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Tag: 2015

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

    Baroness Pinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why former foster children cannot claim for criminal injuries compensation against foster parents who have been abusive.

    Lord Faulks

    Former foster children can apply to the publically funded criminal injuries compensation scheme if they have suffered serious physical or mental injury as the direct result of a violent crime. Awards made under the scheme are paid for by tax payers and not the perpetrator of the violent crime.

    If former foster parents were convicted of an offence that resulted in personal injury, loss or damage, when sentencing the court would consider making an order for compensation in favour of the victim which would be paid by the perpetrators.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to publish responses to the Government’s consultation entitled, Changes to the Investment Regulations following the Law Commission’s report, Fiduciary Duties of Investment Intermediaries, published on 26 February 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government plans to publish these responses shortly. They will be available on the Gov.Uk website.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what work his Department has commissioned to identify the profile of customers with exchange-only lines on the telecom network that are incompatible with fibre to the cabinet broadband technology.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The vast majority of phone lines across the UK connect to the nearest telephone exchange via a street cabinet, which can be upgraded to deliver fibre broadband. Estimates are not available of the number of premises served by exchange only lines which connect directly to the local exchange rather than via one of BT’s street cabinets. There are a variety of reasons why exchange only lines are created. For example, for rural exchanges serving few premises where there was no need for cabinets, or for urban exchanges where it may have been a more cost-effective. Exchange only lines present a greater engineering challenge to deliver fibre broadband than those connected via street cabinets but technical solutions are available. One solution is to rearrange the existing network, lay new cables to reroute lines to new cabinets. This technique was developed as part of the BDUK Superfast Broadband Programme, and the number of exchange only lines is reducing all the time as roll out under the programme continues.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they propose to take to ensure that a proper distinction is made between the role of the contractor appointed by the local authority to enable local healthwatches to be established and run, and that of the local healthwatch organisation itself.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department currently has no plans to undertake an investigation in to the performance of local Healthwatch organisations. In March 2015 the Department published a report commissioned from the King’s Fund – Local Healthwatch: Progress and promise – which set out the progress that local Healthwatch have made since being established in 2013. Transparency about the performance of local Healthwatch organisations is provided through the annual reports which they are required to publish. Reports on how the local Healthwatch network as a whole is operating and the nature of the support needed to deliver their activities effectively are discussed at quarterly public meetings of the Healthwatch England Committee.

    Arrangements for ensuring local Healthwatch statutory activities are delivered in each area are a matter for local authorities. The Local Government Association has published guidance to support local Healthwatch and local commissioners in putting in place good governance arrangements, which includes clarity about the roles of all parties involved.

    Neither the Department nor Healthwatch England are aware of local Healthwatch contractors refusing to engage with the public in their area. Where Healthwatch England is made aware of concerns in relation to local Healthwatch around governance or local relationships with specific individuals or organisations, it seeks to provide support to resolve these where appropriate. Members of the public are able to raise concerns though the complaints process of the local Healthwatch or the commissioning local authority.

  • Peter Grant – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Peter Grant – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Grant on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions in each of the last five years officials of his Department have contacted representatives of a foreign government to ask for an account of private meetings or discussions held between representatives of that government and Scottish Government ministers.

    Matthew Hancock

    Details of discussions with foreign governments are not usually disclosed.

  • Lord Palmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Palmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which contracts awarded by the Department of Health have conditions within them relating to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and in each case, whether legal advice was taken before the issuing of that tender.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government takes its obligations as a Party to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) very seriously, including the obligation to protect public health policy from the vested interests of the tobacco industry.

    The Department considers the detail of Invitation to Tender (ITT) and contract documentation, including the legal aspects, on a case by case basis. The standard documentation includes a requirement to declare actual or potential conflicts of interest and some ITTs make specific reference to FCTC obligations.

    This issue is considered as part of the evaluation process and through the contract monitoring process as appropriate.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of in-work households in receipt of tax credits with an underlying entitlement to Working Tax Credit in each of the last five tax years did not have a claim with an underlying entitlement to Working Tax Credit in the following tax year.

    Damian Hinds

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

  • Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve schools in rural areas.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government is committed to achieving educational excellence everywhere so that children in all areas of the country benefit from a high-quality education. We made substantial progress in the last Parliament, and a million more pupils are in good or outstanding schools compared to 2010. But there are still too many areas where educational standards are not high enough.

    Pupils in rural areas are more likely to achieve 5 or more GCSEs including English and mathematics at grades A*-C. Considering local area deprivation, however, pupils living in rural areas are less likely to achieve the same standards as pupils living in similarly deprived urban areas of the country.

    We have already designated over 690 teaching schools and 1,050 national leaders of education (NLEs) in our drive to ensure that educational excellence is a reality in all areas of the country, particularly those that need most support. The new National Teaching Service (NTS) will place 1,500 outstanding teachers and middle leaders in underperforming schools by 2020, particularly in rural and other areas of the country that find it hardest to attract, retain and recruit good teachers.

    Regional Schools Commissioners are ensuring the availability of strong academy sponsors for schools in all areas of the country including rural areas. The Department recently announced that five sponsors will receive funding from the Northern Fund to set up seven new hubs across three RSC regions.

    We will introduce National Funding Formulas (NFF) for schools, high needs and early years so that funding is transparently and fairly matched to need rather than purely historic calculations.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the amount of its own capital which BT has invested in the rural broadband rollout programme to date.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Major Projects Authority concluded in Autumn 2014 that BDUK’s open book accounting process which supports BDUK’s monitoring and control of BT’s costsisan exemplar of best practice.Most Phase 1 broadband projects are using this process. BT have incurred £230 million spend to date for these projects.

  • Lord Avebury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Avebury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Avebury on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the recommendation by Human Rights Watch in its report on the treatment of detainees in Bahrain, The Blood of People Who Don’t Cooperate, that the UK should suspend funding, support and training for security service reform until Bahrain enacts listed reforms and issues a standing invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government consistently and unreservedly condemns torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and it is a priority for us to combat it wherever and whenever it occurs. We are aware of ongoing allegations against Ministry of Interior personnel, and we have expressed our concerns to the authorities. The Government of Bahrain has previously committed to consider ratifying the Optional Protocol of the Convention Against Torture. The UK strongly supports this and we have been working with the authorities to share best practice on torture prevention measures. We also continue to ask the Government of Bahrain to allow a visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

    We welcome the progress made by Bahrain on their reform programme particularly in the areas of youth justice, the establishment and increasing effectiveness of the Ombudsman’s office, the Prisoner and Detainees’ Rights Commission and the reformed National Institute of Human Rights. We continue to work with the Government of Bahrain to ensure momentum and progress on its reforms, for the benefit of all Bahrainis.

    The Government of Bahrain has asked the international community for their assistance in implementing the reforms necessary to improve the human rights situation, including in the security services. We strongly support them in their efforts and that is why we will continue to offer bilateral assistance for Bahrain’s reform programmes. In August, following a meeting with His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), reiterated the UK’s support for ongoing political reform in Bahrain but encouraged His Majesty to continue to demonstrate substantive progress in all areas. Our package of technical assistance is focused on strengthening human rights and the rule of law, in line with the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry and the Universal Periodic Review.