Category: Speeches

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of (a) men and (b) women found guilty of benefit fraud in each of the last 10 years received (i) immediate custodial sentences and (b) non-custodial sentences.

    Jeremy Wright

    The sentencing framework and sentencing guidelines apply equally to all offenders. Sentencing is entirely a matter for the courts, taking account of all the circumstances of each case. This will include the seriousness of the offence, including all aggravating and mitigating factors, and a guilty plea.

    Fraud has a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and there are various other offences which are specific to benefit fraud, with maximum penalties of up to seven years’ imprisonment. The courts must follow the relevant sentencing guideline in their approach to sentencing. Last year, the Sentencing Council conducted a public consultation on a new draft guideline for fraud and a new definitive guideline, informed by the responses received, will apply in due course.

    In addition to criminal penalties, those convicted of benefit fraud also face a restriction on their benefits for an extended period.

    The number of men and women sentenced at all courts for offences relating to benefit fraud in England and Wales from 2002 to2012 (latest data available) can be viewed in the table.

    Please note that court proceedings statistics for the year 2013 are planned to be published by the Ministry of Justice on 15th May 2014.

  • John Woodcock – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    John Woodcock – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Woodcock on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the announcement of 25 April 2014, entitled Chancellor puts UK at forefront of ocean research with new polar science ship, if he will take steps to ensure that the new polar research ship is constructed in a UK shipyard.

    Mr David Willetts

    This new polar flagship presents a significant opportunity for British business to show that they can compete with the best in the world. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) will be working hard to make sure that British business are aware of the major opportunities around the project. The UK has world class skills and technology in this area and the Government hopes that UK marine and maritime companies will take the wider range of opportunities – from the design and building of the ship, through to its operation and maintenance.

    This ship will cost more than £200 million and legally it has to be procured through open competition. This ensures a fair process so that the UK gets the best possible product with the best value to the taxpayer. The Natural Environment Research Council’s British Antarctic Survey will be operating the ship. They will be consulting the scientific community on the detailed specification for the ship shortly. An invitation to tender is expected to be issued in summer 2015.

  • Alok Sharma – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alok Sharma – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alok Sharma on 2014-03-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of families eligible for tax-free childcare in Reading West constituency.

    Nicky Morgan

    The information requested is not available.

  • Baroness Greengross – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Greengross – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Greengross on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the potential savings to the National Health Service and social services of providing care for lymphoedema and lipoedema patients from the time of diagnosis.

    Earl Howe

    Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data does not separately identify those cases of lymphoedema that are associated with cancer from those that are not, and is unable to identify cases of lipoedema as there is no coding available for this condition, based on the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

    Further to this, HES data is not linked to costing information and therefore this information cannot be provided.

    In the following table we have provided the number of finished admission episodes (FAEs) for patients with a primary diagnosis of lymphoedema from 2010-11 to 2012-13.

    Year

    FAE

    2010-11

    1,887

    2011-12

    2,026

    2012-13

    2,099

    Note:

    An FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission

  • Mr Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mr Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Laurence Robertson on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the number of schools in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire which carry out collective acts of Christian worship each day; what proportion those schools form of the total number of schools which are required to do so; and if he will make a statement.

    Elizabeth Truss

    All publicly funded maintained schools in England remain legally required to provide a daily act of worship for all registered pupils up to age 18 and the Government has no plans to change this. It does not, however,collect data on school provision in this area.

  • Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many full time members of staff in her Department have responsibility for malaria programmes.

    Justine Greening

    There are 12 full-time staff in the Health Services Team and Global Funds Department whose roles include work on malaria. In addition there are a wide range of staff across the Department, including research, press, policy, financial and corporate advisers and staff in the Regional Departments and country offices, whose roles include work on malaria.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what categories of personal information will be held on each database managed by his Department or its executive agencies expected to become operational in the next five years; what estimate he has made of the number of individuals’ details each such database will hold when fully operational; and if he will make a statement.

    Simon Hughes

    I can confirm that the Ministry of Justice and its executive agencies including Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), currently have no plans to introduce any new HR-related centralised, multi-user database systems.

    In order to ascertain the individual categories of personal information across all existing, relevant centralised HR-related databases, we would be required to either allocate specialist business resources to identify the requirements and produce the data, or commission it directly from third party IT suppliers. All this would be at a disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cash value of the contract with the Cross London Trains consortium to provide rolling stock for Thameslink; and what will be the annual charge at 2014 prices when the full fleet is in service.

    Baroness Kramer

    The Thameslink Rolling Stock Project contracts comprise the supply, finance and subsequent maintenance (including the provision of depots) of the fleet of 1140 carriages. The Thameslink Rolling Stock Project contracts have an aggregate net present value of approximately £2.8 billion in 2014 prices and a nominal value of approximately £5.7 billion, in each case to the end of the 20 year commitment period relating to the use of the trains by the Secretary of State for Transport.

  • Alison McGovern – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison McGovern – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken from an application for reconsideration of an employment and support allowance decision to a decision being made on the case was in each month since October 2013.

    Mike Penning

    Mandatory reconsideration was introduced for Employment and Support Allowance for decisions notified from 28 October 2013. The Department is collecting information to understand how it is operating from the point of its introduction, including the time taken from an application for reconsideration of an ESA decision to a decision being made on the case.

    At present, this data is not sufficiently robust and reliable to make available.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to catch and control magpies and hooded crows.

    George Eustice

    Defra is not taking action to catch or control magpies or hooded crows.

    Like all wild birds in Great Britain, magpies and hooded crows are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

    Within England, general licences are issued by Natural England permitting users to kill or take magpies for a range of purposes, such as the protection of public health and safety. These may be relied upon by landowners and other authorised persons as long as they are satisfied they have met the conditions of the licence.

    In the UK, the hooded crow is found primarily in Scotland and Northern Ireland and is not normally resident in England. As nature conservation is a devolved matter, the Department of the Environment Northern Ireland and the Scottish Government should be approached regarding their wildlife legislation and policy for the control of magpies and hooded crows.