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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2014-04-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stowell of Beeston on 13 March (WA 404), what stipulations, if any, they have placed upon (1) Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, (2) the North East Leadership Board, (3) Sheffield City Region Combined Authority, and (4) West Yorkshire Combined Authority in terms of (a) the membership of those bodies, (b) remuneration for their members, and (c) how meetings will be (i) chaired, and (ii) recorded.
Baroness Stowell of Beeston
The Orders establishing each Combined Authority specify the membership of the body; and require the election of a chairman and vice-chairman at the first meeting of the Combined Authority and thereafter at its annual meeting. Each member has one vote and there is no casting vote. The Orders also make provision that no remuneration is to be payable to members except for allowances for travel and subsistence in accordance with a scheme drawn up by the Combined Authority. All of the councils concerned consented to these provisions, which were based on proposals originally made by the councils.
The statutory provisions for the conduct of council meetings apply equally to the conduct of meetings of a Combined Authority, including provisions about the taking and publication of inutes. The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency applies to combined authorities and the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014, if approved by Parliament, will also apply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any phyto-sanitary and plant-disease expertise from the UK has been involved in helping to address the shortcomings identified by the EU Commissioner necessitating the recent ban on importation of mangoes from India.
Dan Rogerson
Defra’s Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) has offered to deliver a technical training programme for Indian Plant Health Inspectors to help address some of the issues raised in the previous European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) audits of the Indian plant health export certification systems. A Plant Health and Seeds Inspector from Fera will be also be assisting the FVO when it undertakes its audit visit to India in September.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with cities outside London on interoperability of smart tickets between rail and bus services; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Hammond
The Department for Transport is working closely with nine major cities and regions outside London to establish how plans to accelerate smart ticketing on bus and rail can be achieved. The initiative known as the ‘Smart Cities Partnership’ and funded by the Department brings together the authorities concerned, the operators and the policy makers to address some of the technical and commercial challenges.
This programme will pave the way for other cities and authorities with similar ambitions to have smart interoperable ticket offers to passengers. It will also build upon the South East Flexible Ticketing programme which the Department is leading on which will see rail stations suitably equipped for smart ticketing, and more flexible smart ticket products on offer which are better suited to meet modern working and leisure patterns.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average ambulance response time for each category of call was in Bolton in each year since 2010.
Jane Ellison
The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is shown in the following table.
The median response times to treatment for category A1 calls in the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust2, April 20113 to April 2014
|
Month |
Median time (in minutes) |
|
April 2011 |
4.2 |
|
May 2011 |
5.0 |
|
June 2011 |
5.2 |
|
July 2011 |
5.0 |
|
August 2011 |
4.7 |
|
September 2011 |
4.8 |
|
October 2011 |
4.9 |
|
November 2011 |
4.9 |
|
December 2011 |
5.0 |
|
January 2012 |
4.8 |
|
February 2012 |
5.1 |
|
March 2012 |
5.0 |
|
April 2012 |
5.6 |
|
May 2012 |
5.7 |
|
June 2012 |
5.1 |
|
July 2012 |
5.1 |
|
August 2012 |
5.2 |
|
September 2012 |
5.3 |
|
October 2012 |
5.4 |
|
November 2012 |
5.4 |
|
December 2012 |
5.7 |
|
January 2013 |
5.5 |
|
February 2013 |
5.6 |
|
March 2013 |
5.6 |
|
April 2013 |
5.8 |
|
May 2013 |
5.4 |
|
June 2013 |
5.5 |
|
July 2013 |
5.8 |
|
August 2013 |
5.7 |
|
September 2013 |
6.1 |
|
October 2013 |
6.0 |
|
November 2013 |
6.1 |
|
December 2013 |
6.1 |
|
January 2014 |
5.8 |
|
February 2014 |
6.1 |
|
March 2014 |
6.1 |
|
April 2014 |
6.1 |
Source: Ambulance quality indicators, NHS England
Notes:
1Category A calls are defined as those that are the result of immediately life threatening incidents.
2North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust provides services to the Bolton area. Ambulance response times are not readily available for areas smaller than those covered by one Ambulance Trust.
3Information is not available before April 2011.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Preston constituency are subject to sanction of their (a) employment and support allowance and (b) jobseeker’s allowance.
Esther McVey
Statistics on the number of Jobseeker’s Allowance benefit, and Employment and Support Allowance claimants in the Preston parliamentary constituency who have been sanctioned, from April 2000, the earliest data we have, up to September 2013 which is the latest data available, are 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
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