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Tag: 2014

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

    Philip Hollobone – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2014, Official Report, columns 532-3W, on prisoners: foreign nationals, what the main features of the Early Removal Scheme are; how many foreign national offenders were deported under this scheme in each of the last five years; and what the main features are of the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme.

    Jeremy Wright

    Under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS), Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) who are going to be deported or removed by Immigration Enforcement can be removed from prison and the UK up to a maximum of 270 days before their normal release date. This enables their removal earlier than would otherwise be possible, but only after a minimum of half the requisite custodial period has been served in prison in the UK.

    The Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) enables FNOs with life or indeterminate sentences to be removed from the UK using a deportation order once they have completed their minimum tariff period set by the sentencing court. Since its introduction in May 2012, 240 prisoners have been removed under this mechanism (as of April 17th 2014).

    Those removed subject to a deportation order cannot legally return to the UK. If they do come back in breach of their deportation order this is a criminal offence. They would also be liable to immediate arrest and return to prison to complete the outstanding part of the sentence they would have served had they not been removed early.

    The numbers removed under ERS in each of the last four years are:

    Year

    ERS removals

    2010

    1741

    2011

    1672

    2012

    1974

    2013

    1968

    We are unable to provide data for the 2009 period. Since 2010 the Home Office have used one system to report on their data. This was not in place in 2009 therefore figures arising from this period may be inconsistent.

  • Jim Sheridan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Sheridan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Sheridan on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with employment agencies on the practice of blacklisting.

    Jenny Willott

    Blacklisting is an unacceptable and illegal practice and we take any allegations of blacklisting very seriously. I have not had any discussions on the practice of blacklisting with employment agencies. We have referred the allegations made about an international recruitment agency to the Information Commissioner’s Office which is looking into the matter.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what fines or penalties his Department has been required to pay HM Treasury (a) following the employment of staff through personal service companies and (b) for any other reason since May 2010.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Department had a sanction imposed by HM Treasury of £398,500 in March 2014. This took the form of a budget reduction rather than the payment of a fine or penalty.

    This related to the Chief Executive and Finance Director at Directly Operated Railways Ltd who were originally engaged off-payroll and brought onto the payroll more than six months after the guidance came into effect.

    There have been no other similar cases in the Department for Transport.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he last met the Scottish Government to discuss air passenger duty.

    Nicky Morgan

    Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of organisations as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.

  • Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many requests for reconsideration of an employment and support allowance decision have been submitted since mandatory reconsideration came into effect on 28 October 2013.

    Mike Penning

    While mandatory reconsideration data is being collected, it is not sufficiently robust and reliable to make available.

    The Department is looking into what can be published. The data will need to be validated in order to ensure that it satisfies the relevant standards.

  • David Lammy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Lammy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average length of time is taken by his Department to issue a Compulsory Purchase Order to a local authority.

    Nick Boles

    Since May 2012 (when the National Planning Casework Unit took responsibility for this area of work) the average length of time to make a decision on opposed planning Compulsory Purchase Orders is 10-11 weeks.

  • Jake Berry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jake Berry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time employment vacancies were advertised in Jobcentre Plus offices in (i) Rossendale and (ii) Darwen in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Esther McVey

    We do not advertise in jobcentres, all vacancies are now advertised on Universal Jobmatch System, which was introduced in November 2012. The system does not provide data at jobcentre level, as all vacancies notified to the system are available to all users.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to hold further D-Day commemorations.

    Anna Soubry

    Following the very successful commemorations to mark this year’s 70th anniversary of D Day we will be discussing with the Normandy Veterans Association how we might approach future commemorations once the Association disbands later this year. We are sure that veterans will continue to return annually as long as they are able and that particular plans will again be made as the 75th anniversary, another significant milestone, approaches.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-04-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that officials in the North Korean Workers’ Party who were associated with Jang Song-thaek have been sentenced to death; and what recent representations the United Kingdom Ambassador to North Korea has made to the authorities there about the use of capital punishment, torture and political prison camps.

    Baroness Warsi

    We are aware of media reports that 200 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) government officials believed to be close Jang Song-thaek, who was executed in December 2013, have been sentenced to death. Personnel changes within various organisations suggest the purge of those related to Jang Song-thaek is continuing. However, the lack of transparency means we are unable to confirm what has happened to those who have been removed from their positions. The UK is appalled but not unsurprised by reports of executions in DPRK. During meetings with DPRK authorities we regularly raise concerns about the horrific human rights situation. Our Ambassador in Pyongyang raised these concerns during a meeting with a Vice-Minister from the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January and we have raised them with other officials in March.

  • Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with Dominic Cummings since Mr Cummings left his Department; and what the purpose of those meetings was.

    Matthew Hancock

    Mr Cummings is an ex-employee of the Department for Education. It is not uncommon for ex-employees to be in contact with Ministers and the Department. As the Secretary of State for Education explained to the House on Monday 16 June, many people seek to visit and contact the Department for Education to exchange ideas with old friends and colleagues.