UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2014

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

    Brandon Lewis

    As I indicated in my answer of 13 September 2013, Official Report, Column 884W, Ministers in this Department do not believe it is appropriate for public resources to be used to support the collection and administration of membership subscriptions and believe is an outdated and unnecessary 20th century practice.

    It is also unsatisfactory that some trade unions collect the political levy via check-off, but make no attempt to inform would-be members that the political levy is optional, or even mention the right to opt out on their membership forms. It is the view of Ministers that this is a misleading and dubious marketing practice through omission.

    I can confirm that we are taking further steps to review such practices.

  • Jessica Morden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jessica Morden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) standard passport applications, (b) fast-track applications and (c) premium service applications were processed in (i) 1 January 2012 to 31 May 2012, (ii) 1 January 2013 to 31 May 2013 and (iii) 1 January 2014 o 31 May 2014.

    James Brokenshire

    The information requested is shown in the following table. This also includes data up until 30 June for each year.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of an offence under section 128 of the Mental Health Act 1959 where the offence was committed against a child in each of the last four years.

    Damian Green

    Section 128 of the Mental Health Act 1959 was repealed in 2004. There have been no convictions in any of the last four years. Prosecutions are now brought under modernised legislation contained in the Sex Offenders Act 2003.

  • Keith Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people employed by HM Passport Office were specifically tasked with processing passport applications on (a) 1 January, (b) 1 February, (c) 1 March, (d) 1 April, (e) 1 May and (f) 1 June 2014.

    James Brokenshire

    The formal record for workforce data is made on the last day of each calendar
    month.
    The table below shows the number of Her Majesty’s Passport Office full-time
    equivalents working within the passport operational Directorates.
    (a) On 31 December 2013: 2,457
    (b) On 31 January 2014: 2,515
    (c) On 28 February 2014: 2,559
    (d) On 31 March 2014: 2,593
    (e) On 30 April 2014: 2,611
    (f) On 31 May 2014: 2,629

    Please note, Her Majesty’sPassport Office records migrated to the Department’s
    strategic record system during this period and are subject to enhanced validation
    checks. Several months in this time series have a variance of +/- 2 FTE.

  • Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale on 2014-03-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of Feronia’s registration in the Cayman Islands with sustainable economic development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    Baroness Northover

    CDC is a public limited company with an independent Board and takes individual investment decisions independent of DFID. Information about the investment and its expected development impact is available on CDC’s website http://cdcgroup.com/Media/News/CDC-invests-US181m-in-agribusiness-in-the-Democratic-Republic-of-Congo/.

    “

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many racially aggravated attacks were recorded in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Norman Baker

    The police provide the Home Office with aggregated figures of the recorded number of racially or religiously aggravated assault with (a) and (b) without injury offences. It is not possible to separately identify the specific aggravating factor.

    In the year ending December 2013, the police recorded 2,473 racially or religiously aggravated assault with injury offences and 3,988 racially or religiously aggravated assault without injury offences.

  • Baroness Seccombe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Seccombe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Seccombe on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the amount of surplus public land sold so far to support housebuilding and development.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The Government has taken action to free up land for productive economic use. At the end of December 2013, the Public Sector Land Programme had sold surplus Government owned land capable of delivering over 68,000 homes in England as part of our ambition to dispose of surplus land with capacity for 100,000 homes by 2015. And through the recently concluded Strategic Land and Property Review the Government has identified scope to release £5 billion from its land and property between 2015 and 2020, creating opportunities for housing and economic development.The Government will look to quantify the housing and growth ambitions for this new programme by the time of the Autumn Statement.

  • Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tracey Crouch on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the merits of including alcohol awareness training in the driving test assessment; and if he will make a statement.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Highway Code advises drivers not to drink any alcohol before driving; this advice applies to all drivers, regardless of experience. The driving theory test includes questions about the effects of alcohol on a person’s ability to drive.

    The Department for Transport believes a more effective route to public awareness of the negative effect of alcohol on drivers is through appropriate pre-test training. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency produces The National Standard for Driver Training that should form the basis of training that approved driving instructors give to their pupils; these include thorough guidance on the appropriate consumption of alcohol prior to driving.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to ensure that victims of female genital mutilation whose cases go to trial have access to the full range of support and special measures that are available to victims of other sexual offences.

    Oliver Heald

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) recognises that appropriate support is vital to ensure that victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) are able to give their evidence effectively in court. The CPS legal guidance advises prosecutors that in all cases of FGM they must ensure that the complainant is aware of the special measures that can be applied for at court, and that applications are made in time. For all child witnesses there is a presumption that they will give their evidence in chief by recorded interview and any further evidence by live link unless the court is satisfied that this will not improve the quality of the child’s evidence. Adult victims of FGM are also eligible for special measures on the grounds that they are likely to be intimidated witnesses in relation to testifying at court. However it is a matter for the court to grant the application.

  • 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 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department takes to investigate whistleblowers’ allegations of impropriety relating to employment support contracts.

    Esther McVey

    The Department treats any allegation of fraud by contractors very seriously, regardless of where these emanate from. Any fraud is completely unacceptable. Where we identify, or are notified of, allegations of contractor fraud, these cases are investigated thoroughly by the Department’s professionally trained and experienced investigators to a standard required to support reference to the Police whenever evidence of criminal offences is discovered.

    All contracted employment providers are required to have whistleblowing procedures that support their employees in reporting suspected wrongdoing at work and ‘making a disclosure in the public interest’. If they consider that they cannot raise suspicions of abuse of government funds with their employer, they should contact the Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office (NAO). This route is used to escalate whistleblower concerns and DWP Internal Investigations work with the NAO to investigate these matters and take appropriate action where issues are identified. This is an important channel in ensuring that employees can raise concerns and that they can be protected legally when doing so.