Tag: 2014

  • 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, how many staff have (a) taken voluntary redundancy or (b) been made compulsorily redundant from his Department since May 2010; and how many of these (i) received special severance payments or (ii) were subject to compromise agreements.

    Brandon Lewis

    [Holding Reply: Monday 7 April 2014]

    The number of staff that left the Department on (a) voluntary redundancy and (b) compulsory redundancy terms from May 2010 to March 2014 is set out below.

    May 2010 to March 2014

    Compulsory Redundancy

    8

    Voluntary Severance or Redundancy

    522

    Total

    530

    None of these staff (i) received special severance payments or (ii) were subject to compromise agreements.

    Exit figures through 2010 – 2012 reflect the completion of the Department’s major restructuring programme. Our departmental audited annual accounts for the core Department show that total staff costs fell from £216 million in 2009-10 to £99 million in 2012-13, a reduction of 54% in cash terms, or a saving of £117 million a year. The number of staff has been reduced from 3,781 full-time equivalent in 2009-10 to 1,681 in 2012-13, a reduction of 56%.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been spent on non-disclosure or compromise agreements for former employees of probation trusts since 1 January 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    There have been no non-disclosure or compromise agreements included as part of the departure packages of the Trust Chief Executives who have taken early retirement. The terms of departure for other former Trust staff were agreed through their own local arrangements.

  • David Blunkett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Blunkett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Blunkett on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Written Statement of 27 March 2014, Official Report, columns 35-6WS, on primary and 16-to-19 assessment and accountability, how the progress of pupils with severe educational needs will be taken into account in his Department’s accountability reform programme.

    Mr David Laws

    We plan to continue to publish information on attainment and progress of pupils with special educational needs at national and local authority level. A new web portal, which is under development, will improve access to 16-18 performance data, including the core demographic information such as special educational needs that is currently available for primary and secondary schools.

    Any pupils not able to access the relevant end of key stage test will continue to have their attainment assessed by teachers, and we will retain P scales for reporting teachers’ judgements.

  • 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, how many of the six million people identified as missing on the electoral register by the Electoral Commission in 2011 have been registered to vote in each year since 2011.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that its last GB wide study into the completeness of electoral registers was completed in 2011. This type of research does not specifically identify unregistered individuals but provides an assessment of the overall accuracy and completeness of the registers. The Commission’s next study is being published in July and this will update the picture on levels of completeness in 2014.

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage change there has been in the average cost of a water bill in each year since 2011.

    Dan Rogerson

    Water prices in England and Wales are reviewed by the independent economic regulator Ofwat every five years. Water prices for the 2010 to 2015 period were set in Ofwat’s 2009 water price review.

    The percentage change in the average cost (in real prices) of a combined water and sewerage bill in England and Wales during the 2010-2015 period is as follows: -0.6% (2010/11), 0.2% (2011/12), -0.1% (2012/13). The forecast for 2013/14 is 0.5% and for 2014/15 around 2%. The changes year on year usually relate to the profile of water industry investment agreed in the 2009 price review. For 2014/15, water companies are taking steps to hold customer bills down and in some cases are giving up price increases that were allowed for in 2009.

    Ofwat’s 2014 water price review is now underway and will determine water prices for the 2015 to 2020 period. Most water companies are proposing flat or declining bills from 2015.

  • 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 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming universal credit were (a) unemployed and (b) self-employed in the most recent period for which information is available.

    Esther McVey

    The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013 which can be found at :

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics

    Statistics will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics

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  • 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, what assessment he has made of the carbon emissions resulting from the production, transport and disposal or recycling of currently available biodegradable plastic bags.

    Dan Rogerson

    The calculation of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from bags currently labelled as biodegradable or compostable is available in the 2011 research report Life cycle assessment of supermarket carrier bags, which was commissioned and funded by the Environment Agency. This reviewed the bags available in 2006. I have placed a copy of the report in the library of the House.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of recent trends in employment in the private sector.

    Esther McVey

    There are more people in private sector jobs than ever before, up over 2 million since 2010.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in what proportion of cases where (a) an allegation of domestic violence was made or (b) a criminal conviction was obtained for domestic violence the victim was a man and the perpetrator a man in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Norman Baker

    The requested information is not available centrally.

    Home Office police recorded crime only covers offences recorded by the police
    and not allegations. Furthermore, it is not possible to identify domestic
    violence cases from the recorded crime figures returned to the Home Office by
    police forces as these figures are based on counts of crime under the
    appropriate offence classification (e.g. GBH, ABH).

    With regard to stalking, the police started recording offences on April 1st
    2014. Stalking offences recorded by the police will be included as part of the
    regular crime statistics publications in due course.

    The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on
    defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences
    in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by
    the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not all the specific
    circumstances of each case. This centrally held information does not
    specifically identify whether the crime was committed against males or females
    for the offences of stalking and domestic violence. This detailed information
    may be held on individual court files but is not reported to Justice Statistics
    Analytical Services due to its size and complexity. As such this information
    can only be obtained by the Ministry of Justice at disproportionate cost.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Government expects to receive from (a) the 20 per cent deduction from the child maintenance payment of the paying parent and (b) the four per cent deduction of total payment of support to the child from the receiving parent.

    Steve Webb

    Paragraph 106 of the CSA Case Closure, Introducing CMS Fees, Supporting Family Based Arrangements Impact Assessment gives an estimate of the total income by year raised through the parent with care fee and the non-resident parent fee. This Impact Assessment, published on 22 November 2013, is available at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/259694/cm-case-closure-and-charges-regs-ia-final.pdf

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