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Tag: 2014

  • Keith Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people employed by HM Passport Office were specifically tasked with processing passport applications on (a) 1 January, (b) 1 February, (c) 1 March, (d) 1 April, (e) 1 May and (f) 1 June 2014.

    James Brokenshire

    The formal record for workforce data is made on the last day of each calendar
    month.
    The table below shows the number of Her Majesty’s Passport Office full-time
    equivalents working within the passport operational Directorates.
    (a) On 31 December 2013: 2,457
    (b) On 31 January 2014: 2,515
    (c) On 28 February 2014: 2,559
    (d) On 31 March 2014: 2,593
    (e) On 30 April 2014: 2,611
    (f) On 31 May 2014: 2,629

    Please note, Her Majesty’sPassport Office records migrated to the Department’s
    strategic record system during this period and are subject to enhanced validation
    checks. Several months in this time series have a variance of +/- 2 FTE.

  • Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale on 2014-03-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of Feronia’s registration in the Cayman Islands with sustainable economic development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    Baroness Northover

    CDC is a public limited company with an independent Board and takes individual investment decisions independent of DFID. Information about the investment and its expected development impact is available on CDC’s website http://cdcgroup.com/Media/News/CDC-invests-US181m-in-agribusiness-in-the-Democratic-Republic-of-Congo/.

    “

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many racially aggravated attacks were recorded in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Norman Baker

    The police provide the Home Office with aggregated figures of the recorded number of racially or religiously aggravated assault with (a) and (b) without injury offences. It is not possible to separately identify the specific aggravating factor.

    In the year ending December 2013, the police recorded 2,473 racially or religiously aggravated assault with injury offences and 3,988 racially or religiously aggravated assault without injury offences.

  • Baroness Seccombe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Seccombe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Seccombe on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the amount of surplus public land sold so far to support housebuilding and development.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The Government has taken action to free up land for productive economic use. At the end of December 2013, the Public Sector Land Programme had sold surplus Government owned land capable of delivering over 68,000 homes in England as part of our ambition to dispose of surplus land with capacity for 100,000 homes by 2015. And through the recently concluded Strategic Land and Property Review the Government has identified scope to release £5 billion from its land and property between 2015 and 2020, creating opportunities for housing and economic development.The Government will look to quantify the housing and growth ambitions for this new programme by the time of the Autumn Statement.

  • Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tracey Crouch on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the merits of including alcohol awareness training in the driving test assessment; and if he will make a statement.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Highway Code advises drivers not to drink any alcohol before driving; this advice applies to all drivers, regardless of experience. The driving theory test includes questions about the effects of alcohol on a person’s ability to drive.

    The Department for Transport believes a more effective route to public awareness of the negative effect of alcohol on drivers is through appropriate pre-test training. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency produces The National Standard for Driver Training that should form the basis of training that approved driving instructors give to their pupils; these include thorough guidance on the appropriate consumption of alcohol prior to driving.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to ensure that victims of female genital mutilation whose cases go to trial have access to the full range of support and special measures that are available to victims of other sexual offences.

    Oliver Heald

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) recognises that appropriate support is vital to ensure that victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) are able to give their evidence effectively in court. The CPS legal guidance advises prosecutors that in all cases of FGM they must ensure that the complainant is aware of the special measures that can be applied for at court, and that applications are made in time. For all child witnesses there is a presumption that they will give their evidence in chief by recorded interview and any further evidence by live link unless the court is satisfied that this will not improve the quality of the child’s evidence. Adult victims of FGM are also eligible for special measures on the grounds that they are likely to be intimidated witnesses in relation to testifying at court. However it is a matter for the court to grant the application.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department takes to investigate whistleblowers’ allegations of impropriety relating to employment support contracts.

    Esther McVey

    The Department treats any allegation of fraud by contractors very seriously, regardless of where these emanate from. Any fraud is completely unacceptable. Where we identify, or are notified of, allegations of contractor fraud, these cases are investigated thoroughly by the Department’s professionally trained and experienced investigators to a standard required to support reference to the Police whenever evidence of criminal offences is discovered.

    All contracted employment providers are required to have whistleblowing procedures that support their employees in reporting suspected wrongdoing at work and ‘making a disclosure in the public interest’. If they consider that they cannot raise suspicions of abuse of government funds with their employer, they should contact the Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office (NAO). This route is used to escalate whistleblower concerns and DWP Internal Investigations work with the NAO to investigate these matters and take appropriate action where issues are identified. This is an important channel in ensuring that employees can raise concerns and that they can be protected legally when doing so.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the current level of teachers teaching ability whilst using tablet computers in primary schools.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The available evidence suggests that teachers adapt quickly to using tablets as a tool for learning.

  • 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 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of adverse sanction decisions taken against jobseeker’s allowance claimants in 2013 were repeat decisions.

    Esther McVey

    We have interpreted the question to be for the number of sanction decision reconsiderations and appeals upheld therefore resulting in a sanction still being applied following a request for a review or a formal appeal from the JSA claimant.

    This information is published and can be found at:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

    Guidance for users is available at:

    https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

    The proportion of adverse sanction decisions can be calculated using these figures.

    “

  • Angela Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Angela Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what facilities exist for the retention and care of non-native wildlife species confiscated in the UK; where those facilities are located; and how many times such non-native wildlife species confiscated have been returned to the people or location where they were first confiscated.

    George Eustice

    Non-native wildlife specimens (including plants) may be retained for various reasons by the Police, UK Border Force (UKBF), Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (RBG Kew), local authorities and other organisations such as the RSPCA.

    RBG Kew has a Plant Quarantine Unit and keeps records of all plant material entering its collections but not records of confiscated specimens that are returned to the people or location they were confiscated from.

    UKBF re-homes seized wildlife after having consulted with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the UK’s CITES scientific authority for fauna, on appropriate location. It has not been UK practice to return wildlife to countries of export as there is no guarantee of its return to the wild or that it will not re-enter illegal trade. UKBF does not disclose publically the locations where seized items are held. All seized animals remain the property of the crown.

    No police-run facilities exist for the retention and care of non-native wildlife species confiscated in the UK: each case is dealt with on an ad-hoc basis. Information about returned specimens is not held centrally.

    Defra does not hold information about holding facilities used by local authorities and other organisations.