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Tag: 2014

  • 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 and what proportion of all UK visa applications processed by TPContact in all its overseas service centres have been subject to delays outside the stated service standards.

    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 We are not aware of any withdrawn applications linked to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.

  • Stephen Mosley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Stephen Mosley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Mosley on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many students obtained eight GCSE B grades or above in (a) Flintshire council area and (b) Wrexham council area in (i) 2009 and (ii) 2013.

    Mr David Jones

    This information relates to a devolved matter and is not held by the UK Government. I have therefore written to the Minister for Education and Skills in the Welsh Government seeking the information requested.

    I will write to the hon Gentleman when further information is received, and place a copy in the Library of the House.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on agency workers to cover uniformed operational support staff in each month since January 2014.

    Andrew Selous

    Since April 2010 we have cut our overall spend on temporary staff by £35.5m. We only use temporary staff to fill business-critical posts and essential frontline services where they can provide a fast, flexible and efficient way to obtain necessary skills that are not currently available in-house. We will continue to examine our use of contractors and look for further reductions.

    In responding to each question we have utilised data provided by our contracted supplier of temporary clerical staff and contracted supplier of temporary operational staff. As the data provided has been supplied by two different third parties there is a slight difference in the way that the answer to question 3 and 4 has been presented.

    Temporary operational staff relate to Operational Support Grades (OSGs) used within HM Prison Service. We have contracts in place to provide temporary OSGs to fill in gaps in requirements, for building projects or to fill vacancies short term. Temporary OSGs are a very small proportion of our staff complement.

    Uniform operational support staff are Operational Support Grades (OSGs).These are uniformed staff who undertake a wide range of duties in prisons, for example operating prison gates, working in security and managing stores areas. They also escort contractors and their vehicles.

    1) The following amounts (exclusive of VAT) have been spent on clerical agency staff across –

    January 2014 – £2,983,633.14 (5 week period)

    February 2014 – £2,613,023.10 (4 week period)

    March 2014 – £2,591,678.87 (4 week period)

    April 2014 – £2,900,742.70 (5 week period)

    May 2014 – £2,398,053.57 (4 week period)

    June 2014 – £658,700.28 (1 week period)

    2) The following amounts (exclusive of VAT) have been spent on uniform operational support staff –

    January 2014 – £1,082,247 (5 week period)

    February 2014 – £1,420,329 (4 week period)

    March 2014 – £1,137,834 (4 week period)

    April 2014 – £1,249,908 (4 week period)

    May 2014 – £2,282,468 (5 week period)

    The spend for May 2014 also includes the backdated annual pay rise for eligible workers from 1st April 2014.

    3) The following number of clerical agency staff have been utilised –

    January 2014 – 1571 (Average headcount)

    February 2014 – 1634 (Average headcount)

    March 2014 – 1624 (Average headcount)

    April 2014 – 1578 (Average headcount)

    May 2014 – 1644 (Average headcount)

    June 2014 – 1674 (Average headcount)

    4) The following number of uniform operational support staff have been utilised –

    January 2014 – 697 (Peak worker number)

    February 2014 – 845 (Peak worker number)

    March 2014 – 867 (Peak worker number)

    April 2014 – 853 (Peak worker number)

    May 2014 – 855 (Peak worker number)

    June 2014 – Peak worker number not available yet.

  • 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 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assets and how many service personnel were involved in NATO exercise Joint Warrior from (a) the UK, (b) NATO members and (c) non-NATO members in each of the last two years.

    Dr Andrew Murrison

    The following tables detail the number and type of assets together with the number of Service personnel from the UK, NATO members, and non-NATO members involved in Exercise JOINT WARRIOR for the last two years.

    Maritime Units represent the number of Ships and Submarines, Land Units represent Brigades/Battery/Legion/Squadron participating and Air Units represent the number of Aircraft taking part.

    Personnel numbers are rounded approximations as exact numbers vary day to day. In 2013 approximately 50 personnel and 40 augmentees from Joint Force Air Component HQ and 50 Air Surveillance and Control System personnel at RAF Bulmer also participated as part of their normal duties.

  • Lord Hughes of Woodside – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Hughes of Woodside – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hughes of Woodside on 2014-06-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 11 June (WA 387), whether they will publish in the Official Report the increase or decrease in crime statistics since 2010 for each of the Police Authorities in England and Wales, including London, and for each area covered by Police and Crime Commissioners.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

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

  • Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the (a) 20 highest and (b) 20 lowest value contracts awarded by her Department were in each financial year since 2009-10.

    Lynne Featherstone

    I refer the Hon. Member to the reply given to her by my Rt. Hon Friend, the Member for Horsham (Francis Maude) on 2 Apr 2014, Official Report (Col. 721W).

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they and their allies are able to promote local truces in Syria and to help such truces to become more permanent.

    Baroness Warsi

    Assad’s regime has been using siege tactics against civilian populations, sometimes forcing them into a position where they accept a truce as a way of being allowed food and medicine. We saw this approach in Homs, and elsewhere. We do not believe that this is a model which should be replicated in other places in Syria. UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2139 called for an end to the regime’s use of siege tactics, and for aid to reach those who need it. This is not currently happening, as the UN has made clear in its last three reports on UNSCR 2139. The regime bears primary responsibility for the humanitarian crisis, and Resolution 2139 must be implemented in full. Only a political settlement, based on the principles of the Geneva Communiqué, can bring about a lasting settlement.

  • Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have moved off jobseeker’s allowance to jobs on zero-hours contracts in each month since May 2010.

    Esther McVey

    This data is not available.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2014-06-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the ambulance service 999 response rates have been over the past two years.

    Earl Howe

    The following table shows performance against the response time standards for all ambulance trusts in England in the last two financial years.

    Table: Monthly performance of ambulance trusts in England for category A calls, 2012-13 and 2013-14

    Year

    Month

    Of all Category A calls, proportion responded to within 8 minutes

    Of all Red 1 calls, proportion responded to within 8 minutes

    Of all Red 2 calls, proportion responded to within 8 minutes

    Of all Category A calls resulting in an ambulance arriving, proportion within 19 minutes

    2012-13

    April

    76.2%

    –

    –

    96.7%

    2012-13

    May

    74.8%

    –

    –

    96.3%

    2012-13

    June

    –

    75.6%

    77.5%

    96.6%

    2012-13

    July

    –

    75.3%

    77.4%

    96.4%

    2012-13

    August

    –

    75.1%

    78.1%

    96.5%

    2012-13

    September

    –

    75.1%

    75.9%

    95.9%

    2012-13

    October

    –

    74.9%

    76.5%

    96.2%

    2012-13

    November

    –

    73.2%

    76.0%

    96.1%

    2012-13

    December

    –

    70.4%

    70.8%

    94.6%

    2012-13

    January

    –

    73.5%

    75.8%

    95.8%

    2012-13

    February

    –

    74.1%

    75.3%

    95.9%

    2012-13

    March

    –

    73.4%

    73.8%

    95.4%

    2012-13

    Full year

    75.5%

    74.0%

    75.6%

    96.0%

    2013-14

    April

    –

    75.4%

    76.0%

    96.4%

    2013-14

    May

    –

    77.9%

    77.8%

    96.9%

    2013-14

    June

    –

    77.4%

    77.1%

    96.7%

    2013-14

    July

    –

    75.5%

    74.0%

    95.8%

    2013-14

    August

    –

    77.0%

    75.3%

    96.2%

    2013-14

    September

    –

    75.1%

    73.8%

    95.9%

    2013-14

    October

    –

    74.6%

    73.6%

    96.1%

    2013-14

    November

    –

    74.1%

    73.0%

    95.9%

    2013-14

    December

    –

    72.8%

    71.7%

    95.4%

    2013-14

    January

    –

    76.4%

    76.3%

    96.4%

    2013-14

    February

    –

    75.2%

    74.0%

    96.0%

    2013-14

    March

    –

    76.2%

    74.7%

    96.1%

    2013-14

    Full year

    –

    75.6%

    74.8%

    96.1%

    Source: NHS England, ambulance quality indicators

    Notes:

    1. Ambulance service response times were split in June 2012 in to the most time critical (Red 1) and serious but less time critical (Red 2).

    2. Category A Red 1 calls are the most time critical and cover cardiac arrest patients who are not breathing and do not have a pulse, and other severe conditions.

    3. Category Red 2 calls are serious but less immediately time critical and cover conditions such as stroke and fits, and a new clock start will allow call handlers to get more information about patients.

    4. Category A19 is the total number of Category A calls (Red 1 and Red 2) which resulted in a fully equipped ambulance vehicle (car or ambulance) able to transport the patient in a clinically safe manner arriving at the scene within 19 minutes of the request being made.

    The Government is aware of the increasing demand on urgent and emergency care services. The Urgent and Emergency Care Review is currently considering whole system change to the delivery of urgent and emergency care, including new models of delivery of care for ambulance services. The first phase of the review was published last November, and we expect NHS England to be publishing further reports later this year.

  • Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Luff on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the European Commission on its programme of cinema advertising to promote the Common Agricultural Policy.

    George Eustice

    No such discussions have taken place.