UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2014

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to ensure that the six days a week universal Royal Mail service continues in rural areas.

    Jenny Willott

    The one price six-days-a-week postal delivery service to all addresses in the UK is clearly set down under the Postal Services Act 2011 as part of the minimum requirements of the UK’s universal service and can only be changed by Government with the approval of both houses of Parliament. The protection is exactly the same for rural areas as urban areas of the UK.

    Parliament has given Ofcom the primary statutory duty to protect the ongoing provision of the universal service throughout the country and ensured that Ofcom has the regulatory powers and tools it needs to intervene if the universal service is ever at risk. More information about the regulatory framework for postal services can be found on Ofcom’s website (www.ofcom.org.uk).

    “

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2014, Official Report, column 36W, on minimum wage: Northern Ireland, whether HM Revenue and Customs’ national minimum wage enforcement team have any staff located in Northern Ireland outside the city of Belfast.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government takes the enforcement of national minimum wage (NMW) very seriously and HMRC enforce the NMW legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). It does that by investigating all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, in addition, carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.

    The National Minimum Wage team in Northern Ireland contains six full-time and two-part-time staff with all using Belfast as a base location.

    However, as I explained in my previous response, HMRC deploys resources to risk, so work relating to a specific geographical area may not always be undertaken by the NMW team based in that area. In addition, the NMW Dynamic Response Team (DRT) provides a multi-agency response to emerging risks, high profile casework and compliance initiatives across the UK.

  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2013-14.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    The table sets out the percentage of employees, within each performance category, who have declared a disability, and the percentage of all other staff in each performance category for the 2013-14 reporting year for assessments received to date. The percentage of all other staff includes staff who have either explicitly declared that they do not have a disability, have chosen the ‘prefer not to say’ option, or have not responded to the question at all.

    Percentage

    Excellent

    Good

    Must Improve

    Percentage of employees who have declared a disability in each performance rating

    1%

    4%

    0%

    Percentage of all other staff employed in each performance rating

    35%

    58%

    2%

    The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) takes seriously its obligations to collect diversity data as required by the Equality Act 2010. All staff have been asked to provide personal diversity data to be held anonymously, and we continue to encourage increased declaration by staff. As such these figures will not be fully representative of workforce diversity.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department (a) has given in each of the last 10 years and (b) plans to give in the next three years to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to (i) mark and (ii) maintain the graves of those who died during the World Wars; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    As the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War approaches, it is right that we acknowledge the important work undertaken by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) to commemorate those who gave their lives during both World Wars.

    The CWGC receives financial contributions from its member nations based on the number of graves it maintains on behalf of each nation. Accordingly the UK Government contributes 78.43% to the total CWGC funding.

    Financial records are retained for seven years. Information held by the Ministry of Defence indicates that over the last seven financial years the UK Government has made the following payments to CWGC for the maintenance of graves of those who died during the First and Second World Wars. The figures include UK VAT:

    2007-08 – £34,799,000
    2008-09 – £35,153,000
    2009-10 – £46,545,000
    2010-11 – £43,341,000
    2011-12 – £46,288,000
    2012-13 – £44,636,487
    2013-14 – £47,318,041

    With regard to future funding, the UK will continue to meet its obligation to pay the appropriate percentage (currently 78.43%) of the total CWGC funding.

    The Department for Culture, Media & Sport is discussing with the CWGC the scope for enhancing information and interpretation at burial sites as part of the centenary commemorations.

  • Mark Reckless – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mark Reckless – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Reckless on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the graduates receiving bursaries to teach mathematics in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15 at each of the four tiers had (i) a mathematics degree, (ii) a relevant degree as defined by the School Workforce Survey and (iii) any other degree.

    Mr David Laws

    Information in relation to 2013-14 is not held in the form requested and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

    Data on 2014-15 participants has not yet been collected.

  • Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Greatrex on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the number of domestic renewable heat incentive applications received since April 2014; and how many such applications have been turned down because they did not meet minimum insulation standards.

    Gregory Barker

    Since the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme launched on 9 April this year, up until the end of May, Ofgem had received 2,296 applications to join the scheme.

    Whether or not an application meets the minimum insulation standard is determined using information from the Energy Performance Certificate of the property. Currently, Ofgem do not record data on applicants that are not eligible for the scheme due to not meeting minimum insulation standards, as this check precedes an applicant completing a full application.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to encourage more tourists to visit Egypt.

    Hugh Robertson

    The decision on whether to travel to Egypt, or any other country, is for each individual to make. The purpose of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Travel Advice is to help individuals make an informed decision. We advise anyone considering visiting Egypt to read the FCO Travel Advice before travelling.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-06-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many people are signed off work as a result of depression.

    Mike Penning

    The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold information on the number of people taking sickness absence from work as a result of depression.

  • Andrew George – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew George – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew George on 2014-06-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had on proposed changes to the disabled students’ allowance.

    Mr David Willetts

    The Interdepartmental Ministerial Group on Disability, which I attend, has discussed the proposed changes to the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA). The changes should improve the effectiveness of the scheme, and ensure that there is a proper balance between the responsibility of Higher Education Institutions to make reasonable adjustments and a central scheme, the DSA, that provides funding direct to students. The purpose of these allowances is not fundamentally changing.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department allocated to City of York Council for (a) local authority supported capital expenditure in housing stock and (b) major repairs allowance in each year since 2009-10.

    Brandon Lewis

    The information requested is as follows:

    Year

    Major Repairs Allowance

    (£)

    2009-10

    5,127,440

    2010-11

    5,242,423

    2011-12

    5,185,387

    2012-13

    5,266,485

    The local authority received £1 million in Supported Capital Expenditure (Revenue) in both 2009-10 and 2010-11.

    Following our reform and decentralisation of the Housing Revenue Account in April 2012, the system has fundamentally changed and no longer operates in that manner outlined in the Hon Member’s question. Councils now manage their housing stock without annual payments to or from central government. They now keep their rental income and use it to fund their housing stock (called ‘self-financing’).

    In 2012, the move to self-financing included a one-off settlement payment to, or from, each council, giving each a level of debt it can support, based on a valuation of its council housing stock. Where the valuation was lower than the amount of housing debt supported through the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system, the government paid off the difference. Where the valuation was higher than the debt supported by the Housing Revenue Account subsidy, the council paid the difference to the government.

    These payments were based on a valuation of each council’s stock, using a 30-year discounted cash flow model of income and expenditure. The costs in the model assumed that councils will need to spend on average 15 per cent more on managing, maintaining and repairing their stock than was assumed under the subsidy system. The self-financing settlement took into account an assessment of local authorities’ needs, including major repairs.

    These reforms have given councils the resources, incentives and flexibility they need to manage their own housing stock for the long term and to improve quality and efficiency, and they have also provided a clearer relationship between the rent a landlord collects and the services they provide.