The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the saving was to the public purse from the reduction of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit for individuals in receipt of a pension income of more than £85 per week in 2013-14.
Esther McVey
The information is not available as no such estimate has been undertaken.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in what proportion of cases where (a) an allegation of stalking was made or (b) a criminal conviction was obtained for stalking the victim was a man and the perpetrator a woman in the latest period for which figures are available.
Norman Baker
The requested information is not available centrally.
Home Office police recorded crime only covers offences recorded by the police
and not allegations. Furthermore, it is not possible to identify domestic
violence cases from the recorded crime figures returned to the Home Office by
police forces as these figures are based on counts of crime under the
appropriate offence classification (e.g. GBH, ABH).
With regard to stalking, the police started recording offences on April 1st
2014. Stalking offences recorded by the police will be included as part of the
regular crime statistics publications in due course.
The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on
defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences
in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by
the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not all the specific
circumstances of each case. This centrally held information does not
specifically identify whether the crime was committed against males or females
for the offences of stalking and domestic violence. This detailed information
may be held on individual court files but is not reported to Justice Statistics
Analytical Services due to its size and complexity. As such this information
can only be obtained by the Ministry of Justice at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many of his Department’s Child Maintenance Group on-site nurseries are due to close from September 2014; and what the location of each such nursery is.
Steve Webb
Five Child Maintenance Group on-site nurseries are due to close on expiry of the contract at the end of September 2014. They are located at offices in Birkenhead, Dudley, Falkirk, Hastings and Plymouth.
Child Maintenance Group childcare subsidy was made no longer available to new entrants from 1 June 2012. This brings Child Maintenance Group into line with the Department’s policy on childcare subsidy.
As part of its remuneration package, the Department supports employees through a salary sacrifice scheme where employees can give up part of their salary in return for childcare vouchers. This scheme allows for significant savings through tax relief and gives parents support in order to make their own choices for childcare.
Employees affected by the closure of the five on-site nurseries have been offered a day’s special leave in order to look for suitable alternatives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2014, Official Report, columns 532-3W, on prisoners: foreign nationals, what the main features of the Early Removal Scheme are; how many foreign national offenders were deported under this scheme in each of the last five years; and what the main features are of the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme.
Jeremy Wright
Under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS), Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) who are going to be deported or removed by Immigration Enforcement can be removed from prison and the UK up to a maximum of 270 days before their normal release date. This enables their removal earlier than would otherwise be possible, but only after a minimum of half the requisite custodial period has been served in prison in the UK.
The Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) enables FNOs with life or indeterminate sentences to be removed from the UK using a deportation order once they have completed their minimum tariff period set by the sentencing court. Since its introduction in May 2012, 240 prisoners have been removed under this mechanism (as of April 17th 2014).
Those removed subject to a deportation order cannot legally return to the UK. If they do come back in breach of their deportation order this is a criminal offence. They would also be liable to immediate arrest and return to prison to complete the outstanding part of the sentence they would have served had they not been removed early.
The numbers removed under ERS in each of the last four years are:
|
Year |
ERS removals |
|
2010 |
1741 |
|
2011 |
1672 |
|
2012 |
1974 |
|
2013 |
1968 |
We are unable to provide data for the 2009 period. Since 2010 the Home Office have used one system to report on their data. This was not in place in 2009 therefore figures arising from this period may be inconsistent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Sheridan on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with employment agencies on the practice of blacklisting.
Jenny Willott
Blacklisting is an unacceptable and illegal practice and we take any allegations of blacklisting very seriously. I have not had any discussions on the practice of blacklisting with employment agencies. We have referred the allegations made about an international recruitment agency to the Information Commissioner’s Office which is looking into the matter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what fines or penalties his Department has been required to pay HM Treasury (a) following the employment of staff through personal service companies and (b) for any other reason since May 2010.
Stephen Hammond
The Department had a sanction imposed by HM Treasury of £398,500 in March 2014. This took the form of a budget reduction rather than the payment of a fine or penalty.
This related to the Chief Executive and Finance Director at Directly Operated Railways Ltd who were originally engaged off-payroll and brought onto the payroll more than six months after the guidance came into effect.
There have been no other similar cases in the Department for Transport.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-17.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he last met the Scottish Government to discuss air passenger duty.
Nicky Morgan
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of organisations as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many requests for reconsideration of an employment and support allowance decision have been submitted since mandatory reconsideration came into effect on 28 October 2013.
Mike Penning
While mandatory reconsideration data is being collected, it is not sufficiently robust and reliable to make available.
The Department is looking into what can be published. The data will need to be validated in order to ensure that it satisfies the relevant standards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average length of time is taken by his Department to issue a Compulsory Purchase Order to a local authority.
Nick Boles
Since May 2012 (when the National Planning Casework Unit took responsibility for this area of work) the average length of time to make a decision on opposed planning Compulsory Purchase Orders is 10-11 weeks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time employment vacancies were advertised in Jobcentre Plus offices in (i) Rossendale and (ii) Darwen in the latest period for which figures are available.
Esther McVey
We do not advertise in jobcentres, all vacancies are now advertised on Universal Jobmatch System, which was introduced in November 2012. The system does not provide data at jobcentre level, as all vacancies notified to the system are available to all users.