UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2014

  • Jim Sheridan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Sheridan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Sheridan on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of changes to the time taken to review applications for deaf people during the three month suspension of the 30 hour rule in the access to work grant.

    Mike Penning

    The 30 hour guidance will not be applied to new applicants during this suspension. Existing customers whose support has been changed as a result of the guidance can request a full review of their situation.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-03-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what change there has been in median gross weekly earnings for (a) men and (b) women in Wrexham constituency since 2010.

    Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when a Minister from his Department will meet representatives of Egypt’s new President.

    Mr William Hague

    The National Security Adviser visited Cairo on 10-11 June and met President el-Sisi. Ministers and senior officials are in regular contact with the government of Egypt and I issued a message congratulating President el-Sisi on 3 June. We look to him to take steps to implement the rights contained in Egypt’s constitution by opening up political space, especially with regard to freedom of expression and association. We believe the best way for Egyptians to achieve the goals of the 25 January revolution of 2011 is through an inclusive political process in which all groups can participate.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-03-06.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what points he has identified from the recent flooding crisis to enable COBR to work more effectively.

    Francis Maude

    COBR has met regularly over the past 3 months to ensure that affected communities get the support they need quickly and effectively.

    As the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced in his written statement to House on 6 March, in future whenever there is a significant risk we will use COBR systems to ensure that all organisations at national and local level are adequately prepared and ready to respond.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with other countries in the (a) EU and (b) UN about a potential candidate to replace the outgoing UN Special Envoy to Syria.

    Mr William Hague

    Since Mr Brahimi stepped down we have had discussions with the UN and with a number of EU partners about arrangements for a successor. The appointment is still under consideration by the UN Secretary General.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2014-03-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all maintained and academy schools in receipt of the pupil premium use the funds directly to support disadvantaged pupils.

    Lord Nash

    Headteachers of maintained schools and academies are expected to use their professional judgement in determining which well-evidenced interventions to invest in to raise the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils. A headteacher may decide to spend some of their pupil premium on whole school interventions, such as improving the quality of teacher feedback, as the evidence shows that this has a significant impact on the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

    While headteachers have this freedom, they are also held accountable for the impact of this additional funding in three different ways. Firstly, the performance tables set out the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils and the gap between them and their peers. Secondly, Ofsted inspects the achievement of all pupils in a school, and where disadvantaged pupils are making insufficient progress, inspectors are likely to grade a school as requiring improvement and will recommend that the school undertakes a pupil premium review. Thirdly, schools are required to publish online how much pupil premium funding they receive, how they have used this funding and an evaluation of the impact that it has had.

  • Adrian Sanders – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Adrian Sanders – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adrian Sanders on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has held with the Russian government on the right to self-determination of people in the North Caucasus.

    Mr David Lidington

    I have not specifically discussed the right to self-determination of people in the North Caucasus with the Russian government. However, this Government regularly raises concerns about the human rights situation in Russia with the Russian government. Concerns about the human rights situation in the North Caucasus were included in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s 2013 Annual Human Rights Report.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2014-03-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the provision in the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013, whereby complaints against claims management companies can be made to the Legal Services Ombudsman, will be implemented.

    Lord Faulks

    The Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013 provided the necessary enabling powers to put in place the funding arrangements for the Legal Ombudsman to deal with complaints against claims management companies. These provisions were commenced on 21 March 2014. This included a power for the Lord Chancellor to make Regulations to charge fees to recover the costs he has incurred in meeting the expenditure of the Legal Ombudsman in relation to claims management complaints.

    Section 161 of the Legal Services Act 2007 will, once commenced, extend the Legal Ombudsman’s remit to deal with complaints against claims management companies. We are continuing to work towards commencing section 161 of the 2007 Act, but prior to this we must ensure that all the necessary legislative arrangements are in place. This includes consulting on the structure of the Lord Chancellor’s cost recovery fee and drafting the fee Regulations, which must then be approved by Parliament. At the same time, the Legal Ombudsman is working on the operational arrangements for taking these complaints, and thus we will deliver this new regime as soon as possible.

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

    Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of people in (a) Pendle constituency, (b) East Lancashire and (c) the North West are registered organ donors.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested is in the following table:

    Proportion of people in Pendle constituency, East Lancashire and the North West who are registered organ donors as at 10 June 2014

    Area

    Number on the Organ Donor Register

    Population estimate1

    % on the Organ Donor Register

    Pendle Constituency

    22,071

    89,613

    24.6%

    East Lancashire2

    137,865

    530,605

    26.0%

    North West 3

    2,083,446

    7,084,337

    29.4%

    1 Source: Office for National Statistics mid-2012 population estimates

    2 East Lancashire comprising the districts of Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Ribble Valley, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale

    3 This comprises:

    Ashton, Leigh and Wigan, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Central and Eastern Cheshi, Cumbria, East Lancashire, Halton and St Helens, Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, Knowsley, Liverpool, Manchester, North Lancashire, Oldham, Salford, Sefton, Stockport, Tameside and Glossop, Trafford, Warrington, Western Cheshire, Wirral

    Source: NHS Blood and Transplant

  • Julian Sturdy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Julian Sturdy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of wind turbine developers using the Community Right to Build scheme to circumvent the local planning process.

    Kris Hopkins

    The Community Right to Build allows local communities to undertake small-scale, site-specific, community-led developments. It may only be used by community organisations in which local people in the relevant neighbourhood area have a majority of the voting rights and have the majority on the board of directors or governing body of the organisation, and, include different people from at least 10 different addresses within the area. This means the Community Right to Build cannot be used by property developers, including wind turbine developers, to gain planning permission for their development proposal – unless that development is something that the community wishes to see and which the community initiates.

    Proposals that require an Environmental Impact Assessment or are likely to have significant effects on a site protected under the Habitats Regulations are not eligible to use the Community Right to Build. Where proposals are eligible they will be tested by an independent examiner to see that they are appropriate in the light of national planning policy and generally conform with the strategic policies of the Local Plan for the area and any neighbourhood plans that are in force.

    The National Planning Policy Framework is very clear that local councils should design their policies to ensure the adverse impacts of renewable energy developments are addressed satisfactorily. To help implement the environmental balance expected by the Framework, we issued new planning practice guidance for renewable and low carbon energy last July. The guidance makes clear that the need for renewable energy does not automatically override environmental protections and the planning concerns of local communities.