The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff his Department has employed in data entry roles relating to universal credit in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Lancashire in each quarter since 2010.
Mike Penning
There are no dedicated data entry roles and accordingly no cost to the department can be reliably estimated.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-06-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in securing a deal on the European Union’s 2030 climate change reduction package, in advance of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit in September.
Baroness Verma
The European Council in March 2014 discussed the 2030 climate and energy framework and agreed to make a final decision on the Framework no later than October this year.
The UK believes that the EU should urgently adopt a domestic emissions reduction target for 2030 of at least 40% on 1990 levels, moving to 50% in the context of an ambitious global climate agreement.
I am determined to continue working closely and intensively with all my colleagues in Europe to ensure that the EU is in a position to play a leading role at the Ban Ki-Moon Climate Summit in September.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-03-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what customer, user and satisfaction surveys were conducted in the last 12 months in the Department for Transport and the agencies that report to it; which of them have been reported to the management board in the last 12 months; and which were commissioned by the management board.
Baroness Kramer
The information requested regarding the conduct of customer, user and satisfaction surveys across the Department for Transport and its agencies in the last 12 months is as follows:
| Survey | Comissioned by Board | Reported to Board |
| DVLA | ||
| Customer Satisfaction Survey 2012-13 | Yes | Yes |
| VOSA | ||
| ATF Satisfaction Survey | Yes | Yes |
| PSV operators survey | ||
| MOT modernisation user survey | ||
| User evaluation of communications – operators | ||
| User evaluation of communications – MOT | ||
| MCA | ||
| UK Ship Register | Yes | |
| Survey and Inspection Regime | Yes | |
| Seafarer Certifcate of Competency | Yes | |
| Seafarer Certificate of Equivalent Comeptency | Yes | |
| HA | ||
| National Road User Survey | Yes | |
| Area Road User Survey x7 | ||
| DSA | ||
| Car driving test candidates x2 | Yes | |
| Motorcycle driving test candidates x2 | Yes | |
| LGC/PCV driving test candidates | Yes | |
| Approved driving instructors x2 | Yes | |
| Approved motorcycle training bodies | ||
| Potential driving instructors | ||
| Trainers on the ORDIT register | ||
| Trainers on the voluntary LGV/PCV register |
Glossary
| ATF | Authorised Testing Facility |
| DSA | Driver Standards Agency |
| DVLA | Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency |
| HA | Highways Agency |
| MCA | Maritime and Coastguard Agency |
| PSV | Public service vehicle |
| VCA | Vehicle Certification Agency |
| VOSA | Vehicle and Operator Services Agency |
| LGV | Large goods vehicle |
| PCV | Passenger carrying vehicle |
| ORDIT | Online register of driving instructors |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total annual cost to the European Union institutions of (1) translating documents, speeches and other texts, and (2) simultaneous interpretation in all member languages; and what is their estimate of the saving if that service were limited to the six most used languages.
Baroness Warsi
Each European Union Institution is responsible for its own translation and interpretation systems and costs. The Annual Budget 2014 has €388 million payments allocated to “language services” for the European Commission.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2014-03-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will instruct the Crown Prosecution Service to bring prosecutions relating to all cases of female genital mutilation reported in London since 2009.
Lord Wallace of Tankerness
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is committed to tackling cases of female genital mutilation (FGM), however it can only prosecute cases referred to it by the police which meet both of the tests outlined in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
The Code sets out a two stage test which must be applied when deciding whether a case should be prosecuted. The first stage is the evidential test which requires prosecutors to be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. If the evidential stage of the test is met prosecutors must then go on to identify the relevant public interest factors tending for and against the prosecution in order to form an overall assessment of whether a prosecution is in the public interest.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have been killed in the United Kingdom since 1984 by persons previously convicted of homicide.
Lord Faulks
A life sentence is mandatory on conviction for murder and a whole life order starting point applies to a murder by an offender previously convicted of murder. Discretionary life sentences or long determinate sentences are available for other very serious offences. This Government has introduced an automatic life sentence for a second very serious violent or sexual offence.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) holds information on those persons convicted of homicide offences having previously been convicted of a homicide offence. However, the MOJ does not hold information centrally on the number of homicide victims associated with these crimes.
The table shows the number of offenders with previous convictions for homicide by offenders convicted of homicide in each year from 2001 to 2013. Homicide includes among others, the offences of murder, manslaughter, infanticide, corporate manslaughter and causing death by dangerous and careless driving. See footnote 3 for all types of homicides.
The MoJ’s extract of the Police National Computer only holds the complete criminal records of offenders who have been sentenced or cautioned since the beginning of 2000, Therefore it is not possible to provide criminal history time series information all the way back to 1984.
The figures given in the table have been drawn from the extract of Police National Computer (PNC) data held by the Ministry of Justice. As with any large scale recording system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-24.
To ask the Attorney General, what the Law Officers’ Departments’ policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.
Mr Dominic Grieve
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the 26th March 2014 (Official Report, Col 300W).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many football banning orders have been issued in each of the past of the five years for football supporters found guilty of racially or religiously aggravated public order offences.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
A football banning order is a preventative measure which is not issued as part of a sentence, or solely on the basis of an individual’s conviction offence. For the purpose of deciding whether to make a banning order, a court may consider a range of prosecution evidence in support of a banning order application.
The Football Banning Orders Authority holds a range of data on extant football banning orders, including in some cases the relevant offences which initiated a banning order application. However, this is secondary to details of the banning order itself, and it is not possible in all cases to identify which banned individuals have been convicted of a racially or religiously aggravated public order offence. To do so would require a manual exercise to review individual files which would incur a disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effects on pedagogy of giving pupils in secondary schools one to one tablet computers; and if he will make a statement.
Elizabeth Truss
The Department for Education has reviewed evidence on the effects of one-to-one tablet schemes on pedagogy, and more broadly within education, from the UK and Australia. Positive effects on pedagogy cited within the studies considered include: improvemements to lessons and homework, characterised by more creative and engaging tasks; more and better quality feedback to pupils; and improvements in monitoring and assessment.
The Department will continue to review international research in this area, such as that being undertaken by the Creative Classroom project of the European Schoolnet organisation. This study is looking at the effects of one-to-one tablet use, in 45 secondary schools, and across eight European countries.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what engagement they have had with the African Union on efforts to address the situation in the Central African Republic.
Baroness Northover
The ongoing violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) continues to take a distressing toll on the civilian population, compounding an already acute humanitarian crisis. The UN estimates that 557,000 people have been displaced within CAR, with 483,000 estimated to have fled the country, of whom 358,000 are refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Cameroon, Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
Prior to the crisis, CAR was host to over 15,000 refugees from DRC and Sudan; however the deteriorating security situation has led to the voluntary repatriation of many refugees with support from UNHCR. In April over 6,000 Congolese refugees were voluntarily repatriated to Equateur province in DRC – a further sign of the gravity of the situation in CAR.
The crisis is having a marked impact on education provision, with the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimating that 400,000 vulnerable children are in need of emergency access to education. Many schools outside the capital have been closed since the onset of the crisis and whilst some schools in Bangui have reopened, work on rebuilding educational institutions as well as infrastructure is needed. The Multi-Cluster Initial Rapid Assessment in January 2014 placed the level of functioning schools at 4%, with many looted and occupied by displaced people, but did not report military use of schools. The interruption of education affects both girls and boys.
The most important need continues to be security, and the UK has worked closely with international partners, including the African Union (AU), to support efforts to bring stability to the country. We have provided £2m in non-lethal support to the UN-mandated AU force, MISCA, which despite serious challenges, has worked well with the French Operation Sangaris to bring some security to the country. We will continue to work with the AU and others as we approach the handover to the UN Peace Keeping Operation, MINUSCA, in September 2014, and as preparations are made for elections, currently scheduled for 2015.