Category: Speeches

  • Henry Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Henry Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will measure changes in the number of animals used in scientific procedures in the UK following publication of Working to reduce the use of animals in scientific research in July 2011.

    Norman Baker

    The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain
    for 2013 will be published on 10 July 2014.
    I will be publishing a progress report on the Coalition Commitment "Working to
    reduce the use of animals in research" in early 2015.

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the planned in-service date is for the Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon; how many will be procured; and what estimate he has made of the (a) total programme and (b) unit cost.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The planned in-service date for the Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy) (FASGW(H)) is 2020. I am withholding the information relating to the number being procured as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

    The total programme cost for FASGW(H) is £500 million and is a joint investment with the French Government. The UK’s contribution is £280 million (contract value excluding VAT). I am withholding information on the unit cost of FASGW(H) as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

    I am also withholding all information on the FASGW (Light) as contract negotiations are ongoing and disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average weekly gross earnings of full-time (a) men, (b) women and (c) people in York has been in (i) cash terms and (ii) at constant prices in each year since 2006-07.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Nick Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Nick Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the cost to the fire services was of dealing with fires at privately-owned waste management sites in the last two years.

    Brandon Lewis

    This information is not held centrally. The cost to fire and rescue authorities in England of dealing with specific fires is a matter for each fire and rescue authorityThe cost to fire and rescue authorities in Wales of dealing with specific fires is a devolved matter.

    Fire and rescue authorities must produce regularly, and consult on, an integrated risk management plan. The plan must identify the risks facing local communities and detail how the fire and rescue authority will allocate its resources to mitigate them effectively. People have opportunities to make their voices heard on such issues.

    There is still scope for fire and rescue authorities to make sensible savings, such as through reforms to flexible staffing and crewing arrangements, better procurement; shared services, collaboration with emergency services and other organisations on service delivery and estates, sickness management; sharing of senior staff, locally led mergers and operational collaborations, new fire-fighting technology, preventative approaches and working with local businesses.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many UK-domiciled (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate students enrolled at the (i) University of York and (ii) University of York St John in each year since 2009-10.

    Mr David Willetts

    The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on student enrolments at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

    The number of UK domiciled undergraduate and postgraduate enrolments at University of York and York St John University in the academic years 2009/10 to 2012/13 has been provided in the following table.

    Information on the number of enrolments at UK HEIs for the academic year 2013/14 will become available from HESA in January 2015.

    UK domiciled (1) enrolments (2) by level and institution of study

    Academic years 2009/10 to 2012/13

    Institution

    Level of study

    2009/10

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    University of York

    Postgraduate

    2,405

    2,610

    2,680

    2,135

    Undergraduate

    9,645

    10,190

    10,475

    10,395

    Total

    12,050

    12,800

    13,155

    12,525

    York St John University

    Postgraduate

    815

    780

    735

    715

    Undergraduate

    4,835

    4,855

    4,920

    4,960

    Total

    5,650

    5,640

    5,660

    5,680

    Source: HESA Student Record

    Notes:

    (1) Domicile refers to a students’ home or permanent address prior to starting their course

    (2) Enrolments refers to students in all years of study

    This information can also be found on the HESA website at the following link:

    https://www.hesa.ac.uk/free-statistics

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of victims who took part in the research used in the report Everyone’s business; Improving the police response to domestic abuse were (a) male and (b) female.

    Norman Baker

    As part of its inspection of the police response to domestic violence and
    abuse, which was the basis for the report "Everyone’s business: Improving the
    police response to domestic abuse", Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary
    (HMIC) held focus groups and interviews with 80 victims, of which six were male.

    HMIC also circulated an electronic self-completion victim survey to inform its
    inspection. 532 victims of domestic abuse completed the survey, of which 483
    were female, 39 were male and ten preferred not to disclose their gender.

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many workplace capability assessments have been submitted to Atos, processed and returned within 35 working days in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) West Lothian local authority area in each of the last three years.

    Mike Penning

    The number of Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment Work Capability Assessment referrals to Atos Healthcare in each of the last three years is as follows:

    01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 1,553,839

    01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 1,742,593

    01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 1,495,159

    For the period October 2008 to May 2014, there have been 3,431,528 Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment cases processed by Atos Healthcare within 35 days.

    The latest (April 2014) national Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT) is 118.9 days.

    There are a range of financial remedies available within the Medical Services contract to address service level failure. However this is a matter of commercial in confidence between the Department of Work and Pensions and its supplier Atos Healthcare.

    The number of Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Allowance cases that were referred to Atos Healthcare processed and returned within 35 days in each of the last three years is as follows:

    a). UK

    01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 767,674

    01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 1,073,987

    01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 249,305

    b). Scotland

    01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 97,951

    01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 133,923

    01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 58,326

    c). West Lothian Local Authority Area

    The information requested is not available

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria were used to determine the funding allocation for rape crisis centres for the 2014-16 period; and on what grounds the funding for Hull Rape Crisis Centre was cut.

    Damian Green

    This Government has committed to increasing available funding for services for victims of crime by potentially raising up to an additional £50m per year from offenders, almost doubling current funding if realised. Therefore more money than ever before will be available for services to support victims of crime, with a potential total budget of up to £100m with offenders paying a much greater share.

    The 2014-2016 Female Rape Support Fund provides funding to organisations that successfully met the funds showstopper and quality criteria. The 2014-2016 Rape Support Fund has awarded funding to 80 organisations.

    The Rape Support Funding is designed to be leveraged funding to cover part of each centre’s funding needs based on the annual income of each centre.

    On this basis Hull Rape Crisis Centre have been awarded £20,000 for both 2014/2015 and 2015/2016.

  • David Ruffley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Ruffley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of working time police officers in each police force spent on frontline policing duties in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

    Damian Green

    The Home Office does not hold this information centrally.

    The Home Office does however collect police officer functions data which is
    used by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to calculate the number of
    operational frontline police officers in each police force area. These figures
    (and information on visible police
    officers) are published from 2010 onwards as part of the ‘Valuing the Police’
    inspection programme, which can be found at:
    http://www.hmic.gov.uk/data/valuing-the-police-data/. These figures relate to
    each officers predominant function over the year, rather than the proportion of
    their working time.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) charges and (b) successful convictions have been brought following assaults against prison staff by prisoners in each year since 2010.

    Jeremy Wright

    NOMS takes the issue of assaults on prison staff very seriously. It currently has systems in place to deal with perpetrators quickly and robustly, with serious incidents referred to the police for prosecution. It is working with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that prisoners who assault staff are charged and punished appropriately.

    NOMS is committed to exploring options to continue to improve how violence is tackled in prisons to keep both staff and prisoners safe. It is currently reviewing the policy and practice of the management of violence.

    The number of prisoner on prison officers assault incidents in each year are provided in table 3.8 of the supplementary tables on assaults that accompany each Safety in Custody statistics bulletin. The latest publication can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-in-custody.

    Figures for the number of these incidents that are reported on the centralised administrative system as being referred to the police in each year are provided in table 1. These figures do not represent individuals as there may be multiple assailants in some incidents. How many of these resulted in charges or conviction can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    Table 1: Number of prisoner on officer assault incidents referred to the police

    2010

    2011

    2012

    Prisoner on officer assaults referred to police

    374

    393

    543

    “