Tag: 2014

Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many registered intermediaries are available for use by child victims and witnesses in (a) Bolton, (b) Lancashire, (c) England, (d) Scotland and (e) Wales.

Damian Green

As at 19 June 2014, 29 Registered Intermediaries (RIs) were available for use by child victims and witnesses in the Greater Manchester police force area that covers Bolton, 25 RIs for Lancashire, 81 RIs for England and 26 RIs for Wales. Support for vulnerable witnesses is a devolved matter in Scotland.

We recruited over 25 RIs this year, to increase the numbers of Active Registered Intermediaries to be used across the 43 police forces to help vulnerable witnesses.

Registered Intermediaries are available for work across multiple police force areas and the numbers quoted above do not reveal the total number of active RIs.

The number of child victims and witnesses involved in sexual abuse cases that have benefitted from the use of an RI in the last four years since the Witness Intermediary Scheme has been operational are provided in the table below. We do not hold data on cases before this time.

	Age 0 to 4	Age 5 to 11	Age 12 to 17	Yearly Total
2010		131	152	351
2011	62	107	171	340
2012	87	173	165	425
2013	168	257	261	686
TOTAL	385	668	749	1802

The Ministry of Justice continues to monitor the number of Registered Intermediaries and is considering future recruitment plans. We are working with the CPS and police so that RIs are used to help more vulnerable witnesses to give their best evidence.

01/11/2022

Lord Beecham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2014-04-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many VAT inspectors, tax inspectors and senior tax inspectors were employed by HM Revenue and Customs in the financial year 2009–10; and how many will be employed in 2014–15.

Lord Newby

HM Revenue & Customs was formed by the merger of Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise in 2005 and the VAT Inspector and Tax Inspector are no longer roles in the organisation. There are some 17,000 tax professionals in HM Revenue & Customs carrying out a range of duties from tackling non-compliance with tax obligations to advising Ministers on changes in legislation.

Whilst the overall numbers of tax professionals has largely been maintained from 2009/10 to the present day, and will be into 2014/15, the way in which those tax professionals have been deployed has changed to address priority areas of tax risk. This is reflected in the compliance yield, which almost doubled between 2005 and 2011 to £13.9 billion, and increased again to reach £20.7 billion in 2012/13 as key risks were addressed.

HM Revenue & Customs continues to recruit substantial numbers of graduates and suitable internal candidates to develop as senior tax professionals, around 600 in the period 2012/13 to 2014/15, to maintain numbers and enhance capability.

01/11/2022
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 2014-06-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what effect they consider that the provisions contained within clause 21 of the Infrastructure Bill will have onthe policy stated in their response to recommendation 27 of the Independent Panel on Forestry’s Final Report.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston

There has been some uninformed and misleading speculation on this issue, as I am happy to make clear that the Infrastructure Bill’s provisions will have no impact on the Public Forest Estate. This point was also made by my noble Friend, Baroness Kramer, during Second Reading on 18 June 2014, Official Report, Column 899.

Clause 21 of the Infrastructure Bill is completely unconnected to the Government’s stated policy to establish a new public body to hold the Public Forest Estate.

The Government has no intention of transferring land from the new body to the Homes and Communities Agency, as the Public Forest Estate is currently in use and not declared surplus. As such, the powers will not be used in relation to this body and will therefore have no effect on it.

Instead, Clause 21 simply enables surplus land to transfer directly from named public bodies directly to the Homes and Communities Agency, rather than being transferred into the ownership of a Whitehall department first, saving unnecessary bureaucracy. The underlying policy intention is to make it easier for surplus and redundant brownfield land to be sold and help build more homes.

The Clause 21 arrangements will only apply to public bodies included on a list set out in secondary legislation. I can confirm that this list will not include the new body to hold the Public Forest Estate.

01/11/2022
Lord Lea of Crondall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lea of Crondall on 2014-04-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of annuities purchased over the last five years for which data are available were worth (1) between £500 and £2,000 per annum, (2) between £2,001 and £5,000 per annum, (3) between £5,001 and £10,000 per annum, and (4) between £10,000 and £20,000 per annum, in value at the point of purchase.

Lord Newby

There is no requirement for individuals to report the purchase of an annuity and the Government does not collect data on the number or purchase value of annuities. Industry data is collected and published by the Association of British Insurers and may be found on their website https://www.abi.org.uk/Insurance-and-savings/Industry-data/

“

01/11/2022
Lord Laird – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2014-06-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 17 December 2013 (WA 189), what was the text of the Somali nationality law which required in the case of Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed the loss of Somali nationality on his naturalisation as a British citizen.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach

The following is a direct quote from Article 10 of the 1962 Somali nationality law which governed loss of Somali citizenship – Any Somali citizen who:
a) having established his residence abroad, voluntarily acquires foreign country (sic);
b) having established his residence abroad, and having acquired, for reasons beyond his will, foreign citizenship or the status as subject of a foreign country, declares to renounce foreign citizenship;
c) being abroad and having accepted employment from a foreign Government or voluntarily serving in the armed forces of a foreign country, continues to retain his post, notwithstanding the notice from, the Somali Government that, unless he leaves the employment or the service within a definite period of time, he shall lose Somali citizenship; shall cease to be a Somali citizen.

01/11/2022
Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to A UK Strategy for Agricultural Technologies, what progress has been made in identifying skills needed to support the agri-tech research progress; and what steps he is taking to ensure the identified skills are being procured.

Mr David Willetts

The Agri-Tech Strategy Leadership Council is delivering the skills commitments in the Strategy. Current work includes working with the UK Research Councils and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to map the gaps in research skills; working with the Agri-Skills Forum to promote the professionalisation of careers in agriculture; and working with Government to help shape the new Rural Development Programme with respect to agri-skills.

01/11/2022
Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes local authorities are required to make to their information technology services in order to remain connected to the gov.uk secure network.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire

The Public Services Network (PSN) is a new and trusted single network for government. Ninety-eight per cent of local authorities have already transitioned to PSN, with the remainder due to transfer before the end of summer.

The Cabinet Office is supporting local authorities as they transition to PSN by providing guidance, project managers and information assurance specialists.

01/11/2022
Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much solar photovoltaic generating capacity was installed on roof tops under the 250-5MWp FIT band in 2013; and how much capacity will be so installed in 2014.

Gregory Barker

In 2013 5MW of solar photovoltaic (across 10 installations) was installed under the 250-5MW FIT band. The Central FIT Register, from which these figures are taken, does not contain information on whether these installations are located on roof tops or ground mounted but all schemes under this tariff band will be wired to provide electricity to a building.

However the government is actively focused on unlocking to deployment in the mid-sized market. Our current estimates suggest that around 20-230MW may be deployed in the 250-5000kW tariff band in 2014; this range reflects the uncertainties described above.

01/11/2022

Adrian Bailey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adrian Bailey on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, (a) how many higher national diplomas and (b) higher national certificates have been completed in each of the last 10 years.

Mr David Willetts

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on student qualifiers at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The number of students registered at an English Higher Education Institution, who qualified with a Higher National Diploma (HND) and a Higher National Certificate (HNC) in the last 10 years can be found in the table below.

It has not been possible to provide a time series data for FECs because of the disproportionate cost in providing this analysis.

Qualifiers from HND and HNC courses by mode of study

Registered at English Higher Education Institutions

Academic year 2003/04 to 2012/13

Level of study

Mode of study

2003/04

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

HND

Full-Time

7,660

6,035

5,025

3,980

3,475

2,630

2,635

2,460

2,385

1,955

Part-Time

1,575

1,465

1,140

860

720

710

565

540

515

Total

9,235

7,500

6,165

5,120

4,335

3,350

3,345

3,025

2,925

2,470

HNC

Full-Time

135

125

160

135

160

115

215

Part-Time

3,940

3,195

2,995

2,780

2,745

2,900

3,155

2,320

2,275

1,785

Total

4,075

3,320

3,155

2,945

2,825

2,955

3,295

2,480

2,390

2,000

Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record

Notes:

1. Figures are based on HESA qualifications obtained population and have been rounded up or down to the nearest multiple of five, so components may not sum to totals.

2. Students registered at English HEIs will include both students studying at English HEIs and students franchised at Further Education Colleges.

01/11/2022

Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people in each prison establishment are not being held in relation to criminal proceedings; and what the reason is for their being so held in each case.

Jeremy Wright

As of the 31 December 2013, 1,230 people were being held in prisons in England and Wales not in relation to criminal proceedings.

Of these, 1,214 were being held as immigration detainees and 16 were being held for civil offences (for example non-payment of a debt, contempt of court, or breach of an injunction).

The agreement to hold time served foreign national offenders (Immigration Detainees) in prisons is set out in a Service Level Agreement between NOMS and the Home Office and is designed to support the Home Office in achieving its objectives for removal.

Reducing the FNO population is a top priority for this Government. We are working hard to reduce the flow of FNOs into our prison system and increase the number of FNOs removed from the UK through Prisoner Transfer Agreements (PTAs); the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS).

Table 1 (attached) provides a breakdown of the population who are not held in relation to criminal proceedings by prison establishment.

01/11/2022