The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of people over 50 had been out of work for over a year in each year since 1994.
Mr Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-03-31.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of a magistrates’ court proceeding was in (a) all cases and (b) cases relating to the non-payment of the television licence fee.
Damian Green
The majority of criminal cases in the magistrates court are dealt with in a single day. Around two thirds of all cases are dealt with in a single hearing with 90% of television licence evasion cases requiring only one hearing, The Government has said that it will examine whether television licence evasion should be decriminalised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost was of the report entitled, Evaluating alternative market models for Tax-Free Childcare vouchers, prepared by Economic Insight for his Department; what assessment he made of this report’s findings and recommendations; and whether these recommendations informed the operation and design of his Department’s policy on tax-free childcare.
Nicky Morgan
Economic Insight were asked to consider whether there are any reasons why a private sector competitive market for childcare accounts might not function well. It compared it to a closed model in which there is competition to select a limited number of private sector childcare account providers. It concluded that there were no reasons why a competitive market could not function effectively as parents would be able to assess the differences between the offers and choose accordingly.
On the 23 May the Government published a further consultation on the delivery of childcare accounts within Tax-Free Childcare. The consultation will be open until 27 June and the Government will consider the responses alongside those to the first consultation before it makes its decision on the provision of childcare accounts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-03-31.
To ask the Prime Minister, what recent discussions he has had with his Commonwealth counterparts on the resolution passed by the 25th Human Rights Council session on Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka.
Mr David Cameron
Ahead of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution vote on Sri Lanka on 27 March, I personally engaged with a wide range of UNHRC member states including those from the Commonwealth, as did the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and other Ministers.
We will work closely with our international partners to support the implementation of the resolution establishing an international investigation. We believe that progress on accountability, human rights and reconciliation is important in establishing an enduring peace in Sri Lanka. Such progress will ensure Sri Lanka can reach its full potential as a strong and prosperous nation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether National Public Library user surveys are still being taken.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The detail requested is not held centrally by this Department. However the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) collect, annually, from the individual library authorities comprehensive information relating to library service provision in the United Kingdom, which includes data relating to the questions raised. Copies of CIPFA statistics are available in the House Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2014-03-31.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their reasons for reducing the access to books of prisoners serving sentences in England and Wales.
Lord Faulks
We have not made any policy changes specifically about the availability of books in prisons.
We have always recognised the importance of reading and literature in the rehabilitative process, and the positive effects these have on prisoners’ welfare. Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access. Prisoners may hold up to 12 books in their cell at any one time, and additional books can be stored locally at the prison. The National Offender Management Service also works closely with the Shannon Trust to support schemes such as ‘Toe by Toe’, which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels.
There have always been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons, and allowing parcels to be sent in unrestricted would be operationally unmanageable and would lead to a significant risk of drugs and other illicit items being smuggled into prisons.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) actual and (b) simulated flight hours pilots need to adjust from a fast jet with a heads-up-display to one with only a helmet mounted display.
Mr Philip Dunne
The adjustment from a fast jet aircraft with a heads-up display to one with a helmet mounted display cannot be quantified in hours as pilots are trained to operate the aircraft as a whole.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2014-03-31.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities have increased the minimum payment required under their local Council Tax Reduction Schemes following the withdrawal of transition funding for 2014–15.
Baroness Stowell of Beeston
We do not collect this information centrally. These are local schemes, and it is for local authorities to ensure that the effect on specific groups of council tax payers is proportionate and fair.
The £100 million transition grant was a voluntary grant for the first year only of the new system of local council tax support. We have been clear from the outset that it was intended to give councils time to transition to the new localised regime and realise greater efficiencies such as cutting fraud and error, which cost £230 million in 2012-13.
Spending on council tax benefit doubled under the last Government, costing taxpayers £4 billion a year – equivalent to almost £180 a year per household. Welfare reform is vital to tackle the budget deficit left by the last Administration. Our reforms to localise council tax support now give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people into work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ruffley on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers took early retirement in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk and (c) England in each of the last five years.
Mr David Laws
The following table provides the number of teachers in publicly-funded schools who took early retirement in Suffolk local authority and England in March 2008-09 to March 2012-13. This is the latest information available. Information for Bury St Edmunds constituency is not available.
|
Suffolk LA[1],[2] |
England[1],[2] |
|
|
March |
||
|
2008-09 |
130 |
8,570 |
|
2009-10 |
100 |
7,810 |
|
2010-11 |
130 |
9,380 |
|
2011-12[3] |
180 |
9,780 |
|
2012-13[3] |
150 |
8,630 |
Source: Pensioner Statistical System (PENSTATS).
[1] Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 teachers.
[2] Includes Premature Retirements, Actuarially Reduced Benefits and Ill Health.
[3]Provisional estimates. 2011-12 data will remain provisional until summer 2015 and 2012-13 data is likely to remain provisional until summer 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2014-03-31.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many first time buyers have been helped by the Government’s Help to Buy scheme (a) nationally and (b) in Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency.
Kris Hopkins
This Government is committed to supporting people’s aspirations to own their own home.
In the first eleven months of the scheme, 16,465 households purchased a new build home with the support of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme.
By January 2014, the time of the last quarterly statistical release, first time buyers accounted for 89% of sales nationally. In Lancaster there were 16 sales by the end of January and first-time buyers accounted for 88% of all Help to Buy: equity loan sales in the area.
Home owners will also have been supported by the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, which is overseen by HM Treasury.