The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Swales on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of redundancy payments for special advisers in her Department has been since May 2010.
Karen Bradley
No redundancy payments have been made to special advisers in the Home Office since May 2010.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2014-03-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who took the decision not to announce the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy in respect of members of the IRA in the London Gazette or the Belfast Gazette.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
There have been no instances in which the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) has been issued in respect of paramilitaries in Northern Ireland since the current Government came to power in May 2010.
I am not aware of any legal requirement to publish in the media information relating to the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM). In England and Wales, RPMs signed by HM the Queen, on the advice of the Secretary of State, are then passed to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery for sealing, who by convention subsequently places the notice in the London Gazette. By convention in Northern Ireland, RPMs signed by HM the Queen are not subsequently placed in the Belfast Gazette.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-12.
To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, who was responsible for the appointment of Saxton Bampfylde for the search for a successor to the Clerk of the House and Chief Executive; and who will monitor its progress.
John Thurso
Following a competitive tendering process, Saxton Bampfylde was appointed on 29 May 2014 to support the recruitment of the next Clerk of the House and Chief Executive, in particular by providing executive search services. Three bids were received and evaluated by Mr Speaker and the Director General of HR and Change. The fee for these services is fixed at £18,000. The contract will be monitored by the Department of HR and Change. The recruitment brief to which Saxton Bampfylde are working will be placed in the Library.
The Clerk of the House is appointed by the Crown by Letters Patent, on the recommendation of the Speaker to the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister to the Crown. Short-listed candidates will be interviewed by a panel chaired by Mr Speaker, three other members of the House of Commons Commission, a senior backbencher and an external member.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2014-03-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, during the shortlisting of the bid from Keolis and Eurostar to operate the East Coast Main Line franchise, they made representations to the government of France in respect of allowing United Kingdom companies to bid for passenger franchises on the French rail network.
Baroness Kramer
The UK Government continues to support the opening of rail markets across the European Union.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what visits each of the Ministers in her Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
Details of Ministers’ visits overseas are published quarterly and can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=northern-ireland-office.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Seccombe on 2014-03-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the breakdown of departmental spending in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on catering, hospitality and refreshments in (1) 2008–09, and (2) 2009–10.
Lord De Mauley
This table sets out the information requested, in respect of Core Defra.
|
£ |
2008-09 |
2009-10 |
|
Catering and Hospitality |
426,317 |
545,253 |
|
Refreshments |
18,574 |
7,114 |
The figures for Catering and Hospitality include a subsidy paid to the Department’s providers of in-house catering, hospitality and refreshments. The Department no longer pays such a subsidy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy of the report commissioned by the UK Chamber of Shipping on Impact on Jobs and the Economy of Meeting the Requirements of MARPOL annex VI, published in March 2013.
Stephen Hammond
In October 2012, and again in March 2013, I chaired ‘round table’ meetings of industry stakeholders (from the shipping, ports, exhaust gas cleaning system technology, oil refining and logistics sectors) to consider the best way forward for compliance with the new international and EU sulphur requirements. The potential for reverse modal shift, the maturity and efficacy of scrubber technology and the scope for financial assistance to industry were all key to those discussions. The report commissioned by the UK Chamber of Shipping was produced as a result of those meetings, and officials have taken it into account in producing the Government’s Impact Assessment on the draft UK Regulations to implement the sulphur limits in national law.
The Government went out to an eight-week public consultation on 29 April 2014 on those draft UK Regulations. Meanwhile, Government officials continue to work closely with the industry and to explore the scope for securing EU finance, possibly under the Trans-European Network (commonly known as TEN-T) programme and affordable capital from the European Investment Bank, for shipowners and ports who wish to invest in scrubber technology or in technology associated with the use of an alternative fuel, such as liquefied natural gas, to comply with the new limits.
The UK Regulations will be reviewed in accordance with normal Government practice and consistent with the principles of better regulation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2014-03-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cases of child benefit fraud his Department is investigating.
Nicky Morgan
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) approach to Child Benefit error and fraud is to verify all new claims and, on a risk basis, to check existing claims for incorrect information against data from other systems. Where HMRC consider that a claim may not be correct, they open an enquiry. Where the enquiry determines that the claim is incorrect, the claim or part of the claim is terminated.
Child Benefit compliance enquires are carried out continually throughout the year and as at 31 March 2014, HMRC had 3565 ongoing cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of housing benefit claims processed within (a) 10, (b) 20, (c) 30, (d) 40, (e) 60 and (f) more than 60 working days.
Steve Webb
None. The average speed of processing statistics for Housing Benefit are not broken down in this way. Published statistics are at the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/housing-benefit-and-council-tax-benefit-statistics-on-speed-of-processing–2
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when he expects the smart meter central delivery body to set out plans for assiting microbusinesses to use smart meters.
Gregory Barker
The Smart Meter Central Delivery Body intend to publish an updated Consumer Engagement Plan before the end of the year, where they will set out their plans for assisting microbusinesses.