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Tag: 2015

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Government has spent on raising awareness of scam activity associated with pension freedoms.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Monitoring the market for pension scams is the responsibility of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Pensions Regulator (TPR). The Government remains in close contact with the regulators, and other organisations such as industry trade bodies, on these issues.

    The FCA has launched a new consumer awareness campaign around investment scams, ScamSmart. The Pensions Regulator runs the Scorpion campaign, which includes videos, action packs, leaflets and guidance, helping to raise awareness of the threats posed by scams amongst trustees, business advisers and individuals. These play a crucial role in helping to stop scams by arming consumers with the information they need to protect themselves.

    In addition Pension Wise specifically alerts consumers to scams in guidance sessions and through their website.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of local authorities have a suicide prevention strategy.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested is not collected centrally.

    However, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention published an Inquiry into Local Suicide Prevention Plans in England (January 2015). The Inquiry included a survey of local authorities by the APPG, which indicated that 70% of local authorities have a suicide prevention plan and 60% have a multi-agency suicide prevention group.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assistance the Government is providing for housing associations in building more affordable homes for first-time buyers.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is committed to helping hard working families meet their aspirations to own their own homes and it is a priority to increase the provision of affordable housing available to first time buyers.
    We have exceeded expectations over the last five years in delivering affordable homes, with more than 260,000 delivered since April 2010.

    We are committed to deliver a further 275,000 new affordable homes by 2020. This is well under way with over £1bn of the 2015-18 affordable homes programme already allocated to deliver new affordable homes across the country.

    Shared ownership is an integral part of this programme and helps those who may be otherwise priced out of the market to get a foot on the property ladder. Between April 2010 and March 2015 we delivered 41,000 new shared ownership homes.

    Through shared ownership and the Government’s commitment to build 200,000 Starter Homes by 2020, we are on track to help thousands of families achieve the dream of home ownership for the first time.

  • James Berry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    James Berry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Berry on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Sri Lankans have been granted refugee status after having previously been removed to Sri Lanka following a refused application for asylum in the UK in each quarter since January 2012.

    James Brokenshire

    Since January 2012, there have been a total of eight Sri Lankan nationals who have been granted refugee status in the UK after having previously been removed to Sri Lanka following a refused application for asylum.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what average time his Department took to respond to freedom of information requests in each year since 2005.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Government publishes statistics on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within central government, including on timeliness. These can be found at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.

  • Catherine West – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time is for a standard Disclosure and Barring Service check.

    Karen Bradley

    The average time taken to process a standard disclosure and barring service check over the last 12 months for which figures are available (November 2014 – October 2015) is 5.97 calendar days.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answers of 6 July 2015 to Question 4511 and 12 October 2015 to Question 10567, if she will (a) request that OFGEM assess whether the use of conventional hydro-power in the north of Scotland offsets the extra cost per unit of supply and (b) instruct OFGEM to cancel the 2p per kW hour excess charge in that region.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Electricity supplied to consumers in the North of Scotland region is produced by a range of generation types traded in a competitive market across GB. The electricity price paid by consumers in any given region is not therefore determined by the predominant generation type in that region.

    Ofgem does not regulate energy prices – these are set by energy suppliers in competition with each other and so matters relating to the pricing of tariffs are a matter for each individual company.

    Ofgem addressed the differences in electricity charges between regions at paragraph 2.5 of their recent report on ‘Regional Differences in Network Charges’. This stated that the differences observed are not a ‘surcharge’, but reflect the different network costs in the region when shared out between customers consuming energy in that area. They also saw “no compelling case” to change these arrangements, from a regulatory perspective.

    The report also noted that electricity distribution charges in the north of Scotland are already cross-subsidised to an extent through the Government’s Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme. It is currently worth around £41 per annum per household in the north of Scotland, and means that consumers face lower network charges than they otherwise would.

    This report can be obtained at:

    https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/ofgem-report-regional-differences-network-charges.

    “

  • 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 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average size of a cell is in (a) male and (b) female prisons.

    Andrew Selous

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had on extending the list of NATO aspirant countries.

    Mr David Lidington

    There is no formal list of NATO aspirant countries. However, this term is presently understood within the Alliance to refer to Georgia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia. The United Kingdom strongly supports NATO’s open door policy for any European country in a position to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership, and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. We therefore support the membership aspirations of all countries currently seeking to join the Alliance.

  • Oliver Heald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Oliver Heald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Heald on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2015 to Question 2065, what progress has been made on the design and planning of the A1 (M) widening scheme; when that process is expected to be completed; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport published the Roads Investment Strategy in December 2014, which set out plans to invest £15 billion in England’s motorways and major A roads between 2015/16 and 2020/21. Highways England subsequently published a Delivery Plan in March 2015, which outlined how this investment would be delivered across various projects. The Delivery Plan includes the introduction of Smart Motorways on the A1(M) between Junctions 6 and 8 will provide improved capacity and better access, and should unlock much of the growth potential around Stevenage.

    The scheme is expected to start design development works early in 2016 and to commence construction by March 2020 at the latest, subject to determining the right operational solution and achieving a solution that is value for money.