The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Karen Buck on 2014-03-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many homeless households have been placed in temporary accommodation in each London local authority by councils other than their own in each of the last eight quarters.
Kris Hopkins
[Holding Reply: Monday 17 March 2014]
I refer the hon. Member to my answer to her of 19 December 2013, Official Report, Column 713W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thornton on 2014-06-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what monitoring they are conducting on the effect of the increase in tribunal costs on cases being brought concerning harassment in the workplace.
Lord Faulks
The Justice Secretary is committed to reviewing the impact of the introduction of fees in the employment tribunals system. The Ministry of Justice is currently finalising arrangements for the timing and scope of this review, to enable the impacts to be properly assessed, and we will be making an announcement in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-03-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the recent finding in the Demos report, Introducing Generation Citizen, that 84 per cent of 14- to 17-year-olds intend to vote when they attain the age of 18, how they intend to ensure that such intentions to vote translate into first-time voting behaviour amongst young people; and what steps they are taking to ensure that education establishments are committed to registering all 16- and 17-year-olds to vote.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire
The new key stage 4 citizenship programme to be taught from September 2014 requires that pupils should be taught about “the different electoral systems used in and beyond the United Kingdom and actions citizens can take in democratic and electoral processes to influence decisions locally, nationally and beyond.”
The government has also made available £4.2 million funding to all 363 local authorities and valuation joint boards in Great Britain and 5 national organisations. Electoral registration officers have been encouraged to support the delivery of Rock Enrol! in their area, a learning resource which not only provides an opportunity for young people to register to vote, but enables them to discuss the importance of doing so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-06-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the dismissal of the United Kingdom’s challenge to the proposed financial transaction tax at the European Court of Justice, whether they have any plans to re-examine the extent of European Union competence in respect of United Kingdom taxation; and whether they consider that the application of such a tax would trigger a referendum under the terms of the European Union Act 2011.
Lord Deighton
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruling on 30 April deemed the UK challenge to the FTT was premature, but confirmed that the Government could challenge a future FTT Implementing Directive.
The introduction of the FTT under the Enhanced Cooperation Procedure would not be a relevant transfer of sovereignty or power for the purpose of the “referendum lock” in the UK’s EU Referendum Act.
The extent of European Union competence in respect of United Kingdom taxation was set out in the Balance of Competences Review, published 22 July 2013, and available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/taxation-report-review-of-the-balance-of-competences.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department collects on the number of men and women in prison who have previously been in local authority care.
Jeremy Wright
Prisoners are assessed on entry to prison for addiction problems and there is a package of support available to them. The MoJ’s Transforming Rehabilitation programme will provide individual support to all released prisoners. This will include identifying risks and needs for individual ex-prisoners, and providing services to address them.
The Ministry of Justice does not collect these data centrally on a regular basis. However, a survey of 1,435 adult prisoners sentenced to between one month and four years in 2005 and 2006 (Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction – SPCR) provides self-reported estimates for each question.
The full reports can be accessed on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/surveying-prisoner-crime-reduction-spcr
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Colwyn on 2014-06-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the proposed reduction in the salaries of dental foundation trainees will have on the financial circumstances of young dentists.
Earl Howe
The Department is still considering the responses received to the recent consultation on the dental foundation trainee salary. One of the factors the Department will take into consideration will be the impact the proposed change will have on the financial circumstances of trainee dentists.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what effect on the budget of universal credit the decision to develop a second IT system will have; and if he will make a statement.
Esther McVey
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 12 December 2013, Official Report column 314w.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Priti Patel on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funding from the public purse was provided to support victims’ services in each of the last 10 years.
Damian Green
The Government is committed to ensuring victims of crime are fully supported and is making more money available than ever before for victims’ services. The table below shows the funding provided by the Ministry of Justice to organisations supporting victims of crime since the Department was formed in 2007.
|
Financial Year |
Total funding to victim’s services1 |
|
2007/08 |
£38.17m |
|
2008/09 |
£39.32m |
|
2009/10 |
£40.52m |
|
2010/11 |
£48.43m |
|
2011/12 |
£49.6m |
|
2012/13 |
£50.45m |
|
2013/14 |
£55.57m2 |
1 includes receipts from offenders through the Victim Surcharge (since 2007/08), increased Penalty Notices for Disorder and motoring Fixed Penalty Notices (since 2013/14), and Prisoners’ Earning Act Income (since 2011/12).
2This figure does not include the PEA contribution as this has not yet been finalised and published. In addition, £20.8 million was made available to Police and Crime Commissioners in 2013/14, because it was provided late in the financial year only £4.95m of funding was able to be spent, however, the unspent amount remains available for PCCs to spend in 2014/15. Additionally, a small number of payments due to be made in 2013/14 had to be accrued for and were paid at the beginning of 2014/15.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on the payment of pensions into post office card accounts.
Steve Webb
The Department pays benefits and pensions by Direct Payment into a bank, building society, credit union or Post Office card account.
The Post Office card account is a very simple account with limited functionality. Our policy has always been clear that the best option, especially for people of working age, is an account that can accept payments from employers and has transactional facilities such as direct debits for the payment of bills and housing costs.
The Department is currently in discussions with Post Office Ltd and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills to consider the future needs of customers beyond 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment she has made of the gender balance amongst chairs and presidents of (a) learned societies and (b) research councils.
Mr David Willetts
The National Academies, the UK’s leading learned societies, are independent, self-governing bodies. Ministers have no role in Academy appointments but we encourage them to embed equality and diversity in everything they do. Professor Dame Ann Dowling is expected to be confirmed as the first female President of the Royal Academy of Engineering in September. The current Presidents of the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society of Biology are all female.
Ministers in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) appoint Chairs to the Research Councils and these appointments are regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. BIS Ministers are committed to the principle of public appointments on merit through an open and transparent process and to providing equal opportunities for all, irrespective of race, age, disability, gender, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, transgender and working patterns. There are seven Research Councils, the Chairs of which are currently male. The Research Councils are committed to improving diversity in their public appointments and held a workshop in March 2014 to agree an action plan to increase the diversity of each Council. The action plan will be published on the RCUK website and disseminated to all Council members.
The BIS Board, which provides collective strategic leadership of the Department, has endorsed a plan of activity and a number of actions to help the Department not only to improve its position on gender-diversity during 2014/15 but to reinforce its continued commitment to attracting a strong and diverse field of candidates to public appointments.