The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-10.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to ensure that the Latin American community is better recognised in official statistics.
Mr 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 Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether invoices for legal or other work carried out in connection with the Savile Inquiry have been submitted for payment since January 2013.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
No invoices have been submitted for payment in respect of legal work in connection with the Saville Inquiry. An invoice was submitted in March 2013 for hosting of the Inquiry website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2014-04-10.
To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what levels of stock the Church Commissioners hold of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables.
Sir Tony Baldry
The Church Commissioners do not keep inventories of stationery items and office consumables, to calculate the stock levels held would incur a disproportionate cost. The level of stock is monitored regularly, and replenished as necessary to meet staff needs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many investigations are being carried out by the Claims Management Regulation Unit under regulation 35 of the Compensation (Claims Management Services) Regulations 2006.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The CMR Unit aims to conduct all investigations in a proportionate and efficient manner. This means determining as quickly as possible whether a CMC under investigation is in breach of the conditions of its authorisation. If following an investigation it is clear that those conditions have been breached and there is a public protection issue, any proposed enforcement action will be expedited.
(1) 6 June 2013 was the earliest date from when the Claims Management Regulation (CMR) Unit began an investigation under regulation 35, which remains unresolved but no enforcement proceedings have yet commenced.
(2) Information is available for the period, 12 months to 18 June 2014. The CMR Unit conducted 46 investigations under regulation 35, which took an average of 5 months, 21 days before enforcement proceedings were taken, and an average of 2 months, 8 days before being closed without the requirement for enforcement proceedings.
(3) As at 18 June 2014, the CMR Unit was investigating 24 CMCs under regulation 35.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Ainsworth on 2014-04-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has made an assessment of the recommendations contained in the Association of Business Recovery Professionals publication entitled Level Playing Field: SMEs, taxpayers, and the Football Creditors Rule.
Jenny Willott
R3 has made some interesting recommendations which the football authorities should consider carefully. The football authorities have already made some changes, notably through agreeing “financial fair play” rules, salary caps and an early warning system for tax debts, as well as to governance arrangements, to increase financial stability in the leagues and to increase transparency for creditors.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has received from (a) charities, (b) hon. Members and (c) other individuals on the provisions available to support child victims and witnesses.
Damian Green
My Department from time to time receives representations about provisions to support child victims and witnesses. In recent months, my officials have held discussions with NSPCC and Barnardo’s on the subject, and a number of honourable Members and members of the public have written to Ministers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Browne on 2014-04-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the performance of the children and families department in Somerset County Council.
Mr Edward Timpson
Ofsted inspected Somerset County Council’s arrangements for the protection of children between 24 June 2013 and 3 July 2013 and published their findings on 5 August 2013. Ofsted judged the authority’s performance as ‘inadequate’.
My officials met with representatives of Somerset County Council on 20 August 2013 to discuss the Ofsted judgement, the Department’s proposed course of action and the Council’s immediate plans for improvement.
I wrote to the leader of Somerset County Council, John Osman, on 13 September 2013 to underline my concern at the Ofsted judgement of performance and set out my intention to issue the council with an Improvement Notice.
I issued a 12-month Improvement Notice to Somerset County Council on 22 November 2013, requiring the council to institute an improvement board headed by an independent chair to drive improvement and hold partners to account. The improvement board has sat monthly since October 2013 and I am represented at each Board by my officials.
I plan to visit Somerset County Council to assess improvements for myself. My officials will also undertake a review of progress in June 2014 and report findings to me. I will then assess progress against the Improvement Notice and Ofsted recommendations and decide whether to intervene further.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many refused claims for personal independence payment have (a) been appealed and (b) been successfully appealed to date.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The First-tier Tribunal – Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits including personal independent payment (PIP).
This information is published in Tribunals Statistics Quarterly, available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2014
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of prong collars on the welfare of dogs.
George Eustice
The Government has made no specific assessment on the use of prong collars on dogs. However, it would be an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to cause any unnecessary suffering to a dog by using a prong collar. Such an offence would be punishable by a fine of up to £20,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Adrian Sanders on Transport.
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Stephen Hammond
All Train Operating Companies (TOCs) are required under their franchise agreement to have in place a Passenger’s Charter which will include arrangements for compensation for passengers.
In connection with the severe weather related disruption earlier this year, the Department for Transport (DfT) sought to understand what First Great Western’s proposals on compensation were likely to be. Where discussions have taken place with other TOCs these will also have been to ensure that the DfT was aware of their intentions and not to seek to require these to be changed.
An improved system of compensation based on delays to individual journeys, known as Delay/Repay, is being introduced for all passengers in place of the system of poor performance discounts and optional Void Days for season ticket holders. Introduction is taking place as franchises are let following competitions and opportunities arise within Direct Awards and existing franchises. Where discussions have taken place between the DfT and TOCs these will have been in this context.