UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2014

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent estimate she has made of foreign direct investment in Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Northern Ireland remains one of the most successful regions in the UK for attracting foreign direct investment, attracting some 6% of inward FDI with around 3% of the UK population.

    The Northern Ireland Investment Conference, which the Prime Minister and I attended, held last year is continuing to bear fruit and I welcome the recent announcement that Convergys – with whose senior management the Prime Minister took time at the Conference to discuss the benefits of Northern Ireland as a cost-effective investment location – is setting up a customer service centre in Londonderry in collaboration with its client EE.

    This investment will bring 333 jobs to the city over the coming year and generate over £5million to the local economy annually.

    The recent announcements from Concentrix of its intention to reinvest in Northern Ireland and add a further 1,043 jobs to its existing work force of 800, and from EY (which also attended the Investment Conference) of a further investment leading to 486 more jobs, are welcome votes of confidence that Northern Ireland is an excellent place to invest and to grow a business.

    These two investments will inject some £38m in salaries into the Northern Ireland economy.

    It is particularly heartening that so many companies choose to reinvest after they have established a presence in Northern Ireland and seen for themselves the benefits it can offer as a cost competitive business environment together with its high quality and well educated workforce.

    The G8 Summit, which the PM brought to Co. Fermanagh in June 2013, also highlighted to the world the benefits of Northern Ireland as a place to visit and invest.

  • Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Elfyn Llwyd on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications of an increase in the need for court reports arising from his Transforming Rehabilitation agenda on the workload of court staff.

    Jeremy Wright

    We do not anticipate that Transforming Rehabilitation will have a substantial impact on the number of pre-sentence reports written. The National Probation Service (NPS) will continue to offer same-day reports where possible and to work closely with the Courts to minimise adjournments.

    By expanding post-release supervision for those sentenced to under 12-months, this cohort of offenders will now benefit from rehabilitative activity who were previously excluded, but this will not impact on pre-sentence Court activity.

    The new Risk of Serious Recidivism (RSR) tool will be used to inform the allocation of cases to new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) or the NPS and complements the pre-sentence report process. The RSR is straightforward to use and will support the identification of the likelihood of an offender committing serious re-offending in the future. We will ensure that CRCs work closely with the NPS so that cases are brought before the courts speedily and effectively.

  • Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of recipients of the Independent Living Fund (a) are in employment and (b) were in employment at the date of application.

    Mike Penning

    The information is not available in the format requested as the ILF does not record the employment status of its recipients.

  • Diane Abbott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Diane Abbott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to implement the recommendations of the Prison and Probation Ombudsman’s (PPO) report on Learning from PPO Investigations: Risk factors in self-inflicted deaths in prisons.

    Jeremy Wright

    We will carefully consider the Ombudsman’s recommendations made in the Learning Lessons Bulletin on Risk Factors in self-inflicted deaths in prison to identify further learning. I also refer the honourable member to the answer given to the Lord’s Oral Question on 6 February 2014 (Official report Col 36 ), announcing that the Government hasestablished an Independent Review into the self-inflicted deaths of 18-24 year olds in NOMS custody. The review is being led by Lord Harris of Haringey and will report by Spring 2015. NOMS takes the safety of prisoners very seriously and draws learning from individual death in custody reports from the PPO as quickly as possible.

  • Andrew Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has commissioned on diabulimia in teenagers and young adults.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded the NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for South Yorkshire from 2008 to 2013. The CLAHRC carried out a programme of research on young people with Type 1 diabetes including research relating to eating disorders in this patient group. Outputs include papers published in the journal Diabetic Medicine.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available to families with children with autism.

    Norman Lamb

    The Care Bill has simplified the process for adult carers in England to access an assessment of need for social care, based on the appearance of a need for support.

    The Children and Families Act has introduced new arrangements for supporting young people with a special educational need, and their families. A single assessment involving professionals and commissioners, and the child’s family, will identify the care needs for the child or young person (from ages 0 to 25) to inform an individual Education, Health and Care Plan focusing on outcomes and the integrated services to deliver them.

  • William Bain – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    William Bain – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Bain on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which priority investors in Royal Mail have subsequently sold all or part of their holdings of shares since the date of flotation; and what estimate he has made of the level of profits made in each case.

    Michael Fallon

    Maintained by Royal Mail and is subject to uncertainties (e.g. funds can hold their shares through a range of nominees/custodians).

    Based on the Bloomberg register dated 23rd April, we estimate that more than half of the pilot fishing investors allocated shares remain invested and that they hold shares equal to more than 50% of their combined allocations.

    Given that the timings of sales and purchases are not available on a fund by fund basis, the Department does not know, and has not made any estimate, of any profits made by these investors (other than Lazard Asset Management whose representative told the Public Accounts Committee on 30 April the level of profit it made on the sale of Royal Mail shares for its clients).

  • Harriet Harman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Harriet Harman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many schoolgirls were abducted in Chibok in north-eastern Nigeria on 14 April 2014; and what reports he has received on their current location.

    Mark Simmonds

    Approximately 230 schoolgirls were taken. A small number appear to have escaped or been released. There is no confirmation of the current location or condition of those still being held. Most reports suggest the girls were initially taken to the Sambisa forest, where insurgents are believed to have a number of camps. The girls may have now been split into several smaller groups.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the letter dated 5 March 2014 from the Minister of State for Pensions to the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make national insurance credits available for past periods for service spouses; and if he will make a statement.

    Steve Webb

    Subject to Royal Assent of the Pensions Bill a duty will be placed on the Secretary of State to make regulations to allow service spouses and civil partners, due to reach State Pension age from 6 April 2016, to apply for National Insurance credits for periods during which they accompanied their husband, wife or civil partner on a posting outside the UK. The regulations will make provision to allow credits for periods between 1975/76 and 2010.

    We are working with the Ministry of Defence on the finer details of the scheme including the manner in which applications will need to be made and the precise date when the administrative arrangements will be in place.

    We estimate that up to 20,000 individuals could have a higher single-tier pension from these credits as some individuals may, at state pension age, already have sufficient qualifying years to gain a full single-tier pension.

  • Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pete Wishart on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will place in the Library a copy of all guidance and benchmarking criteria used by her Department, its contractors and agents when assessing the adequacy and suitability of placement accommodation allocated to pregnant women and nursing mothers in receipt of section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

    James Brokenshire

    The guidance and procedures on providing accommodation to pregnant women in the
    asylum support system is contained in the policy document "Healthcare needs and
    Pregnancy Dispersal guidance", which can be found at:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthcare-needs-and-pregnancy-disper
    sal-instruction

    The Home Office is currently considering some changes to the document following
    consultation with the Refugee Council and Maternity Action.

    Pregnant women are already recognised as a vulnerable group in the asylum
    support system. Regulation 4 of the Asylum Seekers (Reception conditions)
    Regulations 2005 provides that their special needs must be taken into
    consideration.