Tag: 2015

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many decisions on further submissions related to asylum claims that are outstanding have been waiting for longer than (a) one year, (b) two years and (c) three years for a decision.

    James Brokenshire

    There is not a formal service standard for deciding further submissions from failed asylum seekers. The Home Office is balancing resource between those failed asylum seekers with no leave to remain who have made further submissions on the one hand and, on the other, those who were granted a limited period of leave following the refusal of their application who have outstanding applications for Further Leave.

    With regard to further submissions lodged by failed asylum seekers, there is dedicated resource in place to decide cases in the existing stock of further submissions and to also decide new submissions quickly, wherever possible within 5 days of their being lodged. With regard to cases in the stock of further submissions, the Home Office is prioritising cases where applicants are in receipt of asylum support and cases where the applicant may be removed from the United Kingdom in the eventuality their submission is refused. The Home Office will also give priority to further submissions case that have been outstanding for the longest period of time.

    The figures in the below table relate to failed asylum seekers who had outstanding further submissions as of 30 June 2015:

    Timescale (Years) Total

    1 – 2 2383

    2 – 3 1426

    3 or more 1267

    Total 5076

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to make a final decision about airport expansion in the South East.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    On 10 December, the Government accepted the Airports Commission’s case for expansion in the South East. We agree with the Commission’s shortlist of three options, all of which it concluded were viable. The Government will now conclude a package of further work by the summer, and will ensure that the timetable for delivering additional capacity set out by the Commission does not alter.

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation officers have been employed by the National Probation Service since its establishment in each month in that period, and for each such month in each region of England.

    Andrew Selous

    Information on the number of probation officers employed in each NPS Division is published quarterly in the National Offender Management Service Workforce Statistics Bulletin. The information on probation officer numbers can be located in table 11 of the publication, which can be found at the link below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics

    “

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Government’s decision to withdraw £1 billion in funding from carbon capture and storage projects on the future of energy-intensive industries in the UK.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The provision of ring-fenced capital support for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) was judged against other Government funding priorities as part of the Spending Review. Government has not taken the Spending Review decision lightly. The Government continues to view CCS as having a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors. Neither CCS Competition project proposed to capture CO2 from energy intensive industries.

    The detailed design and implementation of CCS policy changes have yet to be determined. The Industrial 2050 Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency Roadmaps reports published in March 2015 identified a potential role for industrial CCS technologies in decarbonising the steel, oil refining, chemicals and cement sectors. DECC and BIS continue to engage with the energy intensive industries and academics to develop decarbonisation Action Plans by the end of 2016 as the second phase of this process.

    The Government remains committed to working with energy intensive industries including those in the Northern Powerhouse area. DECC provided £1million funding to Tees Valley Unlimited as part of the 2013 City Deal agreement to undertake an Industrial CCS feasibility study based on the chemicals and steel industry in the Teesside cluster and we continue to support that work. The devolution deal for Tees Valley, published in October this year, also included a commitment to explore how it can continue to develop its industrial CCS proposals.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department will provide a definition of the term vulnerable group for the purposes of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill; and with whom his Department will consult on that definition.

    Priti Patel

    Our reforms aim to ensure that work always pays more than a life on benefits; that the system is fair to those who pay for it, as well as those who benefit from it; and that support is focused on the most vulnerable which is why we are protecting pensioner benefits and payments for the additional costs of care and disability.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits to tourism of using daylight saving time all year.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Government has not made any recent assessments of the potential benefits of using daylight saving time all year. The Government has no plans to consider any changes in this area in the absence of consensus across the UK.

  • Stewart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stewart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart McDonald on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the £2,000 employment allowance is not allotted to NHS dentists employed as independent contractors.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Employment Allowance is an annual cut of up to £2,000 from the employer National Insurance Contributions bill of businesses and charities throughout the UK. As announced by the Chancellor in his Summer Budget, the allowance will increase to £3,000 from 2016-17.

    The allowance is designed to back businesses looking to grow and take on new people by reducing the costs of employment. Where businesses are already funded wholly or mainly by the public sector, they already benefit from public funds and as a result are not eligible for the Employment Allowance.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lisa Nandy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by what date her Department has instructed SERCO to no longer house asylum seekers in hotels.

    James Brokenshire

    The use of hotels is permitted under the terms of the COMPASS contract as a contingency accommodation when usual accommodation cannot meet demand. The Home Office is clear that this is only ever acceptable in an emergency and providers must move clients into suitable accommodation quickly. No instruction has been given to Serco to cease use of hotels, however we and the housing providers are pursuing all options to reduce hotel use and put in place alternative contingency options.

  • Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the number of businesses in Newton Abbot constituency which have download speeds of 10Mb/s.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government has committed to achieving availability of superfast broadband to 95% of homes and businesses in the UK by the end of 2017. 88 per cent of homes and businesses in Newton Abbott are estimated to have coverage by the end of 2016, and additional funding sources, including the clawback funding that BT have offered in response to the high levels of take-up, will allow coverage to be extended further in Newton Abbot and the rest of the area covered by the Devon and Somerset broadband project. The Government will also launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband USO by 2020,with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where in the country they live.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to seek the views of pensioners on (a) his Department’s policies and (b) concessionary travel since the closure of the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing.

    Andrew Jones

    Since the final meeting of the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing in September we have continued to consider the priorities of older people and to consult with relevant organisations where appropriate.

    We are working with the Disabled People’s Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) to revamp the Department for Transport’sAccessibility Action Plan, which was initiated for the first time under the Coalition government, to meet the growth in demand for a more inclusive transport system as a result of an aging population.

    We have also met with the National Pensioners’ Convention (NPC) at “round table” events for the upcoming Buses Bill, and welcome engagement with all organisations representing older people regarding policies including the national bus concession.

    The national concession provides almost ten million older and disabled people with free off-peak bus travel throughout England, helping them to maintain their independence and remain active in society. This Government has committed to maintaining this national concession through this Parliament.