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Tag: 2014

  • Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the localisation of council tax support on the operation and activities of parish and town councils.

    Brandon Lewis

    I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 5 February 2014, Official Report, Column 19-21WS, which sets out clearly the Government’s intention that the element of localised council tax support funding provided to local authorities which reflects reductions in town and parish tax bases should be passed down to those councils.

    I additionally wrote to Leaders of billing authorities on this issue on 6 January and 21 February 2014.

    The design and management of council tax support schemes is a local matter, and it is for local councils to work together to ensure that any relevant impacts are understood and taken into account.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on how many occasions ministerial authorisation has been granted for expenditure which exceeded his Department’s internal efficiency control thresholds for (a) advertising, marketing and communications, (b) consultancy and (c) external recruitment; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) value of any such agreed expenditure has been in the last 12 months.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The Department for Education has its own internal efficiency controls thresholds and complies with the Cabinet Office controls.

    1. Advertising, Marketing and Communications expenditure above the Departmental threshold of £100,000 is submitted to Efficiency and Reform Group at Cabinet Office for final clearance.

    2. Consultancy expenditure above £20,000 (and is a new contract expected to exceed 9 months, an existing contract to be extended beyond 9 months or is expenditure for procurement related consultancy) is submitted to Cabinet Office for final clearance.

    3. Cabinet Office is not directly involved in recruitment approvals.

    The approved expenditure requests which have exceeded Departmental thresholds are published on a quarterly basis on the Department’s website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/approved-exemptions-to-the-efficiency-controls

    “

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, columns 367-8W, on armed conflicts: minerals, which UK companies he has met to discuss the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.

    Mark Simmonds

    I have met the following companies to discuss the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights – Anglo American, BG Group, BP, Dana Petroleum, Dominion Energy, Ophir Energy, Perenco, Premier Oil, Rio Tinto, Shell, Soma Oil and Gas, Stellar Diamonds and Tullow Oil.

  • Richard Harrington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Richard Harrington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Harrington on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what contingency plans he has in place to deal with an outbreak of Ebola virus in the UK.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Health Service has plans in place to deal with patients with infectious diseases as part of its core business. This includes plans to manage patients in line with infection control procedures, and where necessary in highly specialist infectious diseases facilities.A patient with Ebola virus infection would be cared for in the national High Level Isolation Unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London. In the unlikely event of an outbreak involving more than two people, specialist staff at this unit are trained and prepared to look after patients safely in an isolation ward, which would be dedicated for this purpose.

    In the UK, the procedures outlined in the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens guidelines, “The Management of Hazard Group 4 viral haemorrhagic fevers and similar human infectious diseases of high consequence”, are followed for any suspected case.

    Public Health England has assessed the risk of importation of Ebola in the UK as very low. It is extremely unlikely that an outbreak of Ebola would occur in the UK even if there was to be an imported case, as there are factors operating in West Africa which would not be seen in the UK.

  • David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the statement of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 206, on student visas, on what date her Department first became aware of the systematic cheating taking place in the tests of the Educational Testing Service.

    James Brokenshire

    Since the last election, the Government has taken action to reduce and control
    immigration and to crack down on the abuse of the system which the previous
    government failed to address. We have kept the main immigration routes to
    Britain under review and remain vigilant against abuse of the student visa
    system. Around 750 education sponsors have been removed from the register of
    those entitled to bring overseas students to the UK. We now know that almost
    400 of these were linked to the sponsorship of people who obtained invalid ETS
    certificates. Abuse of the student visa route has been the subject of various
    lines of inquiry for some time, but Immigration Enforcement officers, together
    with officials from UK Visas and Immigration and with the support of the
    National Crime Agency, began conducting a detailed and wide-ranging
    investigation into actions by organised criminals to falsify English language
    tests provided by ETS at the start of February.

  • David Ward – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    David Ward – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of UK aid to Burma is channelled through Burmese government-approved organisations or mechanisms.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    The UK does not provide funding directly to the Burmese government. We publish details of which organisations receive DFID funding, and how much they have received, on the gov.uk Development Tracker.

  • Mark Menzies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Menzies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Virgin Trains on ensuring that its proposed train service from Blackpool to Euston will stop at Kirkham Station.

    Stephen Hammond

    On 19 June 2014 the Secretary of State announced that Virgin had been awarded a new Direct Award franchise. This commenced on 22 June 2014, and will run until the new planned commencement of the next competed franchise in April 2017.

    Virgin and Network Rail will now submit an application to the Office of Rail Regulation for new services between Blackpool North and London Euston, which will include stops at Kirkham & Wesham and Poulton le Fylde stations. The new services are planned to commence in December 2014.

  • Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department plans to monitor the effect of changes in the Independent Living Fund on individual recipients; and if he will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    As stated in the Equality Analysis published on 6 March, the Department will be developing plans for evaluating the impact of the closure on former users of the Independent Living Fund.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 174W, on universal credit, whether he has approved the Department for Work and Pensions’ business case for the implementation of universal credit.

    Esther McVey

    The Chief Secretary to the Treasury has approved the UC Strategic Outline Business Case plans for the remainder of this Parliament (2014-15) as per the Ministerial announcement (5th December 2013, Official Report, column 65WS) —link to WMS:

    http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm131205/wmstext/131205m0001.htm#column_65ws

    “

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 19 October 2013, Official Report, column 235W, on billing, what the value was of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department’s audit; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The Department’s spend recovery audit contractor has identified a small number of duplicate payments (excluding Executive Agencies). In 2012/13 there were 12 duplicate payments and in 2013/14 there was one. Any duplicate payments that have been identified and already recovered in previous years would not have been picked up in this audit.

    The value of these duplicate payments is £110,527 over the five years audited. The audit was completed in April 2014 and we have recovered £40,256 (36%) of the total amount, with the remainder being subject to an ongoing recovery process by the contractor. We expect the contractor to pursue the remaining recovery action quickly.

    In addition to the recovery work currently being undertaken, the Department has brought in other measures to minimise the risk of duplicate payments. From August 2013, arrangements for grants payments are dealt with by a central grants payment team. More recently, we have implemented the use of a unique reference number (URN) to reduce the risk of inaccurate grant payments and improve management information. The Department also ensures that finance guidance is updated as appropriate to ensure risks are minimised and we have regular discussions with our shared service provider about continuous improvements, which includes measures such as routine supplier data cleansing and clear protocols.