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Tag: 2014

  • Mrs Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Mrs Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Madeleine Moon on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 17 March 2014, Official Report, column 534, what the date and location is of his planned small and medium-sized enterprise meeting in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I look forward to visiting Wales to meet small and medium-sized enterprises which support defence, as part of my routine engagements with defence suppliers. I plan to visit in coming months.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what fee Wates will receive for the construction contract for a Secure College; and what proportion of the overall budget for a Secure College this fee will represent.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Ministry of Justice will work with Wates to develop a design for the Secure College pathfinder over the coming months, and will agree a maximum price for the construction once the detailed project proposals have been agreed.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the functional literacy rates were in each (a) local authority area and (b) region in each of the last 10 years.

    Mr David Laws

    Tables showing the percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or above in reading and writing at the end of key stage 2[1] at local authority level for the past four years are published in the ‘National curriculum assessments at key stage two’ statistical first release (SFR). A copy of the data has been placed in the House Library.

    Information on the percentage of pupils achieving A* to C and A* to G grades in English GCSE[2] nationally for the last 10 years are published in the ‘GCSE and equivalent results’ SFR. A copy is placed in the House Library.

    Key stage 2 reading and writing figures for earlier years and English GCSE figures at local authority level could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    [1] These figures are published in the “National curriculum assessments at key stage 2” statistical first releases for each year.

    [2] These figures are published in the “GCSE and equivalent results” statistical first releases for each year.

  • David Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will introduce a concessionary bus fare scheme for 16 to 18 year olds to allow them to pay child fare for their school bus passes.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Government currently has no plans to introduce a national statutory concession for young people. However, we recognise the importance of affordable and accessible bus services in enabling young people to access education, employment and training and note that, whilst there is no statutory obligation to provide reduced fares to young people, many bus operators and local authorities make discounts available. It is right that local authorities and the bus industry continue to take the lead in improving services for their younger customers, and I encourage them to continue innovating in this area.

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of specialist refuge places for women from black and minority ethnic communities.

    Kris Hopkins

    I have been asked to reply.

    This Department does not hold the information requested. Decisions on the provision of accommodation for victims of domestic abuse are for local authorities: we expect local authorities to build services based on the needs of their communities, taking account of locally available data sources.

    The dynamics of domestic abuse mean that accommodation can play an important role in the resolution of interpersonal abuse and conflict. This is why the homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and for vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own.

    There is a range of support for victims of domestic abuse. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but Sanctuary Schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.

    This Department funds UKRefugesOnline a UK wide database of domestic violence services which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic violence helpline. This service enables those working with victims of domestic violence to identify appropriate services and potential refuge vacancies around the country so that victims can get the help they need as quickly as possible.

    This Government has ring-fenced nearly £40 million of stable funding for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services until 2015. This funding is used to part-fund 54 Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference coordinators and 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisors. We have piloted and rolled out Clare’s Law and Domestic Violence Protection Orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; and placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learned from individual tragedies.

  • Robert Syms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Robert Syms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of UK carbon dioxide emissions that would otherwise have occurred will be prevented by the proposed wind farm at Navitus Bay.

    Gregory Barker

    The Department does not undertake analysis or hold information of this nature relating to specific developments. Potential impacts of proposed developments are assessed through the planning system. Based on the average carbon intensity of generation from all fossil fuel plants in 2012 (700 g/kWh), which wind would be expected to displace, and using standard historical average load factors for offshore wind farms from 2008 to 2012 inclusive, a wind farm of 1 Gigawatt (GW) of installed capacity is expected to displace approximately 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The Department publishes estimated energy and emissions projections to 2030, the latest update can be accessed at this link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-energy-and-emissions-projections-2013

    “

  • Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to Answer question number 191341, submitted by the hon. Member for Hyndburn on 10 March 2014 for Answer on 13 March 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    It has not been possible to obtain the information required to respond to question 191341 from the hon Member forHyndburn. I will write to the hon Member shortly. I apologise for the delay in responding to these questions.

  • Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

    Mr David Lidington

    Details of Ministers’ visits overseas are published quarterly and can be found at:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications

    “

  • Robert Halfon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Halfon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Halfon on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money has been spent on repairing potholes in (a) Harlow and (b) Essex since 2004.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport provides capital funding to local highway authorities, including Essex County Council, from the local highways maintenance capital block grant. Harlow falls within Essex County Council’s area of responsibility and therefore we do not allocate any funds directly to the Borough Council for road maintenance.

    Since 2004 the Department has allocated the following amounts to Essex for highway maintenance:

    Year

    £m
    2004/05

    12.626
    2005/06

    15.782
    2006/07

    16.682
    2007/08

    22.428
    2008/09

    20.706
    2009/10

    21.361
    2010/11

    20.959
    2011/12

    20.728
    2012/13

    19.838
    2013/14

    22.482*
    2014/15

    19.873*

    * includes the top up announced in the 2012 Autumn Statement.

    The Department also allocated additional funding to authorities to help repair roads damaged by various weather events and this included a further £2.116 million to Essex County Council in 2010/11 and £5.301 million in March 2011. More recently the Department for Transport has agreed to allocate over £2.7 million due to the severe wet weather the country has encountered.

    A £200 million Pothole Fund was announced in the Budget on 19 March 2014. From this, £168 million is being made available to councils in England through a bidding exercise. Further details on the fund will be made available in the coming weeks.

    Local authorities are also able to use revenue funding allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government through the Revenue Support Grant for maintaining their local highways. Neither capital nor revenue highways maintenance funding is ring-fenced and it is for local highway authorities to decide upon their spending priorities across the whole range of services they provide.

    The Department for Transport does not centrally hold information on what proportion of this funding is spent by Essex County Council on repairing potholes.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the savings to the NHS from the use of mindfulness interventions to reduce the number of GP visits.

    Norman Lamb

    No such assessment of the saving to the National Health Service from the use of mindfulness interventions to reduce the number of general practitioner visits has been made.

    The Department is aware of the Mental Health Foundation’s research into the impact of mindfulness. The benefits of mindfulness are widely recognised. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance for the NHS has recommended Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for recurrent depression since 2004. MBCT is available through a number of Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services in England.