Tag: 2014

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-06-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will answer the question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 10 June (HL Deb, col 236), and on 11 June (HL Deb, col 418), about whether asylum in the United Kingdom will be offered to Meriam Ibrahim, who has been imprisoned and given a death sentence in Sudan.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The UK has a proud record of offering sanctuary to those who need it. Each claim for asylum is carefully considered and where we find individuals are in need of our protection, asylum is given. However, to be eligible for international protection, a person must be located outside of their country of origin.

  • Teresa Pearce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Teresa Pearce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what research has been undertaken on the prospects of former Remploy factory workers who were made redundant in (a) 2007-08 and (b) phases 1 and 2 of the 2012-13 factory closures.

    Mike Penning

    The Department is not able to assess the prospects of former Remploy factory workers made redundant as part of the 2008 modernisation plan as this plan agreed by the previous Government did not include tracking processes.

    Before implementing the Sayce recommendations, the Government considered the lessons from implementation of the modernisation plan changes. This is why it introduced the £8 million guaranteed People Help and Support Package (PHSP) providing help for up to 18 months to disabled former Remploy workers and is tracking the support that this is providing. As at 21 March 2014, 1,513 disabled former Remploy workers are choosing to work with our Personal Case Workers to find another job and 716 are in work.

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness King of Bow – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2014-06-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much Discretionary Housing Payment funding made available to local authorities in 2013–14 was unspent and returned to the Department for Work and Pensions at the end of the year.

    Lord Freud

    The information requested is due to be published shortly as part of wider analysis on the use of Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) in 2013/14.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish a report on the implementation of the Department’s anaerobic digestion strategy and action plan for 2013-14.

    Dan Rogerson

    We intend to publish a further report on implementation of the Anaerobic Digestion Strategy and Action Plan later this year.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much has been paid out by his Department in statutory entitlements following the collapse of Comet; how many people have been compensated to date; and what estimate he has made of the total cost to the Exchequer of meeting all arising liabilities in this case.

    Jenny Willott

    The Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Services have paid out a total of £18,482,220 in statutory entitlements to 4,838 former employees of Comet Group Plc.

    It is not possible at present to estimate the total cost to the Exchequer of meeting all statutory entitlements. Further payments will depend on the findings of the Employment Tribunal regarding the employees covered by the protective award judgment of the 11th June 2014. Consideration of this matter is scheduled for 17th July 2014. There are also outstanding Tribunal applications in respect of statutory payments other than protective awards which are still to be determined.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s most recent assessment is of the likelihood of President Assad complying with the agreed Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons timetable for the removal and destruction of Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons.

    Mr William Hague

    Good early progress was made toward putting both Syria’s chemical weapons manufacturing facilities and the weapons themselves beyond use. However, the programme has fallen behind schedule and the regime has missed a number of interim deadlines, including the 31 December target for the removal of priority I chemicals, and the 5 February deadline for the removal of priority II material. It is the regime’s responsibility to comply with the timetable set out by the UN-Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

    The UN Secretary General, the OPCW Director General and the coordinator of the OPCW-UN joint mission have assessed that Syria has all the equipment it needs to ensure the expeditious removal of the chemicals concerned. To date, approximately 54 percent of the declared chemical stockpile has been removed from Syria. The regime must significantly accelerate the movement of the chemicals to port to enable their removal if the 30 June deadline for the elimination of the chemicals is to be achieved.

  • Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    Details of Ministers’ visits overseas are published quarterly and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-meetings-and-hospitality-data-october-to-december-2013

  • Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many employment tribunals in Scotland have been processed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service in each year since 2010.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Government is committed to working across the employment law (including the employment dispute resolution) system to help to make it easier for companies to hire and manage staff, while protecting workers’ rights. This encourages employers to create new jobs, supporting enterprise and growth.

    Workload before the employment tribunals is affected by several factors, including underlying economic performance trends, the impacts of reforms of employment legislation and tribunals process, and the number of collective disputes (for example involving insolvencies, and equal pay complaints) that lead to large-scale multiple claims.

    The number of claims accepted by employment tribunals and processed by HMCTS in each calendar year, since 2010, is set out in the table below.

    Employment tribunal claims accepted in Scotland for Calendar years 2010 to 2013, inclusive

    Calendar Year

    No. Claims Accepted

    2010

    18,795

    2011

    16,670

    2012

    12,533

    2013

    7,506

    Source: ET Database

  • Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department in the last parliamentary Session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled.

    Anna Soubry

    One question tabled to the Ministry of Defence in the last Parliamentary session did not receive a substantive reply by the time of the 2014 prorogation.

    The tabling date for this question was 14 March 2014.

  • Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the Government’s progress in encouraging exports to emerging markets; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    UK exports of goods and services to Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICs) reached £34.9 billion in 2013, their highest level since records began in 1999. In the Budget, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Chancellor highlighted rising exports, with combined goods exports to Brazil, India and China rising faster than those of the UK’s competitors (France, Germany, Italy) in 2013, but said there was more to do.

    UK Trade & Investment’s Britain Open for Business: The Next Phase (January 2014) underlined that: ‘To deliver our ambitious trade and investment targets we are continuing vigorously to pursue opportunities in developed markets while strengthening our efforts in high growth markets’. The Chancellor has given UKTI additional funding to strengthen its support for high growth markets.

    Additionally, UK Export Finance (UKEF) is devoting additional resources to supporting High Value Opportunities. UKEF also has cover available for over 200 overseas markets and is increasing its product range to provide more effective support to Mid-Size Businesses (MSBs) and smaller companies.