Tag: 2014

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many of the six million people identified as missing on the electoral register by the Electoral Commission in 2011 have been registered to vote in each year since 2011.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that its last GB wide study into the completeness of electoral registers was completed in 2011. This type of research does not specifically identify unregistered individuals but provides an assessment of the overall accuracy and completeness of the registers. The Commission’s next study is being published in July and this will update the picture on levels of completeness in 2014.

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage change there has been in the average cost of a water bill in each year since 2011.

    Dan Rogerson

    Water prices in England and Wales are reviewed by the independent economic regulator Ofwat every five years. Water prices for the 2010 to 2015 period were set in Ofwat’s 2009 water price review.

    The percentage change in the average cost (in real prices) of a combined water and sewerage bill in England and Wales during the 2010-2015 period is as follows: -0.6% (2010/11), 0.2% (2011/12), -0.1% (2012/13). The forecast for 2013/14 is 0.5% and for 2014/15 around 2%. The changes year on year usually relate to the profile of water industry investment agreed in the 2009 price review. For 2014/15, water companies are taking steps to hold customer bills down and in some cases are giving up price increases that were allowed for in 2009.

    Ofwat’s 2014 water price review is now underway and will determine water prices for the 2015 to 2020 period. Most water companies are proposing flat or declining bills from 2015.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming universal credit were (a) unemployed and (b) self-employed in the most recent period for which information is available.

    Esther McVey

    The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013 which can be found at :

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics

    Statistics will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the carbon emissions resulting from the production, transport and disposal or recycling of currently available biodegradable plastic bags.

    Dan Rogerson

    The calculation of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from bags currently labelled as biodegradable or compostable is available in the 2011 research report Life cycle assessment of supermarket carrier bags, which was commissioned and funded by the Environment Agency. This reviewed the bags available in 2006. I have placed a copy of the report in the library of the House.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of recent trends in employment in the private sector.

    Esther McVey

    There are more people in private sector jobs than ever before, up over 2 million since 2010.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in what proportion of cases where (a) an allegation of domestic violence was made or (b) a criminal conviction was obtained for domestic violence the victim was a man and the perpetrator a man in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Norman Baker

    The requested information is not available centrally.

    Home Office police recorded crime only covers offences recorded by the police
    and not allegations. Furthermore, it is not possible to identify domestic
    violence cases from the recorded crime figures returned to the Home Office by
    police forces as these figures are based on counts of crime under the
    appropriate offence classification (e.g. GBH, ABH).

    With regard to stalking, the police started recording offences on April 1st
    2014. Stalking offences recorded by the police will be included as part of the
    regular crime statistics publications in due course.

    The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on
    defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences
    in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by
    the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not all the specific
    circumstances of each case. This centrally held information does not
    specifically identify whether the crime was committed against males or females
    for the offences of stalking and domestic violence. This detailed information
    may be held on individual court files but is not reported to Justice Statistics
    Analytical Services due to its size and complexity. As such this information
    can only be obtained by the Ministry of Justice at disproportionate cost.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Government expects to receive from (a) the 20 per cent deduction from the child maintenance payment of the paying parent and (b) the four per cent deduction of total payment of support to the child from the receiving parent.

    Steve Webb

    Paragraph 106 of the CSA Case Closure, Introducing CMS Fees, Supporting Family Based Arrangements Impact Assessment gives an estimate of the total income by year raised through the parent with care fee and the non-resident parent fee. This Impact Assessment, published on 22 November 2013, is available at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/259694/cm-case-closure-and-charges-regs-ia-final.pdf

  • Fiona O’Donnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Fiona O’Donnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona O’Donnell on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps she has taken to ensure that all children are protected from sexual violence in conflict zones.

    Justine Greening

    DFID is committed to tackling sexual violence against women and girls, with relevant programming in over 20 countries. For example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) we have invested £60m to build security forces capable of better protecting women and girls from sexual violence and DFID has provided £21.6 million to protect women and children from sexual violence in humanitarian emergencies in a range of countries.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people started apprenticeships in (a) Swindon and (b) the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.

    Matthew Hancock

    Information on the number of apprenticeship starts in England by geography is published in a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release (SFR):

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships–2

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/298401/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls

    The Department does not collect further education information relating to the devolved administrations.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average age of rolling stock serving the (a) Tees Valley Line and (b) Esk Valley Line is.

    Stephen Hammond

    The rolling stock operated on these two lines is a mixture of Class 142 and Class 156 units which were constructed between 1985 and 1989.

    However, the age of rolling stock is a crude measure of quality – as a properly planned refurbishment of an older train can result in a very pleasant travelling environment and a "new train feel" but at a fraction of the cost of a new unit.

    Information on the average age of rolling stock is available from the Office of Rail Regulation’s website, by following this link:

    http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/53dcc4e1-3223-48f9-9e9c-10d51359cdd7