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Tag: 2014

  • Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pete Wishart on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much HM Passport Office has paid in compensation for delays in customers receiving passports in each year since 2004.

    James Brokenshire

    Her Majesty’s Passport Office began recording data on complaints and compensation paid by various categories in 2005 so data is not held relating to 2004. Compensation paid to
    passport applicants relating to complaints concerning application processing
    delays amounted to:

    2005

    £13,064

    2006

    £18,684

    2007

    £1,888

    2008

    £2,090

    2009

    £1,504

    2010

    £11,978

    2011

    £933

    2012

    £2,999

    2013

    £1,445

  • Karl McCartney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Karl McCartney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2014-04-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what future plans the Government has to utilise funds from the unclaimed life policies or dormant bank accounts.

    Sajid Javid

    On 27 March the Government published a Review of the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008, which set out the Government’s view on the existing schemes set up in the legislation.

    The Government currently has no plans to use funds from unclaimed life insurance policies, but keeps all policy under review.

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how he plans to allocate National Probation Service staff to new community rehabilitation companies.

    Jeremy Wright

    On 1 June, as part of our ongoing Transforming Rehabilitation Programme of reform, the new National Probation Service (NPS) and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) formally commenced operation. All probation staff were allocated to either the NPS or CRC and many have been working in their new teams since April.

    The probation workforce was allocated to the new organisations in line with future capacity needs. This was calculated on the basis of existing staffing needs for the different operational functions. The process was based on an objective consideration of the future functions and offender groups that each organisation will be responsible for.

    There are no plans to allocate NPS staff to CRCs. However to help ensure effective working relationships between the bodies, we are in favour of an arrangement that would facilitate interchange between the NPS and CRCs where it was in the interests of both employers.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2014, Official Report, column 490W, on the Royal Air Force, if he will provide details of (a) each base at which RAF personnel from the Remotely Piloted Air System division are stationed and (b) the branch and specialisation of every such person.

    Mr Mark Francois

    RAF Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS) personnel are based at RAF Waddington and Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.

    RAF Personnel are from the following branches or specialisation:

    Branch/Specialisation

    Pilot

    Sensor Operator

    Mission Intelligence Coordinator

    Operations

    Engineer

    Administration

    RAF RPAS Squadrons can also include personnel from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Army.

  • 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 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the proportion of offenders present at parole board hearings when a victim personal statement is read.

    Jeremy Wright

    The victims of serious violent and sexual offences, where the offender has been sentenced to 12 months or more, may opt into the statutory Victim Contact Scheme, operated by the National Probation Service. Where they do so, they will be informed of a Parole Board review and offered the opportunity to make a Victim Personal Statement (VPS). The VPS provides victims with a valuable opportunity to tell the Parole Board how the offence has affected them or their family, both at the time it was committed and since, and how they think the offender’s release would affect them. The VPS can contribute to a better and more informed hearing, as it may enable more robust questioning of the offender about the offence, remorse and victim empathy.

    The independent Parole Board is responsible for the conduct of parole hearings. The normal practice is that the offender will not be present when the victim reads his/her VPS, but there may be circumstances where he/she will be. In many cases, the victim does not wish the offender to be present during the reading. Whilst the conduct of an individual hearing is for the Chair of the Panel of the Parole Board, the Chair cannot insist that the prisoner attends to hear the VPS being read if s/he does not wish to do so. No estimate has been made centrally of the proportion of offenders present at the hearing when the VPS is read out.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps he is taking to ensure that the new Fuel Poverty Target will address the specific needs of people affected by conditions such as muscular dystrophy and neuromuscular conditions.

    Gregory Barker

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough on 26 February 2014, Official Report, Column 416W.

  • Frank Dobson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Frank Dobson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Dobson on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what form he expects the Chinese investment in High Speed 2 to take.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The 2013 Spending Review provided a long-term funding commitment of £50bn to deliver HS2. We are continuously seeking ways to reduce costs to the taxpayer, and we are very open to proposals around including elements of private financing, including Chinese investment.

    Opportunities for external investment might exist in relation to rolling stock and development and regeneration around stations. This could provide benefits to both taxpayers and investors.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether approval will be given for fracking sites on flood plains; and if he will make a statement.

    Dan Rogerson

    For surface installations required for borehole construction and hydraulic fracturing, the Environment Agency is a statutory adviser in the planning process. Where appropriate, it will require flood risk assessments. It may object to developments if flood risk is unacceptable or require conditions on how the site is constructed and operated to mitigate flood risk, through flood consents.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent assisting people with the costs of (a) travel to interview and (b) clothing for interviews or to commence work in each year since 2005.

    Esther McVey

    The information requested is only available from 2007. (a) The costs of assisting people travel to job interviews for each year from 2007 are:

    (b) Expenditure for equipment to assist people taking up work, including clothing, for each year from 2007 is in the table below. This expenditure also includes assistance with other equipment e.g. health and safety related workwear, work tools and equipment, bicycles and accessories, laptops and mobile phones.

    Expenditure totals are not available solely for clothing and would incur disproportionate cost to identify separately.

  • Andrew Bridgen – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Bridgen – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Italian counterpart on the status of foreign lecturers in Italian universities.

    Mr David Lidington

    The discrimination faced by UK and foreign national lecturers in Italy is unacceptable and illegal. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) raised the ‘lettori’ with the then Italian Foreign Minister, Emma Bonino, on 25 October 2013. I met the then Italian Europe Minister, Enzo Moavero Milanesi, on 19 November 2013, and stressed the importance of progress. I also met the Chairman of the Association of Foreign Lecturers in Italy (ALLSI), David Petrie, on 28 November 2013, and assured him of the Government’s commitment to keep up the pressure on the Italian authorities. I raised the issue with Italian Deputy Foreign Minister, Marta Dassu, when I met her on 15 January. Most recently, the Minister of State for Universities and Science, my right hon. Friend the Member for Havant (Mr Willetts), has written to the new Italian Minister for Education, Research and Universities, Stefania Giannini, and underlined the importance of finding a solution.