The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with Royal Mail regarding the redirection notices it provides to other postal operators.
Jenny Willott
None. Matters relating to its operations and services, which includes its Redirection Service, are the direct responsibility of Royal Mail’s management.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what was on the agenda for the meeting with Dmitry Firtash at his Department on 24 February 2014.
Mr David Lidington
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials met Dmitry Firtash on 24 February to discuss developments in Ukraine and support for Ukraine from the international community. They did not discuss matters of national security. The meeting was part of a wider approach by the FCO to understand better the situation in Ukraine, by seeking information and views from a wide range of contacts, including senior business figures. The Government does not have plans to publish a note of the meeting at this time. According to our records, Dmitry Firtash has not attended any other meetings with the FCO in London.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.
Andrea Leadsom
HM Treasury do not use 0845, 0844 or 0830 telephone numbers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Beresford on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many confirmed cases of oro-pharyngeal cancer there were in the last five years for which figures are available; and how many of those cases resulted in death.
Mr Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions his Department has had with local authorities in the Tees Valley on the creation of a combined authority.
Brandon Lewis
On 16 June 2014 the Government signed a City Deal with the Tees Valley in which the local leaders committed to develop plans to strengthen governance, including progressing the idea of a combined authority for the area.
It is for the local areas themselves to decide, given their circumstances, what governance arrangements will best enable effective and collaborative decision taking, which is transparent and locally accountable, thus delivering successfully the implementation of the area’s Strategic Economic Plan. Where councils come forward with a proposal for a combined authority that commands wide local support, if the Secretary of State considers that the statutory conditions are met, he will invite Parliament to approve an Order which enables the combined authority to be established.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date the Legal Aid Agency first informed Aman Solicitors that its bid was successful for a contract to provide publicly-funded immigration services in Luton in the 2010 tender round.
Mr Shailesh Vara
These questions relate to ongoing litigation against the Lord Chancellor and in the circumstances it would be inappropriate to respond at the current time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when Dominic Cummings last had email contact with officials, Ministers and special advisers in his Department.
Matthew Hancock
Mr Cummings is an ex-employee of the Department for Education. It is not uncommon for ex-employees to be in contact with Ministers and the Department. As the Secretary of State for Education explained to the House on Monday 16 June, many people seek to visit and contact the Department for Education to exchange ideas with old friends and colleagues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame M. Morris on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the National Probation Service will be responsible for the provision of court reports after the introduction of the Transforming Rehabilitation Agenda in England and Wales.
Jeremy Wright
Pre-Sentence Reports currently fall into three categories; Standard Delivery (SDR), Fast Delivery (FDR), and Same Day (or Oral) reports. This process allows Courts the flexibility to deliver sentencing decisions in the appropriate timeframe, depending on each individual case, reducing the number of adjournments and expediting the criminal justice process.
The Transforming Rehabilitation reforms will introduce a new Risk of Serious Recidivism (RSR) tool which will be used to inform the allocation of cases to new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) or the National Probation Service (NPS) and complements the pre-sentence report process. Our testing with operational staff in Trusts of the RSR tool indicates that it is straightforward to use, in line with our commitment to minimising bureaucracy for frontline staff.
The new National Probation Service (NPS) will be responsible for advice to courts and, prior to sentence, the NPS will advise courts on sentencing options for cases as part of a pre-sentence report (in accordance with the reserved function of advice to court under section 4 of the Offender Management Act 2007).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether UK Coal Surface Mining is a limited company wholly owned by UK Coal Mining Holdings; and whether it can be sold off as a separate entity without the £20 million loan package being agreed between all parties.
Michael Fallon
Any sale of all or part of the UK Coal Group of companies would be a matter for the relevant board / boards of directors to consider and decide upon.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress has been made on his Department’s child maintenance arrears and compliance strategy for 2012 to 2017; and if he will make a statement.
Steve Webb
Since 2008 we have considerably slowed down the growth of arrears via faster case processing and better enforcement. The successful introduction of the new 2012 Child Maintenance Scheme allows most paying parents to be assessed more quickly, which reduces the number of cases that accrue arrears. The new Child Maintenance Scheme is also built to trigger notification of missed payments so we can investigate non-compliance earlier, reducing the time in which arrears could build.
We are also looking at new techniques for collecting older debt. The trial of the process of reclassifying arrears has concluded and we are analysing how this initiative might be used in the future.