The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of staff within his Office who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.
Mr Nick Clegg
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by My Rt Hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office today.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of former jobseeker’s allowance claimants moving into work from the Work Programme in the Merseyside, Halton, Cumbria and Lancashire contract area started work on (a) a full-time, (b) a part-time, (c) a zero hours and (d) an apprenticeship contract.
Esther McVey
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics suggest that most job opportunities being created in the recovery are full-time and permanent. The number of people in work has risen by more than 450,000 in the last year. Within this full-time employment has risen by 430,000 and part-time employment by 29,000, while the number of people in temporary jobs has fallen, meaning the vast majority of the rise is full-time and permanent jobs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what consideration his Department gives to the diversity policies and records of businesses or other organisations when considering their bid for commercial contracts or grants.
Mr David Lidington
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 434W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprentices aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) between 19 and 24 and (c) 25 years or over are employed at the Competition and Markets Authority.
Matthew Hancock
The Competition and Markets Authority employs no apprentices at this time.
As a supporter of apprenticeships, the Government launched the first Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme in 2013.
As at September 2013, the most recent date for which figures are available, the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme had 100 18-21 year old apprentices employed in permanent posts across government on the 2-year scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what targets her Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.
Mr Alan Duncan
DFID has aligned with the Civil Service-wide diversity targets for levels of representation in the Senior Civil Service (SCS). These targets are:
· 39% of the SCS to be women – DFID has achieved this target as 39% of our SCS are women.
· 34% of top management posts (Director and above) to be held by women DFID has exceeded this target as 42% of such posts are held by women.
· 5% of the Senior Civil Service to be minority ethnic staff – DFID has exceeded this target as 7% of our SCS are minority ethnic.
· 5% of the Senior Civil Service to be disabled people – DFID has exceeded this target as 6% of our SCS identify as having a disability.
In addition to this DFID has made a commitment to improve staff engagement survey scores for people with disabilities as this is recognised as an issue across government. DFID has improved the overall staff engagement survey score for staff with disabilities from 65% in November 2012 to 71% in November 2013.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people with (a) two, (b) three, (c) four and (d) five or more jobs; and how many of such people’s total earnings do not meet the lower earnings threshold.
Mr David Gauke
Estimates of the number of (a) people and (b) women who work in more than one job but do not pay national insurance, even though their total earnings are above the lower earnings threshold; and, of those, how many are women, are available at:
The rest of the information requested is not available.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) appeals and (b) successful appeals against Atos assessments in (i) Nottingham and (ii) Ashfield constituency there were in each of the last three years.
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 a person’s entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
Whilst a work capability assessment (WCA) can be a key factor in an ESA decision, it is not the only consideration. Appeals are brought against ESA refusals, and not WCA decisions themselves. The Tribunal does not record information on those ESA appeals in which the WCA decision is a factor, and as such HMCTS does not hold the specific information requested.
Information on appeals against ESA decisions is published by HMCTS in Tribunal Statistics Quarterly. The most recent report for the period January to March 2014, published on 12 June 2014, can be viewed at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many planning applications made by betting shops have been rejected by local authorities and subsequently overturned by the Planning Ispectorate in (a) Newham and (b) the UK in each year since 2008.
Nick Boles
We hold information for England; information for other parts of the UK is a matter for the devolved Administrations.
The table below sets out the number of planning appeals on betting shops decided by the Planning Inspectorate in England in each year since 2008.
|
Decision Year |
Allowed |
Dismissed |
Total |
|
2008 |
13 |
9 |
22 |
|
2009 |
9 |
11 |
20 |
|
2010 |
10 |
7 |
17 |
|
2011 |
18 |
9 |
27 |
|
2012 |
4 |
10 |
14 |
|
2013 |
8 |
10 |
18 |
There is no clear trend, other than fewer appeals being allowed in the last two years, and I would note that the numbers involved are small. Any planning application or appeal needs to be considered on its individual merits in light of the prevailing local circumstances and planning policies.
During this period, three appeals relating to the London Borough of Newham in 2011 were allowed involving changes to A2 use.
The detailed reasoning for the approvals were outlined in the three decision letters, but it may assist the hon. Member to note that (a) one case involved an application which had been rejected on grounds it was a move to a non-retail use, yet the inspector noted that the premises had been operating as a non-retail use for over 40 years, (b) another had been rejected on similar grounds, yet there was already an extant planning permission for the premises to change to a non-retail use, and (c) the other was since the premises was changing from an amusement arcade and was already in use for a form of gambling.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is undertaking a broader review of gambling policy. This Government is taking action to support healthy and vibrant local high streets. This is part of a wider set of measures designed to get empty and redundant buildings back into productive use and make it easier for valued town centre businesses like shops, banks and cafés to open new premises, while giving councils greater powers to tackle the harm to local amenity caused by a concentration of particular uses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-06-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to seek a United Nations Security Council Resolution on the human rights situation in North Korea, following the findings of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry; and if so, whether they will sponsor such a Resolution if it appears to face resistance from Russia or China.
Baroness Warsi
The UK believes strongly that there should be no impunity for serious international crimes, such as those which the Commission of Inquiry found are being committed in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We played an active role in ensuring a strong DPRK resolution at the March UN Human Rights Council, including a call for the UN General Assembly to submit the report of the Commission of Inquiry to the UN Security Council for its consideration and appropriate action. In April we and other Security Council members took part in a public “Arria” briefing by the Commission. This was the first time the Security Council had considered DPRK human rights in this way. We also raised the need for a continued focus on human rights during a UN Security Council Sanctions Committee meeting in May.
On June 18 the Minister of State, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), visited Geneva, where he took part in an Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the DPRK, Mr Mazuki Darusman. Mr Swire also raised the importance of DPRK human rights with the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon and stressed the importance of UN action. The next step will be to ensure there is an appropriate focus on DPRK human rights at this autumn’s UN General Assembly (UNGA) session and that there is a strong DPRK resolution, strongly supported, in the UNGA Third Committee.
We will keep the prospect of a UNSC Resolution under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Greatrex on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the number of combined heat and power plans delivering more than 10 per cent of input energy as heat output.
Gregory Barker
In 2013, the Government reviewed the minimum performance standards for renewable Combined Heat and Power (CHP) set in our Quality Assurance programme. As set out in the Government response, approximately 70% of solid and liquid renewable fuel CHP schemes already certified to Combined Heat and Power Quality and Assurance (CHPQA) deliver more than 10% of their input energy as useful heat output.
No similar assessment has been made for fossil fuel CHPs.