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Tag: 2014

  • Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Ainsworth on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) unilateral, (b) bilateral and (c) multilateral projects her Department is sponsoring in Kashmir.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    UK aid to Kashmir is largely delivered through national programmes in Pakistan and India which the UK helps fund. This includes support to promote economic growth, improve maternal and new born health and increase access to education. The tri-departmental Conflict Pool also funds joint programmes in Kashmir, supporting conflict prevention and peace building.

    It is not possible to disaggregate our multilateral support to Kashmir.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-03-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Rhondda of 27 March 2014, Official Report, column 347W, on housing benefit: social rented sector, if he will commission a one year evaluation of the effects of the under-occupancy penalty.

    Esther McVey

    We have already commissioned a two year evaluation of the effects of the removal of the spare room subsidy across Great Britain. The evaluation commenced in April 2013 and is being led by Ipsos-MORI and includes the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research. The final report will be published in late 2015.

  • Peter Bone – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Peter Bone – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will re-open HMP Wellingborough to increase prison capacity.

    Jeremy Wright

    As this Government has made previously clear, we will not take any steps to dispose of the mothballed HM Prison Wellingborough because it is sensible measure to retain reserve capacity. I have no immediate plans to change that status.

    My office will be in touch to arrange a meeting to further discuss this matter further.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ben Bradshaw – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2014-03-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information (a) his Department and (b) HM Tribunals Service hold on the socio-economic status of people (i) prosecuted and convicted for television licence evasion and (ii) imprisoned for non-payment of a fine for television licence evasion.

    Jeremy Wright

    No published information is available. The information in the table is taken from a live case management system. As such, it is subject to change and is not checked to the level of Official Statistics. No information is available in respect of socio-economic status of those prosecuted or convicted or imprisoned for non-payment of a fine in respect of television licence evasion. The Government has said that it will examine whether television licence evasion should be decriminalised.

  • Lady Hermon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lady Hermon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to support the progress of the First World War legacy project in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The Northern Ireland Office sits on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Programme Board for First World War Centenary Commemorations and plays a coordination role in ensuring the Government’s programme for the First World War commemorations is implemented in Northern Ireland in a manner that promotes reconciliation and enhances prospects for a peaceful, shared future. This includes plans to implement the Government’s commemorative paving stones project in the hometowns of Victoria Cross recipients.

    I am working closely with the Irish Government to participate in a series of joint commemoration events for the centenary of the First World War, and the wider decade of centenaries.

    My officials also provide support for local centenary commemoration plans by sitting on, and working closely with, the Northern Ireland First World War Centenary Committee chaired by the Rt hon Jeffrey Donaldson MP. I receive regular updates on this work and lend it my full support.

  • Fiona Mactaggart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Fiona Mactaggart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Mactaggart on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made made of the accuracy of the ONS index of rental prices; and what recent assessment he has of the changes in the cost of private renting in Slough since 2010.

    Kris Hopkins

    The Office for National Statistics responded quickly to the need for better data by developing the quarterly Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, first published in June 2013 and dating back to January 2005 for England.

    Currently the Office for National Statistics is consulting users of the index to identify improvements. The index is produced with a robust methodology, which is published and is based on extensive administrative data on rental values including both on-going and newly agreed tenancy agreements. Once the methodology is further tested and assessed, and the publication meets user needs, the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices will be assessed against the Code of Practice to achieve National Statistic status.

    The index is available for Great Britain and its constituent countries; however it is not available at local authority district level. According to most recent figures the average cost of privately renting housing in England increased by 1.0 per cent in the 12 months to December 2013 – a fall in real terms.

  • Andy McDonald – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andy McDonald – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to ensure that asylum seekers receive the benefits to which they are entitled.

    Esther McVey

    Asylum seekers are normally excluded from claiming most benefits.

    Those who cannot claim benefits receive support provided by Asylum Support, a part of the Home Office that deals with accommodating and supporting asylum seekers and their dependants.

  • Ms Harriet Harman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ms Harriet Harman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Harriet Harman on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the three most popular instruments are for primary school children in England who are learning an instrument in school.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The information requested is not held by the Department for Education. A recent report[1] published by Arts Council England shows that in the academic year 2012/13, 437,975 pupils in years 1-9 received free whole class ensemble teaching. This is 8.6% of the national cohort. 430,998 pupils were in years 1-6 (12.4% of the cohort) and 6,977 were in years 7-9 (0.4% of the cohort).

    Many other children learn instruments in and out of school, but these figures are not collected or held centrally.

    [1]http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/apply-funding/funding-programmes/music-education-hubs/

    “

  • Peter Bottomley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Peter Bottomley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bottomley on 2014-06-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the expected increase in the fees and levies on regulated consumer credit firms that will go towards the funding of the Money Advice Service and Financial Ombudsman Service in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017 under the new Financial Conduct Authority regulated fees and levies regime.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consumer credit regulatory regime is far better resourced and has wider objectives than the previous Office of Fair Trading (OFT) regime. The FCA is an independent, non-governmental body, and it is entirely funded by the fees it charges on the financial services industry. As a result, specific questions around fees are a matter for the FCA.

    The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is funded by a combination of industry levy and case fees. The FOS is an independent, non-Governmental body and questions about its funding are a matter for the FOS or, as the case may be, the FCA (who approve the FOS budget and fee rules). The FOS budget is proposed by FOS annually and approved by the FCA.

    The Money Advice Service’s (MAS) budget is proposed by MAS annually, based on demand for money and debt advice, and approved by the FCA. Consumer credit firms will pay the MAS levy once authorised by the FCA. The FCA has approved MAS’s 2014/15 budget, but MAS’s budget for future years has not yet been determined.

  • Joan Walley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Joan Walley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Walley on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will establish shale gas extraction exclusion zones in sensitive areas for wildlife and water resources.

    Dan Rogerson

    Each application for shale gas exploration and extraction will be assessed on its merits and operators will require planning permission from the local minerals planning authority. The Environment Agency will object to shale gas extraction infrastructure or activity within a Source Protection Zone (SPZ) 1 (i.e. drinking water protected zone). Outside SPZ1, the Agency will also object when the activity would have an unacceptable effect on groundwater based on a site specific assessment.

    In England, an environmental impact assessment is required if a particular development is located wholly or partly in a ‘sensitive area’.

    Planning authorities assess each application on a case by case basis. There is a general presumption against approving a permit in such areas.