Tag: 2014

  • 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 2014-04-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs supports in principle the sale of part of the Custom House site adjacent to Dover Priory Railway Station for the development of new parking facilities.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM TREASURY

    Charlie Elphicke MP

    DOVER

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs supports in principle the sale of part of the Custom House site adjacent to Dover Priory Railway Station for the development of new parking facilities. 195498

    DAVID GAUKE

    HM Revenue and Customs does not own the freehold interest of the Custom House site (also known as Priory Court) adjacent to Dover Priory railway station. HMRC occupies the site as part of the STEPS PFI agreement and will consider any proposals from the freeholder Mapeley that affect our rights of occupation.

  • Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.

    Brandon Lewis

    The table below sets out the ten consultancy firms that were paid the most by my Department in the last financial year

    The data complies with definitions on Consultancy laid down by the Cabinet Office which excludes agency staff and interim (contingent) labour.

    Financial Year 2013-14

    Organisation

    Total Expenditure (excluding VAT)

    Local Partnership LLP*

    £150,918

    PricewaterhouseCoopers

    £108,516

    Ove Arup & Partners

    £66,790

    Amec Environment & Infrastructure

    £62,509

    Ernest & Young LLP

    £20,000

    Capgemini UK Plc

    £17,000

    Grant Thornton UK LLP

    £8,815

    Giant Professional Limited

    £6,400

    Oakleigh Consulting Ltd

    £4,950

    Land Use Consultants

    £1,345

    * Local Partnerships is a company that is jointly owned by HM Treasury and the Local Government Association; it provides commercial expertise on matters of infrastructure, legal and contractual complexity and acts for the benefit of the public sector.

    My Department has cut spending on consultancy from £36.6 million in 2009-10 to £0.5 million in 2013-14. This represents a saving of £36.1 million a year (2013-14 compared to 2009-10) and has been achieved through contract renegotiations, terminations and adherence to Cabinet Office controls on consultancy spending.

    To put this in context, based on current estimates (which reflect accounting consequences from machinery of government changes) the DCLG Group is reducing its annual running costs by around 40% in real terms between 2010-11 and 2014-15. This equates to net savings of at least £532 million over this spending review period and includes savings of around £420 million from the closure of the Government Offices for the Regions.

  • Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress he has made on the Social Work Practice pilots; and which local authorities are taking part in those pilots.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Social Work Practices pilot concluded in 2012. In November last year the Government commenced Part 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 to allow all local authorities to explore new models of provision if they wish to.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the amount spent per person on flood defences in (a) England and (b) Wales in each year since 2001 to date; and what estimate he has made of the amounts in each year to 2016.

    Dan Rogerson

    The figures are as follows:

    (a)

    Average Defra spend per head on flood and coastal erosion risk management in England (£)

    2005/06

    9.51

    2006/07

    9.47

    2007/08

    9.34

    2008/09

    10.61

    2009/10

    11.83

    2010/11

    12.53

    2011/12

    10.71

    2012/13

    10.77

    2013/14

    11.34

    2014/15

    14.86

    The figures for each year is the total Defra spend on flood and coastal erosion risk management divided by the most recent ONS population estimate for mid-2012

    · Figures before 2005/06 are not available in a comparable format.

    · Figures for 2013/14 and 2014/15 are budget allocations.

    · Figures for 2015/16 are not available as the budget has not yet been set.

    (b)

    Flood management in Wales is a devolved matter and Defra has made no estimate of the amount spent per person.

    “

  • Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote the commercialisation of scientific and technical research undertaken by GCHQ.

    Hugh Robertson

    GCHQ works closely with business to release Intellectual Properties (IP) which are suitable for more general use in the outside world. For example through its information assurance arm, Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG), it operates a number of schemes which enable individuals and companies to gain CESG endorsement of products and services via technical assessment.

    GCHQ is additionally running a number of pilot cases looking at ways of improving its coordination with SMEs and larger industry partners including on Open Source publishing and licencing to SMEs and larger industry partners. GCHQ is also sponsoring research institutes in Cyber Security and running innovation calls aimed at SMEs. The latter initiative in partnership with organisations such as the Centre for Defence Enterprise and the technology Strategy Board.

  • Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to criminalise psychological abuse and coercive control.

    Norman Baker

    Domestic abuse is already a crime. There are a number of offences that make domestic abuse illegal, including actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm and assault. The cross-Government definition is clear that domestic abuse is any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.

    Assault can extend to non-physical harm, and this can include psychological, financial, and emotional abuse. Stalking and harassment legislation, which criminalises a course of conduct, can apply to intimate partner relationships.

    Last September, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to conduct a review of the response to domestic abuse across all police forces. HMIC published its findings in March 2014, emphasising that the key priority is a culture change in the police so that domestic violence and abuse is treated as the crime that it is, and pointing out that the police use the full range of tools already available to them.

    The Home Secretary will chair a national oversight group to oversee delivery against each of HMIC’s recommendations on which I will also sit.

  • Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2014-05-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people employed in the UK solar PV sector in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.

    Gregory Barker

    DECC does not hold this data.

    In March the National Solar Centre estimated that the industry employs 13,723 people on a full time basis.

  • Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2014-05-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much solar PV was installed under the 50kW to 5MW feed-in tariff bands in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014 to date.

    Gregory Barker

    The table below shows the total number of 50kW to 5MW solar PV installations accredited under the Feed-in Tariff scheme.

    From April

    Number of installations

    Total installed capacity (kW)

    2010

    11

    956

    2011

    231

    84,478

    2012

    212

    36,878

    2013

    180

    30,071

    2014 [1]

    2

    320

    Installations are grouped into years based on their ‘commissioning date’ i.e. the date the technology was physically installed and deemed to be up and running.

    [1] Includes installations commissioned to the end of March 2014. April 2014 statistics will be published at 09:30am on Thursday 22nd May 2014 on the DECC website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/monthly-small-scale-renewable-deployment).

    “

  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-05-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) North Lanarkshire and (d) Airdrie and Shotts constituency applied to the jobseeker’s allowance hardship regime and were (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful in each of the last four years for which figures are available.

    Esther McVey

    This data is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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

    Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-05-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Highways Agency in maintaining roads in (a) Huddersfield, (b) Kirklees and (c) Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Highways Agency Business Plan sets out the strategic objectives and the in-year targets to be achieved. It includes a target covering road surface condition. Each Highways Agency region contributes to those targets, including Yorkshire and the North East. The Agency’s performance against the targets for the financial year 2013/14 is due to be published in its Annual Report by summer 2014.

    The Agency is unable to identify separately the contribution to Business Plan targets by individual constituency or local authority area.