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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the train service in the Lincoln area, to both London and Birmingham, is adequate to meet present needs, and what firm plans they have for developing the service along those rail corridors.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government believes that Train Operators are better placed to respond to the changing demands of their customers in the creation of train services and it is the Government’s view that timetable development is an activity that should be managed by Train Operators with minimum interference from Central Government.

    In 2016 we will open the competition for the East Midlands franchise, and will engage with stakeholders and run a public consultation to help specify services.

    From May 2019, Stagecoach Virgin have been contracted by the Department for Transport to operate 5 additional services each day between London and Lincoln.This will provide a regular service of approximately 1 train every 2 hours in each direction. Delivery of this is subject to the rail industry’s normal timetable development process and to the Office of Road and Rail granting the necessary access rights to the operator.

  • Baroness Corston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Corston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Corston on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many owners of Community Rehabilitation Companies have hired public relations companies or consultants since February.

    Lord Faulks

    The MoJ robustly manages and monitors the performance of Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), in line with Government standards, to make sure they fulfil their contractual commitments to maintain service delivery, reduce reoffending and deliver value for money to the taxpayer. CRCs are contracted to deliver services for a fixed fee. We are aware that some of the CRCs have contracted with Public Relations Agencies. However, we would not normally monitor information on how many owners hire PR companies or consultants.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS (a) standalone midwife-led units, (b) midwife-led units situated alongside consultant-led units and (c) consultant-led maternity units there are in each region of England; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    Information on the number of standalone midwife-led units, midwife-led units situated alongside consultant-led units and consultant-led maternity units in each region of England is set out in the table below:

    Standalone midwife-led units

    Midwife-led units situated alongside consultant-led units

    Consultant-led maternity units

    North West, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside

    4

    12

    20

    Cumbria, North East of England and Yorkshire and the Humber

    8

    8

    24

    NHS Midlands and East.

    14

    37

    44

    South East Coast and Wessex

    8

    12

    16

    South

    18

    10

    18

    London

    3

    22

    25

    Women can expect a range of choices over place of birth. As set out in the NHS Choice Framework for 2015/16, these choices include giving birth at home with the support of a midwife, in a midwifery facility with the support of a midwife, or in any available hospital with the support of a maternity team. Choices will depend on what is best for the woman and her baby, as well as what is available locally.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they record nationality and immigration status on social security benefit claimant records; and if so, whether that information is collated, and whether they will publish it broken down by nationality, status and country of origin.

    Lord Freud

    Nationality and immigration status are not recorded on social security benefit claimant records in a form that allows for collation.

    For contributory benefits, nationality is not a qualifying factor, as eligibility is determined by the National Insurance contributions that the claimant has made. As such, this information is not available. For other income related benefits where residency conditions apply and the claimant must be lawfully resident in the UK, nationality is a factor. Once residency has been determined, nationality is not required for further processing and is therefore not routinely held on DWP computer systems in a form that allows for collation.

    There are currently no plans to change how data is collected to allow for collation or publication.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to support the creation of jobs through low carbon growth (a) within and (b) outside the UK.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The ONS will publish estimates of the number of people directly employed in the low carbon economy in December 2015. Notwithstanding this, the Government’s commitment to low carbon infrastructure helps support many thousands of highly skilled jobs across the economy. For example, the proposed new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C is estimated to support around 25,000 jobs, of which 7,000 are local. Similarly, the two Siemens offshore wind facilities in Hull announced in 2014 are estimated to support 1,000 direct jobs and 300 construction jobs. Internationally, low carbon strategies and potential jobs that arise from them will be guided by countries’ delivery of their intended contributions to a global climate change agreement. The UKis committed to supporting the world’s poorest to become more resilient to the effects of a changing climate and to take the clean energy path to growth and prosperity. Its international climate finance has helped support the creation of 39,000 jobs in developing countries up to April this year in relation to low carbon climate resilience.

  • Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had regarding the funding of youth social action projects outside National Citizen Service.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Cabinet Office is committed to making social action a part of life for all 10-20 year olds, creating opportunities for young people to develop new skills and give back to their community.

    In 2015/16 Cabinet Office will invest £1.2 million to support the development of national and local youth social action opportunities for 10-20 year olds. The investment has been match funded by Pears Foundation and UK Community Foundations. These funds will run until July 2017.

    Cabinet Office has also invested £10 million, through LIBOR fines, in Youth United to run the Uniformed Youth Social Action Fund. This fund aims to create over 15,000 places in uniformed youth groups in the UK.

    We will be making further announcements on youth funding in due course.

  • Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what was discussed at the meeting between Sir John Scarlett and Moussa Koussa in the UK in 2001.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    It has been the policy of successive governments not to comment on meetings involving intelligence officials.

  • Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Nash on 1 December (HL Deb, col 1054), what is the role of the Charity Commission in scrutinising academies.

    Lord Nash

    Academy trusts are charities, and must comply with charity law. As Principal Regulator the Secretary of State has a duty to promote this compliance by the charity trustees with their legal obligations in a trust’s management and administration.

    The Charity Commission has powers of investigation and enforcement over academy trusts where the Secretary of State, as Principal Regulator, requests that the Commission investigates a concern that the Department has identified. This means that, in consultation with the Principal Regulator, the Charity Commission, will investigate and if a serious failure to comply with charity law is found, has the necessary enforcement powers to act if sanctions are required.

    Academy trusts are exempt from registration and direct regulation by the Charity Commission and are instead overseen by a Principal Regulator. As PR, the Secretary of State has powers to investigate but enforcement powers rest with the Charity Commission.

  • Neil Coyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Coyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average number of personal independence payment assessments undertaken each week was in September and October 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 24 November (HL Deb, col 566), what specific additional support they are providing to those towns and parishes wishing to exercise the community rights provided by the Localism Act 2011 for developing neighbourhood plans, listing assets of community value and running services using the right to challenge; what other such community rights are available to town and parish councils; and what financial contribution they have made to town and parish councils for each of these purposes in each year since those rights came into existence.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The financial support for use of the community rights made by the Department for Communities and Local Government since the community rights came into force amounts to £62.6 million, including spend for the current financial year (2015/16). Spending on the Community Rights programme includes funding for communities to work with public service providers to take on services, Our Place and other related projects.

    Community Rights Funding (£million)

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    2015-16

    TOTAL

    1

    10.8

    19.5

    17.4

    13.9

    62.6

    The Government is currently considering options for funding this activity after the financial year 2015-16.

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