Tag: 2014

  • 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 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much grant-in-aid his Department has provided to Tell MAMA since May 2010; and what further funding he expects to provide.

    Stephen Williams

    TELL MAMA is the first service to record and monitor anti-Muslim hatred incidents and support victims. DCLG provided initial start-up grant funding to TELL MAMA of £395,500 between January 2012 and September 2013. TELL MAMA has subsequently received Big Lottery funding of £255,450 over two years from October 2013.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many former employees of probation trusts received payouts of (a) up to £5,000, (b) up to £10,0000, (c) up to £15,000, (d) up to £20,000, (e) up to £30,000, (f) up to £40,000, (g) up to £50,000, (h) up to £75,000, (i) up to £100,000 or (j) £100,000 or more since 1 January 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    Prior to 1 June, probation staff in England & Wales were employed by the 35 probation trusts. Employment data of the kind requested were held by the individual probations trusts. They were not collected centrally and it would not be possible to obtain the information without incurring disproportionate cost.

  • Derek Twigg – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Derek Twigg – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department spend was in total in 2013-14 on defence procurement; and what proportion of that total was spent in the (a) UK, (b) EU and (c) rest of the world.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Information on spending on defence procurement in financial year 2013-14 will be available once the audit of defence expenditure in that year has been completed; we are due to report our 2013-14 financial performance in our Annual Report and Accounts before the House rises for the summer recess. Information for April to September 2013 was published in the Ministry of Defence (MOD)’s Mid Year Report on 24 January 2014, available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-mid-year-progress-report

    The MOD does not routinely record information on the geographic location of its supply chain.

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  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent assessment the Electoral Commission has made of (a) its successes and (b) failures over the last five years.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Commission continuously assesses its work and publishes an annual assessment of progress within its annual report and accounts. The Commission’s annual reports and accounts, together with its corporate plans are laid before Parliament each year by Mr Speaker and are available on its website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/publications/corporate-publications

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  • Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Greatrex on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff of the Environment Agency are engaged in regulation of hydraulic fracturing and unconventional gas.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Environment Agency has set up a team of ten national officers working full time to develop the regulatory regime for oil and gas activities. This work covers conventional and unconventional oil and gas activities.

    This team is supported by additional technical resource from elsewhere in the organisation. The workload fluctuates and these specialists are not solely dedicated to regulating and permitting unconventional activities. It is therefore not possible to give an exact answer, but the Environment Agency estimate that approximately a further 40 staff are currently involved in this work across England.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consideration he has given to reclassifying the A5 from Shrewsbury to the M54 so that the M54 runs to Shrewsbury.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Following the meeting with my honourable Friend last year, I asked the Highways Agency to look into the case for and against reclassifying the A5 between the M54 and Shrewsbury as a motorway. The Agency has indicated that work to quantify costs associated with such a reclassification is almost complete but that identifying and evaluating the resulting benefits is proving more problematic. Further assessment will be necessary before a robust cost/benefit analysis can be completed. I have asked the Agency to liaise with my honourable Friend as this matter progresses.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) the Environment Agency has made on the potential for flood risk at UK fracking sites; and if he will make a statement.

    Dan Rogerson

    For surface installations required for borehole construction and hydraulic fracturing, the Environment Agency is a statutory adviser in the planning process. Where appropriate, it will require flood risk assessments. It may object to developments if flood risk is unacceptable or require conditions on how the site is constructed and operated to mitigate flood risk, through flood consents.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in his Department have been asked to assist G4S in the delivery of the new Child Maintenance Options scheme to date; how many more staff G4S estimates will be needed to administer this contract when peak levels of applications are reached; and how much in staffing costs his Department is liable to pay as a result.

    Steve Webb

    The Child Maintenance Options service is not a new service and was introduced in 2008. It offers information and support to help separating and separated parents make an informed choice about their child maintenance arrangement. It is not a child maintenance scheme.

    The Department has in place planned and agreed business continuity arrangements with its supplier. This includes utilising the Department’s staff to take some calls where volumes exceed contracted levels. Over the past nine months the Department has used anything from 5 to 20 people for periods ranging from minutes to hours.

    The child maintenance reform programme includes ending liabilities on Child Support Agency cases in the 1993 and 2003 schemes over the next three years and it is too early to accurately predict when peak call volumes into Child Maintenance Options will be reached. Child Maintenance Options calculates resource requirements based on forecast volumes provided by the Department on a rolling three month basis. The number of staff Child Maintenance Options employs will increase in line with these forecasts over the next three years before returning to more normal levels when the reforms have completed. The associated costs are reflected in the contract.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has issued any exemptions pursuant to section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998 which apply to data obtained via unmanned aircraft systems in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    It has been the position of successive Governments to not comment on national security issues.

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether employees of his Department’s Child Maintenance Group will be compensated for the loss of their childcare subsidy.

    Steve Webb

    Five Child Maintenance Group on-site nurseries are due to close on expiry of the contract at the end of September 2014. They are located at offices in Birkenhead, Dudley, Falkirk, Hastings and Plymouth.

    Child Maintenance Group childcare subsidy was made no longer available to new entrants from 1 June 2012. This brings Child Maintenance Group into line with the Department’s policy on childcare subsidy.

    As part of its remuneration package, the Department supports employees through a salary sacrifice scheme where employees can give up part of their salary in return for childcare vouchers. This scheme allows for significant savings through tax relief and gives parents support in order to make their own choices for childcare.

    Employees affected by the closure of the five on-site nurseries have been offered a day’s special leave in order to look for suitable alternatives.