UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2014

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, on what dates he has met the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss the potential effects in Scotland of a carbon price support exemption scheme since April 2015.

    David Mundell

    As indicated in my answer of 20 October, I have had a number of meetings and discussions on the important issue of opencast restoration and in particular the proposal for a carbon price support exemption. These have included discussions with colleagues from HM Treasury, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Scottish Government and Local Authorities.

  • 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 recent discussions he has had with the Information Commissioner’s Office about the DVLA selling driver registration plate numbers to car parking firms.

    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.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases of debt repayment to his Department have been cancelled in each year since 2010.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The latest preliminary figures for 2014/15 estimate Fraud and Error levels as £3.2 billion, or 1.9% of benefit expenditure. The net figure after recoveries is £2.3bn, or 1.4%. This means that DWP Fraud and Error is at its lowest ever level.

    We have interpreted this question to mean the volume of debts written off since 2010. The totals represent the number of transactions where debts have been written off either in full or in part, i.e. where some element remains recoverable.

    The vast majority of these transactions are either cases where the Department has no legal right to recover or overpayments under £65 which are not value for money to pursue.

    Year 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 To 30 Sept 2015
    Total Write Off 1,312,421 1,198,463 1,513,404 1,460,734 1,213,838 571,008
  • 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 plans they have to bring forward their review of the mandatory criminal courts charge.

    Lord Faulks

    It is right that we find better ways to pay the costs of running our criminal courts, and the introduction of this charge has made it possible to recover some of the costs from offenders, which reduces the burden on taxpayers. The Government is keeping the operation of the criminal courts charge under review.

  • Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the promotion of human rights is part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office mission statement, and what are their top five priorities in that area.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Annual Report and Accounts set out the FCO’s purpose for 2014–15. This listed eight separate commitments, two of which mentioned promoting human rights explicitly:

    – Strengthen the Commonwealth as a focus for promoting democratic values, human rights, climate resilient development, conflict prevention and trade.

    – Use soft power as a tool of UK foreign policy; promote British values and respect for human rights; build capacity to tackle terrorism in line with UK security requirements; and contribute to the welfare of developing countries and their citizens.

    In addition, human rights are an integral part of the FCO’s work, linked with many aspects of our national interest including the stability and prosperity of our international partners. We set out in the 2014 Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report the actions we have taken to mainstream human rights across the FCO network, including ramping up our internal communications and training.

    We are currently reconfiguring our work on human rights around three pillars to reflect the Government’s manifesto commitments, play to our strengths, boost our impact, and increase our ability to respond to international developments. These pillars are:

    i) Democratic values and the rule of law;

    ii) The rules-based international system and,

    iii) Human rights for a stable world

  • 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 why a cap has been imposed on recruitment to initial teacher-training programmes by universities but not on school-centred initial teacher training and School Direct recruitment.

    Lord Nash

    The government is committed to the ongoing expansion of school-led initial teacher training (ITT). The move towards school-led ITT has created new opportunities for universities to grow their business: engaging directly with schools to become their chosen partner; and working with school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) to offer academic awards. In addition, the university sector as a whole has the opportunity to recruit trainees up to the same overall level as they have for the 2015/16 academic year. It is, therefore, not expected that this change of approach will have a substantial impact on the higher education sector.

  • Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of breaches of traffic laws and regulations by bicyclists in each of the last five years.

    Lord Bates

    No assessment has been made of the number of breaches of traffic laws and regulations by bicyclists in each of the last five years. This information is not held centrally. It is important that cyclists follow the rules of the Highway Code. It is an operational matter for local Chief Officers to enforce the law.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications have been made to the forces help to buy scheme in (a) each region in England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in each month since that scheme’s inception; and how many such applications have been successful in each of those areas.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Forces Help to Buy scheme was introduced in April 2014 and has been popular and successful amongst Service personnel and their families. To date, the scheme has helped over 5,000 military personnel purchase their own property, and a further 1,900 approved applications are awaiting the completion of the property purchase.

    The information requested is not readily available, but the following table shows the number of recipients, by English regions, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, where applications have been successful.

    Region

    Forces Help To Buy Recipients (Numbers)

    England –

    4,300

    South West

    1,100

    East Midlands

    650

    South East

    600

    Yorkshire and The Humber

    450

    North West

    450

    East of England

    350

    West Midlands

    350

    North East

    300

    London

    50

    Wales

    250

    Scotland

    400

    Northern Ireland

    50

    Note: Figures have been rounded

    The Forces Help to Buy demonstrates the Department’s commitment to strengthen the Armed Forces covenant, ensuring that personnel and their families are not disadvantaged by their service. By giving our Service personnel this extra help, those who aspire to be homeowners will be able to set down roots and get onto the property ladder, giving their families the domestic stability that many of us take for granted.

  • 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, with reference to his proposals for a new junior doctors’ contract, what penalties would be enforceable against employers who fail to keep junior doctors’ hours within safe limits.

    Ben Gummer

    Safeguards will be significantly improved compared to the existing contract, with employers contractually required to ensure safe working including:

    – No junior will be contractually required to work more than an average of 48 hours a week;

    – Those who choose to opt-out of the Working Time Regulations (WTR) (legally allowing them to work longer) will be limited to an average of 56 hours a week;

    – The maximum number of hours in any week will be 72, less than the 91 currently possible under the WTR;

    – There will be limits of no more than four consecutive night shifts and no more than five consecutive long days; and

    – Employers will be required to take action where a junior is concerned about hours as part of an agreed system of work scheduling and review. In exceptional approved circumstances doctors would be compensated for hours worked outside their work schedule.

    Employment contracts are legally enforceable. There will also be external NHS review processes relating to the educational experience and the impact of working patterns on safe care.

  • William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 901670, what recent reports he has received on the imprisonment of Karl Andree in Saudi Arabia; what steps he is taking to secure the return to the UK of Mr Andree; and what recent discussions he has had with his Saudi counterpart on improving extradition arrangements with that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Ministers and senior officials raised Mr Andree’s case with the Saudi Government repeatedly since he completed his sentence in August 2015.

    I am pleased to be able to say that yesterday morning the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, my righ hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) was informed that the public prosecutor is now in the final stages of completing the necessary processes that will lead to Mr Andree’s release and return to the UK. We expect this to be within the next week.

    In regard to extradition arrangements, Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.