The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent on the youth contract in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.
Esther McVey
The spend on Youth Contract since it was launched in April 2012 is as follows:
2012/13 – £85.8m
2013/14 – £210.3m
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what budget was set for the youth contract in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.
Esther McVey
Following the Youth Contract launch in 2012-13, the Department has set the following budgets:
12/13 – £260m
13/14 – £196.3m
14/15 – £183.8m
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants have been sanctioned in each month since October 2013.
Esther McVey
The information requested is not currently available.
The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013 which can be found at :
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether MRCC Aberdeen was staffed at below risk assessed levels on any shifts between 20 May and 22 May 2014.
Stephen Hammond
Aberdeen Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was fully staffed with five qualified officers during each of the day watches over the period 20 to 22 May 2014. On the night of 20 May, the watch was reduced to three qualified officers, and on the night of 21 May, four qualified officers. This had no impact on search and rescue operational capability for that period.
Aberdeen MRCC could also have called on further experienced and capable support from five other MRCCs, should this support have been required.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the performance of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency during the search for the Water Rail between 20 and 22 May 2014.
Stephen Hammond
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) performance in relation to the incident involving the Water Rail between 20 and 22 May 2014 was thorough and professional, and in line with established international protocols.
The operational activity of coastguards on duty at the Aberdeen Maritime and Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) were supervised by an experienced Search Mission Coordinator.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many serious and fatal road accidents there were in York Unitary Authority in each year since 2008-09.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The number of fatal and serious reported personal injury road accidents in York Unitary Authority for each of the calendar years 2008 to 2013 are given in the table below; by severity:
Number of reported personal injury road accidents in York Unitary Authority, by severity: 2008-2013
|
Fatal |
Serious |
|
|
2008 |
9 |
71 |
|
2009 |
4 |
51 |
|
2010 |
4 |
56 |
|
2011 |
7 |
51 |
|
2012 |
4 |
45 |
|
2013 |
0 |
55 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much was spent on concessionary travel spending in York Unitary Authority in each year since 2008-09.
Stephen Hammond
The total amount spent by York City Council on concessionary travel, including the statutory concession and any relevant discretionary enhancements, is detailed in the table below:
|
2008 – 09 |
2009 – 10 |
1010 – 11 |
2011 – 12 |
2012 – 13 |
|
|
York City Council spend on concessionary travel (£000s) |
5,013 |
5,307 |
4,902 |
4,633 |
4,826 |
Figures for 2013/14 are still being collated.
Local authority formula grant has been the main vehicle for providing concessionary travel funding to local authorities since the current statutory concession’s introduction in 2008. Since this grant is unhypothecated it is not possible to provide a breakdown by authority.
In 2008 the Department for Transport provided English authorities with a total of £31 million to assist in the reissuing of concessionary passes, £130,972 of which was allocated to York City Council.
Between April 2008 and April 2011 the Department made Special Grant payments to authorities, in addition to the formula grant they were already receiving, recognising the additional cost of the extension to pre-2008 concessionary travel arrangements. The following table indicates the amount of funding available to York in each of the three years during which special grant was paid.
|
2008 / 09 |
2009 / 10 |
2010 / 11 |
|
|
Special grant funding available to York City Council: |
1,112 |
1,138 |
1,170 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what transport grant was given to York Unitary Authority in each year since 2008-09.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department for Transport provides grant funding to local highway authorities, including the City of York. Funding allocated to the City of York since 2008/09 for transport purposes that the Department has records of is listed below:
|
Year |
Capital £m |
Revenue £m |
|
2008/09 |
5.941 |
1.837 |
|
2009/10 |
6.219 |
0.738 |
|
2010/11 |
4.551 |
1.345 |
|
2011/12 |
3.899 |
0.421 |
|
2012/13 |
6.886 |
0.647 |
|
2013/14 |
16.997 |
0.932 |
|
2014/15 |
6.001 |
0.685 |
This funding is for Highways Maintenance, Integrated Transport, Local Sustainable Transport and Major Projects.
Since 2010 this Government has simplified funding arrangements to local authorities in order to provide them with greater flexibility in how the funding is spent to respond to local needs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received requesting the Government to intervene to require the British Pregnancy Advisory Service to remove advice on its website which alleges that gender-selective abortion is not illegal; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
There has been one request for intervention by the Government to require the British Pregnancy Advisory Service to remove the advice from its web site.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Decision Notice of 14 May 2013 on the extension of the reserved legal activities, what discussions he has had with the will writing industry on strengthening existing regulation of authorised persons in this area.
Mr Shailesh Vara
In the Lord Chancellor’s Decision Notice of 14 May 2013, as well as confirming that he had decided not to make will writing a reserved legal activity, he indicated that further efforts should be made to see if alternatives to regulation could be made more effective in improving standards in relation to will writing.
Since then, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has taken a number of steps, with the intention of encouraging and supporting measures to improve standards, in both the regulated and unregulated legal service sectors.
In relation to the regulated sector, the LSB has written to the approved regulators, to encourage them to take steps to address concerns about the quality of will writing by authorised persons. In May 2014, the Solicitors Regulation Authority issued guidance for solicitors on will-writing.
In relation to the unregulated sector, the LSB convened a roundtable with industry stakeholders, including leading will writing trade bodies, in January 2014, to explore ways to improve the coverage and effectiveness of voluntary schemes and codes. At this roundtable, the LSB and stakeholders also discussed how to improve consumer information, to better educate consumers about the differences between regulated and unregulated will providers, and related protections and redress routes.