Tag: 2015

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many remote sites (a) are operational to enable witnesses to give evidence away from court, (b) were available for use by children under the age of 18 in 2014-15 and (c) were used by children under the age of 18 in that year.

    Mike Penning

    The Ministry is committed to supporting all victims and witnesses, including children, when giving evidence in criminal trials. All victims and witnesses are eligible for special measures to relieve stress when giving evidence, including giving evidence by video remotely.

    We have secured over £700m of funding to invest in our courts and tribunals. We have worked closely with the senior judiciary to develop a plan for investing this in reforming the courts and tribunals so they can deliver swifter, fairer justice at a lower cost. This will include digitisation and modernisation of our IT infrastructure. This will mean court users can attend hearings remotely, and not be inconvenienced by having to take a day off work to come to court. It will also mean victims of crime can give evidence from somewhere they feel safe.

    Since March 2015 vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including child abuse victims, can give evidence from a remote site which is away from the court environment. There is at least one remote site in each of the seven Regions in England and Wales, and twelve sites in total.

    In addition, the court estate is video-enabled so that any victim or witness can give evidence from a court building other than the trial site to ensure they do not come into contact with the defendant, or their family and supporters.

    Whilst HMCTS collates data on the number of witnesses giving evidence by video, the ages of the victims and witnesses are not recorded.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what advice his Department gives to local authorities, housing associations and other housing providers on permitting or restricting (a) senior citizens and (b) others from keeping animals in rented accommodation.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department for Communities and Local Government does not issue any guidance on keeping animals in rented accommodation.

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

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will ring-fence revenue raised from the HGV Levy for investment in transport infrastructure.

    Andrew Jones

    The HGV Levy was introduced in 2014 to ensure that all HGVs using UK roads make a payment reflecting the damage they cause to the roads. This removes some of the inequality for UK hauliers when paying to use many roads abroad. In its first year of operation the HGV Levy raised more than £46 million from foreignHGVs. Receipts raised by the HGV Levy are paid into the Consolidated Fund.

    As announced in the 2015 Spending Review on 25 November, this Government is making the biggest investment in transport infrastructure in generations. The government will invest £61 billion in transport this Parliament an increase of £20 billion compared to the previous parliament. This funding includes over £15 billion to improve, repair and expand our roads, covering the period from 2015/16 to 2020/21, and involves 127 major schemes.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons school reserves are included in local authority balance sheet reserves.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The reserves of local authority maintained schools are included in local authority balance sheet reserves. This is because those schools are subject to a level of local authority control. However the reserves of local authority maintained schools are ringfenced, which means that they cannot be diverted for non-schools purposes. The reserves of academies and free schools are not included in local authority balance sheet reserves.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate expertise in local housing market conditions among staff administering universal credit in jobcentres.

    Priti Patel

    The role of DWP is to administer the payment of Universal Credit (UC) and within that there is a Housing Cost element. The Local Authorities (LA) and Valuation Office keep their existing roles by providing valuation and housing advice. UC claims are assessed in UC service centres, not jobcentres.

    UC is being rolled out in a safe and controlled way to allow us to adapt and grow the capability we need over time. To support UC in assessment of the housing costs as part of delivering the live service, LA staff have been seconded on a short term basis to support improvements in housing cost knowledge for staff in UC Service centres.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which local authorities have agreed to take refugees under the Syrian Refugee resettlement scheme.

    Richard Harrington

    Over 50 local authorities from across the UK have offered places to resettle refugees under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme. It is at the discretion of local authorities to disclose whether or not they are involved with the VPR scheme.

  • 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 (a) referrals to the Work Programme since 2011 and (b) current participants in the Work Programme had no classifiable qualifications at the time of their referral.

    Priti Patel

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

  • Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on the effect of the increase in the state pension age on women.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Ministers regularly discuss matters of policy that span their responsibilities.

    Reasonable mitigation for those worst affected by changes in State Pension age was introduced in 2011. A concession was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their State Pension, relative to the previous timetable, to 18 months. This concession was worth £1.1 billion in total.

    This Government is committed to better outcomes for pensioners. However, the several billions of pounds that it would cost to make further policy changes in this area, that prolong the gender inequality in State Pension provision, cannot be justified.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has discussed the planned move to a numeric grading system for GCSEs in England with her Northern Ireland counterpart.

    Nick Gibb

    The Secretary of State has not had any meetings with Northern Ireland’s Minister for Education to discuss the grading system for GCSEs in England. Her predecessor discussed reforms to GCSEs in England with John O’Dowd (Minister for Education, Northern Ireland) and Leighton Andrews (Minister for Education and Skills, Wales) in May 2013.

    Department for Education officials have regular meetings with officials from the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as the regulators Ofqual and Qualifications Wales, to discuss the qualification reforms taking place in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what aid her Department is providing to Indonesia to assist with tackling forest fires.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK is providing technical support through a number of channels. For example, the UK Climate Change Unit in Indonesia has funded the World Resource Institute’s Global Forest and Fire Watch which provides free real-time information on fire spots, linking these data to land licensing and land type. In addition, the UK’s Forest Land-Use and Governance (FLAG) programme in Indonesia is funding longer-term fire prevention work through civil society, private sector and government, focusing on transparency, accountability and spatial planning to resolve the land governance issues that lead to fires.