The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many away days his Department held in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14; and (i) what cost was incurred and (ii) who was in attendance at each such day.
Mr Francis Maude
The information requested is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to answer Question 196308, tabled on 10 April 2014 for answer on 28 April 2014.
Stephen Williams
[Holding Reply: Monday 12 May 2014]
Question 196308 has been answered today.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-05-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether data on the provision of discretionary housing payments by local authorities are collected centrally.
Lord Freud
The Department asks local authorities to provide data on their use of Discretionary Housing Payments on a twice yearly basis. Information regarding April to September 2013 can be found at the following link:
The Department is currently gathering and quality assuring information regarding end of year spend from local authorities for 2013/14
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2014-05-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they provide to schools, colleges and universities about taking into account the additional difficulties that neurofibromatosis sufferers encounter with examinations.
Lord Nash
Guidance given to schools and colleges is a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation and I have asked its Chief Regulator Glenys Stacey to write directly to Lord Bassam of Brighton. A copy of her reply will be placed in the Lords Library.
Equality Challenge Unit provides advice for higher education institutions on a range of matters, including reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities. More information is available at www.ecu.ac.uk.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Barnett on 2014-05-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 9 April (WA 302), what is the amount of student loan debt still available for sale, including the first tranche referred to.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The total amount of pre-2012 income contingent repayment student loan debt that Government intends to sell has not yet been determined. However, over a five year period, as announced at Autumn Statement 2013, sales are expected to generate between £10 billion and £15 billion in revenues, with a central estimate of around £12 billion.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will assess the potential merits of introducing an automatic trigger for inspections of individual public services when a certain number of people using that service have made complaints about it.
Mr Francis Maude
The Government is considering recent reports of the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) into how complaints about public services are handled. As part of this, the Cabinet Office is working to investigate further how public services can make best use of complaints and also to take a wider look at the role and powers of the Public Sector Ombudsmen. The Government will respond to the PASC in due course. I am happy to discuss this matter further with my Hon. Friend.
The annual reports and accounts of the public service ombudsmen in the UK provide details of their performance over the past 12 months including information about complaints received.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will review the export of refuse-derived fuel and solid recovered fuel for use in energy from waste plants overseas; and if he will make a statement.
Dan Rogerson
We published a call for evidence on the refuse-derived fuel market in England on 12 March. This included a request for evidence on the effect that exports of refuse-derived fuel had on its availability on the domestic market. The call for evidence closed on 9 May. We are currently analysing the evidence submitted, which will aid our understanding of the situation, help us to determine whether there is a need for some form of intervention and, if so, help us to develop policy options.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Capita will incur penalties for delays in carrying out personal independence payments assessments.
Mike Penning
1)The information is commercial in confidence.
2) The Department regularly meets with both Assessment Providers to discuss performance. Failure to meet contractual obligations will result in the Department applying service credits (financial remedies) in line with the contract.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will list the energy companies which have agreed to (a) introduce arrangements before the end of 2014 to limit bad bills to businesses to one year where the supplier is at fault and (b) end automatic roll-overs for new customers.
Michael Fallon
British Gas, Edf Energy, E.ON, First Utility, Good Energy, Opus Energy, RWE nPower, Scottish Power and SSE publically announced that they plan to limit back bills where the company is at fault to one year by the end of 2013, or as soon as practically possible in 2014.
British Gas, Edf Energy, E,ON, First Utility, RWE nPower, Scottish Power and SSE announced their intention to end the use of automatic rollover contracts for new customers before the end of 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 7 April 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee.
Karen Bradley
The Home Department has no record of receiving the correspondence referred to
in this Parliamentary Question.