Category: Speeches

  • Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Docherty-Hughes on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with West Dunbartonshire Council on the near collision between an unmanned drone and a passenger aircraft above Clydebank on 6 March 2016.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There is a process in place for reporting such incidents. The independent UK Airprox Board (UKAB) has a well-established and high reputation for investigating all airprox incidents effectively and to make safety recommendations which it believes are necessary. More information about this process can be found at the following link https://www.airproxboard.org.uk/Learn-more/The-Airprox-process/.

    “

  • Angela Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Angela Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Crawley on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the protection of passenger rights in the UK.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government is considering carefully all the potential implications arising from the UK’s exit from the EU, including the implications for passenger rights. Until we leave, EU law still applies, so EU rules on passenger rights will continue to apply in the UK, alongside national rules.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether British missions in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, and other countries have received applications for family reunion and asylum in Britain; and if so, what action they have taken to respond to them.

    Lord Bates

    Applications for family reunion visas can be made in Visa Application Centres across the globe. There are such centres in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Italy and Greece. Should any mission receive queries about applying for a family reunion visa the applicant will be directed to the online application process. UKVI aims to decide all family reunion visa applications within 12 weeks of submission as per it’s customer services standard.

    An individual must be in the UK to claim asylum. There is no obligation on the UK to consider applications or enquiries made on behalf of people abroad about asylum in the UK and there is no provision in the Immigration Rules for someone to be given permission to travel to the UK to seek asylum.

  • Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the apprenticeship levy on employers operating in Wales whose headquarters are in England.

    Nick Boles

    The apprenticeship levy will apply to employers across the UK. An allowance of £15,000 means only those with a paybill exceeding £3million will have to pay it. The Government is working with the Welsh Government and other devolved administrations to ensure fair and transparent funding and, as far as possible, to develop a system for administering the levy which complements the skills and apprenticeship policies of each of the devolved administrations. We are committed to doing all we can to make the system work for employers wherever they are in the UK.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the effect of the HM Revenue and Customs Location Strategy on future tax revenues.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Location Programme is the result of an extended period of consultation and deliberation. The Department has taken account of a number of criteria in reaching its decisions, including the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, the cost of buildings and asset value, and the need to retain the staff and skills it needs to continue its transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

    HMRC’s modelling estimates that the majority of staff in Scotland live within Reasonable Daily Travel of Glasgow or Edinburgh. Reasonable Daily Travel is calculated in line with established HR policies and procedures. Every worker at HMRC will have a one-to-one meeting with their manager to discuss their individual circumstances.

    HMRC conducted high level People Impact and Equality Assessments to inform its planning. The Department plans to update these once discussions have been held with its staff.

    Activities of trade union representatives are governed by long-standing agreements with departments.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment of the ethical standards of debt collection agencies his Department undertakes before entering into a contract with such agencies.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.

    With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.

    Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.

    The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.

    The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.

    The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

    Financial Year

    Spend

    Recoveries

    2009/2010

    £1.59m

    £8.50m

    2010/2011

    £1.33m

    £9.77m

    2011/2012

    £2.11m

    £13.94m

    2012/2013

    £1.95m

    £14.15m

    2013/2014

    £2.12m

    £15.00m

    2014/2015

    £2.52m

    £17.30m

    2015/2016*

    £1.64m

    £11.05m

    *to date

    The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

    Financial Year

    Spend

    Recoveries

    2009/2010

    £1.25m

    £10.20m

    2010/2011

    £0.56m

    £4.68m

    2011/2012

    £0.35m

    £1.35m

    2012/2013

    £0.21m

    £1.71m

    2013/2014

    £0.05m

    £1.21m

    2014/2015

    £0.10m

    £0.86m

    2015/2016 to date

    £0.07m

    £0.53m

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) residential care homes and (b) nursing homes have closed in the current year and in each of the previous five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department does not centrally hold information on the number of residential care homes or nursing homes that have closed in the current year, or in each of the last five years.

  • John Woodcock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    John Woodcock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Woodcock on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the value of (a) UK and (b) foreign munitions and sonobuoys purchased for the UK’s P-8A aircraft over the life of that aircraft by (i) year, (ii) country of manufacture and (iii) name.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 December 2015 to Question 19776 to the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle).

    The Ministry of Defence has not yet made a final decision on the method for contracting for delivery of the P8-A Poseiden aircraft to the UK. Therefore the information requested is yet to be determined.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise on 9 May 2016, Official Report, column 442, what the addresses are of the 14 locations across which his Department’s policy teams are spread.

    Joseph Johnson

    The addresses of the 14 locations where the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills policy teams are based are:

    Birmingham
    Victoria Square House
    Victoria Square
    Birmingham B2 4BU

    Bristol
    2 Rivergate
    Bristol BS1 6EH

    Cambridge
    Eastbrook House
    Shaftsbury Road
    Cambridge CB2 8DU

    Cardiff
    Companies House
    Crown Way
    Cardiff CF14 3UZ

    Coventry
    Cheylesmore House
    Quinton Road
    Coventry CV1 2WT

    Darlington
    Queensway House
    West Precinct
    Darlington TS23 2NF

    Gateshead
    St George’s House
    Kingsway
    Gateshead NE11 0NA

    Leeds
    Alexandra House
    Redvers Close
    Leeds LS16 6QY

    London
    1 Victoria Street
    London SW1H 0ET

    Manchester
    3 Piccadilly Gate
    Store Street
    Manchester M1 2WD

    Newport
    Concept House
    Cardiff Road
    Newport NP10 8QQ

    Nottingham
    Apex Court
    City Link
    Nottingham NG2 4LA

    Sheffield
    2 St Paul’s Place
    125 Norfolk Street
    Sheffield S1 2FJ

    Warrington/Daresbury
    Daresbury Laboratory
    Keckwick Lane
    Warrington WA4 4AD

  • Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many mandatory reconsiderations were submitted in relation to entitlement to disability living allowance for children in each of the last three years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The table below shows the number of Mandatory Reconsiderations received for the last three years.

    Disability Living Allowance

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    Child Mandatory Reconsiderations received

    18,543

    21,647

    27,015

    The information for the second question could only be supplied at disproportionate cost.

    Notes: Mandatory Reconsiderations were introduced from October 2013 as part of Appeals Reform. The figures shown in the table above for 2013/14 include reconsideration clearances (pre-reform) to enable the full year to be provided.

    Source: Department of Work and Pensions, Disability Living Allowance Computer System

    This type of internal management information does not form part of the official statistics outputs that are released by the Department in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice and should be used with caution.