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Tag: 2014

  • Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will investigate whether any tear gas exported to Turkey under the standard individual export licence granted in May 2011 was used on demonstrators in Turkey in 2013.

    Michael Fallon

    The licence granted in May 2011 was for temporary export of "inert tear gas/irritant ammunition" for exhibition purposes. It was a condition of the licence that the goods were returned to the UK within 12 months and they were returned on 13 May 2013 .The licence did not authorise the export of any tear gas or "live" tear gas ammunition.

  • Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many calls the Metropolitan Police human trafficking hotline received from victims of human trafficking in each of the last three years; and what the annual cost of running the hotline is.

    Karen Bradley

    The table below shows the number of calls received by the Metropolitan Police
    human trafficking hotline since it was set up in June 2011.

    Year Number of calls
    2014 29 (to 19 June)
    2013 41
    2012 52
    2011 34 (June to December)

    The freephone hotline number (0800 783 2589) is funded by Stop The Traffik and
    therefore has no cost to the Metropolitan Police Service other than the £15 per
    month line rental.

  • Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress he has made on reform of the Civil Service; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Francis Maude

    In July 2013 we published a One Year On report that gave a frank account of progress against the Civil Service Reform Plan. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-reform-plan-one-year-on–2:

    I took the opportunity to update the House on progress during the backbench debate on Civil Service Reform on 3 April 2014 and will update the House further in our Two Years On report this summer.

    “

  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average time period between application and issuing of passports for residents of (a) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (b) Lanarkshire, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK in each year since 2009.

    James Brokenshire

    Her Majesty’s Passport Office does not store information at constituency level
    and the cost of extracting the information requested would be disproportionate.
    Information on passport processing performance can be found in HMPO’s annual
    report and accounts, which can be accessed via the links below.

    2009-2010:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/118758
    /annual-report-accounts-200910.pdf

    2010-2011:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/identity-and-passport-service-annual-
    report-and-accounts-2010-to-2011

    2011-2012:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/118751
    /ips-annual-report-2012.pdf

    2012-2013:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210619
    /IPS_annual_report_and_accounts_2012-13.pdf

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the use of public money by the Mayor of Tower Hamlets to fund third sector organisations; and if he will make a statement.

    Brandon Lewis

    I refer the rt. hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made today by my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Eric Pickles).

  • Gavin Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Gavin Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Williamson on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that the perpetrators of assaults against prison staff are appropriately punished.

    Jeremy Wright

    The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) takes assaults on prison staff very seriously. There are systems in place to deal with perpetrators quickly and robustly, with serious incidents referred to the police for prosecution.

    Prisoners engaging in violent behaviour will be subject to an immediate review of their Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) level. There is a strong presumption that such incidents will lead to an immediate downgrade to Basic level unless there are exceptional circumstances.

    Assaults on staff in prison are a particularly serious matter given the need for staff to be able to maintain control and order in what can be a volatile environment. NOMS is working closely with the police and CPS to develop a new joint protocol for the management, reporting and prosecution of crime in prisons. Part of this work will involve the development of more effective measures to enable successful prosecution of prisoners who assault NOMS staff.

    NOMS is committed to exploring options to continue to improve how violence is managed in prisons to keep both staff and prisoners safe. It is currently reviewing the policy and practice of the management of violence.

    Prison Service Instructions set-out the range of options available to Governors to investigate serious assaults. The Governor must ensure that an appropriate level of investigation is commissioned. They must also ensure that any lessons are learned from the incident and disseminated appropriately, those harmed are supported and perpetrators of harm are sanctioned.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on care leaving arrangements for asylum seekers who came to the UK alone as children.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Guidance to local authorities on care leaving arrangements for asylum seekers who came to the UK alone as children is included in Volume 3 of ‘The Children Act Guidance and Regulations: Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers’. http://resources.leavingcare.org/uploads/c4f7aeaf941cdefb8f4a18f478aa1f19.pdf

    The Department for Education published for consultation in January of this year draft statutory guidance to local authorities on the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking and trafficked children.

    https://www.education.gov.uk/consultations/index.cfm?action=conResults&consultationId=1945&external=no&menu=3

    This new guidance brings together guidance on transition planning with wider guidance on providing care for unaccompanied asylum seeking children. That consultation has now closed and final guidance will be published in due course.

    “

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the potential benefits of the inclusion of the actual number and proportion of UK citizens registered to vote as a measure of the Electoral Commission’s effectiveness.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The inclusion of the actual number and proportion of UK citizens registered to vote is not currently included as a key success measure of the Electoral Commission’s effectiveness. The Commission’s key success measures are reviewed each year and included in its Corporate Plan which is updated and presented to the Speaker’s Committee for approval on an annual basis.

    The Commission works with Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and other stakeholders to increase the number and proportion of UK citizens registered to vote and therefore the change in registrations cannot be attributed solely to the Commission. Changes in registration rates are also likely to be the result of some factors which do not relate directly to registration practices, including levels of political engagement and changes in population mobility.

    However, the Commission sets targets for the number of registration forms downloaded from its AboutMyVote website. This measure provides a proxy for the number of registrations attributable to each Commission campaign. The targets for the number of registration forms downloaded vary for each poll taking account of, for example, the size of the electorate.

    It is currently not possible to directly map the number of forms downloaded from the Commission’s site to actual registrations as the registers are managed by 363 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) across Great Britain and EROs do not measure the number of registration forms downloaded from aboutmyvote.co.uk for the specific period of Commission campaigns. Following the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration, the Commission will examine the opportunities presented by online registration to review its registration measurements.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff at the Environment Agency are working on the regulation of fracking in England and Wales; and what reductions in the budget of the Environment Agency have affected people working on that regulation.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Environment Agency has set up a team of ten national officers working full time to develop the regulatory regime for oil and gas activities. This work covers conventional and unconventional oil and gas activities.

    This team is supported by additional technical resource from elsewhere in the organisation. The workload fluctuates and these specialists are not solely dedicated to regulating and permitting unconventional activities. It is therefore not possible to give an exact answer, but the Agency estimates that approximately 40 further members of staff are currently involved in this work across England.

    UK Government policy is to ensure the shale industry is able to develop in a safe, sustainable and environmentally responsible way within a well-regulated environment. Regulating the industry will remain a priority for the Environment Agency. Funding for setting up the regulatory regime comes from Defra grant-in-aid. Work to regulate individual sites is financed through the charges the Environment Agency raises for environmental permits and licences, supported where necessary by the grant-in-aid.

  • Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for personal independence payments were made by individuals diagnosed with a terminal illness in each of the three months to June 2014.

    Mike Penning

    I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the Written Answer I gave him on 18 June, Official Report, column 629W. Information on clearance times is not currently available. Statistics on clearance times are intended for future publication.