Category: Speeches

  • Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tracey Crouch on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help older people with their housing needs; and if he will make a statement.

    Kris Hopkins

    The Government is committed to increasing the supply of suitable housing for older people and also to helping people to live independently at home for longer.

    The Government is improving choice for those who wish to move by providing £315 million between 2013-14 – 2017-18 through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund. Phase I of the fund was announced last year and will deliver more than 3,500 affordable homes for older people and adults with disabilities or mental health needs. The successful bids for Phase II of the programme, which aims to stimulate development in the wider private market, will be announced later this year.

    The National Planning Policy Framework asks local planning authorities to assess the full housing requirements in their area and plan for a mix of housing based on demographic trends and the needs of different groups in the area, including older people. The planning guidance advisesthat local planning authorities should count housing provided for older people, including residential institutions in Use Class C2, against their housing requirement. The approach taken, which may include site allocations, should be clearly set out in the Local Plan. Copies of the Framework and the guidance have been placed in the Library of the House.

    To help extended families, the Government introduced in April a 50 per cent council tax discount on family annexes. We have also made amendments to the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations, exempting from the levy those wanting to extend their own homes, or install residential annexes within their own property boundary.

    The Department for Communities and Local Government is providing funding of £785 million between 2011-12 – 2014-15 for the Disabled Facilities Grant which is administered by local authorities in England and provides adaptations to the homes of disabled people to help them to live as independently as possible in their own home. A further £220 million will be made available in 2015-16.

    Since 2011-12, the Government has funded FirstStop with over £2 million to provide a national information and advice service to older people, their families and carers on housing, care and finance.

  • 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 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure or compromise agreements have been included in the departure packages of former employees of probation trusts since 1 January 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    There have been no non-disclosure or compromise agreements included as part of the departure packages of the Trust Chief Executives who have taken early retirement. The terms of departure for other former Trust staff were agreed through their own local arrangements.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the service complaints investigation teams there are in each branch of the armed forces; what their qualifications are; what training is provided to them; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    The Ministry Of Defence maintains a cadre of Harassment Investigation Officers who investigate complaints raised within the Services and by MOD civilians concerning bullying and harassment, and who are not permanent employees of the Department; Appendix six to the 2013 Annual Report of the Service Complaints Commissioner provides further details. Beyond this centrally-managed team, the three Services maintain teams of investigators, many of whom are drawn from their own Service police force, who can investigate complex complaints.

    The Royal Navy has one Complaint Investigation and Mediation Team (CIMT), comprising two members of the Royal Navy Police with many years of investigative experience. In addition to their extensive police investigative training, they are Equality and Diversity Advisers, and have undertaken the MOD Harassment Investigation Course and professional Mediation Training (through an external training provider).

    The Army currently has six permanent members and three temporary assigned (12 months) soldiers in its Service Complaints Investigation Team (SCIT), which replaced the Equal Opportunities Investigation Team. All members of the SCIT are serving Senior Non-Commissioned Officers from the Royal Military Police, and hold the following qualifications:

    Initial Military Police Investigation Course

    Volume Crime Investigation Course

    Management Investigation Course

    Police and Criminal Evidence Act Interviewing Course

    Disclosure Officers Course

    Equality & Diversity Advisor Course

    On arrival in the SCIT, investigators receive work place training and are allocated a supervising investigator for a period of three months or as necessary.

    The RAF has a Service Complaints Team, and an Equal Opportunities Investigation Team (EOIT), which investigates complex equality and diversity complaints. The latter team comprises a Warrant Officer and a Flight Sergeant, both members of the RAF Police, and an administrator. The investigators complete the following courses as part of their role training:

    Equality and Diversity Advisor

    Harassment Investigation Officer

    Fundamentals of Employment Law (through CIPD)

    Preparing for Employment Tribunal (through CIPD)

    Certificate in Bullying and Harassment Investigation – City and Guilds

    Level 4

  • James Duddridge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    James Duddridge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Duddridge on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received about deaths of young people in traffic accidents; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The number of young people being killed on our roads is far too high and we are determined to tackle this issue. It is an issue which, understandably, features prominently in the range of representations which we receive about road safety generally.

    As part of our consideration of the way forward, we met the insurance industry on 27 January 2014 to discuss novice drivers and, in particular, our proposed research into the role which telematics can play in changing the behaviours and attitudes of new drivers. My officials regularly talk to the insurance industry and current discussions are aimed at encouraging participation in the research project before we can get it underway. We will publish the results of the research when they are available.

    We will also publish the findings of the focus groups comprising parents, young people and employers which we undertook in order to get a better understanding of the issues from their perspective.

  • Damian Hinds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Damian Hinds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Damian Hinds on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information his Department holds on the incidence of power cuts by (a) county and (b) parliamentary constituency.

    Michael Fallon

    Statistics on the number of power cuts are held by Ofgem. Ofgem measure the number and duration of power cuts based on the number of customer interruptions (interruptions per 100 connected customers) and customer minutes lost (minutes of supply lost per connected customer). The statistics, broken down by Distribution Network Operator, can be found in tables A10.1 and A10.2 of Ofgem’s Assessment of the RIIO-ED1 business plans document, pages 86 and 88:

    https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/84945/assessmentoftheriio-ed1businessplans.pdf

    Ofgem do not collect a more detailed regional breakdown than what is presented in both of these tables.

    “

  • Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead on Work and Pensions.

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    Esther McVey

    The information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Joan Walley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Walley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Walley on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on human rights in Western Sahara.

    Hugh Robertson

    Her Majesty’s Government has regular discussions with their US counterparts, including on Western Sahara. We support UN efforts to find a negotiated settlement.

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

    Biography information for Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Sadiq Khan on Justice.

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    Jeremy Wright

    We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer. This Government has a long term strategy for managing the prison estate which will provide more adult male prison capacity than we inherited from the previous Government.

    Crowding occurs when the number of prisoners in an accommodation unit exceeds the Certified Normal Accommodation in that unit. The average rate of crowding is published annually in the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts.

    Figures for the years 2005-06 to 2013-14 are as follows:

    Year

    Average Rate of Crowding

    2005/06

    24.0

    2006/07

    24.6

    2007/08

    25.3

    2008/09

    24.7

    2009/10

    24.1

    2010/11

    23.8

    2011/12

    24.1

    2012/13

    23.3

    2013/14

    22.9

    In 2013-14, the average number of prisoners held in crowded conditions decreased to 22.9% of the total population compared to 23.3% in 2012-13. This is the lowest level since 2001-02 and has come down from a high of 25.3% in 2007-08.

    Whilst we collect the total number of prisoners held in crowded conditions we do not centrally record the overall numbers of prisoners who are accommodated in multiple-occupancy cells, be it crowded (e.g. two prisoners held in a cell designed for one) or not (e.g. two prisoners held in a cell designed for two). To identify the number of prisoners who shared a cell in each prison in England and Wales in each of the last five years would require manually going through prisoners’ individuals records to identify each prisoner’s cell location in each prison in each of the last five years, which could only be undertaken at disproportionate cost

  • Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tracey Crouch on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children of what age have spent three months or more continuously in hospital in each local health authority in each of the last five years.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Information is not available by local health authority. The attached table gives information by strategic health authority (SHA) of the number of children (by age bands) up to 18 years who have spent more than three months in hospital in the last five years for which information is available.

  • Biography information for Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Biography information for Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Catherine McKinnell on Work and Pensions.

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    Steve Webb

    We announced our plans for the implementation of universal credit on 5 December, and these were set out in a written ministerial statement. The WMS can be found here:

    http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm131205/wmstext/131205m0001.htm#13120551000006

    Official statistics on universal credit were most recently published on 11 June and can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-statistics-apr-2013-to-31-march-2014

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