Tag: 2015

  • Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has for replacement of the HST 125 trains on the Midland mainline.

    Claire Perry

    The Department considers that franchisees are normally best placed to procure the rolling stock that they require to deliver the necessary levels of service and capacity. We expect the competition for the next East Midlands long-term franchise to deliver those improvements to the rolling stock that are required.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect on the academic performance of sixth form students of the use of unconditional offers of places by universities.

    Nick Boles

    It is for individual higher education institutions to determine their own admission arrangements. No assessment has been made of the effect on the academic performance of sixth form students of the use of unconditional offers of places by universities.

  • Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many decisions to grant release on temporary licence were made, and (2) what type of licence was granted in each prison establishment, in each month since January 2013.

    Lord Faulks

    The Ministry of Justice collates data on incidences of release on temporary licence (ROTL) rather than on decisions to grant ROTL. A decision to grant ROTL can relate to a single incidence of release, or to more than one incidence of release where, for example, an offender is regularly working in the community on day release. Annual statistics on the numbers of individuals granted ROTL is published on the gov.uk website.

    The attached tables provide the following information:

    Table 1: The number of individuals released on temporary licence per quarter between January 2013 and June 2015 by prison;

    Table 2: Incidences of release on temporary licence per month between January 2013 and June 2015 by prison and by type of licence;

    Table 3: The number of individuals aged 50 to 59, and 60 and over released on temporary licence per quarter between January 2013 and June 2015.

    The Ministry of Justice collates data relating to the number of individuals released on temporary licence on a quarterly basis: it would only be possible to provide monthly data at disproportionate cost.

    Following changes to ROTL in 2013, there has been a 39% reduction in recorded instances of ROTL failure. This is the lowest failure rate since 2002.

    ROTL can be an important tool to help rehabilitate prisoners. ROTL is not automatic, but is only granted following rigorous assessment and with public protection as a primary consideration. The Government supports prisoners using temporary release to take work, training and educational opportunities that cannot be provided in prison, as well as for maintaining ties with their families.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many households in Preston constituency have gained income under the feed-in tariff in the last four years for which figures are available.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The table below provides the cumulative total number of domestic installations in the Preston Constituency that are confirmed on the Central Feed-in Tariff Register and marked as being domestic installations. The latest figures for 2015 go up to the end of September, with previous years’ data provided to the end of each calendar year.

    Photovoltaics

    Micro Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

    Total

    2012

    152

    152

    2013

    249

    1

    250

    2014

    327

    1

    328

    2015 (Jan – Sept)

    387

    1

    388

    Data taken from Sub-regional Feed-in Tariffs statistics, with the latest figures published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they owe the government of the United States for activities in the First World War; what are the repayment arrangements; and when the repayments will be completed.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The United Kingdom owed around £850 million to the United States for activities in the First World War. However, in 1931 the United States proposed a temporary moratorium on all War debts, to allow for negotiations on debt repayment. Following negotiations, no satisfactory agreement was reached and as such, repayments were cancelled between the United Kingdom and United States. The last repayment from the United Kingdom to the United States for debt from the First World War was made in the financial year 1932-33.

  • Dawn Butler – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dawn Butler – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the safety of British tourists in Tunisia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We continue to advise against all but essential travel to Tunisia. We advise any British nationals who choose to travel to or remain in Tunisia to check that their insurance policy provides adequate cover, to be especially vigilant and to follow the advice of the Tunisian security authorities.

    We have almost doubled our support for Tunisia this year. We are working closely with the Tunisian government to improve their protective security and build their capacity to deter and respond to terrorist threats. We are also working with professionals in the tourist industry in popular tourist areas such as Sousse and Hammamet to build their awareness of the threat and to put in place appropriate security measures.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of international aid agencies’ efforts to support and protect their staff from sexual abuse.

    Baroness Verma

    Whilst we do not have a contractual obligation to have a duty of care for the staff of international aid agencies that are funded by DFID, all DFID funding is subject to DFID’s Due Diligence procedures which assess an organisation’s governance and control structure and those of their downstream partners.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect on student numbers of abolishing grants and maintenance allowances and introducing student loans and tuition fees for nurses’ training places; and what assessment the Government has made of the effect on students from poorer backgrounds of abolishing grants and maintenance allowances and introducing student loans and tuition fees for such training places.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government assessment undertaken to date is that nursing is consistently one of the most popular courses on the University Central Administration Service (fifth), with 57,000 applicants for around 20,000 nursing places in 2014. Midwifery and Allied Health Professional courses receive higher than average applications as well.

    A maximum £9,000 tuition fee for other subjects at higher education institutions was introduced in 2012. Between 2012 and 2014 the number of English domiciled applicants to enter full-time undergraduate courses in the United Kingdom increased by 7.5% (from 454,000 in 2012 to 487,870 in 2014). Figures for 2015 cycle will be released in mid-December and early indicators suggest that there will be further increase in 2015.

    Students from the most disadvantaged areas in England were 72% more likely to apply to higher education in 2015 than 2006.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what attacks have been made against the Government Gateway system to date.

    Matthew Hancock

    For security reasons we do not comment on specific details of unsuccessful cyber security attacks.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle disability hate crime.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government takes all forms of hate crime very seriously. Crime that is motivated by hostility or hatred towards the victim is particularly corrosive and can have devastating consequences for victims and their families. We are committed to working with communities in order to keep them safe.

    We have announced that we will publish a new hate crime action plan next year. This will include a number of actions aimed at reducing the number of hate crimes committed against disabled people, and also improving the response to these crimes when they occur.

    I, and other ministers, attended a roundtable on disability hate crime in October. This gave me the opportunity to speak to a range of people, including representatives of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, researchers and service users. A key part of our action plan will include understanding the issues behind hate crime, and this was an important first step towards this. Officials are taking forward actions from this meeting.

    The Government is currently speaking to a number of organisations and individuals to inform the next steps in developing this action plan. This includes work with the Fulfilling Potential Forum, which is led by the Office for Disability Issues within DWP and is made up of around 40 disability charities, including disabled people’s user led organisations.