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Tag: 2014

  • Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne McIntosh on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether an 0300 telephone line is available for people wishing to make enquiries of UK Visas and Immigration.

    Karen Bradley

    UK Visas and Immigration offer the following numbers for members of the public
    wishing to make enquiries

    Number
    Service
    0300 123 2253
    European and Nationality related enquiries
    0300 123 2235
    Asylum Support Customers
    0300 123 2241
    General enquiries
    0300 123 4699
    Sponsor and employer helpline

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to which local authorities he has written about their compliance with the Publicity Code asking them to take steps to ensure complete compliance with that Code; and whether each of these letters was copied to the Leader of the Opposition of the local authority.

    Brandon Lewis

    [Holding Reply: Monday 7 April 2014]

    On 25 March, Departmental officials wrote to the Chief Executives of every principal local authority in England, advising how the Secretary of State is minded to exercise his powers to direct compliance with the Code of Recommended Practice on local Authority Publicity. On the same day, I wrote individually to the Leaders of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London Borough of Hackney, Newham Council, Nottingham City Council, Tower Hamlets Council and the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Without prejudicing any formal consideration by the Secretary of State, I observed that there were suggestions that those councils in particular might not be complying with the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity. I suggested that prior to the Secretary of State’s new powers for directing compliance with the Code on publicity coming on-stream at the end of March, they take steps to ensure that their council is in complete compliance with the provisions of the Code. Those letters were copied where applicable to the Leaders of the opposition in those authorities.

  • 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 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much former employees of probation trusts have received in severance pay since 1 January 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    Prior to 1 June, probation staff in England & Wales were employed by the 35 probation trusts. Employment data of the kind requested were held by the individual probations trusts. They were not collected centrally and it would not be possible to obtain the information without incurring disproportionate cost.

  • David Blunkett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Blunkett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Blunkett on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Written Statement of 27 March 2014, Official Report, columns 35-6WS, on primary and 16-to-19 assessment and accountability, what account will be taken of the progress made by children who have entered the school beyond the baseline reception assessment procedure, but who do not warrant exemption under the final two years prior to Key Stage 2 exams.

    Mr David Laws

    Schools will continue to be expected to assess all of their pupils upon entering school and track their progress. Ofsted will expect to see evidence that pupils are making appropriate progress, with inspections informed by the school’s data on pupil progress. Assessment at key stage 1 will remain a statutory requirement.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will revise its Key Success Measures, Target Performance for completeness of register from ‘completeness does not deteriorate’ to a policy of ‘increasing completion rates year on year’.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Commission’s key success measures are included in its Corporate Plan which is updated and presented to the Speaker’s Committee for approval on an annual basis. The next opportunity to update the Corporate Plan will be when the 2015-16 to 2019-20 plan is presented to the Speaker’s Committee in spring 2015 and the Commission will be reviewing the key success measures in preparation for this plan in autumn 2014.

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the water industry to discuss the cost of water bills.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Secretary of State discussed the cost of water bills when he met water industry representatives in July 2013. He emphasised the need to secure the best deal possible for customers while continuing to attract essential investment in the long-term resilience of the sector. He sent a follow up letter in November 2013.

    As the independent economic regulator for the water industry, Ofwat reviews water prices every five years. Securing a fair balance between the needs of water companies and their customers is central to Ofwat’s approach to the price review.

    Water companies have now submitted their business plans to Ofwat to inform the 2014 price review. The plans set out how they intend to meet their obligations to customers and the environment during the 2015 to 2020 period. Most water companies are proposing flat or declining bills from 2015.

    Water UK has also announced that most water companies will be holding bills below the rate of inflation in 2014/15, the final year of the price and investment package agreed in 2009.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish the business case for the universal credit programme.

    Esther McVey

    In line with standard practice, as the Universal Credit Business Case includes details of a sensitive nature the Department will not be putting the Business Case into the public domain.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the carbon emissions resulting from the production, transport and disposal or recycling of paper bags.

    Dan Rogerson

    The calculation of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from paper bags is available in the 2011 research report Life cycle assessment of supermarket carrier bags, which was commissioned and funded by the Environment Agency. This forms part of the evidence base for the Impact Assessment that will be available in due course. I have placed a copy of the report in the library of the House.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 176W, on work capability assessment, if he will make it his policy to set a target timescale for employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment work capability assessments in order to monitor and reduce the waiting times for those assessments.

    Mike Penning

    We are committed to completing Work Capability Assessments as quickly as possible so that eligible claimants receive the appropriate rate of benefit.

    However it is important to get assessments right rather than setting an artificial timescale for completion. We are working with the existing supplier to improve processing times and reduce waiting times. In addition, we are seeking a replacement supplier to undertake Work Capability Assessments.

    In the meantime we continue to rigorously monitor and manage the existing contract to ensure that both quality and performance are maintained as part of our drive to improve the quality of decision making and process claims more quickly.

  • Stephen Phillips – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Phillips – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to work with other EU member states to reduce the number of deaths of immigrants illegally coming to the EU via the sea.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government continues to have regular discussions with our EU partners in
    order to ensure that all Member States operate effective asylum and border
    management systems, including through cooperation with countries of origin and
    transit beyond the EU. This includes the UK’s participation in the EU’s Task
    Force Mediterranean, established following the Lampedusa tragedy last year to
    develop actions to prevent further deaths at sea.

    The Task Force involves Member States, the European Commission, the European
    External Action Service (EEAS) and key EU agencies (including Frontex, the
    European Asylum Support Office and Europol). It has developed a series of
    coherent actions, including cooperation with third countries and combating the
    organised criminals who facilitate many of these dangerous sea crossings.

    The Government strongly supports the Task Force proposal to develop information
    campaigns in countries of origin and transit as part of wider prevention
    efforts, and has shared our experience in this area with EU partners.