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Tag: 2014

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what economic links there are with Burma; and what the value of (a) exports to and (b) imports from Burma was in the last year for which figures are available.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Building a sustainable economy in Burma, including increased responsible international investment, is key to economic growth, alleviating poverty, improving livelihoods and improving stability. As set out in the ‘UK Activities in Burma’ document published on 8 April alongside a Written Ministerial Statement, the Government is working to encourage and support Burma to remove barriers to becoming a stable, prosperous and democratic country with a sustainable economy that benefits all its people and created a positive climate for domestic, international and UK trade and investment.

    We are active in several areas including:
    – establishing a UK Trade and Investment office in Burma to provide practical support to British companies;
    – establishing a UK Financial Services Task Force to support the development of sound financial structures and products;
    – funding two specialist economists from the International Growth Centre to support the Myanmar Development Resource Institute in providing high quality advice to government;
    – providing £1.1m to support Burma’s application to the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative which will help improve the transparency and accountability of the revenues from Burma’s natural resources.
    – supporting work to strengthen Burma’s accountancy profession, to tackle financial crime and to increase local community involvement in investment decisions.

    UK exports of goods to Burma in 2013 were worth £44m (a 243% year on year increase) and imports from Burma were worth £65m (a 44% year on year increase). The top UK exports were transport equipment and road vehicles whilst the top imports were clothing.

    In 2012, the last year for which total goods and services figures are available, UK exports of goods and services to Burma were worth £20.8m and imports from Burma were worth £46m.

  • Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will carry out a public consultation on proposed changes to disabled students’ allowances.

    Mr David Willetts

    We are currently consulting with a wide range of stakeholders to help inform both the Equality Analysis and Disabled Students’ Allowances Guidance for 2015/16.

    I will have due regard to an updated Equality Analysis before a final decision is made and regulations are laid before the House.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 3 April 2014, Official Report, column 809W, on Army: length of service, on how many soldiers in each regiment or corps the figures are based.

    Anna Soubry

    The average strength by Regiment or Corps is shown in the following table.

    Regiment/Corps Regiment/Corps Average Strength

    Household Cavalry & Royal Armoured Corps 1,860

    Royal Artillery 2,210

    Royal Engineers 2,830

    Royal Signals 1,830

    Infantry 8,700

    Army Air Corps 370

    Royal Logistic Corps 4,560

    Royal Army Medical Corps 560

    Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 2,670

    Adjutant General’s Corps (Provost) 400

    Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff and Personnel Support) 870

    Royal Army Veterinary Corps 80

    Small Arms School Corps 20

    Royal Army Dental Corps 60

    Intelligence Corps 240

    Royal Army Physical Training Corps 110

    Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps 140

    Corps of Army Music 180

    Senior Soldier Continuity Posts (Long Service) 140

    Source: Defence Statistics (Army)

    Notes/Caveats:

    The figures are based on the outflow of Army personnel between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2013.

    Underlying outflow figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Payments System Regulator on its market study into the ownership of payments systems by the largest banks.

    Andrea Leadsom

    At Budget 2014, the Chancellor announced that the competition powers of the Payment Systems Regulator would be switched on with immediate effect. This enables the Regulator to conduct a market study on ownership of the payment systems and, depending on the outcome, to refer the question of ownership to the Competition and Markets Authority. The decision about whether to commence a market study is one for the Regulator.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the target waiting time is for work capability assessment for both (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit reassessment; and what proportion of such assessments have been carried out within the target timescale in the last four quarters for which figures are available.

    Mike Penning

    We are working closely with our supplier to deliver the best possible service for claimants, driving up performance and quality to help reduce waiting times and process claims as quickly as possible. We are continuing to monitor and robustly manage this contract.

    We do not have a target timescale for waiting time for an Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment Work Capability Assessment.

  • Robert Flello – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Robert Flello – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times officials from the British Embassy have asked to visit Huber Ballesteros in La Picota prison in Bogota.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK cannot interfere in Colombia’s judicial process but will continue to raise any concerns regarding due process and conditions with the Colombian authorities.

    The Embassy is currently awaiting authorisation from the Municipal Criminal Court to visit Huber Ballesteros in prison.

    To date, the British Embassy has not yet been authorised to visit Huber Ballesteros in prison, this is despite requesting permission on six different occasions.

    No representatives of the British Embassy were able to attend the preliminary hearings in the case of Huber Ballesteros due to unrelated security concerns. His trial will take place on 26 and 27 of June and the British Embassy intends to send Officials to observe this.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many consultancy groups currently have global contracts with her Department as development implementers.

    Justine Greening

    Procurement tendering processes conducted by my department are completed in accordance with EU directives. Contracts are awarded following a competitive tendering process. Invitations to tender are specific to the nature of the intervention required.

    DFID has no contracts providing global services.

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the provision of debt advice for carers in a) Glasgow North West, b) Glasgow, c) Scotland and d) the UK.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Money Advice Service (MAS) is responsible for the coordination of debt advice funding across the UK and has a statutory duty to improve the quality, consistency and availability of debt advice. In 2013/14 MAS funded 163,000 debt advice sessions in England and Wales. MAS also co-funds debt advice in Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Government, which in the last financial year led to more than 11,000 people receiving advice.

    MAS research shows that 4% of the clients of its funded services are carers. Research also suggests that advice over the phone can be particularly useful for carers and MAS has expanded its funded services to enable them to provide advice in this way. Carers are also able to access free debt advice over the phone from National Debtline and StepChange Debt Charity.

    In Glasgow, there are two targeted projects which meet carers’specific needs. These are:

    · Yorkhill Families Money and Debt Advice Support Project: Yorkhill hospital and Glasgow Central Citizens Advice Bureau together provide advice to families who are financially vulnerable because of their children’s long-term health condition; and

    · Glasgow Association for Mental Health Money and Debt Project, which provides free face-to-face advice debt advice to people with mental health problems across Glasgow and their carers.

  • 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 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who (a) were given a non-custodial sentence and (b) were given their first custodial sentence in each year from 2004 had previously had (i) no criminal convictions, (ii) one criminal conviction, (iii) two criminal convictions, (iv) three criminal convictions, (v) four criminal convictions, (vi) five to 10 criminal convictions, (vii) 11 to 20 criminal convictions, (viii) 21 to 30 criminal convictions, (ix) 31 to 40 criminal convictions, (x) 41 to 50 criminal convictions, (xi) 51 to 75, (xii) 76 to 100 criminal convictions and (xiii) more than 100 criminal convictions.

    Jeremy Wright

    Since 2010, crime has continued to fall and fewer individuals are entering the criminal justice system for the first time. But we have a persistent hardcore of offenders being recycled round and round the criminal justice system, as these figures bear out.

    This Government is committed to tackling re-offending rates. We have reformed sentences, so that they combine both punishment and requirements that are effective at preventing further offending. We have legislated so that all community orders must now have a punitive element, and, from 2015, every offender leaving prison spends at least 12 months under supervision, where currently around 50,000 are released each year with no statutory support. We are transforming rehabilitation, by bringing together the best of the public, private and voluntary sectors, and only rewarding them when they actually do reduce reoffending.

    Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent judiciary, taking account of the circumstances of the case and the maximum penalty for the offence. A court may only impose a community order or a custodial sentence where the offence is imprisonable. The overwhelming majority of repeat offenders have previously received a number of custodial sentences but the large majority of previous convictions identified in the table below resulted in a fine as they were for summary non-motoring offences.

    The number of offenders who were given a non-custodial sentence in each year since 2004, broken down by their number of previous convictions, is given in Table 1. It is important to note that these figures are based only on those offences recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC) by an English or Welsh police force, including the British Transport Police, and include a number of offences for which the maximum sentence available to the court is a fine. It should also be noted that these figures are based on counting the number of separate occasions on which offenders were sentenced in each year and some offenders will therefore be represented several times in the figures.

    Table 2 provides a similar breakdown for those offenders who received their first custodial sentence in each year. Again, the figures are drawn from the PNC and will include a number of offences for which the maximum sentence available to the court is a fine. A large proportion of each offender’s criminal history is therefore likely to include some offences for which it is not possible to receive a custodial sentence. Of those offenders who had between 76 and 100 previous convictions between the 12 months ending September 2004 and the 12 months ending September 2013, 84% of the disposals for their previous convictions were fines. This increases to 96% when you look at the offenders who had over 100 previous convictions. It should also be noted that these figures are based on counting the number of separate occasions on which offenders were sentenced in each year and some offenders could therefore be represented several times in the figures.

    The number of offenders who have received at least one previous conviction, or indeed multiple previous convictions, before receiving their first custodial sentence has decreased under this Government.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will require the Prudential Regulation Authority to conduct an analysis of recently released personal and business lending data by postcode to examine (a) levels of disparity in lending and (b) progress in achieving financial inclusion; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    In July 2013 the Government announced that it had reached an agreement with the major UK banks to publish lending data across 10,000 individual postcodes.

    The first dataset was published in December 2013 and shows the outstanding stock of lending that has been committed to customers across three categories; loans and overdrafts to SMEs, mortgages and unsecured personal loans (excluding credit cards).

    The data will allow challenger banks, smaller building societies, credit unions and community development finance institutions (CDFIs) to find areas where there is a lack of lending so they can offer finance to those customers who are crying out for support to help their business grow.