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Tag: 2015

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s letter of 11 April 2014 to the Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, when he plans to publish the advice by HS2 Ltd and Network Rail on improving connections to European rail networks referred to in that letter.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The HS2 Plus Report by Sir David Higgins, which was published in March 2014, highlighted a number of issues with HS2-HS1 link proposed in the Phase One hybrid Bill. In response to the HS2 Plus report, the Secretary of State decided to remove the HS1-HS2 link from the Phase One Hybrid Bill as it required too many compromises in terms of impacts on freight, passengers and the community in Camden.

    The Secretary of State has therefore asked HS2 Ltd to consider how to improve connections to the continent. This connectivity study, which is nearing completion, will explore options to improve connections to the continent. We expect the study to be completed by the end of this year.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Smeeth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much it cost to reconstruct the railway at Dawlish; and from which budget that cost was met.

    Claire Perry

    £35m was spent repairing the most damaged section of the track and sea wall and associated works during the initial 56-day work period at Dawlish. Work to raise the walkway is additional and has an anticipated final cost of £15.3m. Funding came in two phases: Phase 1 emergency work was funded primarily from insurance with the Network Rail structures renewals budget paying the excess of £2m. Phase 2 (raising the walkway) will be funded through Network Rail’s Control Period 5 (2019-24) structure renewals budget.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the level of administration fees and interest charges to pensioners under the Support for Mortgage Interest loan scheme.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The interest rate charged on the loans will be tied to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast for gilts rates, so that the interest reflects the government cost of borrowing.

    The rate will be updated every 6 months and is forecast to be 2.9% in 2018/19. (OBR forecast Budget 2015).

    The fees charged will reflect the forecast average cost of administering the loans scheme. Until a provider has been appointed it is not possible to state what those fees might be.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seeker applications were received from Syrian nationals in each of the last five years; and how many such applicants were (a) refused, (b) granted refugee status, (c) granted humanitarian protection and (d) granted discretionary leave to remain.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office publishes an analysis of applications for whole-year cohorts of asylum seekers to establish the overall success rates following appeal; this is available in Table as_06 (Asylum data table Volume 2) of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. For the latest years, some cases will still be outstanding. This cohort analysis is therefore not able to provide a complete picture for the latest applications but for most years will provide the most complete description of the outcome for asylum seekers. The analysis of the outcomes of asylum applications are the recorded outcomes of the group (or cohort) of applicants in any one year, at a particular time. This dataset is updated, in full, annually and is currently available up to 2014.

    Insert Table

    A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics April – June 2015, is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.

  • David Burrowes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Burrowes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contribution of 26 March 2015 by the then Parliamentary under Secretary of State, on Immigration: Detention, Official Report, House of Lords, column 1587, what recent assessment she has made of changes in the number of people held in immigration removal centres; and what steps she is taking to reduce growth in such numbers.

    James Brokenshire

    Home Office published statistics show that as at 30 June 2015, 3418 people were in detention, an increase on the number recorded at the end of June 2014 (3,079). This data is available online https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2015/detention.

    Capacity of the detention estate is kept under constant review. Decisions will continue to be made according to operational priorities. Haslar Immigration Removal Centre was transferred back to the National Offender Management Service in April 2015, reducing the overall detention estate capacity.

    On 9 February the Home Secretary announced an independent review of detainee welfare in immigration detention, led by Stephen Shaw. The report is expected in the autumn and the Government will publish the report by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to the recommendations.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Access All Areas Report 2015, published by Guide Dogs, what steps he is taking to address taxi refusals for assistance dog owners.

    Andrew Jones

    The Equality Act 2010 includes a legal requirement for all taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to carry assistance dogs and not to charge more for doing so.

    In addition to their ability to take appropriate action in the event that licensed drivers fail to comply with this duty, local licensing authorities can inform taxi and private hire drivers of all their responsibilities as licensed drivers.

  • Baroness Whitaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Whitaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the recommendations made in the report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons of February 2014 reviewing the monitoring of Gypsy, Romany and Traveller prisoners.

    Lord Faulks

    I welcome the report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, People in Prison: Gypsies, Romany and Travellers.

    Meeting the needs of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) prisoners has traditionally been challenging due to very low declaration rates. To address this, and to improve the support received by them, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has carried out work to increase the confidence of these prisoners to declare their ethnicity.

    In March 2014, NOMS implemented a new tool to monitor various outcomes for prisoners against a range of protected characteristics, including GRT prisoners. This has proved to be successful and declaration rates have increased. The tool allows NOMS to better understand where gaps in services for GRT prisoners are, and for services to be commissioned where appropriate.

    NOMS has worked closely with organisations such as the Friends Family and Travellers and the Irish Chaplaincy in Britain to provide information to staff and prisoners regarding best practice when working with GRT prisoners.

    The Youth Justice Board (YJB) commissioned and jointly published (with HMIP) the report: ‘Children and Young People in Custody 2012-13: An Analysis of 12-18 year olds’ perceptions of their experience in secure training centres’. This was the first published annual summary of children and young people’s self-reported experiences and perceptions from surveys carried out with young people in each of the four Secure Training Centres (STCs). The YJB will continue to commission these reports and monitor the findings from this survey in future years to gain a better understanding of the representation GRT young people within STCs.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the Royal Naval Division memorial from the original charity.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In 2002, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), as the current occupant of the Old Admiralty Building, agreed to assume the costs for general cleaning of the Royal Naval Division Memorial and the costs of the water supply to the memorial’s fountain. The costs of any maintenance, other than cleaning, remain the responsibility of the Committee for the Royal Naval Division Memorial. In November 2013, the Committee informed the FCO that it intended to commission a condition survey of the memorial and had raised funds for any repair work. The survey commenced on 17 February 2015.

  • Lord Turnberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Turnberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Turnberg on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 10 February (HL4453), what plans they have to encourage NHS Trusts to employ and re-employ experienced medical staff who wish to practice part-time towards the end of their careers.

    Earl Howe

    It is for local National Health Service organisations to decide how many and what staff they employ, and they are best placed to do this based on the needs of their patients and local communities.

    Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for ensuring the NHS workforce has the right numbers, skills, values and behaviours to meet the needs of patients.

    HEE will work with NHS Employers and other key partners to develop a more strategic and cost-effective approach to staff retention including the encouragement of greater employer focus on retaining and investing in their current staff.

    To support nursing workforce requirements, HEE announced on 29 September 2014 that it is putting £4.7 million into training resources over the next three years as part of a major national campaign that will allow former nurses to return to the workforce.

    Over 1,000 have entered Return to Practice programmes this year. These programmes fast track experienced nurses back into the NHS in 3-6 months, compared to 3-4 years training new nurses.

    HEE is working with NHS England, the British Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners to standardise a funded scheme which allows general practitioners to return to United Kingdom general practice following a career break. This is anticipated to be launched at the end of March.

  • Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether any employees of Rio Tinto plc has been seconded to his Department in the last five years.

    Jo Swinson

    The Department has not seconded any employees from Rio Tinto plc.