Category: Speeches

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) each English region have joined the (i) Army Reserves, (ii) Royal Naval Reserves and (iii) Royal Air Force Reserves in each year since 2010.

    Anna Soubry

    This information is not held in the format requested. Statistical data on recruitment to the Reserve Forces can be found in the Defence Statistics Quarterly Personnel Report at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-armed-forces-quarterly-personnel-report-2014

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has made to the current review of European strategy on health and safety at work; and if he will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    The UK Government responded to the public consultation on a new policy framework for health and safety at work in the EU conducted by the European Commission in 2013. We emphasised the need for any new policy framework to be rooted in the principles of better regulation. The Commission has said that it expects to publish a communication on the outcome of that consultation this year and I look forward to seeing it in due course.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lisa Nandy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what requirements have been placed on Dominic Cummings, as part of his contractual terms, to obtain clearance for public statements or writings on matters of Government policy or the internal workings of Government.

    Matthew Hancock

    These requirements are outlined in the relevant sections of the Civil Service Code and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code/the-civil-service-code.

    “

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has issued to personal independence payment providers on calling in clients for personal independence payment assessments who are terminally ill.

    Mike Penning

    The ‘PIP Assessment Guide’, the Department’s guidance for Personal Independence Payment assessment providers, states that face-to-face consultations are not required where a claim has been referred under the ‘Special Rules for Terminal Illness’ provisions.

    More information can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210722/pip-assessment-guide.pdf

    “

  • Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the number of households with prepayment meters in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority in each year between 1996 and 2014.

    Gregory Barker

    Data is not available to the Department on the number of households with prepayment meters at the parliamentary constituency or local authority level.

    Statistics are produced on a quarterly basis which show the proportion of households on prepayment tariffs by Public Electricity Supply (PES) region. These are made available through the DECC publication Quarterly Energy Prices, in tables 242 (electricity) and 252 (gas), which can be found online at the link below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quarterly-domestic-energy-price-stastics

    “

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the early operational performance of each private sector company providing personal independence payments assessments.

    Mike Penning

    Personal independence payment (PIP) is a new benefit and processes are currently bedding in. The Department’s contracts with Capita and Atos Healthcare for the delivery of assessments for personal independence payment include a full set of service level agreements setting out the Department’s expectations for service delivery, including quality of assessments and the number of days to provide advice to the Department.

    Officials meet regularly with both assessment providers to discuss performance. We are closely monitoring their progress against the Department’s expectations for service delivery and are taking action to drive up performance where this does not meet the required standards. In particular, for both providers, the end-to-end process for many claimants is taking significantly longer than originally anticipated. We are working with the providers to ensure that they are taking all necessary steps to improve performance, speed up the process and ensure claimants receive a satisfactory experience. Special rules claims for terminally ill claimants are dealt with urgently by our assessment providers. The latest published statistics show that over 99% of people with terminal illnessess who have applied have been awarded the benefit, which means over 9,500 terminally ill claimants are now receiving personal independence payment.

    Although limited data has started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy. An ad-hoc release of PIP information was published on 11 February 2014.

  • Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naomi Long on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will press for the immediate release of Meriam Ibrahim and her two children who are imprisoned in Sudan.

    Mark Simmonds

    Meriam Ibrahim was released on 23 June, which we strongly welcomed. She has subsequently been detained again by the Sudanese authorities. Together with our international partners we are urgently seeking clarity on the precise details of her re-arrest and to seek her immediate release.

    Before her short release, the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Development and I had all issued statements calling for Meriam Ibrahim to be released immediately. We also raised our concerns directly with the Government of Sudan: my colleague Lynne Featherstone with the Sudanese Foreign Minister; and our Ambassador in Khartoum with other ministers and senior officials. We will continue to press for her freedom

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in HM Treasury to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

    Lord Deighton

    HM Treasury does not have a prescribed percentage for which a forecast overspend is tabled at the executive management board. Each month the board receives a summary of the forecast expenditure against budget and a commentary in which any significant forecast variances to individual budgets are described and explained.

  • Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Ainsworth on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police community support officers there were in (a) Coventry, (b) Coventry North East constituency, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years.

    Damian Green

    The following table contains the requested data for police community support
    officers in:
    (a) Coventry Basic Command Unit, from 31 March 2009 to 31 March 2011. Figures
    at basic command unit level ceased to be collected from then to reduce the
    administratvie burden on the police.
    (b) figures for Coventry North East constituency are not collected by the Home
    Office.
    (c) (d) the West Midlands police force, the West Midlands region and England,
    from 31 March 2009 to 30 September 2013.

  • Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they accept claims for hearing loss from former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment who served before 1986; and if not, why not.

    Lord Astor of Hever

    Section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 prevented service personnel, including former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment, from suing the Crown for alleged negligence which occurred before that section was repealed in 1987. The repeal was not retrospective. Depending on their level of hearing loss, they may, however, be eligible for a War Disablement Pension.