Tag: 2014

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, for how long discussions have been ongoing between HM Revenue and Customs, Network Rail and others on the development of new parking facilities at the Customs House site adjacent to Dover Priory railway station.

Mr David Gauke

HM TREASURY

Charlie Elphicke MP

DOVER

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for how long discussions have been ongoing between HM Revenue and Customs, Network Rail and others on the development of new parking facilities at the Customs House site adjacent to Dover Priory railway station. 195432

DAVID GAUKE

HM Revenue & Customs does not own the freehold interest in the Custom House site (also known as Priory Court) adjacent to Dover Priory railway station. HMRC occupies the site with the STEPS PFI agreement. While HMRC has been aware of approaches to the freeholder Mapeley for some time, formal discussions have commenced only recently in February 2014.

November 1, 2022

Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them.

Anna Soubry

The Ministry of Defence uses a process called “manpower substitution” to engage temporary staff at agreed fixed rates on a national basis through a number of contracts. Manpower substitutes are employed for up to 11 months to fill vacant, funded posts. The majority are brought in to fill medical and dental requirements at military medical centres to cover for military positions that are vacant due to deployment into operational theatre. This enables the medical services to continue to provide the best possible care to members of the Armed Forces.

The five companies most frequently used by the Ministry of Defence in Financial Year 2013-14 to provide temporary workers, and the associated fees paid to each, are presented in the following table:

Company	Type of worker	Number of Temporary Workers	Fees Paid
HoneyBee	Medical & Dental	790	£3.46m
CastleRock Ltd	Medical & Dental	490	£2.61m
Capita Resourcing	Interim Professionals	320	£2.07m
Hayes	Medical & Dental	190	£0.59m
Reed	Clerical & Admin	160	£0.11m

The figures provided for Capita Resourcing cover the period from April 2013 to March 2014. All other data cover the period April 2013 to February 2014. Data is extracted from the MOD’s centralised Manpower Substitution Service database and does not include any localised arrangements that individual Top Level Budget holders may have with other companies.

November 1, 2022

Mark Hoban – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hoban on 2014-04-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure parents are aware of the early years educational support available to children with cerebral palsy under two years of age.

Elizabeth Truss

The Early Years Foundation Stage framework makes clear that providers must have and implement a policy and procedures to promote equality of opportunity for children in their care, including support for children with special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities.

The Government is introducing wide-ranging reforms through the Children and Families Act 2014 to improve provision and support for children and young people with SEN and disabilities from birth up to the age of 25.

The Act requires local authorities to publish a local offer of services for children with SEN or a disability which will include children with cerebral palsy. The local offer will set out in one place information about provision families can expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people who have SEN or are disabled, including those who do not have Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans.

The local offer will also provide parents with clear, comprehensive and accessible information about the services and support available and how to access it, including that from Early Years services. This should include relevant services from agencies such as Portage and Early Support, arrangements for identifying and assessing children’s needs in the early years and support available to parents to aid their child’s development at home.

The offer will make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving families and service providers in its development and review, enabling them to have a greater say in how services and support develop over time.

The new birth to 25 SEN Code of Practice, due to come into force from September 2014, will set out clear expectations for practitioners on how they work together with families of children with SEN or disability to understand their child’s needs and help them to access support quickly.

November 1, 2022

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

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them.

Dan Rogerson

The table sets out the information requested for core Defra in respect of 2012-13, the last financial year for which audited information is available. Audited information for 2013-14 will be available in July 2014.

Companies	Spending 2012/13	Average Agency Fees paid
Pertemps Recruitment Partnership Ltd	£856,348	£62,257 (7.2%)
Reed Specialist Recruitment Ltd	£628,832	£113,189 (18%)
Acadent Ltd	£454,521	Not available
Michael Page International	£202,948	£23,521 (11.59%)
Hays Specialist Recruitment Ltd	£182,634	£21,167 (11.59%)

November 1, 2022

Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-04-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether funding allocated to Action on Smoking and Health may be used for campaigning purposes by that body under the terms on which it is allocated.

Jane Ellison

Since 2011, the conditions for the grants provided to Action on Smoking and Health under the Department of Health’s “Section 64 General Scheme of Grants to voluntary and Community Organisations” arrangements have explicitly set out that none of the funding provided by the Department should be intended or used for political lobbying or campaigning purposes.

Advocacy work in support of the implementation of existing Government Tobacco Control policies and programmes of work is acceptable.

November 1, 2022
Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-05-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted of causing death by (a) careless and (b) dangerous driving in the last year for which figures are available; and what the average sentence was for each offence.

Jeremy Wright

Severe maximum penalties, of 14 years imprisonment, are available for those who cause death through dangerous driving or under the influence of drink or drugs and statistics show that the overwhelming majority of those convicted for these offences receive lengthy custodial sentences. The maximum penalty for causing death by careless driving is 5 years imprisonment and for causing death by disqualified, unlicensed or uninsured driving is two years imprisonment. We are keeping the law in this area under review. If any further changes are needed, we will bring forward proposals.

The Justice Secretary made an announcement on 6 May about our plans to strengthen the law in relation to disqualified drivers who cause death or serious injury; increasing the maximum sentence for causing death by disqualified driving to 10 years and introducing a new offence of causing serious injury by disqualified driving, with a maximum penalty of 4 years.

The number of offenders found guilty and sentenced to an immediate custody at all courts and the average custodial sentence length (months) for ‘careless’ and ‘dangerous’ driving in England and Wales from 2008 to 2012 (latest available data) can be viewed in the table.

Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.

November 1, 2022
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 the total expenditure was on Renewables Obligation support in 2013; and what proportion of such support was given to solar power.

Gregory Barker

Renewable Obligation (RO) expenditure is calculated on a financial year basis. Total expenditure in 2012/13 was £1,991m.

The proportion of this support given to solar in 2012/13 can be calculated by dividing the number of RO certificates (ROCs) redeemed by suppliers originating from solar generation (20,932) by the total number of ROCs redeemed by suppliers (44,773,499). This gives a figure of 0.05%.

Source:

RO expenditure published in Ofgem’s 2012/13 RO annual report, available at:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/renewables-obligation-ro-annual-report-2012-2013

2012-13 ROCs redeemed by technology available at:

https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportManager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=0 (Compliance certificates report).

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November 1, 2022
Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-05-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether senior managers in the Highways Agency will be able to enter into legal tax reduction schemes when the Agency is transformed into a government-owned company.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government intends to transform the Highways Agency into a government-owned company, as confirmed in the response to consultation published on 30^th April. In accordance with TUPE principles, we expect the pay and terms of employment of all staff to remain unchanged once transferred except for the necessary technical amendments to reflect the change to company status.

Staff management arrangements for the company following transition, including pay and reward, are still being worked through within government. We aim to establish appropriate conditions to allow the company to fulfil its functions efficiently and effectively, whilst keeping costs down for the taxpayer. This will reflect the Government’s pay policy, as well as support the delivery of a substantially increased investment programme.

There is no intention to encourage or create opportunities for legal tax reduction schemes as part of Highways Agency transformation.

November 1, 2022
Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2014-05-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the under occupancy penalty on households where children have been removed by children’s services on a temporary basis under child protection regulations.

Esther McVey

Children who have been temporarily taken into care under child protection regulations are not assessed as part of the household with regards to the size criteria in both the social and private rented sectors.

This means a bedroom will not be allocated for any children taken into protective care. However, a child can be treated as a member of the claimant’s household if they spend part of a benefit week in a claimant’s house and the local authority considers it reasonable to include them as part of that household.

Where people are temporarily under occupying, they can apply for additional help through Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) scheme for which we have provided funding of £345 million over the last 2 years. Guidance to Local Authorities on awarding a DHP covers circumstances where a child is temporarily away from home. Where appropriate, claimants could therefore apply for a DHP in child protection cases.

November 1, 2022
Julian Brazier – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Brazier on 2014-05-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with the General Medical Council about the pre-signing of abortion certificates since January 2012.

Jane Ellison

Departmental officials have met with the General Medical Council (GMC) on several occasions since February 2012 where abortion issues, including pre-signing of abortion HSA1 certificates, were discussed. In addition, I also met with the GMC recently to discuss abortion issues.

November 1, 2022