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Tag: 2014

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on the payment of pensions into post office card accounts.

    Steve Webb

    The Department pays benefits and pensions by Direct Payment into a bank, building society, credit union or Post Office card account.

    The Post Office card account is a very simple account with limited functionality. Our policy has always been clear that the best option, especially for people of working age, is an account that can accept payments from employers and has transactional facilities such as direct debits for the payment of bills and housing costs.

    The Department is currently in discussions with Post Office Ltd and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills to consider the future needs of customers beyond 2015.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment she has made of the gender balance amongst chairs and presidents of (a) learned societies and (b) research councils.

    Mr David Willetts

    The National Academies, the UK’s leading learned societies, are independent, self-governing bodies. Ministers have no role in Academy appointments but we encourage them to embed equality and diversity in everything they do. Professor Dame Ann Dowling is expected to be confirmed as the first female President of the Royal Academy of Engineering in September. The current Presidents of the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society of Biology are all female.

    Ministers in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) appoint Chairs to the Research Councils and these appointments are regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. BIS Ministers are committed to the principle of public appointments on merit through an open and transparent process and to providing equal opportunities for all, irrespective of race, age, disability, gender, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, transgender and working patterns. There are seven Research Councils, the Chairs of which are currently male. The Research Councils are committed to improving diversity in their public appointments and held a workshop in March 2014 to agree an action plan to increase the diversity of each Council. The action plan will be published on the RCUK website and disseminated to all Council members.

    The BIS Board, which provides collective strategic leadership of the Department, has endorsed a plan of activity and a number of actions to help the Department not only to improve its position on gender-diversity during 2014/15 but to reinforce its continued commitment to attracting a strong and diverse field of candidates to public appointments.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-03-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many staff are currently employed for more than 50 per cent of their working week to support the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions in his role as Accounting Officer; and what are their job titles.

    Lord Freud

    In one sense, all DWP staff support the Accounting Officer through their individual responsibilities to work confidently within the system of control for which the Accounting Officer is ultimately responsible, to ensure the effective operation of a major government department, which will make some £136.4 billion in welfare payments this year.

    More narrowly, the Accounting Officer is directly supported in his role by his Finance Director General, the 40 Senior Civil Servants that comprise that DG’s senior management team; and – in turn – by other colleagues when they handle issues which require explicit Accounting Officer involvement.

  • Toby Perkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Toby Perkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many approved partners of the Start Up Loans programme there are in each region.

    Matthew Hancock

    The number of approved partners of the Start Up Loans programme by region are as follows:

    England (National): 15

    Greater London: 11

    North West: 8

    North East: 4

    East Of England: 2

    Yorkshire And Humberside: 6

    West Midlands: 5

    East Midlands: 4

    South East: 4

    South West: 2

    Northern Ireland: 5

    Wales: 6

    Scotland: 5

  • Paul Blomfield – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2014-03-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many consultants have been engaged in the Crown Oversight Function since its creation; what each of their job roles were; and how much has been paid in consultancy fees to date.

    Francis Maude

    Prior to the last General Election the Civil Service lacked commercial and procurement skills. This Government’s commercial and procurement reforms saved taxpayers £3.8 billion last year alone. The Government is strengthening central procurement skills to ensure further savings can be realised. The Crown Oversight Function was created on 1 November 2013 and has 52 Civil Service roles. Further details will be available via the department’s organogram. Consultants were not employed at Government expense.

  • Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when his Department plans to publish its strategy and policy statement as set out in the Energy Act 2013.

    Michael Fallon

    I plan to consult on the draft Strategy and Policy Statement this summer. Once we have considered any responses the Statement will be designated following Parliamentary approval as set out in the Energy Act 2013.

  • Mr Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mr Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Frank Field on 2014-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many survivors of human trafficking who have been placed in shelters funded by the Government through the Salvation Army received support from the government victim care contract specialist support providers to develop a move-on strategy in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013; how many of these victims were (i) men and (ii) women; how many (A) men and (B) women are still receiving such support; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    Support to develop a move-on strategy is offered to all victims supported under
    the Government victim-care contract. The number of victims who have received
    Government-funded support are given below.

    Year of Entry to Service

    Female

    Male

    Trans-gender

    Total

    2013

    387

    270

    2

    659

    2012

    246

    163

    409

    Total

    633

    433

    2

    1068

    Of the above, the numbers still receiving such support, by calendar year of
    entry and gender:

    Year of Entry to Service

    Female

    Male

    Total

    2013

    96

    23

    119

    2012

    0

    1

    1

    Total

    96

    24

    120

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention savings for neonatal care will be realised.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    NHS England, as part of its direct commissioning responsibilities for specialised services, has an ongoing programme in place to identify both local and national opportunities to identify potential efficiencies as part of its management and prioritisation of available resources.

    NHS England’s Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs), involving lead clinical, patient and professional representatives, are assisting NHS England in this work, particularly in respect of proposals that might be considered nationwide.

    Specialised neonatal care is one of NHS England’s most significant areas of expenditure and the Neonatal CRG has therefore been involved in identifying potential neonatal specific schemes, which may have the potential to deliver savings whilst maintaining safety and quality. The schemes will be subject to a confirm and challenge process to determine their deliverability, before being worked up into schemes which could be implemented on a national basis.

    It is therefore not possible, at this stage in the programme’s development, to quantify the level of savings that might be generated nationally or the specific savings approach that will be adopted.

    It is unlikely that the national schemes currently being considered will generate savings in 20140-15. The schemes are more likely to be transformational in design and therefore are more likely to deliver savings in the longer term.

  • Mr David Anderson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    Mr David Anderson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr David Anderson on 2014-03-10.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in (a) Gateshead Council and (b) Blaydon constituency.

    Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.

    The ward results for Gateshead Council were as follows:

    Ward

    Green matches

    Amber matches

    Red matches

    BIRTLEY

    85.6%

    1.4%

    13.0%

    BLAYDON

    84.0%

    1.2%

    14.8%

    BRIDGES

    73.7%

    2.0%

    24.3%

    CHOPWELL & ROWLANDS GILL

    85.1%

    1.8%

    13.1%

    CHOWDENE

    88.7%

    1.3%

    10.0%

    CRAWCROOK & GREENSIDE

    84.6%

    1.9%

    13.5%

    DECKHAM

    82.8%

    1.5%

    15.7%

    DUNSTON & TEAMS

    80.5%

    1.4%

    18.1%

    DUNSTON HILL & WHICKHAM EAST

    87.6%

    1.4%

    11.0%

    FELLING

    84.5%

    1.3%

    14.2%

    HIGH FELL

    85.5%

    1.9%

    12.6%

    LAMESLEY

    84.8%

    2.0%

    13.1%

    LOBLEY HILL & BENSHAM

    82.1%

    1.7%

    16.2%

    LOW FELL

    85.1%

    1.3%

    13.6%

    PELAW & HEWORTH

    85.6%

    1.2%

    13.2%

    RYTON, CROOKHILL & STELLA

    85.3%

    1.6%

    13.1%

    SALTWELL

    76.9%

    2.1%

    21.0%

    WARDLEY & LEAM LANE

    88.0%

    1.0%

    11.0%

    WHICKHAM NORTH

    86.4%

    1.2%

    12.4%

    WHICKHAM SOUTH & SUNNISIDE

    88.2%

    1.4%

    10.4%

    WINDY NOOK & WHITEHILLS

    88.1%

    1.0%

    10.9%

    WINLATON & HIGH SPEN

    87.1%

    1.7%

    11.2%

    The ward results for the Blaydon constituency were as follows:

    Ward

    Green matches

    Amber matches

    Red matches

    BIRTLEY

    84.0%

    1.2%

    14.8%

    BLAYDON

    85.1%

    1.8%

    13.1%

    CHOPWELL & ROWLANDS GILL

    84.6%

    1.9%

    13.5%

    CRAWCROOK & GREENSIDE

    87.6%

    1.4%

    11.0%

    DUNSTON HILL & WHICKHAM EAST

    84.8%

    2.0%

    13.1%

    LAMESLEY

    85.3%

    1.6%

    13.1%

    RYTON, CROOKHILL & STELLA

    86.4%

    1.2%

    12.4%

    WHICKHAM NORTH

    88.2%

    1.4%

    10.4%

    WHICKHAM SOUTH & SUNNISIDE

    87.1%

    1.7%

    11.2%

    WINLATON & HIGH SPEN

    84.0%

    1.2%

    14.8%

    Results for all wards are available on the Commission’s website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

    “

  • Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his sources of advice are on security and terrorism in the part of Western Sahara not occupied by Morocco.

    Hugh Robertson

    We are open to all relevant sources of information on security and terrorism East of the Berm including MINURSO, which has a presence in this area.