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Tag: 2014

  • Yvonne Fovargue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Yvonne Fovargue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yvonne Fovargue on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many NATO or EU cyber exercises are planned in 2014; and what the UK’s involvement will be in each such exercise.

    Mark Francois

    The Ministry of Defence is not aware of any EU cyber exercises planned for this year. With regards to NATO exercises, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for International Security Strategy (Dr Andrew Murrison) on 5 March 2014, (Official Report, column 846W), to the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Nicholas Soames). There are seven NATO wide cyber exercises planned for 2014. Whilst the UK is planning to participate in a NATO cyber exercise during November 2014, the exact nature of the participation is still being finalised.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department’s Sustainable Consumption Report, published in July 2013, what progress has been made on developing integrated healthy sustainable dietary guidelines to help health professionals, educators, businesses and the public make healthier and more sustainable food choices.

    George Eustice

    The Sustainable Consumption Report, published on 29 July 2013, was produced by a group of organisations following discussions facilitated by Defra. The report reflects the views of the stakeholders who were involved in its production; it does not represent Government policy.

    I met with the co-chairs of the working groups in March, and work has now started to peer review and publish the principles of a healthy and sustainable diet.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many criminal offences by foreign-born nationals were recorded in Pendle constituency in each of the last five years.

    Norman Baker

    The Home Office does not hold data on the nationality of offenders, and so cannot provide data on the number of offences committed by foreign-born nationals that were recorded by police in Pendle.

    The Home Office collects aggregate data on the number of offences recorded by the police, available at police force area and Community Safety Partnership level. However, we do not hold details about the people responsible for these offences.

    The Ministry of Justice collects details on the number of offenders and offender characteristics, but does not collect information on the number of offences that these offenders commit.

  • Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Elfyn Llwyd on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many Crown prosecution lawyers have been trained to deal with offences of stalking under sections 2A and 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, in each Crown Prosecution Service area; and if he will make a statement.

    Oliver Heald

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)has developed two online e-Learning courses on all types of stalking. The “Cyber Crime: Cyber Stalking” course includes cyber stalking, non-cyber stalking and harassment. The “Stalking and Harassment” course (which was released in April 2014) deals specifically with stalking and harassment offences, with emphasis on building a strong case, working closely with the police, appropriate charge selection, and engaging with victims throughout the legal process. The CPS maintains a central record of the number of prosecutors who have been trained to deal with stalking and harassment offences by way of the e-Learning courses.

    The following data was extracted from the CPS HR Database and the online Prosecution College Database on 11 June 2014. The data is based on those barristers or solicitors who held a practising certificate in the relevant period and were employed by the CPS on 11 June 2014. The data covers the period 1 November 2012 (the month when the Cyber Stalking e-Learning module was revised to include the new stalking offences) to 11 June 2014.The data includes only those lawyers who have completed either the Cyber Stalking or Stalking and harassment e-Learning courses, including the evaluation modules, as the database records e-Learning based on completion of all elements of the course.

    CPS Cyber Stalking and CPS Stalking & Harassment Completions: Lawyers by CPS Area:

    Group

    Area

    Completions

    Casework Divisions

    99

    Head Quarters

    15

    National Areas

    CPS Direct

    268

    East Midlands

    91

    East of England

    81

    London

    195

    Merseyside & Cheshire

    36

    North East

    72

    North West

    121

    South East

    50

    South West

    41

    Thames & Chiltern

    115

    Wales / Cymru

    65

    Wessex

    28

    West Midlands

    55

    Yorkshire & Humberside

    108

    POCU

    7

    Grand Total

    1,447

  • Mr Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Mr Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Barry Sheerman on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps he is taking to improve the support available to hon. Members.

    John Thurso

    The fundamental aims of the Commission are not only to ensure that the House is valued and effective in holding the Government to account and scrutinising legislation, but that individual Members have the information, advice, support and technology they need to be effective in their work and to engage closely with their constituents.

    We are coming to the end of a programme of savings, during which the governing principle has been that any cost reductions should not adversely affect the ability of the House and its Members to carry out their parliamentary functions. Indeed many of the changes have been a spur to innovation in the support available to Members. Now that we are on track to achieve the savings target, we have the opportunity to re-appraise the provision of resources and ensure, for example in the area of select committees, that we are providing the right level of support.

  • 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 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria were used to award the construction contract for the planned secure college in Leicestershire.

    Jeremy Wright

    Bids that were evaluated to have passed a predetermined Non-Price Evaluation score threshold then had their price evaluated to verify that they complied with the price threshold requirements.

    Bids that passed both thresholds, had the Non-Price Evaluation score and the price combined to create the Overall Price Per Quality Point. The offer with the lowest Price Per Quality value is considered to be the most economically advantageous and was recommended for contract award.

    A total of 44 non-price evaluation tests spread across six workstreams were set for bidders as part of the competition for the design and build for the Secure College pathfinder. The six workstream headings are listed below.

    Workstream Headings

    • Design, Operation & Security Considerations
    • Management
    • Programme, Methodology and Project Management
    • SME Engagement and Local Interface
    • Completed Product Handback and Handover to Operator
    • Procurement & Commercial Management
  • Nick Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    Nick Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2014-03-14.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council.

    Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.

    Results for all wards are available on the Commission’s website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

    The ward results for Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council were as follows:

    Ward

    Green matches

    Amber matches

    Red matches

    ABERTILLERY

    82.4%

    3.0%

    14.6%

    BADMINTON

    87.9%

    1.4%

    10.7%

    BEAUFORT

    86.1%

    1.6%

    12.3%

    BLAINA

    83.0%

    2.3%

    14.7%

    BRYNMAWR

    82.1%

    2.3%

    15.7%

    CWM

    85.4%

    1.6%

    13.0%

    CWMTILLERY

    84.9%

    1.9%

    13.2%

    EBBW VALE NORTH

    85.1%

    1.8%

    13.1%

    EBBW VALE SOUTH

    81.2%

    2.0%

    16.8%

    GEORGETOWN

    85.4%

    1.0%

    13.7%

    LLANHILLETH

    82.8%

    2.1%

    15.0%

    NANTYGLO

    83.3%

    2.6%

    14.2%

    RASSAU

    86.7%

    1.7%

    11.6%

    SIRHOWY

    85.3%

    1.7%

    13.0%

    SIX BELLS

    82.8%

    2.6%

    14.6%

    TREDEGAR CENTRAL & WEST

    84.0%

    1.9%

    14.1%

    “

  • 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 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been spent on advertising vacancies in the Public Defence Service in 2014.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    £15,494.72 has been spent on advertising vacancies within the PDS in 2014. This includes vacancies for Accredited Police Station Representatives as well as for Queens Counsel and Higher Courts Advocates.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-13.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if his Department’s funding to improve registration will be given to local authorities that are spending (a) more than and (b) less than the average on voter registration.

    Greg Clark

    All Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have received funding, based on their levels of under-registration, to help with the costs of local activities to maximise registration, as part of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration.

    Funding allocations were based on the number of non-registered people, comparing the size of the register to the 16+ population. An element was based on the number of 16-18 year olds to encourage activity in schools to register attainers.

  • Lord Walton of Detchant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Walton of Detchant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Walton of Detchant on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the uptake of innovative anti-coagulant medicines in the management of venous thromboembolism in the National Health Service.

    Earl Howe

    Decisions on the prescribing of medicines are a matter for clinicians in discussion with their patients.

    Dabigatran (Pradaxa), apixaban (Eliquis) and rivaroxaban (Xarelto) are recommended in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal guidance for use in reducing the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE)after hip or knee replacement surgery. Rivaroxaban is also recommended as a treatment option for adults with deep vein thrombosis and in the prevention of recurrent deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. National Health Service commissioners are legally required by regulations to fund those treatments recommended by NICE in its technology appraisal guidance.

    NHS England has advised that it is working with the Health & Social Care Information Centre as part of the National VTE Prevention Programme to analyse the uptake of medicines in this area.

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre’s report on the Use of NICE appraised medicines in the NHS in England 2012, published on 21 January 2014, includes information on the usage of dabigatran etexilate, apixaban and rivaroxaban for prevention of venous thromboembolism after hip or knee replacement surgery in secondary care.

    The report showed an increase in mean usage over time during 2010-2012 and an increase in the total use of the drugs over time, which had accelerated in 2012. The report is available at:

    www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13413/use-nice-app-med-nhs-exp-stat-eng-12-rep.pdf