Category: Speeches

  • John Mann – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    John Mann – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport renewals have been completed within the advertised three week turnaround time from receipt in the last period for which figures are available.

    James Brokenshire

    Straightforward passport applications from applicants in the UK have a published expected turnaround of three weeks. For the financial year 2013-14,
    99.58 percent of customers received their passports within that period.

    Achievement of turnaround times is a national objective and specific targets are not focused on individual offices. This approach allows HM Passport Office
    to channel resources and distribute applications to meet capacity.

  • Lucy Powell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lucy Powell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of employees in his Department of each (a) Civil Service pay grade and (b) gender work (i) reduced hours, (ii) flexi-time, (iii) from home, (iv) a compressed working week, (v) job share, (vi) term-time only and (vii) part-time.

    Mr Francis Maude

    The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

    Some of the information requested is not held centrally. However, all of these options are available to employees subject to business needs.

    Fewer than five employees are currently recorded as working (iii) from home in a formal arrangement.

    The proportion of employees by Pay Grade who work part-time hours as at 28 February 2014 is shown in the table below:

    CO Payband (CS Equivalent)

    % Part Time

    PERM SEC

    0%

    SCS3

    14%

    SCS2

    5%

    SCS1

    8%

    A/BAND A (Grade 6/7)

    5%

    B2/BAND B2 (HEO/SEO)

    6%

    B/Faststream

    0%

    B1/BAND B1 (EO)

    9%

    C/BAND C (AA/AO)

    10%

    The proportion of employees by gender who work part-time hours as at 28 February 2014 is shown in the table below:

    Gender

    % Part Time

    Female

    12%

    Male

    1%

  • John Glen – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Glen – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all schools can provide free school meals for infant children by September 2014.

    Mr David Laws

    The Government is providing substantial funding to enable schools to offer free meals to all infant pupils from September 2014, including over £1 billion additional revenue funding over the two years 2014 to 2016 and £150 million capital funding in 2014-15. The revenue funding includes transitional funding to small schools, worth a minimum of £3,000, which qualifying schools will be able to use to help them overcome delivery challenges.

    We are also funding a national support service, run by school food experts, which is providing advice and guidance to schools that need assistance in implementing universal infant free school meals. The support includes a telephone helpline, the sharing of good practice, and an intensive face-to-face support service for schools facing significant challenges.

  • Vernon Coaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Vernon Coaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget Statement on 19 March 2014, Official Report, column 784, what effect making departmental underspends permanent and locked-in will have on his Department’s budgetary assumptions in relation to his Department’s (a) revenue and (b) capital budget until 2015-16.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    (holding answer 31 March 2014)

    The Chancellor’s Budget statement did not change the Ministry of Defence (MOD)’s budgetary position until 2015-16 from that set out at the Autumn Statement in December 2013.

    The Treasury has confirmed that Defence’s overall position remains unchanged as a result of the Budget: there has been no change to the MOD’s budgetary baseline for 2015-16.

  • Pat Glass – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Pat Glass – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pat Glass on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she has taken to ensure that the Police Service of Northern Ireland has adequate resources to ensure a peaceful marching season.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The issue of police resources is primarily a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive. However, I have regular discussions with the Chief Constable and David Ford concerning police resources.

    The additional £231 million funding provided to the PSNI by the Government for national security matters releases resources to assist with the policing of matters such as parading and public order.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the functional literacy rates were in each (a) local authority area and (b) region in each of the last 10 years.

    Mr David Laws

    Tables showing the percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or above in reading and writing at the end of key stage 2[1] at local authority level for the past four years are published in the ‘National curriculum assessments at key stage two’ statistical first release (SFR). A copy of the data has been placed in the House Library.

    Information on the percentage of pupils achieving A* to C and A* to G grades in English GCSE[2] nationally for the last 10 years are published in the ‘GCSE and equivalent results’ SFR. A copy is placed in the House Library.

    Key stage 2 reading and writing figures for earlier years and English GCSE figures at local authority level could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    [1] These figures are published in the “National curriculum assessments at key stage 2” statistical first releases for each year.

    [2] These figures are published in the “GCSE and equivalent results” statistical first releases for each year.

  • Gemma Doyle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Gemma Doyle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gemma Doyle on 2014-05-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the first Service Complaints Ombudsman to take up his or her duties.

    Anna Soubry

    It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of specialist refuge places for women from black and minority ethnic communities.

    Kris Hopkins

    I have been asked to reply.

    This Department does not hold the information requested. Decisions on the provision of accommodation for victims of domestic abuse are for local authorities: we expect local authorities to build services based on the needs of their communities, taking account of locally available data sources.

    The dynamics of domestic abuse mean that accommodation can play an important role in the resolution of interpersonal abuse and conflict. This is why the homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and for vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own.

    There is a range of support for victims of domestic abuse. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but Sanctuary Schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.

    This Department funds UKRefugesOnline a UK wide database of domestic violence services which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic violence helpline. This service enables those working with victims of domestic violence to identify appropriate services and potential refuge vacancies around the country so that victims can get the help they need as quickly as possible.

    This Government has ring-fenced nearly £40 million of stable funding for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services until 2015. This funding is used to part-fund 54 Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference coordinators and 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisors. We have piloted and rolled out Clare’s Law and Domestic Violence Protection Orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; and placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learned from individual tragedies.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-12.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to provide that the freeze dates for population size for boundary reviews and the census be in the same year.

    Greg Clark

    It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to Answer question number 191341, submitted by the hon. Member for Hyndburn on 10 March 2014 for Answer on 13 March 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    It has not been possible to obtain the information required to respond to question 191341 from the hon Member forHyndburn. I will write to the hon Member shortly. I apologise for the delay in responding to these questions.