The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.

Results for all wards are available on the Commission’s website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

The ward results for Aberdeen City Council were as follows:

Ward	Green matches	Amber matches	Red matches
Airyhall/Broomhill/Garthdee	78.4%	2.0%	19.6%
Bridge Of Don	84.4%	1.5%	14.1%
Dyce/Bucksburn/Danestone	79.4%	3.4%	17.2%
George St/Harbour	46.2%	8.1%	45.8%
Hazlehead/Ashley/Queens Cross	76.0%	3.0%	21.0%
Hilton/Woodside/Stockethill	77.2%	1.9%	21.0%
Kincorth/Nigg/Cove	82.9%	1.7%	15.4%
Kingswells/Sheddocksley/Summerhill	83.0%	1.3%	15.7%
Lower Deeside	77.6%	5.4%	17.0%
Midstocket/Rosemount	62.9%	5.2%	31.9%
Northfield/Mastrick North	85.0%	1.4%	13.7%
Tillydrone/Seaton/Old Aberdeen	55.1%	3.9%	41.1%
Torry/Ferryhill	67.2%	5.1%	27.7%

The ward results for Aberdeenshire County Council were as follows:

Ward	Green matches	Amber matches	Red matches
Aboyne Upper Deeside And Donside	72.7%	9.4%	17.9%
Banchory And Mid Deeside	79.3%	5.4%	15.4%
Banff And District	78.0%	6.9%	15.1%
Central Buchan	74.5%	9.7%	15.9%
East Garioch	79.0%	4.5%	16.5%
Ellon And District	78.8%	5.1%	16.1%
Fraserburgh And District	82.2%	3.1%	14.7%
Huntly Strathbogie And Howe Of Alford	74.5%	9.4%	16.1%
Inverurie And District	80.3%	3.3%	16.4%
Mearns	73.7%	9.1%	17.1%
Mid Formartine	74.9%	7.9%	17.2%
North Kincardine	78.5%	4.8%	16.7%
Peterhead North And Rattray	78.6%	4.5%	16.9%
Peterhead South And Cruden	81.5%	3.8%	14.7%
Stonehaven And Lower Deeside	80.2%	4.3%	15.4%
Troup	76.8%	8.2%	15.0%
Turriff And District	73.7%	9.4%	16.9%
West Garioch	74.4%	8.7%	16.9%
Westhill And District	79.5%	4.4%	16.1%

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01/11/2022

Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what Government-funded education and support on alcohol consumption during pregnancy is available to pregnant women.

Jane Ellison

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s 2008 guideline includes recommendations for doctors and midwives on the advice they should give to pregnant women about drinking alcohol.

This advice is complemented by Government funded information provided through the Start4Life Information Service for Parents, Start4Life and NHS Choices websites.

The Government funds the Start4Life Information Service for Parents service, which provides pregnant women/new mothers and their partners with comprehensive advice on staying healthy in pregnancy, preparing for birth and looking after their baby, and includes advice on risks of drinking before conception and during pregnancy.

The Information Service for Parents is a digital service which provides National Health Service and other quality assured advice, including on alcohol consumption via regular text and email updates. Since launching on 18 May 2012, 339,277 new parents have signed up to the service (as of 1 June 2014).

The Government is also committed to improving the labelling of alcoholic drinks, including a warning for women who are pregnant or trying to conceive.

As part of the Public Health Responsibility Deal, alcohol retailers and producers have a responsibility to help raise this awareness and committed to putting an agreed warning or a pregnancy warning logo on 80% of labels on bottles and cans by the end of 2013. An independent market survey is underway to measure compliance.

01/11/2022