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Tag: 2014

  • Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2014, Official Report, column 692W, on rural bus services, to which projects the £300 million funding for major bus projects has been allocated; and how much has been allocated to each.

    Stephen Hammond

    The table below sets out the schemes in the Department’s Local Authority Major Scheme Programme which are entirely bus based or which include elements related to bus improvements.

    Scheme Name and Status

    Local Authority

    Total Cost

    DfT Contribution

    Complete

    £m

    £m

    Mansfield Public Transport Interchange

    Nottinghamshire

    8.8

    7.2

    Rochdale Interchange

    Rochdale

    11.5

    7.0

    Weston Package Phase 1

    N. Somerset

    13.4

    9.3

    Fully Approved / Under Construction

    Portsmouth Tipner Interchange

    Portsmouth

    28.2

    19.5

    Access York Phase 1

    City of York

    22.7

    15.3

    Loughborough Town Centre Imp

    Leicestershire

    19.7

    14.8

    Ipswich Transport Fit for 21st Century

    Suffolk

    21.6

    18.3

    Worcester Integrated Transport

    Worcestershire

    19.7

    14.2

    Bath Transportation Package

    Bath & NE Somerset

    26.9

    11.0

    Manchester Cross City Bus

    Manchester

    43.2

    32.5

    S Yorkshire Bus Rapid Transit North

    S Yorkshire

    28.2

    15.8

    Pennine Reach (Blackburn)

    Blackburn w Darwen

    39.8

    31.9

    Programme Entry / Support Confirmed

    Bristol BRT Ashton Vale to Temple Meads

    Bristol

    46.7

    34.5

    South Bristol Link

    N. Somerset

    42.6

    27.6

    Bristol BRT North Fringe to Hengrove

    S. Gloucestershire

    92.9

    51.1

    Hucknall Town Centre Imp

    Nottinghamshire

    12.3

    8.5

    Elmbridge Transport

    Gloucestershire

    18.7

    14.1

  • Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what efforts they are making in respect of Morocco’s international human rights obligations in regard to the citizens of Western Sahara; and what steps they have taken in respect of neutralising the Moroccan wall and associated weaponry.

    Baroness Warsi

    We encourage concrete progress towards improving human rights in Western Sahara in discussions with the parties to the dispute over the territory, and at the UN Security Council. The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Mr Robertson), discussed human rights in Western Sahara during his visit to Morocco in March. We welcome Morocco’s recent commitments to investigate complaints of human rights violations made to the National Council for Human Rights within three months, and to end military tribunal trials for civilians.

    Demining teams from the UN peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the Moroccan Army and Polisario continue to co-operate to clear unexploded ordnance on both sides of the Moroccan wall.

  • Alison McGovern – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison McGovern – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of zero-hours contract positions advertised in Jobcentre Plus in England in the last 12 months.

    Esther McVey

    We do not advertise in jobcentres, all vacancies are now advertised on Universal Jobmatch. JSA claimants are not required to apply for zero hour contract jobs and are not penalised if they leave such a job

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in relation to their proposals to extend the power for local authorities to outsource their children’s social work functions including child protection, what assessment has been made of (1) the risks to children and young people, (2) the risks to the impartiality and integrity of statutory decision-making and interventions, and (3) the risks of conflicts of interest arising for third-party providers that bid for social work functions and for commissioned care placement.

    Lord Nash

    The Government is considering the outcome of its consultation on delegation of children’s social care functions. The proposals would place no obligations on local authorities and do not remove their statutory accountability for child protection and wider children’s social care.

    Should the proposals proceed, local authorities will need to ensure that any arrangements they put in place allow them to meet their statutory duties and properly manage questions of risk and conflicts of interest.

    Ofsted will consider these arrangements as part of local authority inspections and hold the authority to account for the quality of its children’s services.

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent estimate he has made of the number of children in (a) Rotherham constituency and (b) South Yorkshire living in fuel poverty.

    Gregory Barker

    Fuel poverty is measured at the household level rather than the individual level and detailed data on the age of household occupants is not available at the sub-regional level.

    The number of households in fuel poverty in England, which contain at least one child under the age of 16, was 898,000 in 2011. This is equivalent to about 38 per cent of all fuel poor households.

    The total numbers of households in fuel poverty, for the areas in 2011 were estimated as:

    • Rotherham constituency – about 3,960 fuel poor households

    (around 11 per cent of all households in the constituency)

    • South Yorkshire – about 62,750 fuel poor households

    (around 11 per cent of all households in the county)

  • Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effects on the Middle East Peace Process of the new unity Palestinian government.

    Mr William Hague

    I welcome the formation of the new interim technocratic government for the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Reuniting Gaza and the West Bank under a government committed to the Quartet Principles is a necessary condition for resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict. We now look to this government to demonstrate commitment through its actions as well words.

  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Royal College of Pathologists on the effects on human and animal safety of reductions in the number of national pathology laboratories from 14 to 7; and if he will publish the impact assessment produced by his Department on such a plan.

    George Eustice

    Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) and Defra have met with the Royal College of Pathologists, to discuss the new Surveillance model, on four separate occasions between September 2012 and the introduction of changes to the Surveillance model on 1 April 2014.

    A formal impact assessment was not required for this work because it does not involve a change in regulation. Submission into the scanning surveillance system is a voluntary activity that has no regulatory aspect. However the ‘Changes to the delivery of Veterinary Scanning Surveillance in England and Wales, December 2013′ document published on the AHVLA website does consider the impact of the changes, recognises that there are negative impacts (e.g. some farms will be further from an AHVLA Post Mortem facility) but concludes that these are outweighed by the benefit of having stronger national centres of excellence and a better coordinated network of support from private practices.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of staff within his Department who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

    Jenny Willott

    I refer the hon. Member to the answergiven by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Francis Maude) on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 433W.

  • Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions her Department has had with non-governmental agencies in South Sudan on levels of food provision.

    Lynne Featherstone

    The UK is extremely concerned about the deteriorating food security in South Sudan, and the urgent need to increase the provision of food supplies and livelihoods support to vulnerable populations. The eruption of conflict on 15 December 2013 has sharply exacerbated an already fragile food security situation: 3.2 million people are now at immediate risk of food insecurity and up to 7.2 million are estimated to be at some risk.

    DFID South Sudan is in regular contact with critical non-government agencies operating in the country, both UN agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), as well as with key non-government organisations, to understand and inform the humanitarian response and to monitor needs and the quality of the humanitarian operation. DFID South Sudan staff have visited displaced communities in Unity and Jonglei States in recent weeks to meet affected people, and international agencies delivering assistance, in order to better understand food security needs.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of staff within his Department who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    The table shows the proportion of staff within the Department for Culture, media and Sport who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years and declared themselves as white British.

    Year

    Percentage of DCMS headcount who have been dismissed

    Proportion of staff dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings who declared themselves as white British

    Proportion of staff subject to disciplinary proceedings who declared their nationality as British but ethnicity is undeclared

    1 April 2009 – 31 March 2010

    0%

    –

    –

    1 April 2010 – 31 March 2011

    0%

    –

    –

    1 April 2011 – 31 March 2012

    0.2%

    100%

    0%

    1 April 2012 – 31 March 2013

    0%

    –

    –

    1 April 2013 – 31 March 2014

    0%

    –

    –

    The figures as they relate to the period from September 2012 include the Government Equalities Office, which joined the Department in that month as part of a machinery of Government move. Before September 2012, the Government Equalities Office was part of the Home Office and the information requested for this period is not available.