The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pete Wishart on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who cancelled holidays in 2014 due to delays in passport applications.
James Brokenshire
Her Majesty’s Passport Office do not collect this data.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Brady on 2014-04-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total amount is in additional payments made by the Equitable Life payment scheme as a result of successful appeals to date; and what proportion that amount is of the total compensation awarded.
Sajid Javid
The value of additional payments made as a result of appeals is £17,023.61. This is 0.0019% of the total value paid by the Scheme to date.
Two annuitants have made successful appeals, and the total value of the payments made to them will depend on the duration on their annuity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2014-06-18.
To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission plans to modify the Parliamentary wifi system to enable automatic log-in by BlackBerry and other devices without the need to enter a username and password manually each time.
John Thurso
There are no immediate plans to change the current method of connection. PICT is aware of the restriction that the current arrangement places on users, and will look afresh at the authentication needed for known users of the guest Wi-Fi service, “Internet Direct”.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of line of business and desktop applications in local government.
Brandon Lewis
My Department has not made any estimates in this area but I do encourage local authorities to take full advantage of the efficiencies that electronic ways of working can bring.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.
Mr Shailesh Vara
There has been a 79% fall in the Department’s use of higher-rate numbers since 2009.
The Department has received no revenue from higher rate telephone numbers for the period under review.
The information held centrally for the public use of (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 telephone numbers operated (i) and (ii) sponsored by the Ministry of Justice are as follows:
(a) 0845 numbers – 32
(b) 0844 numbers – 2
(c) 0843 numbers – 0
The majority of these numbers are operated by the County Court Business Centre (CCBC).
Information on volumes for calls to higher-rate telephone numbers for the last twelve months is not systematically collected by the service providers, and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.
Nineteen higher rate numbers in the CCBC are in the process of being replaced by 0300 numbers. The four 0845 numbers receiving the highest volumes of calls in the CCBC are being discontinued on 1 August 2014, and when enquirers call these numbers they are being advised to contact an alternative 0300 number.
As stated in previous answers to parliamentary questions, the Department’s approach is not to use higher rate numbers and instead, wherever possible, to assign 0300 numbers, for which the tariff is similar to calling an 01 or 02 (geographic) number, whether the caller is using a fixed line or a mobile phone.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Greatrex on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the quantity of biomass consumed by the one per cent of biomass plant that was below 1MW in capacity.
Michael Fallon
We have not made a recent estimate of the quantity of biomass consumed by biomass plant below 1MW in capacity.
However, based on modelling published in the Impact Assessment to the Renewables Obligation Banding Review 2012, we can estimate the theoretical quantity of biomass that would be consumed by 1% of total generating capacity. Assuming all the planned plants were built, this would give a theoretical maximum equivalent to around 150,000 oven dried tonnes per annum in 2016/17. This figure excludes potential capacity changes to plants below 1 MW as a result of the introduction of the 400MW cap for new build dedicated biomass.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-18.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, which 100 wards in which town, county and constituency had the lowest turnout for voting in person at the last General Election.
Mr Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission informs me that it does not hold the data requested at ward level.
The Commission collects electoral data at each set of polls. In nearly all cases this is collected down to the level of individual contests, which means that it only holds ward level data for local elections.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will issue updated advice on the care of pets to address the issues of the welfare and abandonment of domestic rabbits.
George Eustice
The poor welfare and abandonment of any animal is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 punishable by a fine of up to £5,000 or 6 months’ imprisonment or both. The Government has no plans to issue specific advice on keeping pet rabbits but such advice is available from animal welfare organisations and some pet shops.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people started to receive universal credit in March 2014.
Esther McVey
Statistics on how many people started Universal Credit in March 2014 can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total number of projects was involved in Lot 1, Phase 1, of his Department’s Biodegradable Plastic Carrier Bags Solutions through Innovation research call; and how many of those projects met each of the five functions and characteristics outlined in the research call.
Dan Rogerson
Defra received six bids for Lot 1, Phase 1 of this research call.
Two bids met the requirements outlined in the research call and are being funded by Defra.