The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jesse Norman on 2015-02-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce funding for music hubs in 2016-17.
Mr Nick Gibb
The Secretary of State confirmed £75 million of funding for music hubs for 2015-16 on 26 January 2015. The next spending review, covering the 2016-17 financial year, will take place after this year’s general election, and therefore no commitments can be made at this stage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-02-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the cost to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority of termination of its contract with Nuclear Management Partners.
Matthew Hancock
Contractual termination costs will be determined based upon the terms of the contract with Nuclear Management Partners. The precise terms of the contract are commercially confidential but these costs will equate to approximately one per cent of average annual fee (this arrives at around £430K plus interest from the start of 2014/15). NMP will earn fees in line with its contract over the course of its contract notice period.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-02-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what guidance his Department provides to its managers on how many days training should be made available to staff.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not specify how many days training should be available to staff. We adhere to Civil Service guidelines which recommend that staff should aim to do a minimum of five days training a year, however, the amount of time staff spend participating in both informal learning and formal training events will vary according to their role, profession or personal development needs. The amount of time allocated for language training is calculated spearately depending on the operational requirements of the role.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-02-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of varicose vein surgery procedures that were carried out by West Midlands NHS trusts in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Jane Ellison
The sum of Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs) with a main or secondary procedure of; (a) IVF cycle procedures, (b) cataract surgery procedures, (c) hip replacement operations, (d) knee replacement operations, (e) varicose vein surgery procedures and (f) breast reduction operations carried out by West Midlands NHS Trusts in 2013-14 is shown in the attached table.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Randall on 2015-02-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was of the Salvation Army shelters for victims of human trafficking in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013; whether the Government’s funding of those shelters is dependant on the number of victims identified or the length of time they stay in the shelter; and for what average number of days victims have stayed in such shelters in 2014.
Karen Bradley
The total cost of the Government-funded Adult Victims of Trafficking Care
Contract was £3.7 million in 2012 and £3.6 million in 2013. The cost of this contract is
dependent on both the number of potential victims who enter the service and the
length of time potential victims stay in the service. In 2014 the average
length of stay in a safe house was 81 days.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-02-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what guidance her Department provides to its managers on how many days training should be made available to staff.
Mr Desmond Swayne
Cabinet Office advises departments that staff should aim to have at least 5 days per year training and development.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2015-02-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the delays in criminal proceedings in courts in England and Wales.
Mike Penning
The Transforming Summary Justice programme is a collaboration between the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts designed to ensure that magistrates’ court cases are prepared and prosecuted in a timely and efficient manner. It is in the process of being rolled out and will be operating throughout England and Wales by May 2015. The recent report of the Review of Efficiency in Criminal Proceedings, which was carried out by Sir Brian Leveson, President of the Queen’s Bench Division, makes detailed recommendations for improving efficiency, some of which build on these initiatives. The Government is now considering these recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-02-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the average number of days training of full-time equivalent staff employed in his Department was in each of the last three financial years.
Alun Cairns
The average number of formal training days undertaken by staff at the Wales Office in the last three financial years is shown below:
|
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
|
2.2 |
3.3 |
5.0 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tessa Munt on 2015-02-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of UK state pension reside in the French overseas department of (a) Guiana, (b) Martinique, (c) Guadeloupe and (d) Reunion.
Steve Webb
Information on the number of recipients of UK state pension residing in France, and of those how many are in the French Overseas Departments, is available at: http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/sp/cccountry/cnage/a_carate_r_cccountry_c_cnage_may14.html
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Stern on 2015-02-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in response to the report of HM Inspectorate of Prisons on HMP Nottingham in respect of its conclusion that during the working day about half of the prisoners held there were locked in their cells with nothing to do.
Lord Faulks
The National Offender Management Service has taken immediate action to improve the situation. An experienced temporary Governor was urgently appointed to bring stability and to implement rapid improvements. Subsequently, a new permanent Governor was appointed on 1 February 2015. A review of the staffing levels needed to complete the improvement work required has led to additional staff resources being deployed to the prison. There have been fewer incidents of serious assaults on prisoners and staff, concerted indiscipline and incidents at height since the inspection and there has been a marked improvement in the overall operational stability of the establishment. As with all inspection reports, NOMS will now produce an action plan in response to the recommendations.
Improvements in staffing levels have allowed an increase in the amount of time that prisoners can participate in recreational activities, such as using the gymnasium. It has also enabled prisoners to undertake more educational workshops to enhance employability skills. .
Since the Inspection, HMP Nottingham’s Violence Reduction (VR) Policy has been rewritten and implemented and, in line with the national NOMS VR Policy, requires staff to challenge all forms of violence and apply appropriate sanctions. Additional resources have been allocated to monitoring and managing violence reduction and safer custody. Use of the Independent Adjudicator and/or referral to the Police for consideration of prosecution for violent incidents has increased dramatically. HMP Nottingham continues to challenge all forms of violence and actively promotes a zero tolerance to it. The prison is forging stronger links with the local Police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that, where appropriate, prisoners involved in violence are prosecuted.
The operational capacity of HMP Nottingham was reduced, at the time of the inspection, from 1100 to 1060. There are now regular bedding and clothing checks. This helps to recover items that have been stockpiled by prisoners, to ensure fair allocation of clean clothing and bedding. Additional clothes and bedding have also been issued.