Category: Speeches

  • 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 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many former employees of probation trusts received payouts of (a) up to £5,000, (b) up to £10,0000, (c) up to £15,000, (d) up to £20,000, (e) up to £30,000, (f) up to £40,000, (g) up to £50,000, (h) up to £75,000, (i) up to £100,000 or (j) £100,000 or more since 1 January 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    Prior to 1 June, probation staff in England & Wales were employed by the 35 probation trusts. Employment data of the kind requested were held by the individual probations trusts. They were not collected centrally and it would not be possible to obtain the information without incurring disproportionate cost.

  • Baroness Morgan of Huyton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Morgan of Huyton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Morgan of Huyton on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the introduction of regulations to stop parcels being sent to prisoners, they have plans to improve prison libraries.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    Prison library services are, in the majority of prisons, provided by Public Library Authorities. Prison libraries enable prisoners to receive, subject to the constraints of operating within a custodial environment, a service equivalent to that provided for library users in the community.

    We have no plans to make changes to these services.

  • 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 2014-06-18.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent assessment the Electoral Commission has made of (a) its successes and (b) failures over the last five years.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Commission continuously assesses its work and publishes an annual assessment of progress within its annual report and accounts. The Commission’s annual reports and accounts, together with its corporate plans are laid before Parliament each year by Mr Speaker and are available on its website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/publications/corporate-publications

    “

  • Lucy Powell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Lucy Powell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many jobs have been transferred from the public to the private sector as a result of privatisations or outsourcing by the Law Officers’ Departments since May 2010.

    Oliver Heald

    The Law Officers’ Departments have not transferred any permanent jobs from the public to the private sector as a result of privatisations or outsourcing since May 2010.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consideration he has given to reclassifying the A5 from Shrewsbury to the M54 so that the M54 runs to Shrewsbury.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Following the meeting with my honourable Friend last year, I asked the Highways Agency to look into the case for and against reclassifying the A5 between the M54 and Shrewsbury as a motorway. The Agency has indicated that work to quantify costs associated with such a reclassification is almost complete but that identifying and evaluating the resulting benefits is proving more problematic. Further assessment will be necessary before a robust cost/benefit analysis can be completed. I have asked the Agency to liaise with my honourable Friend as this matter progresses.

  • Lucy Powell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lucy Powell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many jobs have been transferred from the public to the private sector as a result of privatisations or outsourcing by his Department since May 2010.

    Michael Fallon

    Following the sale of 60% of Government shares in Royal Mail on15 October 2013 some 150,000Royal Mail jobs in the UKtransferred from the public sector to the private sector.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in his Department have been asked to assist G4S in the delivery of the new Child Maintenance Options scheme to date; how many more staff G4S estimates will be needed to administer this contract when peak levels of applications are reached; and how much in staffing costs his Department is liable to pay as a result.

    Steve Webb

    The Child Maintenance Options service is not a new service and was introduced in 2008. It offers information and support to help separating and separated parents make an informed choice about their child maintenance arrangement. It is not a child maintenance scheme.

    The Department has in place planned and agreed business continuity arrangements with its supplier. This includes utilising the Department’s staff to take some calls where volumes exceed contracted levels. Over the past nine months the Department has used anything from 5 to 20 people for periods ranging from minutes to hours.

    The child maintenance reform programme includes ending liabilities on Child Support Agency cases in the 1993 and 2003 schemes over the next three years and it is too early to accurately predict when peak call volumes into Child Maintenance Options will be reached. Child Maintenance Options calculates resource requirements based on forecast volumes provided by the Department on a rolling three month basis. The number of staff Child Maintenance Options employs will increase in line with these forecasts over the next three years before returning to more normal levels when the reforms have completed. The associated costs are reflected in the contract.

  • Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people aged under 25 years in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland have claimed jobseeker’s allowance for more than (a) one and (b) two years in each year since 2010.

    Mr Nick Hurd

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

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether employees of his Department’s Child Maintenance Group will be compensated for the loss of their childcare subsidy.

    Steve Webb

    Five Child Maintenance Group on-site nurseries are due to close on expiry of the contract at the end of September 2014. They are located at offices in Birkenhead, Dudley, Falkirk, Hastings and Plymouth.

    Child Maintenance Group childcare subsidy was made no longer available to new entrants from 1 June 2012. This brings Child Maintenance Group into line with the Department’s policy on childcare subsidy.

    As part of its remuneration package, the Department supports employees through a salary sacrifice scheme where employees can give up part of their salary in return for childcare vouchers. This scheme allows for significant savings through tax relief and gives parents support in order to make their own choices for childcare.

    Employees affected by the closure of the five on-site nurseries have been offered a day’s special leave in order to look for suitable alternatives.

  • William Bain – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    William Bain – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Bain on 2014-04-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has held with financial institutions based in the UK in respect of improving tax transparency in other jurisdictions in which they or their subsidiaries operate.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government carried out a formal consultation, starting in September 2013, on the Capital Requirements Directive’s tax transparency proposals for financial institutions which require country-by-country reporting. The records of the consultation are publicly available.