Tag: 2015

Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how the Government plans to monitor and enforce clause 2 of the draft Wales Bill.

Stephen Crabb

Clause 2 of the draft Wales Bill will place the existing convention that Parliament will not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters without the consent of the National Assembly for Wales on a statutory footing. The Government will continue to work with the Welsh Government to obtain the Assembly’s consent (via legislative consent motions) to legislation in devolved areas included in parliamentary Bills. Similarly,where Welsh Government is legislating in relation to the functions of reserved authorities, they should seek the consent of UK ministers, and the draft bill makes this clear.

January 1, 2023
Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-12-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the Scottish economy of devolution of corporation tax to Northern Ireland.

Mr David Gauke

Devolution of a corporation tax rate-setting power to the Northern Ireland Assembly has the potential to help rebalance the Northern Ireland economy. The UK Government will activate this power if the Northern Ireland parties meet their commitments in the Stormont House Agreement, which includes demonstrating that its finances are on a sustainable footing for the long-term.

It is not possible to determine the exact impact of devolution on any other parts of the UK as any impact will depend on a number of factors, including the rate set and when the regime comes into effect. But a thriving, prosperous Northern Ireland will have benefits for the whole UK economy, not just Northern Ireland.

January 1, 2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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 and what proportion of households in receipt of universal credit in the four pathfinder areas have alternative payment arrangements in place to allow for the housing costs element to be paid directly to their landlord.

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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January 1, 2023
Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for competition in the bus market of (a) voluntary partnership agreements and (b) statutory quality partnerships; and what account he plans to take of those implications in framing legislation on bus franchising.

Andrew Jones

Competition issues in bus partnerships are primarily a matter for the Competition and Markets Authority and for the local authorities involved in the partnership concerned. I anticipate that the Buses Bill will include new measures on partnership working between local transport authorities and bus operators.

The aim of these measures would be to facilitate more effective partnershipdevelopment between local authorities and bus operators, resulting in better quality bus services for passengers, whilst ensuring fair bus market competition.

Under a bus franchising regime competition would be for, rather than within, the bus market. The competition issues that apply are therefore materially different from those associated with partnerships arrangements between bus operators and local authorities.

January 1, 2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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 and what proportion of people in receipt of universal credit who were already in work had their entitlement reduced as a result of increasing the number of hours they worked in the most recent month for which figures are available.

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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January 1, 2023
Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with her Cabinet colleagues on the legal recognition in Northern Ireland of same-sex marriages which have been registered elsewhere in the UK.

Caroline Dinenage

The UK government has demonstrated its commitment to marriage for same sex couples by introducing it for England and Wales, and has welcomed its introduction in other jurisdictions, including Scotland.

We recognise and respect the devolution settlement in Northern Ireland. The constitutional arrangements in place mean that any decision to extend marriage to same-sex couples in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly. Officials from the Government Equalities Office speak regularly with colleagues in the Northern Ireland Office regarding these and other equality related matters.

January 1, 2023
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.

January 1, 2023
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.

January 1, 2023

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.

January 1, 2023

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.

January 1, 2023