Tag: 2014

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2014, Official Report, column 471W, on Standardised Packaging for Tobacco Independent Review, if he will provide a further breakdown of each item of expenditure under each of the budget headings provided; if he will publish receipts for expenditure incurred; what the agreed budget was in advance of the Review; and what locations were travelled to as part of the Review.

    Jane Ellison

    A final breakdown of expenditure will be made public when complete on the Review’s webpage:

    www.kcl.ac.uk/health/packaging-review.aspx

    There was no agreed budget in advance of the Review but an estimate of £177,000 was made for planning purposes. Sir Cyril had control of his own budget, as outlined in the Terms of Reference, and expenditure was passed to the Department and approved in the normal way.

    Sir Cyril travelled to Australia in March 2014, and attended meetings in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne. Further details of those meetings are available on the Review’s webpage.

  • Liz Kendall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liz Kendall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the cost of the Competition Commission’s inquiry into the proposed merger between Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital Foundation Trust.

    Jenny Willott

    The Competition Commission’s cost for the inquiry into the proposed merger between Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital Foundation Trust was £710,000. This amount includes the cost of the staff on the inquiry amounting to £639,000 and direct costs of £71,000 (including survey costs).

  • Michael Meacher – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Michael Meacher – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Meacher on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants were sanctioned in each month since August 2013; and how many such claimants continued to sign on during the period for which they were sanctioned.

    Esther McVey

    We have interpreted the question to be for the number of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants who were sanctioned and this information is published and can be found at:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

    Guidance for users is available at:

    https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

    The information requested on how many JSA claimants continued to sign on during the period for which they were sanctioned is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    “

  • Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    The Department has no plans to bring forward such proposals.

  • Jamie Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jamie Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve the openness and transparency of the proceedings and accountability of Family Court decisions.

    Simon Hughes

    The Government recognises the need for greater openness in the family justice system. The challenge is to open the system up to greater scrutiny while protecting those involved especially the welfare of children. Last year, the President of the Family Division issued practice guidance in relation to committal of individuals found in contempt of court to ensure that these proceedings should be held in open court. In January this year, the President issued guidance aimed at increasing the number of judgments in family proceedings which are published. We are grateful to the President for his work in this area.

    The guidance is available at the following link:

    http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Guidance/transparency-in-the-family-courts-jan2014.pdf

    “

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to recognise the work undertaken by the Coleshill Auxiliaries during the Second World War.

    Anna Soubry

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 October 2013 (Official Report, column 414-415W).

    There are no plans to institute a specific award for those who were members of the Coleshill Auxilliers. The auxiliary units were listed as Home Guard units, and, as such, members who completed three years service in the United Kingdom qualify for the Defence Medal. In addition surviving members may apply for the Armed Forces Veterans Badge.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent estimate she has made of foreign direct investment in Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Northern Ireland remains one of the most successful regions in the UK for attracting foreign direct investment, attracting some 6% of inward FDI with around 3% of the UK population.

    The Northern Ireland Investment Conference, which the Prime Minister and I attended, held last year is continuing to bear fruit and I welcome the recent announcement that Convergys – with whose senior management the Prime Minister took time at the Conference to discuss the benefits of Northern Ireland as a cost-effective investment location – is setting up a customer service centre in Londonderry in collaboration with its client EE.

    This investment will bring 333 jobs to the city over the coming year and generate over £5million to the local economy annually.

    The recent announcements from Concentrix of its intention to reinvest in Northern Ireland and add a further 1,043 jobs to its existing work force of 800, and from EY (which also attended the Investment Conference) of a further investment leading to 486 more jobs, are welcome votes of confidence that Northern Ireland is an excellent place to invest and to grow a business.

    These two investments will inject some £38m in salaries into the Northern Ireland economy.

    It is particularly heartening that so many companies choose to reinvest after they have established a presence in Northern Ireland and seen for themselves the benefits it can offer as a cost competitive business environment together with its high quality and well educated workforce.

    The G8 Summit, which the PM brought to Co. Fermanagh in June 2013, also highlighted to the world the benefits of Northern Ireland as a place to visit and invest.

  • Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Elfyn Llwyd on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications of an increase in the need for court reports arising from his Transforming Rehabilitation agenda on the workload of court staff.

    Jeremy Wright

    We do not anticipate that Transforming Rehabilitation will have a substantial impact on the number of pre-sentence reports written. The National Probation Service (NPS) will continue to offer same-day reports where possible and to work closely with the Courts to minimise adjournments.

    By expanding post-release supervision for those sentenced to under 12-months, this cohort of offenders will now benefit from rehabilitative activity who were previously excluded, but this will not impact on pre-sentence Court activity.

    The new Risk of Serious Recidivism (RSR) tool will be used to inform the allocation of cases to new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) or the NPS and complements the pre-sentence report process. The RSR is straightforward to use and will support the identification of the likelihood of an offender committing serious re-offending in the future. We will ensure that CRCs work closely with the NPS so that cases are brought before the courts speedily and effectively.

  • Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of recipients of the Independent Living Fund (a) are in employment and (b) were in employment at the date of application.

    Mike Penning

    The information is not available in the format requested as the ILF does not record the employment status of its recipients.

  • Diane Abbott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Diane Abbott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to implement the recommendations of the Prison and Probation Ombudsman’s (PPO) report on Learning from PPO Investigations: Risk factors in self-inflicted deaths in prisons.

    Jeremy Wright

    We will carefully consider the Ombudsman’s recommendations made in the Learning Lessons Bulletin on Risk Factors in self-inflicted deaths in prison to identify further learning. I also refer the honourable member to the answer given to the Lord’s Oral Question on 6 February 2014 (Official report Col 36 ), announcing that the Government hasestablished an Independent Review into the self-inflicted deaths of 18-24 year olds in NOMS custody. The review is being led by Lord Harris of Haringey and will report by Spring 2015. NOMS takes the safety of prisoners very seriously and draws learning from individual death in custody reports from the PPO as quickly as possible.