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Tag: 2015

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-02-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications the DVLA has received relating to a review of medical information in relation to a driver’s licence in each year since 2010.

    Claire Perry

    The table below provides the total number of applications received that required a medical investigation before making a driver licensing decision:

    Year

    Total number of applications received

    2010

    599,050

    2011

    576,291

    2012

    619,383

    2013

    652,702

    2014

    626,629
  • Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-02-20.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) men and (b) women were earning the minimum wage in each of the last five years.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, 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.

    Mr Francis Maude

    We want to ensure that the Civil Service is ready to meet the challenges of the twenty first century.

    Through our programme of Civil Service Reform the Government is working to address long-standing weaknesses in four key skills areas: commercial, programme and project delivery, digital delivery, and leading and managing change across the Civil Service.

    Civil Servants are encouraged to take at least five days learning a year but the key point is to ensure that civil servants have the particular skills they need to do their jobs well. The Functional Heads, most of whom report to the Chief Executive of the Civil Service, will set the learning curricula for their functions.

    Most learning is now provided by Civil Service Learning.

    Complete central records are not held on the number of days training, training budgets or training expenditure.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-02-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on which dates he discussed with senior officials at HM Revenue and Customs whether maximisation of recovery of unpaid tax liabilities from UK residents holding private unregistered accounts offshore should be prioritised ahead of prosecuting alleged offenders.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has a longstanding approach to tax evasion, which is based on collecting the tax and interest due, changing taxpayer behaviour to discourage them from evading in the future, and enforcing the most appropriate and effective penalties. This approach was set out by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2002[1] and has not changed.

    They have a range of enforcement tools at their disposal, including criminal prosecution and civil sanctions. In many cases, and when the evidence supports this, the most appropriate action is to pursue criminal charges.

    HMRC therefore use the criminal route where they have the strongest evidence of criminal intent, for serial tax evaders and for people who deliberately conceal information when they are investigated by HMRC.

    In 2010 this Government increased the resources available for prosecution and as a result the number of prosecutions has increased by a factor of five.

    [1] http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/2002/nov/07/tax-fraud

    “

  • Nick Harvey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nick Harvey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Harvey on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance the Atomic Weapons Establishment is receiving from the US authorities on Project Pegasus.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) regularly discuss a range of nuclear matters with their US counterparts under the auspices of the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement. These matters include aspects of the capital investment programme at AWE, of which Pegasus forms a part.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information energy suppliers are required to provide (a) his Department and (b) Ofgem to assist with monitoring the roll-out of smart meters to vulnerable, low income and pre-payment meter customers.

    Amber Rudd

    On an annual basis larger suppliers are required to provide the Department with a qualitative report on their roll-out strategies, including plans to engage with vulnerable and pre-payment customers. Smaller suppliers are also required to provide annual data on their plans for engaging vulnerable customers. Low income households are not defined as a separate category.

    The Department also collects quarterly data from larger energy suppliers which includes details of smart meters installed and operated in pre-payment mode, and details of their plans for installing smart meters, including where those meters will be operated in pre-payment mode. The same information is collected annually from small suppliers.

    Ofgem collects data from the larger suppliers on the number of pre-payment meters that have been replaced with smart meters, and from January 2016 suppliers will report on the number of customers on the Priority Services Register who have a smart meter installed. This data will be collected annually. The larger suppliers will also shortly be submitting qualitative roll-out plans to Ofgem, explaining how they plan to develop their IT systems to support the rollout of smart pre-payment.

    Separately, Ofgem is reviewing suppliers’ policies and practices relating to charges for installing and removing pre-payment meters, which will also cover aspects of smart meter services. The review will also look at company practices in relation to security deposits, including for customers with smart meters. Ofgem will report on its findings in summer 2015.

  • 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 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much Nuclear Management Partners has received in executive staff costs in each year since it became the parent body organisation for Sellafield Ltd.

    Matthew Hancock

    The information requested is below:

    £k

    • 2008/09 3,211
    • 2009/10 8,463
    • 2010/11 9,068
    • 2011/12 11,066
    • 2012/13 8,629
    • 2013/14 6,658
  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Chinese authorities on religious freedoms in Zhejiang province.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    As stated in my response of 16 October 2014 (PQ 209774), we have concerns about all restrictions placed on freedom of religion or belief in China, including those placed on Christians in Zhejiang Province. We are particularly concerned by reports that a number of churches have had their crosses removed, been demolished, or forced to close. We regularly raise our concerns with Chinese counterparts and highlight them through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy. We last raised the issue of religious freedom in detail during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in May 2014.

  • Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many private prescriptions for (a) benzodiazepines, (b) z drugs and (c) antidepressants were issued in 2013; and whether such private prescriptions are included in the analysis by the NHS of prescription costs.

    George Freeman

    Information is held by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) on the numbers of original private prescriptions for controlled drugs that are listed in Schedules 2 or 3 to the Misuse of Drug Regulations 2001 (as amended) (“the 2001 Regulations”) and dispensed in the community in England by NHS community pharmacies. These pharmacies submit regular returns to the NHSBSA for monitoring purposes only with no cost information collected.

    No benzodiazepine drugs are listed in Schedule 2 to the 2001 Regulations. The benzodiazepines, flunitrazepam, midazolam and temazepam are listed in Schedule 3 to the 2001 Regulations. In 2013, the NHSBSA recorded 3,021 private prescriptions for these drugs, as defined within the British National Formulary Section 4.1.1 Hypnotics, Section 4.8.2 Drugs used in status epilepticus and Section 15.1.4 Sedative and analgesic peri-operative drugs. Other benzodiazepine drugs are listed in Schedule 4 to the 2001 Regulations. No “Z” drugs or antidepressants are listed in Schedules 2 or 3 to the 2001 Regulations.

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department offers on compensation available when police officers force entry into residential properties.

    Mike Penning

    The Police and Criminal Evidence Act Code of Practice B governs the searching of premises and the seizure of property from those premises by police officers. This includes the conduct of officers executing a search warrant (see paragraphs 6 to 6.15) and a note on compensation matters (see note 6.A). A copy of the PACE Code of Practice B can be found at GOV.UK.

    The execution of a search warrant is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of the force concerned and so too is the consideration of damage claims which, as PACE Code B makes clear, will depend on the circumstances in each case.

    The Department does not hold or collect data concerning the number of awards of damages paid out by police forces.