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Tag: 2014

  • Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-03-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment his Department has made of the socio-economic development performance of Magnox in North Ayrshire.

    Michael Fallon

    Magnox Ltd is the site licence company that operates 10 Magnox sites under contract to the NDA. Magnox Ltd published a socio-economic strategy for its sites in 2011, which includes Hunterston A in North Ayrshire. DECC has no direct role in assessing Magnox’s performance in this area which is a matter for the NDA.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Attorney General, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the number of rape convictions.

    Oliver Heald

    Increasing the number of rape convictions continues to be a priority in the criminal justice system. On 6 June 2014, a Rape Action Plan was jointly published by the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which sets out a series of actions designed to improve the criminal justice response in rape cases. This followed a Rape National Scrutiny Panel led by the Director of Public Prosecutions and the National Policing lead for rape, which considered the investigation and prosecution of rape cases including their referral from the police to the CPS. The Action plan can be found on the CPS website at; http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/equality/vaw/rape_action_plan.pdf

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2014-03-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2014, Official Report, columns 232-3W, on social security benefits: young people, if he will publish information relevant to the original question in whatever format that is available.

    Esther McVey

    The information you require is not available.

  • Mike Weir – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Mike Weir – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weir on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the total costs incurred (a) in his Department and (b) in the Government of the creation and production of the booklet, What staying in the United Kingdom means for Scotland.

    David Mundell

    The total UK Government cost to-date of ‘What Staying in the United Kingdom Means for Scotland’ is £723,501 (plus VAT).

    This works out at the equivalent of 30p per household for the entire process of design, production and delivery. Further detail will be published in the usual fashion in the Cabinet Office transparency returns.

    The Scotland Office incurred no costs in the production or creation of the booklet. Staffing costs were taken from existing Scotland Office budgets.

  • Vernon Coaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Vernon Coaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in how many joint NATO training exercises in which countries the UK plans to participate in the next six months.

    Dr Andrew Murrison

    In the next six months the UK is planning to participate in thirty-seven joint and multinational training exercises in a NATO context.

    These exercises will take place on the territory of, in the waters around or in the skies above the following countries:

    Canada

    Croatia

    Denmark

    Estonia

    France

    Germany

    Greenland

    Italy

    Latvia

    Lithuania

    Norway

    Poland

    Slovenia

    Spain

    Turkey

    UK

    USA

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the additional costs to claimants living in rural communities of travel to attend jobcentre interviews for (a) fortnightly signing and (b) other interviews and advisory meetings.

    Esther McVey

    The department has not made an estimate regarding the additional costs for claimants living in rural communities. Providing such an estimate would require the DWP to differentiate the costs to rural claimants from those elsewhere. This can only be done at disproportionate cost to the department. However, the department does have some flexibility to meet the needs of those living in rural areas: for example, postal signing can be offered and claimants attending interviews on days outside their normal day of attendance can have their travelling expenses reimbursed. Additionally, Work Coaches are also able to use the Flexible Support Fund and issue Travel Discount Cards to help claimants with travel expenses.

  • Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, to whom the National Panel on Serious Case Reviews is accountable; and what the terms of reference of that Panel are.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The members of national panel of independent experts on Serious Case Reviews (SCR) were appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and are ultimately accountable to him, though they operate independently.

    The role of the panel is set out in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children (2013)’ as follows:

    “The role of the panel will be to support Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB) in ensuring that appropriate action is taken to learn from serious incidents in all cases where the statutory criteria are met and to ensure that those lessons are shared through publication of final SCR reports. The panel will also report to the Government their views of how the SCR system is working”.

    The panel’s remit will include advising LSCBs about:
    1. application of the SCR criteria;

    2. appointment of reviewers; and

    3. publication of SCR reports.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress he has made in providing funding to assist East Ayrshire Council with the restoration of former open-cast sites in East Ayrshire; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    Proposals have been put to me by Scottish Government Ministers asking Her Majesty’s Government to provide a financial contribution towards the costs of restoring abandoned opencast coal mining sites in East Ayrshire and other areas of Scotland. I continue to give consideration to those proposals against the backdrop of other issues currently affecting the coal industry and of spending priorities more generally.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2014, Official Report, column 238W, on driving: licensing, what proportion of new drivers obtaining driving convictions were offered speed awareness courses in each year since 2010.

    Damian Green

    I refer the Hon. Member to my answer of 27th March 2014, Official Report,
    column 372W.

    The number of drivers who opted for a speed awareness course rather than
    accept penalty points on their driving licence in 2010 is 447,724, 2011 is
    772,430, 2012 is 926,101 and 2013 is 953,428. The offer of a speed awareness
    course is at the discretion of the police. To be deemed eligible there must be
    no excessive speed or other offences committed at the same time. Information on
    previous motoring convictions is not taken into account.

  • 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 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints she has received about UK visa applications processed by TPContact in (a) Israel, (b) Russia, (c) South Africa and (d) Ukraine to date.

    James Brokenshire

    Any failure against the contractual critical service levels may result in
    deductions against their submitted invoices. In the event of continuous and
    unacceptable failures the Department has the ability to terminate the contract.

    The performance of Teleperformance as with all of our contracts is subject to
    close Home Office scrutiny. The governance processes include regular meetings
    at all levels, from local operational teams up to senior official levels, to
    allow in-depth reviews of performance against the service standards set out in
    the contract, and to provide an escalation route to resolve any issues that may
    arise. We also expect suppliers to provide continuous improvement in delivery
    of customer services over the course of the contract, which is also monitored
    through these processes.

    The Department withheld payment of the contractual transitional payment until
    transition was complete in each country where Teleperformance operates. This
    has now been has now been approved for payment in countries where visa
    application centres (VACs) are operational but withheld in locations still to
    be transitioned. Ongoing contractual payments will be subject to the service
    credit process outlined above.

    The data required to judge performance against contractual service standards is
    not yet available. We are not aware of any withdrawn applications linked to
    delays in processing at the identified visa application centres since they took
    over this service. The Home Office is currently collating data on complaints
    for the period since Teleperformance commenced operations and it is not
    available for publication.

    UK Visas & Immigration has worked closely with Teleperformance from the point
    at which contracts were awarded to prepare for live operations, including the
    summer peak. Annual and monthly application volumes and forecast figures for
    2014 were provided to Teleperformance as part of the tender process and local
    discussions have taken place to determine the number of appointment slots
    available. Opening hours have been extended and appointment availability has
    been increased in a number of locations to prepare for the summer period. Where
    VACs are open every day, the availability of appointment slots is continually
    monitored, with further measures being taken if appointments are consistently
    fully booked.