The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many senior members of each branch of the armed forces missed a promotion following the receipt of a police caution in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013; and if he will make a statement.
Anna Soubry
None. Administrative action is no longer taken against Service personnel who receive a police caution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which jobcentres (a) do and (b) do not have wifi access for jobseekers to use.
Esther McVey
The Digital Jobcentres project will modernise the Jobcentre digital infrastructure by delivering WiFi and Web Access Devices (WADs) across the Jobcentre network. From now until the end of October, we will be installing WiFi and new Web Access Devices (WADs) across the Jobcentre network.
The following 39 Jobcentres already have WiFi available for jobseekers to use:
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By the end of October 2014, the remaining offices in the Jobcentre network will have WiFi installed and available for jobseekers to use.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the additional financial contributions made by parents to top up care for children with statements of special educational need.
Mr Edward Timpson
The Department for Education has not made such an estimate. Where a child has a statement of special educational needs (SEN), it should detail the provision that the child requires to meet their SEN. The local authority has a duty to ensure that the provision set out in the statement is made.
Where a parent feels that the provision specified in a statement is no longer sufficient, they can request a reassessment. They can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Special Educational Needs and Disability against any decision not to re-assess, or if they do not agree with the provision set out in the resulting statement.
The Children Act 2014 makes provision for education, health and care plans (EHC plans) to replace statements. EHC plans will cover the full range of the child’s needs. They will be subject to the same protections and rights of appeal as statements. In addition there will be a new duty on health commissioners to arrange health provision set out in the EHC plan.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Ben Bradshaw on Justice.
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Simon Hughes
There has been a significant decrease in referrals to publicly funded family mediation since April 2013 when the legal aid reforms were implemented. This is in part due to fewer people visiting solicitors who previously would have directed clients to mediation.
Before April 2013, attendance at a Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM) was a pre-requisite for legal representation for people eligible to obtain public funding. We introduced a statutory MIAM in April 2014 as part of the Children and Families Act. This placed a legal obligation on an applicant to attend a MIAM for the purpose of considering mediation, before being permitted to issue court proceedings in certain private family law matters (children and financial disputes).
Legal aid remains available for mediation (and for legal help with mediation) for those who meet the eligibility criteria. We are keen to encourage mediation as an alternative to court both for those eligible for public funding and for privately funded cases.
We are aware that a small number of mediation services have closed or are in difficulty. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is constantly monitoring the situation to make sure there is sufficient provision for client access to mediation services. While a decline in demand is a contributory factor in mediation service closures, another significant factor is poor and unsustainable business models. There is some evidence that a number of the mediation services which have closed following legal aid reforms were vulnerable to closure before the reforms took effect.
I have convened a Family Mediation Task Force, chaired by David Norgrove, which has considered many of the issues raised by the Member of Parliament for Exeter, including how to reverse the fall in referrals and engage the second party in the mediation process, and incentivising mediators and lawyers to work in partnership to support clients through the resolution of their dispute in compliance with the new legislation. A number of short-term financial options have been considered as well as the long term view for the future of dispute resolution services.
The Taskforce report will be published imminently. The Government will respond to the report in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Maynard on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Administration Court decision in the case CO/6036/2013, Halite Energy Group Limited v The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
Michael Fallon
Following the decision of the High Court , Halite Energy Group Limited v The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State will now re-determine the application by Halite Energy Group Limited for development consent for the proposed underground gas storage facility including associated development in Preesall, Lancashire. He is currently seeking further information in writing from interested parties in accordance with the Infrastructure Planning (Examination Procedure) Rules 2010 to enable him to do that.
The Secretary of State is considering any potential wider implications of the decision, in consultation with the Planning Inspectorate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Helen Jones on Treasury.
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Mr David Gauke
The latest information on the number of families receiving Child Benefit, by each parliamentary constituency, local authority and region is available in the HMRC snapshot publication “Child Benefit Statistics Geographical Analysis. August 2013”. This can be found at:
Table 6 has this information by Parliamentary Constituency.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what date the Government plans to send and publish its reply to the European Commission letter of formal notice of persistent air pollution problems sent on 20 February 2014.
Dan Rogerson
The deadline for a response to the European Commission is 21 April. Correspondence between the Commission and Member States in infringement proceedings is confidential. We do not, therefore, intend to publish the UK’s response.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for William Bain on Cabinet Office.
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Mr Nick Hurd
This Government has transformed central government procurement to make it more accessible to small and medium sized businesses. We are in the process of implementing Lord Young’s recommendations to create an SME-friendly ‘single market’ in wider public procurement, and we will go even further through reforms in the forthcoming Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to assist in the return of occupied Ukranian government buildings to the Ukranian government.
Mr David Lidington
The occupation by armed groups of government buildings in towns in eastern Ukraine is a further dangerous escalation of an already dangerous situation. On 14 April the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) made a statement condemning these acts and said that it was important that the EU gave a clear, strong and united response. He also called on Russia to repudiate these lawless acts.
On 17 April, the Foreign Secretary welcomed the commitments made in talks between the EU, US, Ukraine and Russia in Geneva; that all illegally armed groups must be disarmed, all illegally seized buildings must be returned to legitimate owners, and all illegally occupied streets, squares and other public places in Ukrainian cities and towns must be vacated. He said that rapid implementation was essential. On 23 April, he spoke about this issue with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, urging Russia to take steps to fulfil the Geneva Statement and to de-escalate the situation in eastern and southern Ukraine, including making a clear public statement calling for illegally armed groups in eastern Ukraine to disarm and vacate occupied buildings. He also invited Russian diplomats to join efforts by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Monitoring Mission in the eastern Ukraine.
The British Government will continue to work closely in support of the government in Ukraine, and encourage Ukraine’s political leaders to continue to respond to events calmly and with determination, in order to harness the united efforts of all Ukrainians to work together for a successful future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by FALSE on Energy and Climate Change.
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Baroness Verma
We are on track to introduce enabling regulations to have the OLR mechanism in place ahead of the first CfD allocation in Autumn 2014. This will include a final version of the Backstop Power Purchase Agreement (BPPA) contract terms that generators will be entitled to. Generators will therefore have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements well in advance of the first auctions. We are shortly publishing a draft version of the BPPA contract terms this week to give generators further clarity on the terms they can expect.
Whilst the OLR will be in place, generators will not be able to access a Backstop PPA contract immediately, with BPPA contracts being available from April 2016 at the very latest. In light of the time taken to commission projects and the likelihood that a PPA falls away and cannot be replaced, the period between the legislation being in place and the first BPPA contract being available is unlikely to have significant impacts in practice. This process has been tested with stakeholders, including the Offtaker of Last Resort Advisory Group, and we continue to work with Ofgem to bring forward the date when the first BPPA contracts can be awarded.