The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time to process a personal independence payment claim has been in each month since it was introduced.
Mike Penning
The information you have requested is not currently available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Gibb on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Ofsted’s interpretation of closing the attainment gap between pupils eligible and not eligible for free school meals relates to the gap in attainment nationally or in the school being inspected.
Mr David Laws
This question is a matter for Ofsted. I have asked Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, to write to the hon. Member. A copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Duncan Hames on Home Office.
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Damian Green
This is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what support his Department has given to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority for its commercial and procurement capability; and what assessment he has made of that capability.
Michael Fallon
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is responsible for running competitions to manage its sites, and for managing the contracts with those sites; maintaining the capability to do so effectively is also the responsibility of the NDA. My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State appoints the Chairman and other non-executive members of the NDA Board and we have ensured that it has strong commercial skills to support the Executive. With regard to the NDA’s Parent Body Organisation competitions, the process is subject to governance by the NDA’s Competition Programme Board (CPB), on which the Shareholder Executive (on behalf of DECC), HM Treasury and Infrastructure UK sit. A key role of the CPB is to provide assurance that the NDA has the right commercial and procurement capability. We also monitor continuously the NDA’s performance, capability and overall effectiveness.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Ian Lavery on Transport.
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Stephen Hammond
The public consultation exercise is a joint consultation conducted and prepared by the Department for Transport and Rail North, which is a body that represents all Local transport Authorities in the North of England. The consultation also encourages individual responses from Local Transport Authorities. The consultation can be found at:
“The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to his statement of 3 April 2014, Official Report, columns 1034-7, on bovine TB, what the evidential basis is for the statement that about a third of badgers in TB hotspot areas are infected with TB.
George Eustice
The prevalence of M. bovis in badgers based on post-mortems and a subsequent analysis of the post-mortem protocol following the Randomised Badger Culling Trail (RBCT) showed prevalence of around 33%.
In the long-running study of badgers at Woodchester park TB prevalence in badgers has increased to over 30%.[1]
In a separate study in Gloucestershire between 35% and 53% of badgers tested positive to a TB test. [2]
[1]Delahay et al. Epidemiol. Infect. (2013), 141, 1445–1456. Long-term temporal trends and estimated transmission rates for Mycobacterium bovis infection in an undisturbed high-density badger (Meles meles) population
[2]Carter SP, et al. (2012) PLoS ONE 7(12): e49833. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049833 BCG Vaccination Reduces Risk of Tuberculosis Infection in Vaccinated Badgers and Unvaccinated Badger Cubs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Iain McKenzie on Business, Innovation and Skills.
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Jenny Willott
The Government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have 173 staff dedicated to the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage.
The Government is already taking tougher action on employers that break minimum wage law. We have made it simpler to name and shame employers that don’t pay the national minimum wage and increased the financial penalty that employers pay for breaking the law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he was informed that cage trapping and shooting of badgers had been implemented alongside the free shooting of badgers within three days of the beginning of the pilot badger cull in Gloucestershire in 2013.
George Eustice
Both controlled shooting and cage trapping and shooting methods were always available to the cull companies. There was no compulsion on the contractors to use a defined proportion of cage trapping and controlled shooting. How they used these two methods was a decision for them to make. As the pilot culls progressed, cull companies decided to use more cage trapping, as this technique was found to work well under certain circumstances. Ministers were kept informed of progress during the pilot culls from an early stage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on Work and Pensions.
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Mike Penning
The information is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Turkish government on the security and humanitarian situation in Kessab.
Hugh Robertson
We have regular discussions with the Turkish authorities regarding the appalling situation in Syria. We work closely with Turkey to coordinate the substantial humanitarian effort in the region and we welcome their assistance in facilitating aid delivery. Turkey is also a valued security partner of the UK. We work closely with Turkey to restrict the ability of foreign fighters to cross into Syria. We will continue to engage with Turkey on these important topics.