Tag: 2014

Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pete Wishart on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many officials of the Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland have been allocated to work on the Scotland Analysis programme; and if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of that work.

David Mundell

Work on the Scotland analysis programme has been undertaken in the course of normal business across Government by policy and legal experts in relevant areas. In the Office of the Advocate General, any work relating to the Scotland analysis programme and any associated costs have been absorbed by existing teams within the Office of the Advocate General in addition to their day-to-day responsibilities and from existing budgets. Therefore there have been no additional costs involved in work of the Office of the Advocate General on the programme.

November 2, 2022
Mark Lazarowicz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Lazarowicz on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what average time is taken to process an application for funeral expenses from the Social Fund from the time an application is submitted to a decision being taken.

Steve Webb

The clearance time for Funeral Payments, as published in the 2012/13 Social Fund Annual report, is an average of 14.76 days, against a target of 16 days

November 2, 2022
Eilidh Whiteford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the impact assessment of the single-tier pension published in October 2013, if he will make an estimate of how many people reaching state pension age after implementation of the single-tier pension in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland would have been eligible for savings credit in (i) 2020 and (ii) 2030 had savings credit not been abolished.

Steve Webb

The full rate of the new State Pension will give an income above the basic means test, rewarding retirement income saving.

It is estimated that in 2020 around 10% of pensioner households receiving the new State Pension, around 200,000 benefit units, in Great Britain would be eligible for the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit if it had not been removed for people who reached State Pension age after the introduction of new State Pension in April 2016.

By 2030, it is estimated that 15% of the new State Pension households, around 1 million benefit units, would be in this position.

Not all of these people would take up their eligibility to Savings Credit. The Department estimates that take-up amongst people eligible for only the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit is between 43% and 48%.

Breakdowns of the impact analysis by country or region within Great Britain are not available.

It is estimated that retaining Savings Credit for all pensioners and uprating it line with earnings would lead to additional annual costs in the UK of around £2bn in 20 years’ time.

November 2, 2022
Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he, Ministers or officials in his Department have had with secondary ticketing websites about guidance to or implementation of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

Jo Swinson

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has not received any direct representations from representatives of the secondary ticketing websites on amendments tabled to the Consumer Rights Bill or about the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills’ guidance on them.

Neither my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State nor other Ministers in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills have had meetings with the secondary ticketing websites about the implementation of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 or the Department for Business Innovation and Skills’ guidance on them.

The draft Regulations and the contents of the Bill were widely consulted on and the Department received a range of comments in response. Officials from the Department have also had discussions with a wide range of stakeholders (including with secondary ticketing websites) on the implementation of those Regulations and the guidance on them.

Following a consultation on the draft regulations, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills has produced guidance on the requirements of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. This guidance is easily accessible on the gov.uk website. Officials have also worked with the Business Support Helpline, which offers free advice to business on a wide range of issues, including regulation, and with the Trading Standards Institute (TSI), as the primary body responsible for educating businesses on consumer law. TSI has also produced guidance which is available on their website. Consumers themselves are important in driving compliance and officials have worked with Citizens Advice to raise consumer awareness so that they can see when businesses are not abiding by the requirements of the regulations.

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has also actively promoted the changes in the Regulations across all sectors through seminars, presentations and communications to businesses.

Ministers in the Home Office, Department for Culture Media and Sport and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills have discussions and correspond together on a wide range of issues, and this has included agreeing the content of the Consumer Rights Bill. Officials from those Departments are in regular contact, including regarding the issue of resale of tickets.

November 2, 2022
Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-07-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the success of steps taken to encourage and facilitate first time buyers and young people to get onto the property ladder.

Andrea Leadsom

The Help to Buy scheme is helping hardworking people realise their home-owning aspirations across the UK. Over 27,000 households have bought a new home through Help to Buy so far, and 85 per cent of these have been first-time buyers. Between 2011/12 and 2013/14 11,000 first time buyers were helped through the FirstBuy scheme

November 2, 2022
Lyn Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether a formal valuation of the existing firefighters’ pensions schemes has been carried out since the Government Actuary’s Department published its formal valuation in 2009.

Penny Mordaunt

The Government Actuary’s Department is currently undertaking a valuation of the firefighters’ pension schemes in England as at 31 March 2012, which is expected to report later this year. There have been no other valuations of the schemes since 2009.

November 2, 2022
Stephen Barclay – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Barclay on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many masts will be erected in Cambridgeshire as part of the Mobile Infrastructure Project.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Mobile Infrastructure Project implementation plan identified seven potential masts for Cambridgeshire. Coverage by the mobile network operators has shifted as they begin roll out of 4G, leading to improvements in coverage in some areas and changes in the number and locations of not spots. DCMS officials and Arqiva, delivery partner for the Mobile Infrastructure Project, are incorporating these changes into the project’s planning. Once this planning is finalised any changes will be communicated to planning authorities.

November 2, 2022
Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office paid to (a) G4S, (b) Serco, (c) Sodexo, (d) GEOAmey, (e) Capita, (f) Atos, (g) Mitie, (h) Working Links, (i) A4E, (j) MTC Amey, (k) GEO Group and (l) Carillion in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14.

Mr Francis Maude

The Prime Minister’s Office and the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office are an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

As part of my department’s transparency programme, any spend over £25,000 is available on the Department’s website. Since January 2011, all contracts over £10,000 in value are published on Contracts Finder (http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk/).

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November 2, 2022
Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Greatrex on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of total gas storage capacity in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland; and how much such capacity is (i) short range storage and (ii) long range storage.

Matthew Hancock

Total gas storage capacity in England is 4.63bcm. This includes the 3.3bcm Rough facility located in the Southern North Sea. In addition, there are two projects currently under construction in England which will bring full gas storage capacity to 5.13bcm when completed.

There are no gas storage facilities currently located in Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.

Of the existing gas storage capacity, 3.3bcm (the Rough facility) is long range and 1.33bcm is short range. The two projects currently under construction, totalling 0.5bcm, are both short range facilities.

November 2, 2022
John Denham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Denham on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether his Department has made compensation payments to householders whose homes have suffered damage from work under the Affordable Warmth Obligation.

Amber Rudd

Consumer protection is an important aspect of any energy efficiency scheme. ECO is an obligation on the largest energy suppliers, and suppliers use in-house operation teams or contract third party installation companies to promote and install energy efficiency improvements in households. Compensation payments would therefore be provided through the energy suppliers or their contractors, not by Government.

However, we have recently consulted on additional warranty provisions under ECO Affordable Warmth. We will announce the outcome of that consultation shortly.

Consumers can also access the usual consumer protection routes such as Citizens Advice (08454 04 05 06) and Trading Standards.

November 2, 2022