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Tag: 2014

  • Greg Knight – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Knight – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on air quality of the escape of methane and other gases from disused mine workings in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire; and if he will make a statement.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Coal Authority is responsible for dealing with reported cases of escaped gases from disused mine workings, including monitoring concentrations where necessary. Consequently, Defra has made no assessment of the impact on air quality of the escape of methane and other gases from disused mine workings.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to relieve congestion on roads.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    This Government is committed to investing in infrastructure to reduce traffic congestion. This means spending £24 billion on strategic roads over this and the next Parliament, and accelerating the pace of delivery so that people affected see a difference more quickly.

    This includes a £500 million programme of pinch point schemes specifically targeted at tackling congestion on both the strategic and local road network, and a further £800 million being invested in 25 local major road schemes.

    We have previously announced £183.5m for road repairs following the severe weather this winter and in the recent Budget, the Chancellor announced a further £200 millionfunding for pothole repairs. Of this, £168m will assist Councils in England, with the remaining £32m allocated to the devolved administrations.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many HSA4 certificates his Department has returned to terminating doctors pending completion in the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    It is estimated that between 2009 and 2013 approximately 49,000 forms were returned to registered medical practitioners (RMPs) for further information and clarification.

    Form HSA4 already requires information to be provided as to whether the two certifying RMPs saw and/or examined the pregnant woman.

  • Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff his Department has employed in data entry roles relating to universal credit in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Lancashire in each quarter since 2010.

    Mike Penning

    There are no dedicated data entry roles and accordingly no cost to the department can be reliably estimated.

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which infrastructure projects have accessed the UK Guarantees scheme; and how much funding was issued in each such case.

    Danny Alexander

    Three guarantees and one Stand-by Facility have been signed under the UK Guarantees Scheme with a total value of £1,090,800,000. This includes Drax Power (£75m), Sustainable Development Capital – UK Energy Efficiency Investment Funds (£8.8m), Northern Line Extension (£750m) and Mersey Gateway Bridge (£257m).

    Any guarantees signed are reported to Parliament as required by the legislation, Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Act 2012, underpinning the Scheme and can also be found on the gov.uk website.

  • Mrs Mary Glindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Mrs Mary Glindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Mary Glindon on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the effect of reductions in the number of people employed in the public sector in Northern Ireland.

    Mr Andrew Robathan

    The Government is committed to rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy in favour of the private sector which we, and the Executive, believe is the best way to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future. Over the last year, private sector jobs in Northern Ireland have increased by 10,490 and public sector jobs by 1,790.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much the Arts Council has spent per head of population in Ashfield constituency in each of the last five years.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Arts Council England (ACE) makes its funding decisions independently of Government and as such we do not hold the information requested. However, the following information has been provided by ACE:

    Value of ACE awards to applicants resident in ASHFIELD Constituency 2009 2014

    Decision Year

    Value of Awards

    Per-Capita*

    2009/10

    £9,706

    £0.10

    2010/11

    £9,712

    £0.10

    2011/12

    £13,500

    £0.13

    2012/13

    2013/14

    * based on Mid-2011 population estimate (ONS) 101,914.

    In addition, ACE made two other awards totalling £3.8m from which Ashfield can benefit

  • Lord Blencathra – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Blencathra – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to recover legal aid payments to the firm Public Interest Lawyers following their statement on 20 March that there was no evidence that British soldiers had murdered 20 Iraqis.

    Lord Faulks

    Legal aid is not funding the Al-Sweady Inquiry. There are therefore no plans to recover payments made from legal aid to Public Interest Lawyers following their statement on 20 March.

    On 20 March, at the Al-Sweady Inquiry into the most serious allegations against British soldiers in the Iraq War, lawyers representing Iraqi families withdrew their claim that the troops had killed unarmed civilians they had captured and brought back to an army base.

    The inquiry continues and the statement on 20 March does not mean that the inquiry has been abandoned.

    Legal aid was provided for an action prior to the Inquiry. Legal aid was provided to Iraqi applicants to seek an independent and effective investigation into deaths and torture or inhumane and degrading treatment in relation to the incident at checkpoint Danny Boy in Iraq in May 2004. As a result of these proceedings, the Secretary of State for Defence decided to hold the Al-Sweady Inquiry. This action was therefore successful in its aim.

    The Inquiry is not yet complete and the Chairman’s report is not due to be published until later in the year. Public Interest Lawyers’s statement refers to part only of the allegations made and the Ministry of Justice awaits the Inquiry Report before commenting further.

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have waited longer than the advised waiting times for (a) new passport applications and (b) passport renewals in the last year.

    James Brokenshire

    The information is not available in the format requested. Information can be
    provided for UK straightforward and non-straightforward applications as set out
    below for 2013-14

    Total number of UK applications received 2013-14 5,818,272

    Processed outside published turnaround times
    Straightforward (within 3
    weeks)
    401 (0.007% of applications received)

    Non-straightforward (within 6 weeks)
    29,331 (0.5% of applications received)

  • Lord Harrison – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Harrison – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage local authority pension schemes to take into account environmental, social and governance factors in their decisions.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    These issues are matters for individual local authorities that administer pension funds to consider when deciding upon their investment strategies. Each administering authority is required to publish a statement of principles, which may address such issues. Statutory guidance states that the authority must report periodically to scheme members on the implementation of their policies.

    Notwithstanding, local authorities need to focus on delivering a good rate of return for their fund and value for taxpayers, given local government pensions cost taxpayers (via employer contributions) almost £6 billion a year.