The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Jason McCartney on Culture, Media and Sport.
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Mr Edward Vaizey
Further legislation is not necessary, as both the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Office of Communications (Ofcom) can issue substantive monetary penalties of up to £500,000 and £2 million respectively to any organisation that deliberately continues to contravene the regulations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent representations he has received from organisations concerned about the inclusion of books in the Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect the inclusion of books in that scheme will have on prisoner rehabilitation.
Jeremy Wright
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.
We have always recognised the importance of reading and literature in the rehabilitative process, and the positive effects this has on prisoners’ welfare. The National Offender Management Service works closely with schemes such as the Shannon Trust reading network, which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels.
The Howard League for Penal Reform, English PEN and Liberty have made representations concerning prisoner access to books. There have been no changes in the availability of books in prisons. Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access. Up to 12 books may be held by prisoners in their cell at any one time and additional volumes may be stored locally at the prison.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Andrew Bridgen on Health.
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Jane Ellison
Public Health England is not responsible for policy on cancer, but does ensure the delivery of several cancer related functions including NHS Cancer Screening Programmes, Be Clear on Cancer campaigns, cancer screening quality assurance, the National Cancer Intelligence Network and the National Cancer Registration Service. National strategic oversight and policy on cancer screening, early diagnosis and cancer informatics remains with the Department with 3.5 whole time equivalent posts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there are plans for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to accept Army Personnel Centre records of driver qualifications as proof of army personnel having passed driving tests.
Stephen Hammond
Legislation provides, under delegated authority, for military personnel to carry out driving tests. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) following a notification from the Military of Defence records the test pass and applies the new entitlement to the driving record. Letters from the Army Personnel Centre are also accepted, provided it confirms that the driver has passed an appropriate driving test that allows them to drive on public roads.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that paid employees are not being replaced by unpaid staff under the Work Experience scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Esther McVey
All potential host businesses must sign an agreement with Jobcentre Plus, confirming that the work experience opportunity they wish to offer is on top of (not instead of) current and future vacancies.
If there is any suspicion that a host is not complying with this agreement, the matter will be fully investigated.
If doubts remain about the host employer’s integrity, Jobcentre Plus will immediately terminate the agreement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona O’Donnell on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funding for the independent living fund his Department has withdrawn from local authorities in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.
Mike Penning
Responsibility for supporting former ILF users will transfer to local authorities and the devolved administrations from 1 July 2015.
In line with the commitment made in last year’s Spending Review, local authorities and devolved administrations will be fully funded to enable them to meet those responsibilities in 2015/16
Budgets for 2016/17 and later years will be determined in future Spending Reviews.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will introduce a seven day deadline for the processing of personal independence payments for the terminally ill.
Mike Penning
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Liverpool, West Derby and the hon Member for Airdrie and Shotts, official report, 5 March, column 850W.
Although Personal Independence Payment is a new benefit, and the Department does not have a target for completion of claims while processess are bedding in, we do deal urgently with special rules claims for terminally ill claimants. We are implementing a range of improvements to improve clearance times for people with a terminal illness, including a dedicated phone service which we introduced in February 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-04-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Department for Transport to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.
Baroness Kramer
The department’s financial position is reviewed on a regular basis by the Department for Transport’s Board and Executive Committee.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-04-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many claims for hearing loss they have received from former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.
Lord Astor of Hever
Claims for damages brought against the Ministry of Defence are not recorded in a manner that enables the specific regiment or unit of a claimant to be identified without incurring disproportionate cost. 10,148 such claims have been received in the last six years from current and former Service personnel serving in Northern Ireland. Around 7,500 such claims have been successful to date, and the total value of compensation paid as a result has been around £62.3 million.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-04-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what effect they expect that the recently announced Elephant Protection Initiative will have on the illegal wildlife trade; and what support they are giving to the Initiative.
Lord De Mauley
The Government warmly welcomes the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI), launched at the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in February 2014 by the Presidents of Botswana, Chad, Gabon and Tanzania, and the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia.
Through the EPI, these Governments are committing to:
· observing an extended moratorium on consideration of future international ivory trade
· closing domestic ivory markets
· putting all ivory stockpiles (both seized ‘illegal’ and ‘legal’ ivory accrued from elephant mortality) beyond economic use.
In response to these bold commitments, the EPI is intended to provide participating Governments with access to a fund to support the implementation of the measures contained in the Africa Elephant Action Plan. The UK Government has committed to supporting this fund, in the first instance by matching the first tranche of private sector funding amounting to around £1m.
The text of the Elephant Protection Initiative can be accessed through the following link: www.gov.uk/government/news/decisive-action-agreed-on-illegal-wildlife-trade.
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