Category: Speeches

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 19W, on the electoral register, with which civic society organisations the Electoral Commission is proactively seeking partnerships for the purpose of increasing electoral registration.

    Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it is in the process of contacting a range of organisations, including civic society organisations, and will write to the honourable member once this is complete with the list of organisations that have signed up.

  • Gerald Kaufman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gerald Kaufman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 8 April 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Naraendra Singh Bhati.

    James Brokenshire

    I wrote to the Rt. Hon. Member on 20 May 2014.

  • Mr Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mr Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Jim Cunningham on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) converter academies and (b) maintained schools achieved a higher percentage of students achieving five GCSE A* to C grades than the previous year in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

    David Laws

    The requested information is publicly available in the 2010/11[1], 2011/12[2] and 2012/13[3] performance tables.

    [1] http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download_data.html

    [2] http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/2012/download_data.html

    [3] http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/2011/download_data.html

    “

  • Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects Mr Andrew Cottrell of Prenton, to undergo his medical examination as part of his application for the personal independence payment.

    Mike Penning

    The Department cannot respond to the House of Commons with regards to a specific case.

    I will write to the hon. Gentleman.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for how many days the (a) Colne to Blackpool South and (b) Skipton to Leeds lines were closed in each of the last five years.

    Stephen Hammond

    This is not information that is held by the Department for Transport. This is a matter for Network Rail, who own and operate Britain’s rail network.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Nicholas Soames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he intends to formally abolish probation trusts.

    Jeremy Wright

    Probation Trusts ceased operating at the end of 31 May 2014. The majority of offenders are now being supervised by staff working in 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies while high risk offenders and those who have committed the most serious offences are being supervised by the National Probation Service. The new structure was tested thoroughly prior to the transition, with staff and cases beginning transfer into the new structure prior to formal transition on 1 June. Formal dissolution of the Probation Trusts will take place following audit of their 2014/15 accounts in the autumn of 2014.

    The leadership of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) remain committed to maintaining morale through the effective leadership of change and continued positive engagement across the organisation. Throughout this significant change programme regular communication has been provided across NOMS to keep people informed about the reforms. We understand the challenges large scale reforms such as this can pose, and we are working closely with probation staff to make sure they can raise any issues quickly. Probation staff at all levels are working hard to implement these vital reforms on the ground and we will continue to support them throughout this process.

  • Mr Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mr Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Barry Sheerman on 2014-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2014, Official Report, column 816W, on community schools, how many maintained schools his Department believes to be underperforming.

    David Laws

    Of the 4,125 maintained mainstream secondary schools, 154 were classified as underperforming in the 2012/13 academic year. Of the 15,351 maintained mainstream primary schools, 767 were classified as underperforming in the 2012/13 academic year.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stephen Doughty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what annual percentage increases in starting rates of pay (a) lieutenant colonels, (b) majors, (c) captains, (d) lieutenants, (e) sergeants, (f) corporals and (g) privates in the Army have received since 1982.

    Anna Soubry

    The annual percentage increases awarded by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body for the starting rates of pay of the specified ranks are shown in the table below. There was no annual percentage increase in 2011 and 2012 but all privates were awarded a £250 rise.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2014-03-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have asked departments to end the system of check-off for trade union subscriptions for civil servants.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The deduction of Trade Union subscriptions from payroll through check-off is a matter delegated to individual Departments in the Civil Service.

  • David Ward – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Ward – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many claims management companies were operating in the Yorkshire and Humber region in each year from 2008 to 2014.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    With rigorous new measures being brought in across the board, we are taking strong action to rein in the rogue firms operating in this sector.

    Continued action to remove licenses from companies with poor practices alongside forthcoming Claims Management Regulation reforms, proves just how much work is going on to get tough on companies that defy the rules and bombard the public with unwelcome calls and misleading information.

    We are changing the law to further toughen the regime, including introducing fines, and ensuring firms cannot buy in any contact details which have been gathered unlawfully.

    The number of claims management companies (CMCs) operating in each region between April 2008 and April 2014 were as follows:

    Regional Analysis

    Apr-08

    Apr-09

    Apr-10

    Apr-11

    Apr-12

    Apr-13

    Apr-14

    East

    107

    134

    165

    173

    146

    138

    114

    East Midlands

    56

    97

    131

    139

    152

    137

    120

    London

    253

    378

    545

    531

    524

    444

    340

    Northern Ireland

    0

    0

    5

    3

    3

    6

    4

    North East

    30

    71

    95

    98

    76

    68

    49

    North West

    514

    685

    784

    803

    775

    706

    576

    Overseas

    6

    11

    9

    6

    3

    16

    13

    Scotland

    21

    26

    30

    32

    28

    29

    33

    South East

    193

    294

    358

    370

    361

    326

    267

    South West

    62

    81

    100

    113

    113

    100

    93

    Wales

    61

    73

    95

    81

    101

    88

    66

    West Midlands

    206

    321

    408

    404

    358

    292

    208

    Yorkshire & Humbers

    230

    316

    366

    387

    329

    245

    176