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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Beecham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Beecham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the current sickness rates for practitioners in the National Probation Service; and what were the rates for 2013 and 2014.

    Lord Faulks

    Information on sickness absence rates among National Probation Service (NPS) staff for the period 1 June – 30 September 2014 was published on 17 November in a Management Information Release. The annualised rate of absence for this period in the NPS was 10.6 working days lost per staff year. Information for the whole of 2014-15 will be published in the Management Information Addendum to the National Offender Management Service Annual Report 2014-15.

    Information on sickness absence rates in the former Probation Trusts is published annually in the Management Information Addendum to the National Offender Management Service Annual Report. The sickness absence rate for Probation Trusts for April 2013 to March 2014, published on 30 July 2014 was 9.8 working days lost per person.

    The NPS statistics are not directly comparable to the annual Probation Trust data, as they relate to different timescales.

    We take the health and wellbeing of probation staff extremely seriously and have worked closely with the NPS to support staff. We recognise this has been a challenging time for them and they can be extremely proud of how they have maintained standards throughout the transition period.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-02-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Burma.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Burma remains a human rights Country of Concern for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and features in the FCO’s annual Human Rights and Democracy report. A copy of the latest quarterly update to that report on Burma is attached, which highlights the humanitarian situation in Rakhine, continuing conflict and sexual violence in Kachin, political prisoners and restrictions on freedom of expression.

  • 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 it is his policy that the Ordnance Survey will remain the only official national mapping agency for the UK.

    Matthew Hancock

    As a Government-owned Company, Ordnance Survey will continue to publish and deliver a public task, and as such will continue to be the national mapping agency of Great Britain.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total annual economic contribution of the Scotch whisky industry to the economy.

    Priti Patel

    A report produced by the Scotch Whiskey Association in January 2015 outlines that the industry contributes £5bn to total UK GDP and directly and indirectly supports 43,000 jobs in the UK.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the press notice issued by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine on its website on 9 February 2015, whether the proposed Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Ukrainian governments will entail the UK Government guaranteeing any possible assistance in the pursuit of Ukrainian independence.

    Michael Fallon

    The Memorandum of Understanding, once signed, will provide a framework for our defence engagement with Ukraine.

  • Paul Farrelly – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paul Farrelly – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Farrelly on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the full reports by KPMG he commissioned into the health economies of (a) Staffordshire, (b) Eastern Cheshire, (c) South West London, (d) North East London, (e) Cumbria, (f) Mid Essex, (g) Cambridge and Peterborough, (h) Leicestershire, (i) Northamptonshire, (j) East Sussex and (k) Devon.

    Jane Ellison

    As part of NHS England, NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) and Monitor’s joint project to support 11 challenged local health economies develop clinically and financially sustainable five-year strategic plans, four consultancy firms (including KPMG) were commissioned to support the local areas with the development and strengthening of their plans.

    Reports were provided by the consultants to support the project’s Programme Board, consisting of NHS England, TDA and Monitor, to manage the contracts and ensure that the service specification was being met.

    Work is ongoing based on the contents of these reports and there are a number of steps that have to be undertaken in each of the local health economies before these reports can be released: the production of the five-year strategic plan, consideration of the plan, consultation on possible reforms to the health economy, recommendations for possible reforms following consultation, and implementation of recommendations.

    To release the reports ahead of the steps identified above being completed would be likely to prejudice their outcome. The timescales for the above processes will be different in each of the 11 areas and, as the strategic plans are produced, they are made available from the relevant clinical commissioning group websites through their board papers.

  • John Randall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    John Randall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the 449 potential victims of trafficking from Albania referred to in the National Crime Agency’s National Referral Mechanism Statistics 2014 have received a (a) positive Reasonable Grounds decision, (b) positive Conclusive Grounds decision, (c) negative Reasonable Grounds decision and (d) negative Conclusive Grounds decision on their immigration status; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    As of 2 January 2015, of the 449 potential victims of trafficking from Albania
    referred to in the National Crime Agency’s 2014 National Referral Mechanism
    Statistics:

    a) 406 have received a positive Reasonable Grounds decision;
    b) 35 have received a positive Conclusive Grounds decision;
    c) 23 have received a negative Reasonable Grounds decision; and
    d) 86 have received a negative Conclusive Grounds decision.

    The NRM decision is independent of the decision on an individual’s immigration
    status.

    This information is taken from data used in the UK Human Trafficking Centre’s
    Statistical and Trend Update: October to December 2014, which was published on
    23 February 2015. The next quarterly report is due to be published in May.

    Some of the outstanding cases in the data from 2 January have since been
    completed. Where cases are outstanding this may be because UKVI are waiting for
    information from third parties, such as the police or support providers.
    Individuals will continue to receive Government-funded specialist support and
    accommodation until their case is concluded.

  • Dominic Raab – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Dominic Raab – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dominic Raab on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many new jobs have been created in (a) Elmbridge and (b) Esher and Walton constituency since May 2010; and what the effect of such job creation has been on the level of unemployment in each of those areas.

    Mr Rob Wilson

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

  • Keir Starmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Keir Starmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the current budget is for bringing High Speed 2 into Euston; and what proportion of this cost is accounted for by (a) tunnelling from Old Oak Common to the Euston Portal, (b) construction works in the Camden Cutting, (c) Phases A and B1 of the new station at Euston, (d) land acquisition costs, including any land transferred between public authorities and (e) mitigation measures and compensation.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    HS2 Ltd deposited an Additional Provision (AP3) to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill on 16 September 2015 which includes revised plans for London Euston station. The new plans focus on an incremental strategy which will deliver new high speed platforms (Stages A and B1) and do not preclude wider redevelopment of the existing station in the future (Stage B2).

    The new proposals for a phased approach to Euston station will be delivered within the existing budget for Phase One of HS2 of £21.4bn. Within this overall budget the estimated construction costs of our latest plan for Euston is £2.25bn.

    It is not appropriate to provide a breakdown of the construction costs below this figure as this information is commercially sensitive and would compromise the forthcoming procurement process for these works.

    We will continue to work with our contractors and the rail industry to find the most cost efficient way of delivering the project.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2015 to Question 9725, with reference to his Department’s response to the Disability Benefits Consortium report on PIP Assessment Providers, published 4 April 2015, what steps his Department has taken to assess the usefulness of audio recordings as part of the employment and support allowance assessment process.

    Priti Patel

    A pilot of the audio recording of face-to-face Work Capability Assessments was undertaken in 2011 to “determine whether such an approach is helpful for claimants and improves the quality of assessments”. The pilot showed recording did not improve the quality of assessments. Less than half those taking part thought it would be helpful to them and only a handful requested a copy.

    However, despite very low requests for audio recordings, we are continuing to make this service available to those Employment and Support Allowance claimants who request it.