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Tag: 2014

  • Paul Maynard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Paul Maynard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Maynard on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which organisations have received how much funding from his Department aimed at supporting access to short breaks and respite provision for children, young people and their families experiencing all types of disadvantage in each of the last five financial years.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education does not directly fund organisations to deliver short breaks and respite services for disadvantaged children, young people and their families; this is done at the local authority level.

    In the case of disabled children and young people however, the Department for Education has made available to local authorities £800 million to invest in short breaks services between April 2011 and March 2015, through unringfenced grants. In 2011-12 and 2012-13, an additional £40 million of capital funding per annum was made available to local authorities to invest in short breaks equipment and infrastructure, also in unringfenced grants. It has been for local authorities to decide how to use this funding to provide the short breaks provision for disabled children that is needed locally and to support access to it.

    While the Department does not directly fund providers of short breaks for disabled children, it has funded a number of organisations over the last five financial years to help increase access to such provision and to improve its quality.

    A table setting out details of the fnding has been placed in the House Library.

  • 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 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 763W, on open prisons, what offences were committed by each of the offenders in prison for violence against the person.

    Jeremy Wright

    Open prisons have been used since 1936, because they are the most effective means of ensuring that prisoners are suitably risk-assessed before they are released into the community under appropriate licence conditions. These prisons also provide effective supervision for prisoners who do not require the security conditions of the closed estate, because they have been assessed as having a low risk of harm to the public and a low risk of absconding by the independent Parole Board and/or NOMS.

    Indeterminate sentence prisoners located in open conditions have been rigorously risk assessed and categorised as being of a low enough risk to the public to warrant their placement in an open prison. They will have previously spent time in prisons with higher levels of security, before being transferred to open conditions if recommended by the Parole Board – or directed through NOMS. Time spent in open prisons affords prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties, reintegrate into the community and ensure housing needs are met. For many prisoners, in particular those, such as Indeterminate Sentence Prisoners who have spent a considerable amount of time in custody; these are essential components for successful reintegration in the community and therefore an important factor in protecting the public. To release these prisoners directly from a closed prison without the resettlement benefits of the open estate would undoubtedly lead to higher levels of post-release re-offending.

    The requested information is provided in the table below.

    These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many away days his Department held in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14; and (i) what cost was incurred and (ii) who was in attendance at each such day.

    Mr Francis Maude

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to answer Question 196308, tabled on 10 April 2014 for answer on 28 April 2014.

    Stephen Williams

    [Holding Reply: Monday 12 May 2014]

    Question 196308 has been answered today.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether data on the provision of discretionary housing payments by local authorities are collected centrally.

    Lord Freud

    The Department asks local authorities to provide data on their use of Discretionary Housing Payments on a twice yearly basis. Information regarding April to September 2013 can be found at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/268411/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-dec13.pdf

    The Department is currently gathering and quality assuring information regarding end of year spend from local authorities for 2013/14

    “

  • Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they provide to schools, colleges and universities about taking into account the additional difficulties that neurofibromatosis sufferers encounter with examinations.

    Lord Nash

    Guidance given to schools and colleges is a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation and I have asked its Chief Regulator Glenys Stacey to write directly to Lord Bassam of Brighton. A copy of her reply will be placed in the Lords Library.

    Equality Challenge Unit provides advice for higher education institutions on a range of matters, including reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities. More information is available at www.ecu.ac.uk.

    “

  • Lord Barnett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Barnett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Barnett on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 9 April (WA 302), what is the amount of student loan debt still available for sale, including the first tranche referred to.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The total amount of pre-2012 income contingent repayment student loan debt that Government intends to sell has not yet been determined. However, over a five year period, as announced at Autumn Statement 2013, sales are expected to generate between £10 billion and £15 billion in revenues, with a central estimate of around £12 billion.

  • Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will assess the potential merits of introducing an automatic trigger for inspections of individual public services when a certain number of people using that service have made complaints about it.

    Mr Francis Maude

    The Government is considering recent reports of the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) into how complaints about public services are handled. As part of this, the Cabinet Office is working to investigate further how public services can make best use of complaints and also to take a wider look at the role and powers of the Public Sector Ombudsmen. The Government will respond to the PASC in due course. I am happy to discuss this matter further with my Hon. Friend.

    The annual reports and accounts of the public service ombudsmen in the UK provide details of their performance over the past 12 months including information about complaints received.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will review the export of refuse-derived fuel and solid recovered fuel for use in energy from waste plants overseas; and if he will make a statement.

    Dan Rogerson

    We published a call for evidence on the refuse-derived fuel market in England on 12 March. This included a request for evidence on the effect that exports of refuse-derived fuel had on its availability on the domestic market. The call for evidence closed on 9 May. We are currently analysing the evidence submitted, which will aid our understanding of the situation, help us to determine whether there is a need for some form of intervention and, if so, help us to develop policy options.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Capita will incur penalties for delays in carrying out personal independence payments assessments.

    Mike Penning

    1)The information is commercial in confidence.

    2) The Department regularly meets with both Assessment Providers to discuss performance. Failure to meet contractual obligations will result in the Department applying service credits (financial remedies) in line with the contract.