Tag: 2014

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of (a) eating disorder beds and (b) eating disorder services have been delivered by the private sector in each year since 2010.

    Norman Lamb

    In April 2013, NHS England became responsible for commissioning specialised Eating Disorder Services. There are currently 460 beds available across England. 255 of these beds are provided by the National Health Service and the remainder by the Independent sector. Therefore 55.4% are provided by the NHS. Historical figures are not available as this data is maintained as a real-time list.

    NHS England does not hold data on services commissioned by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) which include non-specialised and community eating disorder services. CCG’s commissioning decisions are based on the needs of the local population and they are expected to take account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department has allocated to aid Palestinian citizens who have been injured, orphaned, made homeless and lost their livelihoods as a result of Israel’s recent air strikes; and whether she plans to keep the level of such funding under review in the light of future developments in that conflict.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID is one of the biggest donors to the Gaza crisis, providing over £17 million of emergency aid since the current conflict began. The level of funding is being kept under constant review.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 326W, on young offenders, on what date each adult male establishment was first designated both as a prison and a young offender institution; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Selous

    This information is not immediately available. I will write to the Rt Honourable member when all the relevant information is available.

  • Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pete Wishart on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what work the Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland has commissioned by external consultants in relation to work on the Scotland Analysis programme; which consultants were used; and how much such consultancy has cost.

    David Mundell

    The Office of the Advocate General, jointly with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Cabinet Office, instructed independent legal experts, Professor James Crawford and Professor Alan Boyle, to provide the legal Opinion Referendum on the Independence of Scotland – International Law Aspects, which was published as an annex to the UK Government’s paper Devolution and the Implications of Scottish independence. This consultancy was paid from existing budgets.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rosie Cooper – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken to (a) process claims for personal independence payments and (b) receive a work capability assessment appointment.

    Mr Mark Harper

    Claimants to employment and support allowance (ESA) are not being asked to claim personal independence payment (PIP). PIP was introduced in April 2013 to replace disability living allowance (DLA) for working age people (between 16 and 64 years old) and operates an entirely separate assessment from the work capability assessment used for ESA claims. From October 2013 we have begun inviting some existing claimants of DLA to claim PIP. The current arrangements for this can be found on the gov.uk website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-personal-independence-payment-toolkit-for-partners/the-personal-independence-payment-pip-toolkit-for-partners .

    We are continuously looking at ways to increase the number of decisions made on PIP claims and to improve the claims process.

    Internal DWP processes and the assessment part of the process are taking longer than expected and some claimants are taking longer than anticipated to return their claim forms but we are working closely with both PIP assessment providers as part of our plans to speed up the end to end claimant journey. We have introduced improvements in communications to claimants about the type of evidence they can supply to speed up their claim and we are taking action to support the assessment providers in clearing backlogs of work.

    “

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2014, Official Report, column 278W, on personal independence payments, what his Department’s definition is of a mature system; and how he proposes that the maturity of the system will be measured.

    Mr Mark Harper

    The publication of any new statistics series needs to ensure that it is based on robust data and the measures reflect the system that is being delivered and latest performance. The Department’s statisticians are currently looking at developing measures around clearance times and will pre-announce future publication in line with the UK Statistics Authority protocols.

  • Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what agreement was sought from priority investors on the long-term holding of shares in Royal Mail.

    Matthew Hancock

    No agreement was sought from the priority investors ahead of the sale of shares in Royal Mail on the long term holding of shares.

    Any mechanism which requires a buyer to give up the rights normally associated with shares, such as a restriction on the right to sell those shares for a period of time, would be reflected in the price investors would be prepared to pay for those shares.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-07-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs has spent on Tackling Tobacco Smuggling strategy in each year since 2010-11; how many of his Department’s staff worked on implementing that strategy in each such year; and how many such staff were engaged in (a) detection, (b) intelligence-gathering and analysis, (c) investigations and (d) the provision of legal advice.

    Priti Patel

    It is not possible to provide the requested breakdown of the total HM Revenue and Customs spent on salaries for staff employed on tackling tobacco smuggling in the way requested. The total costs for each year are as follows:

    Salary Cost

    (millions)

    2010-11

    Salary cost

    (millions)

    2011-12

    Salary cost

    (millions)

    2012-13

    Salary cost

    (millions)

    2013-14

    Total

    £37.044

    £36.882

    £35.734

    £37.731

    HM Revenue and Customs does not operate any x-ray scanners. Border Force has responsibility for the operation of x-ray scanners as part of the joint strategy to tackle tobacco smuggling.

    HM Revenue and Customs total expenditure on tobacco work since 2010-11 is detailed in the table below. This includes administration and policy, as well as enforcement.

    HMRC Activity

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    Total expenditure on tobacco work (millions)

    £65.750

    £68.918

    £67.641

    £76.000

    It is not possible to provide the staff information in the format requested. However, the total figures are set out below:

    HMRC Activity

    2010/11

    Full Time Equivalent

    2011/12

    Full Time Equivalent

    2012/13

    Full Time Equivalent

    2013/14

    Full Time Equivalent

    Total

    758

    777

    777

    832

    For the year 2012/13, the UK cigarette illicit market was reported at 9%, which is half the level seen a decade ago. The illicit market share for hand-rolling tobacco is 36%, lower than in 2010/11 and significantly lower than the level seen in 2008/09, when it was 50 per cent.

  • Lyn Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lyn Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons the actuarial reduction for a firefighter who retires earlier than normal pension age under the proposed new pension scheme for firefighters is calculated from the state pension age and not the scheme’s normal pension age.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Under the terms of the Proposed Final Agreement for the firefighters’ pension scheme 2015 in England the actuarial reduction for a firefighter who retired earlier than the scheme’s Normal Pension Age but at the age of 57 or above would have been calculated from the Normal Pension Age. The actuarial reduction for a firefighter who retired between the ages of 55 and 57 would have been calculated from their state pension age. However, in the light of responses received to the second consultation on the firefighters’ pension scheme 2015, the Government decided to reinstate its offer, first made in June 2013, under which all actuarial reductions in the case of early retirement are calculated from the Normal Pension Age. This decision was communicated in a letter to Chief Fire Officers and Chairs of fire authorities on 9 July 2014. The letter can be found at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/firefighters-pension-scheme-reforms and I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.

    “

  • Stephen Barclay – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Stephen Barclay – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Barclay on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many masts will be erected in Cambridgeshire as part of the Mobile Infrastructure Project.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Mobile Infrastructure Project implementation plan identified seven potential masts for Cambridgeshire. Coverage by the mobile network operators has shifted as they begin roll out of 4G, leading to improvements in coverage in some areas and changes in the number and locations of not spots. DCMS officials and Arqiva, delivery partner for the Mobile Infrastructure Project, are incorporating these changes into the project’s planning. Once this planning is finalised any changes will be communicated to planning authorities.