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Tag: 2014

  • Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Priti Patel on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much public money from the Heritage Lottery Fund has been awarded to each local authority area for activities to commemorate the First World War.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    Since April 2010, across various programmes, the Heritage Lottery Fund has allocated over £56 million pounds to projects throughout the United Kingdom marking the First World War centenary. This includes awards from the First World War: Then and Now programme for smaller, community-led, projects. The breakdown of this funding by local authority area will be placed in the libraries of both Houses.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help people with mental illnesses find appropriate work.

    Mike Penning

    Each Jobcentre Plus District is resourced to have a Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership Manager, they identify the availability of local support that advisers may refer to and provide a support role to advisers who work with customers with mental health conditions.

    In January 2014 we launched the Employment and Wellbeing toolkit which offers practical support to Jobcentre advisers to help them work with claimants affected by mental health problems. The toolkit enables advisers to establish a clear employment focus and identify appropriate interventions and actions which enable claimants with mental health issues to progress into employment as quickly as possible.

    Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) and Work Psychologists also offer specialist advice in Jobcentres. DEAs can act as an advocate for the customer with prospective employers, aiming to identify work solutions that will overcome or minimise any difficulties related to an individual’s disability in the work place and Work Psychologists, can provide advice and guidance on effective provision and complete an Employment Assessment for claimants.

    Many benefit claimants with mental health problems will be referred to, or may have access to, a range of support including the Work Programme or specialist disability employment programmes including Work Choice and Access to Work.

    Work Programme advisors have access to the Working for Wellbeing toolkit which was developed by an expert group of Work Programme and specialist providers to improve employment outcomes for claimants who have mental health problems.

    Work Choice is a programme for disabled people with more intensive support and can provide specialist support for people with mental health conditions.

    Access to Work includes a specific Mental Health Support Service for people who require support while in work to help them to stay in work. 90 per cent of the people who have been on the MHSS programme for six months (though not always needing six months of support) are still in work. Employer engagement is a key element of the service.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Answer of 14 May 2014, Official Report, column 600W, on Bangladesh, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to make it compulsory for all UK clothing companies which use suppliers in Bangladesh to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    The Accord is an independent and legally binding agreement between unions and international companies that source their clothes from Bangladesh. As such it is not the Government’s place to compel companies to sign up. However as referred to in my previous response, I would very much encourage them to do so, and would encourage consumers to make their expectations clear to the retailers and brands from which they buy their clothes.

    In September 2013 the UK launched its action plan on business and human rights, laying out the expectations for business in line with the UN Guiding Principles. Signing up to the Accord not only demonstrates that companies are serious about their responsibilities but will also help them to ensure that workers in their supply chains are safe and treated properly.

  • Tim Farron – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tim Farron – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to tackle delays faced by people waiting for a medical assessment following their application for personal independence payment.

    Mike Penning

    We are committed to ensuring Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants receive high quality, objective, fair and accurate assessments. Since the introduction of PIP new claims in April, we have been closely monitoring all aspects of the process.

    Our latest analysis is telling us that the end-to-end claimant journey is taking longer than expected. We are working closely with the assessment providers to ensure that they are taking all necessary steps to improve performance, speed up the process and ensure claimants receive a satisfactory experience. We are also seeking to ensure that all the steps in the process run as smoothly as possible and that there are no barriers in our processes and systems that contribute to claims taking longer than necessary to progress.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of children in poverty in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK in each year until 2020.

    Esther McVey

    The Government does not produce forecasts of the number of children living in income poverty either locally or nationally. The number of children in poverty is dependent on a number of factors which cannot be reliably predicted, including the median income.

    The Government does not believe it is possible to accurately project child poverty to 2020. Poverty projections are rarely accurate. For example, IFS projections in October 2011 suggested the number of children in relative poverty would fall by 100,000 in 2010/11, whereas in fact it fell by 300,000.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2014-03-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what sanctions have been applied in the last 12 months for poor quality performance on the Birmingham Cross City line by London Midland.

    Baroness Kramer

    We have applied no sanctions against London Midland in regard to performance on the Birmingham Cross City line; we do not disaggregate performance by the train operators to that level. In the autumn of 2012 London Midland experienced a high number of cancellations, largely due to issues with availability of train crew. As a result, they breached the terms of their Franchise Agreement, and a remedial plan and package of benefits was agreed with the Department. As the Secretary of State for Transport announced to the House on 20 December 2012, this package included passenger benefits of: 500,000 discounted tickets, free travel for season ticket holders (worth up to c.£5.4m), capital investment, and additional driver training investment worth a combined £6.25m

  • Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlie Elphicke on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will assess the merits of introducing tax-rate floors to contracts involving Private Finance Initiative arrangements.

    Danny Alexander

    In December 2012, the Government launched Private Finance 2 (PF2). PF2 introduces significant reforms to the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and gives a new approach to the delivery of public infrastructure. It is based on the outcomes of a wide call for evidence held across both the public and private sectors.

    The Government seeks to ensure that the UK tax system is competitive for all companies and that the UK is an attractive place to do business, while retaining proportionate anti-avoidance protection.

    A special purpose vehicle set up for the purposes of delivering a PFI project is no different from any other corporate entity and is therefore required to pay corporation tax in accordance with government rules.

  • Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the last Finance Ministers Quadrilateral met; and if he will place in the Library the minutes of that meeting.

    Danny Alexander

    The last Finance Quadrilateral was held on 18 November 2013.

    No formal minutes of the meeting were taken, but Ministers present discussed the general economic outlook for the UK and for each of the devolved administrations, as well as looking forward to the forthcoming Autumn Statement. Agreement was reached at the meeting regarding the framework under which the devolved administrations could carry forward Financial Transactions capital into future years.

    The Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Finance Ministers from the devolved administrations aim to meet regularly in Quadrilateral format, complimenting bi-lateral meetings and conversations throughout the year. It is anticipated the next Quadrilateral will take place over the coming months. No date or agenda has yet been set.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether officials in his Department consulted their Northern Ireland counterparts before publishing the draft Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Department for Transport officials worked closely with Northern Ireland colleagues throughout the Traffic Signs Policy Review. A meeting was held with the Devolved Administrations in February 2014, at which the proposed changes to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions were presented.

    The Northern Ireland Executive has also been invited to respond to the public consultation on the draft regulations.

  • 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 2014-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average cost was of an either way office case dealt with at the Crown Court where (a) a guilty plea was entered at the magistrates’ court and (b) a guilty plea was entered on the day of trial at the Crown Court in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Shailesh Vara

    There are a number of different ways costs of cases can be estimated, depending on how indirect costs are apportioned, resulting in a range of cost estimates for these cases. The latest period for which data is available is 2012/13 (up-rated to 2013/14 prices).

    a) The cost of an either way guilty plea entered at the Magistrates Court is estimated to be between £210 and £270 (to the nearest £10).

    b) A guilty plea entered on the day of a trial at the Crown court would result in a cracked trial. The cost of a cracked trial in the Crown court is estimated to be between £1,200 and £2,000 (to the nearest £100).

    These figures do not include legal aid costs.

    Sentencing Council Guidelines to the judiciary encourage early guilty pleas by setting out a scale of ‘credit’ for a guilty plea to be applied that varies from a reduction of one third in any sentence for an early plea, to 10% for a guilty plea entered at the point of trial.