The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Charlie Elphicke on Treasury.
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Mr David Gauke
Previous replies have explained that further discussions in relation at Priory Court in Dover are a matter for Mapeley who own the land. While HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) occupy the property under the STEPS contracts and will consider any reasonable proposals, resolution of commercial considerations are for Network Rail and Mapeley.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there have been with offence code (a) 21, (b) 22, (c) 23, (d) 71, (e) 72, (f) 73, (g) 74, (h) 17Z, (i) 17B, (j) 19C, (k) 19D, (l) 19E, (m) 19F, (n) 19H, (o) 20A, (p) 20B, (q) 22B and (r) 88A under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (i) in each of the Crown courts in Greater Manchester and (ii) at the lowest available level.
Jeremy Wright
The proportion of offenders given custody for sexual offences has increased since 2003.
The Government takes very seriously all matters relating to the sexual abuse of children and adults. Our laws in these areas are rightly robust and clear. The 2003 Act, which came into effect in May 2004, significantly modernised and strengthened the laws on sexual offences in England and Wales. We have already introduced automatic life sentences for a second serious sexual or violent offence, and we have announced plans to end automatic early release for child rapists, terrorists and all dangerous offenders.
The number of offenders found guilty at the Crown Court in Greater Manchester police force area, for sexual offences with the offence codes specified from 2008 to 2012 (latest data available), can be viewed in the table.
Court proceedings statistics for the year 2013 are planned to be published by the Ministry of Justice in May 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Alan Whitehead on Energy and Climate Change.
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Michael Fallon
We anticipate that some generators will seek to establish the terms of any PPA and financing arrangements before they participate in the CfD allocation round, in order to understand better their likely costs. Agreements between generators and PPA providers could take a number of different forms, from indicative terms to a signed contract. The decision to sign a conditional PPA ahead of the auction, and the duration of any agreement, are ultimately commercial matters.
We anticipate that the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) will encourage competition in the PPA market both at the outset of the CfD and once any initial PPA has expired. Generators agreeing to a conditional PPA would be able to participate in the later short-term PPA market, once their initial PPA had expired; backed by the protections afforded by the OLR.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how long it took to merge Avon and Somerset Probation Services.
Jeremy Wright
Avon and Somerset Probation Trust, which was established on 1 April 2010, replaced the Avon and Somerset Probation Board, which had been created on 1 April 2001 following the merger of the two separate probation committees for Avon and for Somerset.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Eilidh Whiteford on Transport.
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Mr Robert Goodwill
In England, the Highways Agency has the following 6 Average Speed Camera systems on its network:
M3 (Junction 2) (South East Region)
M3 (from the M25) (South East Region)
M25 (J12) (South East Region)
A14 (East of England)
A38 Saltash Tunnel (South West Region)
A3 Hindhead Tunnel (South East Region)
Average speed cameras are also used in road works as a temporary measure.
The Department for Transport does not hold this information for cameras on local authority roads. Local authorities have statutory duties related to road safety and decisions about whether they operate speed cameras are a matter for them.
This is a devolved matter so the Department does not hold information on average speed cameras in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what average length of time was taken to process personal independence payments applications and DS1500s for clients who were terminally ill in Wales in the last year.
Mike Penning
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Liverpool, West Derby and the hon Member for Airdrie and Shotts, official report, 5 March, column 850W.
Although Personal Independence Payment is a new benefit, and the Department does not have a target for completion of claims while processess are bedding in, we do deal urgently with special rules claims for terminally ill claimants. We are implementing a range of improvements to improve clearance times for people with a terminal illness, including a dedicated phone service which we introduced in February 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the performance of Capita on the delivery of personal independence payments for those who are terminally ill.
Mike Penning
Personal independence payment (PIP) is a new benefit and processes are currently bedding in. The Department’s contracts with Capita and Atos Healthcare for the delivery of assessments for personal independence payment include a full set of service level agreements setting out the Department’s expectations for service delivery, including quality of assessments and the number of days to provide advice to the Department.
Officials meet regularly with both assessment providers to discuss performance. We are closely monitoring their progress against the Department’s expectations for service delivery and are taking action to drive up performance where this does not meet the required standards. In particular, for both providers, the end-to-end process for many claimants is taking significantly longer than originally anticipated. We are working with the providers to ensure that they are taking all necessary steps to improve performance, speed up the process and ensure claimants receive a satisfactory experience. Special rules claims for terminally ill claimants are dealt with urgently by our assessment providers. The latest published statistics show that over 99% of people with terminal illnessess who have applied have been awarded the benefit, which means over 9,500 terminally ill claimants are now receiving personal independence payment.
Although limited data has started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy. An ad-hoc release of PIP information was published on 11 February 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the administration costs are, per claimant, of (a) disability living allowance and (b) personal independence payments.
Mike Penning
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) are different benefits with different delivery models. PIP includes a more objective assessment process, with a face-to-face consultation for most people. That is different to DLA, which is a self-assessed paper based process that purely looks at the type of health condition or impairment they have. It was always expected that PIP would produce an overall increased administration cost compared to DLA for these reasons. The current administration cost for DLA per claimant is £56.06. A comparable administration cost is currently unavailable for PIP.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Avebury on 2014-04-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes they expect in alcohol consumption from on-trade and off-trade purchases respectively over the next five financial years, following the changes in alcohol duty announced in the Budget.
Lord Deighton
Changes to beer, cider and wine duty at Budget 2014 help support British pubs. The Government also supports the Scotch whisky industry for the unique role it plays in the UK economy. Freezing the duty on spirits supports the domestic market for the Scotch whisky industry and jobs in Scotland.
The Government expects that there will be a small increase in alcohol consumption as a result of these changes to alcohol duty at Budget 2014 in both the on-trade – where alcohol is sold to be consumed on the premises (e.g. pubs, bars, restaurants) – and for the off-trade – where alcohol is sold to be consumed off the premises (e.g. supermarkets, off-licences). The tables below provide estimates of changes in consumption in both percentage and volume terms relative to the previous alcohol duty rates policy.
Estimated change in consumption (%):
|
|
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
|
On-trade |
+0.7% |
+0.8% |
+0.8% |
+0.8% |
+0.9% |
|
Off-trade |
+0.9% |
+0.9% |
+0.9% |
+0.9% |
+1.0% |
Estimated change in consumption (thousand hectolitres of alcohol):
|
|
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
|
On-trade |
+13 |
+13 |
+14 |
+15 |
+15 |
|
Off-trade |
+28 |
+29 |
+30 |
+32 |
+33 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2014-04-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 2 April (WA 195), whether either they, or the European Union, employ a formal definition of the word Europe”.”
Baroness Warsi
The UK does not employ a formal definition of the word “Europe” and we are not aware of the EU Institutions employing a formal definition of the word “Europe” either.