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  • Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to fill vacant school governor positions.

    Lord Nash

    Responsibility for filling a vacancy on a governing body rests with the relevant appointing body for that vacancy. This will vary depending on the category of school and the category of governor.

    Governing bodies should review their membership and size on a regular basis and ensure that appointments are made in an efficient and timely manner. The Governors’ Handbook recommends that for every vacancy, governing bodies should conduct a skills audit to identify any gaps in the skills, knowledge and experience of existing governors. Governing bodies should also set out the specific skills and experience that the school needs for the relevant appointing body or electorate.

    The Department for Education has committed funding to School Governors’ One-Stop Shop (SGOSS), the governor recruitment charity, to March 2015. SGOSS provides a free service, matching high quality candidates that want to become governors with schools that have governor vacancies, according to the skills the schools need. In addition we are working with employers to encourage them to promote volunteering as a governor to their staff. This can potentially provide schools with an important source of highly skilled governors and is also an excellent learning and development opportunity for the employees concerned, carrying benefits back to their employer.

  • Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 20 March, whether they will now detail which specific and itemised duties were performed by each former Prime Minister in each year that the Public Duty Costs Allowance was awarded to them.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The Public Duty Cost Allowance exists as a reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary office costs and secretarial costs arising from their special position in public life. The allowance is not paid to support private or parliamentary duties.

  • Lord Rana – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Rana – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rana on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reassure consumers, who for religious or other reasons do not wish to consume halal or kosher meats, about the provenance of the meat they buy, in the absence of any informative labelling as to the method of slaughter used.

    Lord De Mauley

    The Government is of the view that consumers should have the necessary information available to them to make an informed choice about their food. Any method of slaughter labelling system needs to cover more than just the UK. We are awaiting the results of an European Commission study on method-of-slaughter labelling, which is due this summer. We will look at possible options in light of that report.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-03-24.

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

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The Cabinet Office Board and the Executive Management Committee review the department’s financial position on a regular basis.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-03-24.

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

    Lord Wallace of Tankerness

    The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) does not have a cost overrun established by the management board above which it merits a budget being tabled at departmental Executive Board. No overruns have been reported to the AGO Executive Board in the last 12 months.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what customer, user and satisfaction surveys were conducted in the last 12 months in the Department for Work and Pensions and the agencies that report to it; which of them have been reported to the management board in the last 12 months; and which were commissioned by the management board.

    Lord Freud

    The Department for Work and Pensions conducts an annual Claimant Service and Experience Survey which measures customer satisfaction. The survey includes customers of Jobcentre Plus and the former agency Pensions, Disability and Carers Service. Fieldwork for the 2013 survey was completed in September. The survey is approved by the Operations Executive Team and key findings have been reported to them.

    The Child Maintenance Group conducts customer satisfaction surveys to cover all its statutory schemes. Quarterly surveys are run for the 1993/2003 and 2012 schemes and a monthly survey for the Options Gateway to tell how customers think suppliers are delivering service. All of these surveys are commissioned and reviewed for internal use by the CMG Executive Team.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what customer, user and satisfaction surveys were conducted in the last 12 months in the Wales Office and the agencies that report to it; which of them have been reported to the management board in the last 12 months; and which were commissioned by the management board.

    Baroness Randerson

    The Wales Office has not conducted any customer or user surveys in the last 12 months.

    However, the Wales Office conducts a staff engagement survey annually, and the results are reported to the Department’s management board.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what customer, user and satisfaction surveys were conducted in the last 12 months in the Department for Transport and the agencies that report to it; which of them have been reported to the management board in the last 12 months; and which were commissioned by the management board.

    Baroness Kramer

    The information requested regarding the conduct of customer, user and satisfaction surveys across the Department for Transport and its agencies in the last 12 months is as follows:

    Survey Comissioned by Board Reported to Board
    DVLA
    Customer Satisfaction Survey 2012-13 Yes Yes
    VOSA
    ATF Satisfaction Survey Yes Yes
    PSV operators survey
    MOT modernisation user survey
    User evaluation of communications – operators
    User evaluation of communications – MOT
    MCA
    UK Ship Register Yes
    Survey and Inspection Regime Yes
    Seafarer Certifcate of Competency Yes
    Seafarer Certificate of Equivalent Comeptency Yes
    HA
    National Road User Survey Yes
    Area Road User Survey x7
    DSA
    Car driving test candidates x2 Yes
    Motorcycle driving test candidates x2 Yes
    LGC/PCV driving test candidates Yes
    Approved driving instructors x2 Yes
    Approved motorcycle training bodies
    Potential driving instructors
    Trainers on the ORDIT register
    Trainers on the voluntary LGV/PCV register

    Glossary

    ATF Authorised Testing Facility
    DSA Driver Standards Agency
    DVLA Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
    HA Highways Agency
    MCA Maritime and Coastguard Agency
    PSV Public service vehicle
    VCA Vehicle Certification Agency
    VOSA Vehicle and Operator Services Agency
    LGV Large goods vehicle
    PCV Passenger carrying vehicle
    ORDIT Online register of driving instructors

  • Kate Hoey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Kate Hoey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress has been made on gaining compensation from the Libyan government for the victims of terrorist acts perpetrated by the IRA.

    Mr Andrew Robathan

    As my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister said during Prime Ministers Questions on the 26th March, the British Government has raised repeatedly with the Libyan Government, at the highest levels, the importance of them engaging with UK victims seeking redress. This includes those seeking compensation through private campaigns, and their legal representatives.

  • Mrs Mary Glindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Mrs Mary Glindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Mary Glindon on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the effect of reductions in the number of people employed in the public sector in Northern Ireland.

    Mr Andrew Robathan

    The Government is committed to rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy in favour of the private sector which we, and the Executive, believe is the best way to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future. Over the last year, private sector jobs in Northern Ireland have increased by 10,490 and public sector jobs by 1,790.