The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Leech on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants who received a benefits sanction are eligible for the 80 per cent hardship payment of their jobseeker’s allowance personal entitlement allowance.
Esther McVey
The information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he Department will review the length of sentencing given to those who kill by dangerous driving and speeding.
Jeremy Wright
Severe maximum penalties, of 14 years imprisonment, are available for those who cause death through dangerous driving or under the influence of drink or drugs and statistics show that the overwhelming majority of those convicted for these offences receive lengthy custodial sentences. The maximum penalty for causing death by careless driving is 5 years imprisonment and for causing death by disqualified, unlicensed or uninsured driving is two years imprisonment. We are keeping the law in this area under review. If any changes are needed, we will bring forward proposals.
Guidance to the judiciary is produced independently of Government, by the Sentencing Council. This is in line with the principle that, whilst the Government decides what maximum penalties should be, the courts are responsible for deciding what sentence to impose within those limits.
The sentencing guideline on Causing Death by Driving was published by the Sentencing Guidelines Council in 2008. It covers the offences of causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving as well as causing death by dangerous driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs and causing death by driving unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured. Last year, the Justice Secretary wrote to the Sentencing Council (as it now is) to ask them to review the death by driving guideline and they have agreed to include this in their programme of work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that reparations will be paid to HM Treasury as a result of damage caused by discharges in the Diego Garcia lagoon in the British Indian Overseas Territory by US vessels and those responsible for causing that damage are prosecuted.
Mark Simmonds
It is not clear what if any damage has been caused by the discharges by US vessels in the Diego Garcia lagoon, and the Government looks forward to the conclusions of a joint UK-US study of the lagoon water and its coral which will conclude this summer. The US have already committed to spending several million dollars over 2014-2016 to ensure that they comply with our no-discharge policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-10.
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 potential benefits of using (a) student unions and (b) other university and college venues as polling stations.
Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission informs me that between 2002 and 2007 a number of English local authorities piloted the use of alternative locations as polling stations, although these did not include student unions or other university and college premises. The locations included railway stations, supermarkets, libraries and other local authority venues.
The Commission’s statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes concluded that the convenience of voting at alternative locations was appreciated by some voters, although the impact on turnout was minimal.
At present, the legislation provides that Returning Officers may use certain publicly-funded schools or “rooms funded out of any rate” free of charge as premises for polling stations. The Electoral Commission has recommended that Returning Officers should be permitted to use a wider range of publicly-funded buildings as polling stations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve the quality of care given by GPs to people with asthma.
Jane Ellison
Information on the number of asthma patients with a care plan is not collected. However, the Government’s mandate to NHS England says that by 2015, everyone with a long term condition should be offered a personalised care plan.
NHS England is supporting clinical commissioning groups to improve out of hospital treatment for those with asthma by giving doctors more control over the commissioning of asthma services and improving information links between general practitioners and hospitals. The implementation of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence asthma quality standard, that sets out what good quality care looks like, will also raise the standard of care people with asthma receive.
NHS England, through its National Clinical Director for Respiratory Disease, will continue to work with Asthma UK and professional groups in both primary and secondary care to improve outcomes for all those with asthma.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-03-07.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of jobseekers over the age of (a) 50 and (b) 60 in (i) Wrexham constituency, (ii) Wales and (iii) the UK in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what impairment type or main disabling condition is experienced by people on a) employment and support allowance and b) job seeker’s allowance and under sanction.
Esther McVey
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alun Cairns on 2014-03-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding her Department provided for staff to carry out trade union activities in each of the last three years; and how many days staff spent on those activities in those years.
Karen Bradley
[holding answer 20 March 2014]
The Department did not provide specific funding for staff to carry out trade union activities in 2011, 2012 or 2013.
Information on the amount of paid time spent on trade union activities by staff who are union representatives has only been centrally recorded since November 2012. Between November 2012 and September 2013 our central records show that 1,345 paid days were spent by union representatives on such activities. These central records are based on returns submitted by union representatives to account for the time they have spent on their union roles. Information on the amount of paid time spent on trade union activities prior to November 2012 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Since October 2013 the Department has not permitted members of staff elected as union representatives to be granted paid facility time for any trade union activities and in future will only grant paid facility time for such activities in exceptional circumstances and with approval from the Secretary of State. In line with our legal obligations members of staff elected as union representatives are able to request time away from their work to undertake trade union activities but any time off granted for this purpose will be unpaid.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Corbyn on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding each tenancy deposit protection scheme has received from the Government in each of the last 10 years.
Kris Hopkins
The tenancy deposit protection schemes are operated by private companies under service concession agreements with my Department. All the schemes are designed to be self-financing.
The service concession agreement that was agreed by the previous administration with the custodial tenancy deposit protection scheme contained a guarantee that the government would meet any shortfall arising if approved fees were not covered by the interest on deposits held.
As a result of the low interest rates that emerged due to the financial turmoil in 2008 and 2009, this agreement left the Government—i.e. taxpayers—liable for a shortfall under that guarantee which was estimated to reach over £30 million by the end of the contract in 2012.
In May 2010, the coalition Government inherited this unacceptable situation and looming liabilities. As outlined by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 19 July 2011, Official Report, Column 828W, following extensive negotiations in summer 2010, the guarantee and all associated liabilities were removed as part of a revised agreement which also incorporated a payment of £12.7 million and a four-year extension of the original agreement.
This is the only payment which has been made by Government to any of the tenancy deposit protection schemes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2014-03-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 26 March (WA 121), whether other Departments hold the data requested in the question; and whether they will now answer the question originally put.
Lord Nash
Local authorities are required to report annually on the numbers of children in need who have a disability (as defined by section 6 of the Equality Act 2010) as part of the Children in Need Census data collection. These data are collected under section 83 of the Children Act 1989 by the Department for Education. As part of this collection, local authorities report on the number of children with disabilities who are subject to child protection investigations under section 47 of the Children Act 1989. However, it is not possible to separately identify those with chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis.
The number of children in need with a disability is published in ‘Characteristics of Children in Need’, and can be found at:
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