Tag: 2014

  • Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Luff on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what advantages he expects to accrue from the new bespoke trading fund status of the Defence Equipment and Support Organisation; and what new freedoms that organisation will have which were not previously available to it.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Copies of the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Corporate Plan and the Framework Document will be placed in the Library of the House in due course, and published on the gov.uk website and the Defence Intranet. The Corporate Plan sets out the DE&S strategic objectives and timelines for the next three years. The Framework Document includes the function and governance arrangements for the new DE&S, including the freedoms and benefits.

  • Lord Pannick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Pannick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pannick on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will be publishing a response to proposals from the European Court of Justice for new rules of procedure that would permit the General Court to take into account, in actions for annulment, confidential information that has not been shown to some of the parties to the proceedings.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Government issued an Explanatory Memorandum on the 25 May April in which it highlighted these proposals as a matter of particular interest. This is a complex and sensitive issue which Governments across the EU are very carefully considering. We are aware of parliamentary interest in this issue and will continue to update on developments. Under the Treaty on European Union national security remains the sole responsibility of each Member State.

    “

  • Nick Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nick Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many fires were reported at privately-owned waste management sites in the last two years.

    Dan Rogerson

    Environment Agency records show that there were a total of 595 incidents of fire reported at privately operated waste management sites in 2012 and 2013. This represents an average of one fire for every 18 privately operated sites.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the ethnic breakdown of workers earning between the National Minimum Wage and the Living Wage.

    Jenny Willott

    The Government supports a living wage and encourages businesses to pay it when it is affordable and not at the expense of jobs. However, decisions on what wages to set, above the national minimum wage, are for employers and workers.

    The Government has not estimated the breakdown of workers earning between the National Minimum Wage and the Living Wage by ethnicity.

    The Government’s main policy lever in addressing low pay is the National Minimum Wage (NMW). Using the Labour Force Survey, in 2013, 8.3% of the ‘ethnic minority’ group (see footnote) were in jobs that paid at or below the NMW while overall 7.8% of the jobs in the economy paid at or below the NMW. This is as set out in the Low Pay Commission’s 2014 Report, Figure 2.6.

    We are absolutely clear that anyone from whatever background who is entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it. HMRC investigates every complaint made through the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights Helpline. Since 1 October 2013, employers who fail to pay the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will be publicly named and shamed under revamped criteria announced in August 2013 to make it easier to clamp down on rogue businesses. This is on top of financial penalties which employers already face if they fail to pay NMW.

    Footnote:

    The definition of ‘ethnic-minority’ group is as defined in the Labour Force Survey (LFS)

    Also please note that the LFS overstates the number of Minimum Wage jobs and workers when compared to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) dataset.

  • Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Teather on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many immigration detainees left the UK through the assisted voluntary returns programmes in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    For the last five years, the numbers of detainees who have left the UK annually
    through AVR programmes are as follows:

    Year Detainees departing through AVR
    2009 585
    2010 824
    2011 848
    2012 1150
    2013 2081

    The figures provided are sourced from a Home Office management information
    system which is not quality assured under National Statistics protocols and is
    subject to change due to internal data quality checking. Figures provided from
    this source do not constitute part of National Statistics and should be treated
    as provisional.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what consideration his Department gives to the diversity policies and records of businesses or other organisations when considering their bid for commercial contracts or grants.

    Brandon Lewis

    This Government procures on the basis of value for money. Departments and the Crown Commercial Service will ensure that social, economic and sustainability issues are considered in procurement projects and that specifications, terms and conditions and evaluation criteria are developed to ensure that the relevant issues are addressed as appropriate for the subject matter of the requirements.

    As outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement of 6 September 2013, Official Report, Column 33WS, on the Government response to the public sector equality duty review, there is clear evidence of equality and diversity policies going too far in the other direction, by imposing unreasonable and expensive burdens on organisations bidding for public sector contracts. The Government has committed to reducing procurement gold-plating by the public sector.

  • Helen Goodman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Helen Goodman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what cultural events have been organised in prison libraries in the last year.

    Jeremy Wright

    Prison library providers ensure that the range of reading and reference material available in each library reflects the needs and diverse nature of the prisoners held.

    Prisons holding a high proportion of foreign national prisoners who are speakers of other languages offer a range of relevant texts within their libraries.

    Alternatively, Prisoners can order newspapers for personal use. Prisoners cover the cost of any newspaper they personally order, Newspapers based on the needs of the population, will be available for general use in the library.

    Prison libraries will facilitate a range of cultural activities such as reading and creative writing groups, special interest clubs, outreach work to families as well as exhibiting art, hosting writers, artists and speakers on subjects of interest. Additional support may be brought in from local community groups and charities.

    Information about what particular foreign language and Welsh books are held within each prison library, which newspapers are stocked, and what cultural events have been organised, is not collected centrally and could only be obtained through local enquiries at each prison. This would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in (a) Washington and Sunderland West constituency, (b) the Sunderland local authority area and (c) the North East region are receiving less overall funding in 2013-14 than they did in 2010-11.

    Mr David Laws

    Because of the significant changes in the school funding system between financial years 2010-11 and 2013-14, it is not possible to provide meaningfully-comparable data on funding to individual schools in the two years. In addition, the amount of funding a school receives will change from year to year depending on the number of pupils registered at the school as well as the schools funding formula determined by the local authority, the arrangements for which were reformed in 2013-14 to comprise 12 nationally-consistent factors.

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the highest number of hours spent on temporary release in a week by a prisoner was in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Jeremy Wright

    Prisoners may be released on temporary licence for reasons linked to their resettlement needs and sentence plans, or where there are compelling circumstances that justify the release. Last month, we announced a range of measures to strengthen the existing temporary release provisions to ensure that the right balance is always struck between facilitating resettlement and protecting the public. Under our plans, public protection will always take priority.

    Data on the number of hours for which prisoners are released on temporary licence is not collated centrally.

    Data on temporary releases in 2012 is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statistical-notice-releases-on-temporary-licence-2012

    “

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of staff within his Department who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Detailed information which specifically identifies dismissals following formal disciplinary proceedings is not held for this full period. The Department publishes workforce information on the .GOV website, which includes figures for staff that have left the Department.

    From 1 April 2013 changes have been made to how leaving reasons are recorded on the internal Human Resources System. For the financial year 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 14% of staff who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings were white British and for a further 14% ethnic origin is not recorded on the internal HR system as declaration of ethnicity is voluntary for staff.