Tag: 2014

  • David Nuttall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Nuttall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what changes his Department plans to bring forward to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988.

    Jo Swinson

    For the past ten months, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has been discussing with industry, enforcement authorities and the fire services, a proposal to bring forward changes to the match and cigarette tests in the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. We believe this would bring benefits to both businesses and consumers by reducing the levels of potentially harmful flame retardant chemicals generally used to meet the requirements of the match test, while also improving fire safety. Any such changes would be subject to formal public consultation.

  • Mark Menzies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Mark Menzies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to promote golfing holidays in the (a) North West and (b) UK.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    Golfing holidays in both the North West and the rest of the UK are promoted by VisitEngland and VisitBritain. Liverpool is using £62,500 from VisitEngland’s Growing Tourism Locally programme, funded through the Regional Growth fund, to promote ‘England’s Golf Coast’ in the golfing press, using the staging of the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool to encourage visits to the region. VisitBritain’s consumer website highlights golf courses across the whole of the UK including the Golf Coast, which also features in their Sport is GREAT pillar guide. In advance of the Ryder Cup in Gleneagles, VisitBritain has organised familiarisation trips taking American and European journalists to the course. Previous experience tells us that hosting the Ryder Cup is worth tens of millions of pounds to the UK and to the local economy.

  • Alistair Burt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alistair Burt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of public footfall at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict.

    Mark Simmonds

    One of the principal aims of the Global Summit was to invite members of the public to take part in the Summit and to transform awareness of a taboo and often poorly understood subject. We estimate that several thousand members of the public attended the Fringe events each day.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken since October 2010 to ensure that local authorities and other interested parties are applying and interpreting the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations in accordance with his Department’s Guidance Notes on the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations 2007.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department has made the Guidance Notes on the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations 2007 available on the Department’s website and has regularly met with local authorities; the Advertising Standards Authority; the Food Standards Agency; the industry trade association and individual businesses to ensure that the Department’s advice is communicated to businesses and enforcers. Enforcement action, which could potentially result in court action, is carried out by local authorities.

  • Adrian Sanders – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Adrian Sanders – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adrian Sanders on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring section 67(9) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 into force.

    James Brokenshire

    We have no plans to bring section 67 (9) of the Regulation of Investigatory
    Powers Act 2000 into force as provisions to which it relates in sections 65(c)
    and (d) of RIPA are themselves not in force.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many refused claims for personal independence payment for people residing in the Preston constituency have been (a) appealed and (b) successfully appealed to date.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support), administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ decisions on a range of benefits, including a person’s entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

    Claimants for PIP can appeal to the Tribunal on a number of different grounds, such as the rate of benefit awarded. HMCTS is unable to isolate data relating to appeals solely on the basis of a claim for PIP having been refused. HMCTS does not, therefore, hold the specific information requested.

    Information on all appeals against PIP decisions is published by HMCTS in Tribunal Statistics Quarterly. The most recent report for the period January to March 2014, published on 12 June 2014, can be viewed at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2014.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimants telephoned 0843 515 8650 in the first quarter of 2014; what the average cost of such calls has been to claimants; and what the average length of each such call has been.

    Mike Penning

    DWP does not operate any telephone lines starting 0843, and therefore receives no revenue from 0843 515 8650.

    Similarly, DWP is unable to provide any information on the number of employment and support allowance claimants who call 0843 515 8650

  • Baroness Doocey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Baroness Doocey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions have been double flagged by the Crown Prosecution Service over the past three years using the flag for monitoring human trafficking and the flag for monitoring child abuse.

    Lord Wallace of Tankerness

    The Crown Prosecution Service identifies both human trafficking and child abuse cases by way of a database monitoring flag applied to the electronic case record.

    The number of defendants prosecuted who were flagged for human trafficking offences and where the child abuse flag was applied are outlined in the table below. During the past year there has been an increase in the numbers of such cases investigated by law enforcement agencies and referred to the CPS for prosecution.

    2011-2012

    2012-2013

    2013-2014

    9

    19

    59
  • Lord Smith of Finsbury – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Smith of Finsbury – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Finsbury on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the government of the United States to deny certain Ugandan officials entry into the United States following the passage of the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act in February; whether they have plans to introduce similar measures in the United Kingdom; and whether they intend to encourage other European Union countries to enact similar measures.

    Baroness Warsi

    The UK shares the concerns of the US about the Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda and notes the US’s recent decision to apply existing visa mechanisms, redirect some healthcare support, end support for a community policing project, and cancel a military aviation exercise in response to the passing of the legislation. The UK is working closely with international partners to register its concerns, to seek assurances about the protection of individuals, and to initiate dialogue about improving protection of minority rights.

    The UK is engaging closely with civil society groups in Uganda working to support inclusivity, diversity, and tolerance, and to consult with them about the most appropriate next steps.

    With our support, EU Heads of Mission in Kampala met the Ugandan government on 28 March to initiate a strengthened political dialogue under Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement. Discussions are ongoing.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many times the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service has made payments of protective awards due to failures on the part of the company or administrator to conduct a proper collective consultation in each of the last five years; to which companies such awards were made; and how much was paid out in (a) statutory entitlements and (b) protective awards in each such case.

    Jenny Willott

    The Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) only makes protective award payments to employees if their employer is insolvent and an employment tribunal has determined that there was insufficient consultation, by the company, administrator or liquidator, regarding redundancies and makes a protective award.

    In the last five financial years, the RPS has paid out the following in statutory payments for cases where a protective award was awarded:

    · 2009-2010 £87,209,871.62

    · 2010-2011 £82,604,201.50

    · 2011-2012 £68,181,382.07

    · 2012-2013 £57,267,407.27

    · 2013-2014 £7,937,522.34

    The protective award payments made on these cases (in addition to the statutory payments) were as following:

    • 2009-2010 £28,808,241.65
    • 2010-2011 £30,997,901.63
    • 2011-2012 £23,437,557.92
    • 2012-2013 £29,290,224.74
    • 2013-2014 £16,581,330.05

    These figures include cases in administration and those in liquidation

    A breakdown of the individual cases is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.