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Tag: 2014

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance and support her Department is providing to refugees based in Turkey; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Turkey hosts almost 2.1 million refugees from Syria, the highest number of refugees of any country in the region surrounding Syria. We commend the generosity that Turkey has shown towards those fleeing the conflict in Syria. The UK has allocated £34 million to support Syrian refugees in Turkey, including food, shelter and primary healthcare. The UK is also working in partnership with Turkish institutions on targeted projects to build their capacity to tackle irregular migration. The EU is currently working in partnership with the Turkish government to explore options for increased support to Turkey. The UK is engaged in this process.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the total cost to the public purse was of arrangements for the most recent visits to the UK by the (a) President of the US and (b) President of China.

    James Duddridge

    The full cost of inward State Visits is borne by a number of different Government Departments.

    The cost borne by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the 2011 State Visit by the President of the US was £395,095.

    We do not yet have the costs for the 2015 State Visit by the President of China. These will be published on the gov.uk website once available.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of driver registration plate numbers the DVLA has sold to car parking companies in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Jones

    The table below shows the income received by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) from processing requests for information from private parking management companies over the last five financial years. The DVLA sets fees to recover the cost of processing requests and does not make a profit from providing this information.

    Year

    Total Revenue

    2010/11

    £2,910,850

    2011/12

    £3,657,859

    2012/13

    £4,831,355

    2013/14

    £6,097,898

    2014/15

    £7,573,298

    The DVLA releases vehicle keeper information to those who can show reasonable cause for receiving it. The following table shows the number of requests from private car parking management companies for vehicle keeper information processed via electronic links over the last five financial years.

    Year

    Electronic Requests

    2010/11

    1,178,034

    2011/12

    1,574,397

    2012/13

    1,897,572

    2013/14

    2,430,130

    2014/15

    3,083,276

    The vast majority of requests for vehicle keeper information are made electronically but information can also be requested using a paper application form. However, these requests come from a range of customers including private car parking management companies and the figures are not broken down by customer type.

    The DVLA meets regularly with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to discuss a range of issues, including the provision of information for private parking management. The ICO’s most recent audit resulted in a high assurance rating relating to the release of information from the DVLA’s vehicle record.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Freedom of Information requests were (a) submitted to, (b) acceded to and (c) refused by his Department in each of the last five years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Information on Freedom of Information performance for the last five years for all Government Departments, including DWP, is routinely published on GOV.UK.

    These reports are published quarterly and annually and include the number of requests received, acceded to and refused.

    They are published at:

    https://www.gov.uk/search?q=freedom+of+information+statistics+&tab=government-results

    “

  • Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of individuals who are innocent of crimes but have pleaded guilty in order to reduce their liability for the mandatory criminal courts charge since April 2015.

    Lord Faulks

    Section 55 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 places a duty on the Lord Chancellor to carry out a review of the Criminal Courts Charge three years after implementation of the charge. No such assessment has been made to date.

  • Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of freedom of access to Yemen by the UNHCR and non-governmental organisations looking after the most vulnerable in that country.

    Baroness Verma

    Intense fighting on the ground is making it increasingly hard for UNHCR and other non-governmental organisations to reach those in need within Yemen. This is compounded by restrictions on imports of commercial and humanitarian supplies into the country, including fuel. This in turn is hampering the distribution of humanitarian supplies within country, including essential food and medicines.Of the 2.3 million internally displaced people in Yemen, to date UNHCR has provided emergency relief items to 147,386 of them since the end of March.

    The UK continues to call on all parties to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered access to all people in need in Yemen. The UK is one of the largest donors to the crisis and has announced £75m to respond to the crisis in Yemen. UK aid is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter, working with trusted and impartial actors who have a strong track record in delivering assistance in difficult and dangerous places. We also support a UN-led process on access negotiations and the establishment of the Access Working Group where partners report cases of obstruction and accessible routes.

  • Baroness Donaghy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Donaghy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Donaghy on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether initial teacher-training programmes delivered using core places allocated to universities are as schools-led as those delivered through School Direct.

    Lord Nash

    A school-led training course gives trainees the chance to train on the job in at least two schools.School-led initial teacher training is made up of School Direct (tuition fee), School Direct (salaried) and School-centered ITT provider (SCITT) routes. One of the key principles of the School Direct training route is that it gives schools the decision-making power they need to work with their preferred partners in the design and delivery of ITT, and to select and recruit the best possible candidates. A number of different models have been developed by schools working with appropriate ITT providers based on local needs.

    Many schools are choosing to work with universities in the delivery of School Direct training. The same ITT criteria, which specify the minimum amount of time that trainees must spend in schools, apply to all ITT routes, whether school or university-led.

    The increasing availability of school-led routes alongside university-led courses allow applicants to choose the right course depending on personal circumstances, qualifications, and the subject and age group they want to teach.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to continue with the Local Sustainable Transport Fund beyond 2016; and if not, whether they plan to replace it with an alternative fund for sustainable transport.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    All future budgets, including those for the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, remain subject to Spending Review negotiations. Further information will be made available after the outcome of the Spending Review is announced on 25 November.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to provide adequate fire service on bonfire night.

    Greg Clark

    The Government is grateful to all firefighters who continually demonstrate their commitment to protecting their communities, particularly at this busy time of year.

    It is for each local fire and rescue authority to ensure the adequacy of its fire and rescue service provision on bonfire night and throughout the year. Each will have in place an Integrated Risk Management Plan, identifying and assessing the risks facing its communities and determining its priorities in relation to prevention, protection and response.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will give an undertaking to the British Medical Association not to impose a new junior doctors’ contract.

    Ben Gummer

    It remains the Government’s preference to reach a negotiated agreement with the British Medical Association (BMA). However, since the BMA Junior Doctors Committee withdrew from negotiations in October 2014, they have refused repeatedly to re-enter negotiations, even though they entered those negotiations recognising that the current contract was not fully fit for purpose and needed to change.

    On 28 OctoberGovernment confirmed that the pay of all junior doctors working safe hours in the transition to the new contract would be protected and again appealed to the BMA to return to negotiations.

    A new contract will be introduced from August 2016 that promotes safe working and rewards juniors more fairly in relation to the hours they work.