The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Helen Jones on Treasury.
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Mr David Gauke
The latest information on the number of families receiving Child Benefit, by each parliamentary constituency, local authority and region is available in the HMRC snapshot publication “Child Benefit Statistics Geographical Analysis. August 2013”. This can be found at:
Table 6 has this information by Parliamentary Constituency.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what date the Government plans to send and publish its reply to the European Commission letter of formal notice of persistent air pollution problems sent on 20 February 2014.
Dan Rogerson
The deadline for a response to the European Commission is 21 April. Correspondence between the Commission and Member States in infringement proceedings is confidential. We do not, therefore, intend to publish the UK’s response.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for William Bain on Cabinet Office.
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Mr Nick Hurd
This Government has transformed central government procurement to make it more accessible to small and medium sized businesses. We are in the process of implementing Lord Young’s recommendations to create an SME-friendly ‘single market’ in wider public procurement, and we will go even further through reforms in the forthcoming Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to assist in the return of occupied Ukranian government buildings to the Ukranian government.
Mr David Lidington
The occupation by armed groups of government buildings in towns in eastern Ukraine is a further dangerous escalation of an already dangerous situation. On 14 April the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) made a statement condemning these acts and said that it was important that the EU gave a clear, strong and united response. He also called on Russia to repudiate these lawless acts.
On 17 April, the Foreign Secretary welcomed the commitments made in talks between the EU, US, Ukraine and Russia in Geneva; that all illegally armed groups must be disarmed, all illegally seized buildings must be returned to legitimate owners, and all illegally occupied streets, squares and other public places in Ukrainian cities and towns must be vacated. He said that rapid implementation was essential. On 23 April, he spoke about this issue with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, urging Russia to take steps to fulfil the Geneva Statement and to de-escalate the situation in eastern and southern Ukraine, including making a clear public statement calling for illegally armed groups in eastern Ukraine to disarm and vacate occupied buildings. He also invited Russian diplomats to join efforts by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Monitoring Mission in the eastern Ukraine.
The British Government will continue to work closely in support of the government in Ukraine, and encourage Ukraine’s political leaders to continue to respond to events calmly and with determination, in order to harness the united efforts of all Ukrainians to work together for a successful future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by FALSE on Energy and Climate Change.
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Baroness Verma
We are on track to introduce enabling regulations to have the OLR mechanism in place ahead of the first CfD allocation in Autumn 2014. This will include a final version of the Backstop Power Purchase Agreement (BPPA) contract terms that generators will be entitled to. Generators will therefore have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements well in advance of the first auctions. We are shortly publishing a draft version of the BPPA contract terms this week to give generators further clarity on the terms they can expect.
Whilst the OLR will be in place, generators will not be able to access a Backstop PPA contract immediately, with BPPA contracts being available from April 2016 at the very latest. In light of the time taken to commission projects and the likelihood that a PPA falls away and cannot be replaced, the period between the legislation being in place and the first BPPA contract being available is unlikely to have significant impacts in practice. This process has been tested with stakeholders, including the Offtaker of Last Resort Advisory Group, and we continue to work with Ofgem to bring forward the date when the first BPPA contracts can be awarded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of young person’s advocates in supporting young victims of crime.
Norman Baker
The Home Office is funding 13 Young People’s Advocates posts for three
years (April 2012 – March 2015) to provide direct support to young women who
have been victims, or are at risk of, sexual violence by gangs. The full
breakdown of posts, organisations and areas covered is available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/support-for-young-victims-of-sexual-violence-
and-gangs
Measures are in place to conduct an assessment of perceptions of the scheme
among Young People’s Advocates and local practitioners in the areas where they
are based.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Dominic Raab on Home Office.
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Damian Green
The figures provided show the number of police officers per 100,000 population
in England and in Wales as at 31 March 2013.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to increase sentences for shoplifting.
Jeremy Wright
The maximum penalty for theft is seven years’ imprisonment. The independent Sentencing Council is responsible for issuing guidelines which all courts must follow when determining the appropriate sentence in each case, within this maximum penalty. On 3 April, the Council opened a consultation on a new draft guideline for theft offences. The consultation period ends on 26 June 2014 and is open to everyone. The responses received will inform the definitive new sentencing guideline for theft offences in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford on Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
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Mr Hugo Swire
The UK is giving £12m in aid to Rakhine State to support shelter, water sanitation and hygiene programmes, nutrition and protection activities, as well as non-food items for 115,000 people. We are also funding £4.5m towards livelihoods projects in Rakhine and support to the UN’s coordination of the international humanitarian response.
We remain one of the most vocal and active members of the international community in supporting those calling for human rights and democracy in Burma. I was the first Western Minister to visit Rakhine State in December 2012. I raised concerns again with the Burmese government during my second visit to Burma in January this year, and I again saw Rohingya leaders to hear from them about the many issues they are facing.
The plight of the Rohingya was also at the top of the agenda during the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron’s) meeting with President Thein Sein in London in July 2013. In March this year, I summoned the Burmese Ambassador and called on the Burmese government urgently to restore humanitarian access to all communities in need, and to ensure the security of humanitarian aid workers and all communities in Rakhine State. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks), again raised our concerns in a call with his Burmese counterpart in April, and I most recently discussed the situation with the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister on 12 June.
We will continue to urge the Burmese government to take swift and decisive action to protect the lives and rights of Rohingya and other minorities in Rakhine State, and to address the underlying causes of ethnic and religious discrimination and violence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Sexual Assault Referral Centres in supporting victims of crime.
Damian Green
Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) are commissioned jointly by NHS England, individual police forces and Police and Crime Commissioners. Although the Ministry of Justice have not undertaken any recent assessments into the effectiveness of sexual assault centres in supporting victims of crime, NHS England ensure that Sexual Assault Services are commissioned in ways that support consistently high standards of care and quality across the country through the Public Health Oversight Group. NHS England is currently undertaking a review of these commissioning processes.