Tag: 2014

  • Helen Goodman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Helen Goodman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what facilities prison libraries have to help prisoners order books through the internet.

    Jeremy Wright

    The NOMS policy on prisoner retail allows prisoners (via prison staff) to order books from approved mail order providers. This is at the discretion of the Governor.

    An inter-library loan request service, facilitated by the librarian or library assistant, enables prisoners to request books in the same way as library users in the community.

    No charge is made for prisoners using the inter-library loan service. Where a special request is necessary, for example to the British Library, a charge will be made. This is consistent with the policy applied to service users in the community.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what targets the Cabinet Office has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

    Mr Francis Maude

    To win the global race we need the best civil servants regardless of their background so we must recruit, retain and promote on the basis of merit. We want to see more talented people, whatever their background, reach the very top roles.

    There has been for many years a majority of women in the Civil Service but this was not reflected into the Senior Civil Service.

    Although there has been a small increase in the proportion of women in the Senior Civil Service since 2010, and in the proportion of civil servants who declare that they are from an ethnic minority background, there is still much to do.

    We know that for too long talent management in the Civil Service has been weak. That’s why I have commissioned research to examine the blockages preventing women from reaching the most senior levels of the Civil Service.

    A plan to address these issues will be published this summer.

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions a prisoner did not spend at least one period of 24 consecutive hours in prison in a week in each of the last three years.

    Jeremy Wright

    Prisoners may be released on temporary licence for reasons linked to their resettlement needs and sentence plans, or where there are compelling circumstances that justify the release. Last month, we announced a range of measures to strengthen the existing temporary release provisions to ensure that the right balance is always struck between facilitating resettlement and protecting the public. Under our plans, public protection will always take priority.

    Data on the number of hours for which prisoners are released on temporary licence is not collated centrally.

    Data on temporary releases in 2012 is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statistical-notice-releases-on-temporary-licence-2012

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of staff within his Department who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

    Hugh Robertson

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 433W.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Prime Minister, if he will make it his policy to suspend collective responsibility on any vote in the House on assisted suicide legislation.

    Mr David Cameron

    Issues on matters of conscience have, by tradition, been the subject of a free vote in the House of Commons.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of staff within her Department who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years were white British.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    Declaration of ethnicity for staff at DFID is voluntary and it is therefore not possible to confirm the ethnicity of any staff who have been subject to disciplinary proceedings.

  • 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 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what requirements were placed on a Work Programme participant who finds a job without help from their provider to supply proof of employment to the provider; and what sanctions there are for failing to do so.

    Esther McVey

    DWP and its providers encourage Work Programme participants to share their employment details because, even where an individual has secured work themselves, the provider may be able to offer the claimant both initial support in starting work and ongoing in–work support to help sustain employment. There is, however, no direct requirement for a Work Programme participant to supply proof of employment to a provider once they find a job and they will not be sanctioned for failing to do so.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many employed people worked from home in each of the last five years.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2014-04-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the statement in Practical Steps to Improve Management Information in Government that ill-informed public comment can create a conflicting incentive on departments and reduce the impartiality of reporting and thereby data integrity”

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The Government’s position is to be as transparent as possible. We consult widely on what data should be published in Dr Martin Read’s report "Practical Steps to Improve Management Information in Government” commissioned by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2012 and regularly consider publication of performance data as part of this consultation.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent in each of the last five years to adapt National Health Service hospitals for obese people.

    Earl Howe

    This information is not collected centrally. Decisions on spending are a matter for local National Health Service organisations.