Tag: 2015

  • Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason callers to the International Enquiry Service of UK Visas and Immigration are charged £1.37 per minute.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office sets fees at a level that ensures it has sufficient resources to control migration for the benefit of the UK.

    Income from fees helps provide the resources necessary to operate the immigration system. The remainder is provided through general taxation. The Home Office aims to reduce the overall contribution of funding that comes from general taxation and increase the proportion of income generated from fees. We estimate that about 60 per cent of immigration system costs will be recovered through fees, a slight increase from last year. The remainder of the costs will be met by the UK taxpayer.

    To ensure that the system is fair and equitable, the government believes it is right that those who use and benefit directly from the UK immigration system make an appropriate contribution towards meeting the costs, thereby reducing the cost to the UK taxpayer. Customers can access a range of information on our application processes for free through our pages on gov.uk.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 and the revised time and cost estimates to the Trident programme, when the next major orders will be placed for long lead items and hull fabrication.

    Earl Howe

    In 2016, we expect to approve the next stage of the programme to replace the Vanguard Class submarines and to commit to further investment to demonstrate the ability of the submarine enterprise to deliver the programme to time and cost. Long lead materials procurement continues within the on-going Assessment Phase.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2015 to Question 15363, what assessments she has made of the capacity of traffic police to enforce fixed-penalty notices for the traffic offences relating to use of mobile telephones.

    Mike Penning

    Data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued by the police for using a handheld mobile phone while driving in England and Wales in the last five years is set out below.

    The enforcement of this offence is an operational matter for individual Chief Officers of police and decisions on the size and composition of a force’s workforce are for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners.

    Number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued by police in England and Wales (1) for using a handheld mobile phone while driving, 2010 (2) to 2014:

    Number (thousands) England and Wales

    Offence

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    Use of handheld mobile phone while driving

    124.7

    123.1

    92.7

    52.4

    29.7

    Source: Police Powers and Procedures, year ending March 2015, Home Office

    Notes

    1. Excludes British Transport Police

    2. Data for 2010 is not directly comparable with data from 2011 onwards due to the introduction of the PentiP system which records FPNs in England and Wales. Data from 2011 onwards is slightly lower that comparative data from the previous system.
  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the potential change in numbers of Syrian refugees arriving in Europe as a result of the commencement of UK airstrikes in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have not made any estimates of the potential increase in numbers of Syrian refugees arriving in Europe as a result of UK airstrikes. The majority of people who have been displaced in Syria have been fleeing regime and Daesh attacks. Unlike the Assad regime and its allies, who are bombing indiscriminately, Coalition military efforts in both Iraq and Syria are specifically designed to minimise civilian casualties. Targets are selected through rigorous protocol, based on the principles of proportionality, legality and military necessity. As the the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond) confirmed to the House on 16 December we are not aware of any civilian casualties as a result of the RAF airstrikes in Syria.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many sexual offences in which the offender was under the influence of alcohol were recorded in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    The information requested is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mechanisms his Department has for quality assurance of the work of Solutions for Public Health.

    George Freeman

    It is the responsibility of NHS England to quality assure the work of Solutions for Public Health (SPM).

    NHS England has a service level agreement in place with SPM and this sets out the terms under which stand-alone clinical evidence reviews are conducted and completed. The agreed methodology is based on best practice within the health sector and the collective experience of experts in public health and clinical effectiveness.

    As additional assurance, draft evidence reviews are tested prior to their completion with members of NHS England’s clinical reference groups, which include clinical and patient experts relevant to the service or speciality concerned from across England. Evidence reviews are also now shared as part of both informal stakeholder testing and formal public consultation alongside the draft clinical commissioning policies that they have informed.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what timetable he has set for the sale of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency testing station in Ennerdale Road, Shrewsbury.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA’s) heavy goods vehicle testing station in Ennerdale Road, Shrewsbury is a fully operational site. As part of its testing transformation programme, DVSA anticipate that the site will cease testing and close by 2019, at the latest. However, DVSA does not currently have a timetable for the closure and subsequent disposal of the site.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which local authorities reported an underspend on their public health budget in the last financial year; how much that underspend was for each of those local authorities.

    Jane Ellison

    The table attached shows the local authorities that underspent on their public health allocation (the ring fenced grant they received for public health) for 2014/15.

    The grant conditions permit local authorities to carry money forward to a future period in a ring-fenced public health reserve.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of mental health charities on the design of contracts for new welfare to work schemes.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP Ministers meet regularly with a wide range of organisations in relation to the Department’s work and welfare reform, where they discuss a variety of issues.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people referred to the Work Programme since 2011 who had no classable qualifications at the time of their referral achieved a job outcome at any stage during their time on the Work Programme.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested, in the above three questions, is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.