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Tag: 2015

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Statement of 10 February 2015, HCWS 269, on Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme, whether there will be any change in the amount of the levy on the insurance industry which was announced in the Written Statement of 28 November 2014, column 58WS, on Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme levy.

    Mr Mark Harper

    On 28 November 2014 the Government announced that the levy for the first year of the Scheme’s operation would be £32m. This was calculated using the estimated costs of the Scheme extrapolated from the first seven months of its operation. There are no plans to change the amount of the levy that was announced on 28 November as we believe it will still be sufficient to cover the costs of the Scheme in its first year.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which government department receives the fines generated from the enforcement of O licences of goods vehicles.

    Lord Deighton

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) are the main body responsible for enforcement of operator licences for goods vehicles, although individual police forces also have the power to enforce these provisions. DVSA enforcement action consists of prosecution through the courts – in 2013-14 they reported 174 convictions resulting in courts ordering £103,244 in fines. These fines are collected by the courts and all revenue raised is passed on to the Consolidated Fund, and used to fund general government expenditure.

  • Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-02-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the rejection by National Health Service trusts of the financial tariff proposals drawn up by Monitor for 2015–16, whether they intend to refer the matter to the Competition and Markets Authority; and if not what other prescription they have to deal with the issue.

    Earl Howe

    Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, the decision on whether to refer the matter to the Competition and Markets Authority is for Monitor to take.

    We understand that Monitor is carefully considering the best course of action, alongside NHS England.

  • Lord Davies of Stamford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Davies of Stamford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Davies of Stamford on 2015-02-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the number of people sleeping rough in Greater London; and how many places in hostels are available for homeless adults in that area.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The annual Rough Sleeping Statistics for England reports rough sleeping counts and estimates provided by local authorities and represent single night snapshots of the number of people sleeping rough in their area between 1 October and 30 November. In 2014 there were 742 rough sleepers in local authority areas in London:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2014

    The Department does not hold information regarding the number of places in hostels for rough sleepers in London.

    This Government has increased investment in homelessness services over the lifetime of this Parliament. We have invested over £500 million to support local authorities and voluntary sector agencies help the most vulnerable in our society. This includes £34 million to the Greater London Authority to tackle rough sleeping across London.

    We have recently put in place funding and support to prevent single homelessness and help those at risk of rough sleeping. The £8 million Help for Single Homeless Fund will help 22,000 people with multiple needs across 168 local authorities and the innovative £15 million Fair Chance Fund programme will change the lives of around 1,600 homeless young people with high needs and at risk of falling through the net of existing services. We have also supported Crisis with nearly £14 million in funding that by 2016 will have helped around 10,000 vulnerable single people to access and sustain accommodation in the private rented sector.

    Thousands of vulnerable people who have slept rough or faced with the prospect of doing so have been given the help they need through No Second Night Out and StreetLink initiatives.

    The No Second Night Out initiative has actively sought to identify and then help more rough sleepers, uncovering rough sleeping which was previously hidden or under-reported. This is in contrast to the counts under the last Administration which systematically under-estimated or ignored the true level of rough sleeping.

    By using StreetLink, the national telephone, digital and app service, the public can help connect rough sleepers to the local services available so they can get the help they need to get them off the streets. This has already resulted in 23,000 referrals of rough sleepers to local authorities for investigation. We have also supported No Second Night Out schemes nationally through the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund for the voluntary sector ensuring rough sleepers are found quickly and that they do not spend more than one night on the street.

    According to CHAIN (Combined Homeless and Information Network) data, the majority of rough sleepers in London are foreign nationals. My Department’s activities have included education campaigns led by the voluntary sector warning those coming here without appropriate support about the dangers of ending up destitute and sleeping rough on our streets. European Economic Area nationals who are begging or sleeping rough will be administratively removed. From the beginning of the year they will then be barred from re-entry for 12 months, unless they can prove they have a proper reason to be here, such as a job.

  • Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what progress has been made on implementation of the Smith Commission recommendations.

    Mr Alistair Carmichael

    We promised draft clauses on new powers for the Scottish Parliament and we published that legislation ahead of the Burns’ Night deadline.

    The main UK parties have all committed to bring forward a Bill in the next Parliament. Scotland will get more powers.


  • Cathy Jamieson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Cathy Jamieson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding has been provided to the (a) Pension Advisory Service and (b) Citizens Advice Bureaux for providing the Pension Wise service since the introduction of that service was announced.

    Andrea Leadsom

    All guidance specialists working for Pension Wise will receive high quality and rigorous training, whether they are delivering guidance face to face or over the phone. They will be required to pass a certificated test to demonstrate they have the necessary technical knowledge and guidance skills to deliver the guidance. The training programme is designed in accordance with FCA standards, and will be accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute, a well-respected professional standards body in the financial services industry.

    HM Treasury’s delivery partners, TPAS and Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland and Citizens Advice Northern Ireland are currently recruiting guidance specialists. Recruitment strategies and the setting of pay scales is the responsibility of individual delivery partners.

    At Budget 2014, the Chancellor allocated a development fund of up to £20m to establish the initial guidance service. Spending on advertising will be published as part of the government’s Transparency Agenda. Initial funding to The Pension Advisory Service (TPAS) and the Citizen Advice organisations will be included in the HM Treasury Accounts to be published in July.

  • Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to encourage the English Premier League to increase its investment in grassroots football in line with the increase in revenue arising from the recent sale of broadcast rights.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    I have regular discussions with the Premier League and will continue to press the importance that this huge investment needs to benefit the game as a whole. This includes benefiting clubs lower down the football pyramid, supporters, and the grassroots of the game, through increased investment in facilities, community programmes and other schemes.

  • Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much he estimates that NDA Properties Limited will receive in income from its holdings in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

    Matthew Hancock

    NDA Properties estimates that the income from its holdings will be £7.6m in 2014-15 and £8.2m in 2015-16.

  • John Howell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Howell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Howell on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost was to the NHS of paying doctors who had been excluded from practice on full pay in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    This information is not collected centrally.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average number of days taken by coroners to release the body of a homicide victim back to the family for burial in each year since 2010.

    Simon Hughes

    Information on the average number of days taken by coroners to release the body of a homicide victim is not held centrally. This information could only be obtained by inspection of individual case files at each coroner’s office before collating the information, and this could only be done at disproportionate cost.

    In July 2013 we implemented reforms in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 together with new coroner regulations and rules aimed at improving standards and achieving greater consistency in coroner services. Regulation 20 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 requires a coroner to release the body for burial or cremation as soon as is reasonably practicable. Where this cannot be done within 28 days, the coroner must notify the next of kin or personal representative of the reason for the delay.

    In February 2014 we also published the statutory “Guide to Coroner Services” which explains the standards of service that can be expected during a coroner’s investigation and what action can be taken if these are not met.