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Tag: 2014

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Cabinet Secretary was tasked with assessing whether there were gounds for a further inquiry into the events surrounding the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

    Mr William Hague

    The Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood’s investigation looked at why the UK provided advice to the Indian authorities, the nature of the UK assistance and the impact of that assistance in Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple. As I told Parliament in my statement to the House on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 139-142, the report and the documents we published clearly show the limited nature of UK advice on Operation Blue Star, and that there were no grounds for a further inquiry.

  • Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlie Elphicke on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons Mapeley has not come to an agreement with Network Rail regarding the sale of land on the western perimeter of the Priory Court site for the construction of new parking facilities for Dover Priory railway station.

    Mr David Gauke

    Commercial arrangements in relation to the land at the Priory Court site are a matter for discussion between Network Rail and Mapeley. The Crown does not own the land.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her future plans are for support to the Caribbean.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    The UK is strongly committed to supporting development in the Caribbean. Helping the region tackle the risks posed by natural disasters is one of our top priorities, alongside supporting sustainable economic growth and addressing governance and security.

    The UK Government has increased its bilateral support to the Independent Caribbean by 50 percent (around £75 million in 2011 to 2015). We also make significant contributions though multilateral partners, for example providing 15 per cent of the EU’s €1.4 billion support and 19 per cent of the Caribbean Development Bank’s Special Development Fund. Our funding runs until March 2015. We are currently reviewing our approach in the Independent Caribbean to ensure that the UK’s support responds to the countries’ needs and delivers the greatest positive impact in the next phase of support from 2015/16 onwards.

    In addition, the UK provides assistance to the Overseas Territory of Monserrat by financing public services and investing in infrastructure. We are making these investments to facilitate economic growth and reduce long-term dependence on aid.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 364W, on Reserve Forces, what the current national recruitment rate to the Army Reserve is.

    Anna Soubry

    I refer the hon. member to the UK Armed Forces Quarterly Personnel Report which is published by Defence Statistics. This shows Reserve trained and untrained strength figures, as well as movements into the Future Reserves 2020 populations. It is available on the www.gov.uk website at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-armed-forces-quarterly-personnel-report-2014

  • Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time for applicants for the personal independence payment (PIP) in each region of the UK is between submission of the PIP2 form and the date of receipt of the first payment after an assessment from each assessment provider.

    Mike Penning

    I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Liverpool, West Derby, official report, 5 March, column 850W.

    In order to manage the gap between Personal Independence Payment go-live and the first release of Official Statistics in Spring 2014, we are assessing whether we can release some further information. If the quality assurance of this information shows that it is sufficiently robust and reliable then we will publish it via ad-hoc statistical releases.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of school-age children living in areas where the only state schools within reasonable travelling distance are faith schools.

    Mr David Laws

    We have made no such estimate. Local authorities have responsibility for securing sufficient school places to meet the needs of their local communities and have the statutory duties and powers to support that. They must also ensure that the balance of different types of provision meets local demand and that they make suitable transport arrangements for eligible pupils.

    The Government does recognise the need to ensure that new provision meets the needs of the whole community. New academies and free schools with a religious designation may only prioritise up to 50% of pupils on the basis of faith-related admissions criteria.

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to combat domestic violence.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The Government is determined to do all it can to tackle domestic violence and abuse and bring perpetrators to justice. Our approach is set out in our strategy, ‘Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls’ published in November 2010, together with a supporting Action Plan. A revised version of the Action Plan was published in March 2014 and contains a hundred and fifty actions across Government departments.

    We are committed to ensuring that the police response to victims of domestic violence is as good as it can be. That is why last September, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to conduct an all force review of domestic violence. HMIC published its findings on 27 March 2014 and highlighted serious failings in the police response. In response to the review, the Home Secretary is leading a series of measures to improve the police response. This includes establishing a new national oversight group, which she will chair. The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it clear that the police must make significant improvements and that every police force must have an action plan in place by September 2014 to address HMIC’s findings.

    The Coalition Government is also committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. That is why on 8 March 2014, we commenced the national rollout of Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme across England and Wales and why we are currently providing funding for 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and 54 Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference co-ordinators.

  • Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he expects work to all properties identified by the Environment Agency in Christchurch constituency as being suitable for Property Level Protection against flooding to be completed.

    Dan Rogerson

    As part of schemes funded through Local Levy and Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid, work to protect ten properties in the Mudeford and Stanpit area is planned for 2015.

    Property-level protection measures were installed at twelve properties in Stony Lane, Christchurch earlier this year.

  • The Earl of Listowel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The Earl of Listowel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Listowel on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are offering local authorities to implement the staying put duty in the Children and Families Act 2014.

    Lord Nash

    The Government will be giving local authorities an additional £40 million over the next three years to help implement the new ‘Staying Put’ duty. The Department for Education will shortly be publishing revised ‘Transitions to Adulthood’ statutory guidance, which will include specific guidance for local authorities on implementing the duty.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes on the implementation plans for Action for Diabetes; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Jonathan Valabhji, the National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes, has had no discussions with my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health specifically about Action for Diabetes.

    There have been no recent discussions about diabetes between the Secretary of State for Health and NHS Improving Quality.