Tag: 2014

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Attorney General’s Office to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

    Lord Wallace of Tankerness

    The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) does not have a cost overrun established by the management board above which it merits a budget being tabled at departmental Executive Board. No overruns have been reported to the AGO Executive Board in the last 12 months.

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what military or civilian personnel in his Department of what rank or grade have been reprimanded for failing to deliver an ICT hosting environment for Capita as part of the Recruiting Partnering Project.

    Anna Soubry

    No personnel have been reprimanded in connection with the delivery of the Recruiting Partnering Project.

    An ICT hosting platform is being provided for Capita.

  • Lord Tyler – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Tyler – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tyler on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK Border Agency staff are permanently deployed in Jersey, Guernsey and Sark.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    There are no Border Force Officers deployed to Jersey, Guernsey or Sark.

    Jersey has its own Customs and Immigration Service. Guernsey has an Immigration, Nationality and Passport Department. Both islands have their own immigration rules.

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints her Department has received regarding delays to the issuing of a passport in each of the last four years.

    James Brokenshire

    The table below shows the number of complaints related to delays in receiving a
    passport.

    Year

    Number of complaints relating to delays

    2010

    1253

    2011

    1341

    2012

    1513

    2013

    1437

  • Paul Uppal – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Paul Uppal – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Uppal on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to encourage local authority pension funds to become signatories to the Stewardship Code.

    Brandon Lewis

    Each local authority that administers a pension fund is already subject to statutory guidance that states that it should recognise the Financial Reporting Council’s Stewardship Code and ensure that the Code is adopted by their fund managers, investment consultants and advisers. The guidance also states that the authority should include a statement of its policy on responsible ownership in its statement of the principles governing its investment decisions and report periodically to scheme members on the implementation of the policy. Sixteen of the eighty nine local government pension funds in England and Wales are themselves signatories to the Stewardship Code as asset owners.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kevin Brennan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department takes to (a) monitor how the grants awarded through the Sponsor Capacity Fund are used and (b) recoup grants from the Sponsor Capacity Fund where the recipients do not go on to sponsor any academies or use the money in an inappropriate way.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Academy sponsors who receive the Sponsor Capacity Fund are required to sign a Grant Funding Agreement, agreeing to adhere to the terms and conditions of grant. They are required to submit an Annual Certification of Expenditure, signed by their auditors, and a final report detailing what has been achieved through use of the grant.

    If they fail to comply with any of the conditions of grant, or are deemed to be in breach of it, they are required to return the grant to the Department.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the baseline requirement is for wi-fi provision for all primary schools; and if he will make a statement.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The Department for Education has no baseline requirements for Wi-Fi provision in all schools. Headteachers manage their own budgets and are best placed to decide the extent of Wi-Fi provision. Where schools are built or rebuilt via the Department’s capital programmes, IT infrastructure including Wi-Fi is installed to a standard that supports 1:1 tablet use in the classroom.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which company designed and what the cost to the public purse was of production in 2009 of the plans for a young offender institute at Glen Parva.

    Jeremy Wright

    Interserve designed the 2009 plans for a Young Offender Institution at Glen Parva with their designers, HLM Architects.

    The previous Government spent £5.6 million on developing the plans for a new Young Offender Institution at Glen Parva up to 2010. Although the Secure College pathfinder will be fundamentally different from a Young Offender’s Institution, we are making use of the previous work where relevant.

  • Mr David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mr David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr David Hanson on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many serious misconduct complaints related to the use of control and restraint during enforced removal were referred to the Professional Standards Unit in each year since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    Complaints made by, or on behalf of, detainees are managed in accordance with
    Detention Services Order 3/2011. All allegations of serious misconduct are
    referred to the Home Office Professional Standards Unit (PSU) for
    investigation. These include allegations made against staff who work in the
    detention estate or who are engaged in escorting work.

    Data on the number of complaints referred to the PSU is not recorded. Only data
    of those complaints where PSU have agreed to investigate are recorded. The
    number investigated relating to the use of control and restraint during
    enforced removal is detailed below.

    2010 – 42
    2011 – 30
    2012 – 39
    2013 – 19

    These figures are based on management information, which is subject to change,
    and does not form part of our publicised statistics.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK Space Agency in promoting the UK space industry; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Willetts

    The UK Space Agency (UKSA) was created in April 2011 to lead and foster the growing UK space sector. It does so through funding and delivery of civil space projects and downstream space related activities, developing space policy including advice to Ministers and regulating UK space activities to meet international obligations.

    The UKSA formally tests its performance against such objectives in a number ways and includes amongst these a measure of its effectiveness in promoting the UK space industry. This is primarily through an independent bi-annual “Size and Health” survey of the UK industrial sector which assesses the growth of the UK space economy. The Agency also monitors contracts that flow back to UK industry from Agency-targeted subscriptions to the European Space Agency as well as monitoring where Agency-supported research and development work has positioned UK industry for success in future operational contracts. More recently the Agency has extended its role in actively supporting and promoting UK industrial exports of both satellite and emerging space-related data services.

    All objective measures from these activities point to a growing success story for our space industry. Indeed it is one of our economy’s fastest growing sectors, with an average growth rate of almost 7.5%, and it has ambitions to increase its annual turnover to £40 billion by 2030. The role of the Agency in this development is significant and it has developed close relationships with industry.

    The Size and Health survey due to be published in autumn 2014 is expected to show that the Space Economy has continued to grow between 2011 and 2013.

    Its coordination of a business-driven industrial space policy has provided leadership for the UK industrial community (acknowledged by the UK space Innovation and Growth Strategy published in 2013) and this has been recognised by the Parliamentary Select Committee report into the UKSA which was published in October 2013.

    The Agency serves as an effective platform to raise awareness of the successes of the UK space sector. BIS and Agency officials continue to evaluate its success in promoting that work using Government Communications Service best practice.

    A further key measure of success is the increasing number of overseas space companies choosing to invest in the UK and so growing the UK’s wider space capability and economic development.