Category: Speeches

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the financial penalties for non-compliance with the minimum wage issued by HM Revenue and Customs in 2013-14 were for the then maximum sum of £5,000.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government takes the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously. HMRC review every complaint that is referred to them by the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (0800 917 2368). In addition, HMRC conduct targeted compliance activity based on data received from various sources and robust risk assessment processes, to identify the sectors and employers across the United Kingdom, who are considered more likely to be failing to pay NMW.

    The Government has increased the financial penalty percentage that employers pay for breaking minimum wage law from 50 per cent to 100 per cent and the maximum penalty has increased from £5,000 to £20,000. The revised penalty is calculated as 100 per cent of the total underpayment for all of the workers specified in a Notice of Underpayment relating to pay reference periods that commence on or after 7 March 2014.

    HMRC issued the maximum penalty of £5,000 to 52 employers identified as owing workers arrears of pay under national minimum wage legislation in 2013/14.

  • 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 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many of those held in open prisons in each month in 2010 to 2013 had previously (a) absconded, (b) attempted to abscond, (c) escaped and (d) attempted to escape.

    Jeremy Wright

    Keeping the public safe is our priority.Absconds and escapes have reached record lows under this Government but each incident is taken seriously. Immediate changes have already been ordered to tighten up the system as a matter of urgency. Prisoners will no longer be transferred to open conditions or allowed out on temporary release if they have previously absconded, escaped, or attempted to do either.

    My officials are currently working to provide the information requested. I will write to you in due course.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Environment Agency staff have been redeployed to inspect flood defence assets in each of the last five months.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Environment Agency has 100 members of staff fully trained in asset inspection who have all been deployed in the last five months. Only trained staff are used to inspect assets.

  • Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their stated intention of building more houses, what is their assessment of the availability of skilled personnel to carry out the building work necessary; and what measures they are taking to train sufficient numbers to ensure the success of the house building programme.

    Viscount Younger of Leckie

    There has been no specific assessment of the availability of skilled personnel for the home building sector. The Construction Industry Training Board’s (CITB) latest Construction Skills Network Report forecasts an annual recruitment requirement for the construction sector, including home building, of 36,400 a year for the 2013 – 2018 period.

    Under the auspices of the Construction Leadership Council, the house building industry is developing an action plan to address two immediate priorities: improving the image of house building and attracting back experienced workers who left during the recession, and other workers with relevant skills. More widely, the Government is making a number of reforms to the skills system to improve skills supply, putting employers in the driving seat and making providers more responsive to their needs.

    The Government is also currently undertaking a triennial review of the way the CITB operates and challenging it on the service it delivers to the sector.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the individual total cost is of each of the biodiversity offsetting pilot schemes in (a) Devon, (b) Doncaster, (c) Essex, (d) Greater Norwich, (e) Nottinghamshire, (f) Warwickshire, (g) Coventry and (h) Solihull to date; and what the estimated total cost is of the schemes.

    Dan Rogerson

    This information is not held centrally. An evaluation of the pilots is being produced and will be published.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information is currently given to female patients concerning the potential problems of taking valproate in pregnancy; and how that information reflects the guidelines established by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on those issues.

    Earl Howe

    The Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) that accompanies the medicine is intended to supplement the information provided by the prescriber. The PIL for Epilim (a brand of valproate for the treatment of epilepsy) states that women who are pregnant or of childbearing age should not take valproate unless explicitly advised by their doctor and provides information on birth defects, impaired development and other problems which may occur in babies born to mothers who take valproate during pregnancy. The PILs for other brands of valproate used in the treatment of epilepsy and to control mania in bipolar disorder contain similar warnings. The warnings in the information for healthcare professionals, the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) and the PIL are currently the subject of a Europe–wide review which was prompted by new data on the risk of developmental disorders in children born to mothers who took valproate during pregnancy.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline on epilepsy made the following recommendation as a key priority for implementation: "Women and girls with epilepsy and their partners, as appropriate, must be given accurate information and counselling about contraception, conception, pregnancy, caring for children, breastfeeding and menopause." NICE’s clinical guideline on bipolar disorder recommends that valproate should not routinely be prescribed to pregnant women with bipolar disorder.

  • Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what education projects her Department is supporting in Nigeria.

    Lynne Featherstone

    DFID supports five education projects in Nigeria (Education Sector Support Programme, Girls’ Education Programme, Teacher Development Programme, Developing Effective Private Education, and Education Data, Research and Evaluation through which an additional 800,000 children will access better quality schools by 2015.

    DFID also supports two further projects through the global Girls’ Education Challenge (Discovery Girls and Educating Nigerian Girls in New Enterprises), through which 48,000 marginalised girls will be supported to access better schools.

  • Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have sought assistance from the Royal Household in recovering records of royal pardons granted between 1987 and 1997.

    Baroness Randerson

    The review of Departmental record keeping ordered by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is ongoing.

    Northern Ireland Office officials continue to seek information on use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) for the years 1987 to 1997. This includes contact with the Royal Household to ascertain whether they hold any relevant information.

  • David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints about (a) staff behaviour, (b) contested sanction decisions and (c) telephone line waiting times have been made against Bolton Jobcentre Plus offices in each year since 2010.

    Esther McVey

    Until July 2012, when a new process for handling and recording customer feedback was introduced, complaints were not formally categorised. It has therefore not been possible to accurately identify the requested data prior to that date. In addition, contested sanction decisions are subject to the appeals and reconsideration process and are not categorised as complaints. The information we are able to provide for Bolton Jobcentre is as follows:

    Period

    Staff behaviour

    Telephone line waiting times

    01/07/2012 – 31/12/2012

    5

    0

    01/01/2013 – 31/12/2013

    20

    0

    01/01/14 – 31/03/14

    12

    0
  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, what consideration the Law Officers’ Departments’ give to the diversity policies and records of businesses or other organisations when considering their bid for commercial contracts or grants.

    Oliver Heald

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to her by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 16th June (Official Report, Col 434W).