The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will introduce new sentencing guidelines recommending strict penalties to assist magistrates in prosecuting caces under the Equality Act 2010 where a private hire or taxi driver has refused to provide transport to a visually impaired passenger and their guide dog.
Andrew Selous
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 September 2015 to Question 8187.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) boys and (b) girls aged (i) 11, (ii) 12, (iii) 13, (iv) 14, (v) 15, (vi) 16 and (vii) 17 were held overnight in police cells in each police station in Lancashire in each month between 1 January 2014 and 30 November 2015.
Mike Penning
The Home Office does not hold this information centrally. It may be held by the individual police force.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Traffic Regulation Orders have been introduced by local authorities to tackle pavement parking since 2011.
Andrew Jones
This information is not held. Local authorities have powers under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to make Traffic Regulation Orders and the Department for Transport is not involved in this process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the introduction of the Work and Health Programme in Scotland.
David Mundell
I and my officials have regular engagement with colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions on a range of important matters, including the rollout of universal credit and fulfilling our commitment to devolve employment support currently delivered by the Work Programme and Work Choice. In addition, I also discuss Welfare related issues in my regular meetings with Local Authorities across Scotland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who are self-employed made a successful claim for universal credit in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.
Priti Patel
The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC therefore it is not yet possible to give a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future. These statistics however will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.
The latest official experimental statistics on UC and the Departments release strategy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been unable to provide MyCSP with accurate pension data for its staff on which pension benefit statements can be based; and by what date he expects that matter to be resolved.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is not able to provide myCSP with accurate pensions data on its staff because of an ongoing technical issue with the interface between its shared service supplier and myCSP.
All parties are working on a permanent solution and the MCA understands that this issue will be fixed early in 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people currently claiming legacy benefits he expects to have transferred to universal credit by the end of the current Parliament.
Priti Patel
It is not possible to predict whether or not people currently claiming benefits will claim Universal Credit in the next five years. The numbers of claimants in receipt of Universal Credit at any given point will vary according to a number of factors, such as the economic climate and developments in Government policy. Even if this data was published, such forecasts may change over time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what her policy is on extending the time in which women may take a pregnancy and maternity discrimination case against their employers to a tribunal from three to 12 months.
Caroline Dinenage
The Government awaits the final report on pregnancy and maternity discrimination and will carefully consider any recommendations from the Equality and Human Rights Commission before deciding on next steps.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-11-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans are in place to reduce the number of unplanned closures of the East Coast Main Line.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Department for Transport measures the performance of franchised train operators through a range of metrics as specified within their franchise agreements. The Office of Rail and Road monitor the performance of Network Rail. We expect all in the rail industry to work together to ensure good performance for its customers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2015-12-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how they will assess higher education institutions to determine whether they are delivering effective outcomes for widening access and social mobility.
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
Universities wishing to charge higher fees must agree Access Agreements with the independent Director of Fair Access, showing what more they will do to widen access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. These Access Agreements include measures and benchmarks for success, in line with the universities’ own particular mission and challenges.
The Director of Fair Access monitors the performance of Universities against their targets and provides a report each year on the progress that has been made.
The Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141 sets out additional steps the Government plans to take to increase the proportion of students from disadvantaged background entering higher education including through the new guidance that we plan to issue to the Director of Fair Access, and through the social mobility taskforce being set up by Universities UK.