Tag: 2016

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what proportion the number of senior military officers ranked one star and above, and the civil service equivalent, employed by his Department, changed between 2011 and 2015.

    Mark Lancaster

    At 1 April 2011, 38.8 per cent of Senior Personnel in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) were Senior Civil Servants (SCS) and 61.2 per cent were UK Regulars at One Star (Army Brigadier and equivalent) and above. At 1 April 2015, 39.2 per cent were SCS and 60.8 per cent were UK Regulars at One Star and above.

    At 1 April 2011, there were 480 UK Regular personnel ranked One Star and above; by 1 April 2015 this figure had decreased by 6.9 per cent to 450.

    At 1 April 2011, there were 300 SCS personnel in the MOD; by 1 April 2015 this figure had decreased by 5.3 per cent to 290.

    The following tables provide the requested breakdown, by year, of UK Regular Strength at One Star and above, and SCS headcount:

    UK Regular Strength at One Star and above

    1 April 2010

    1 April 2011

    1 April 2012

    1 April 2013

    1 April 2014

    1 April 2015

    1 Oct 2015

    500

    480

    470

    440

    440

    450

    440

    SCS Headcount

    1 April 2010

    1 April 2011

    1 April 2012

    1 April 2013

    1 April 2014

    1 April 2015

    1 January 2016

    320

    300

    270

    280

    280

    290

    310

    The strength of UK Regular Personnel at 1 April 2011 was 186,360. The strength of UK Regular Personnel at 1 April 2015 was 153,720. This represents a 17.5 per cent decrease between 2011 and 2015.

    The MOD civilian staff (CS) headcount at 1 April 2011 was around 87,000. The CS headcount at 1 April 2015 was 59,900. This represents an estimated decrease of 31.2 per cent between 2011 and 2015.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy that volunteers should not be used in the operational areas of (a) child sexual exploitation, (b) serious crime and (c) counter-terrorism under proposals in the Policing and Crime Bill.

    Mike Penning

    Our consultation on the reform of the roles and powers of civilians and volunteers demonstrated the demand from forces for flexibility in how they deploy volunteer staff, and therefore we should not make assumptions about the operational areas where volunteers can make a contribution. For example, they can play a hugely valuable role in supporting vulnerable victims. As Victim Support told the consultation: “enabling chief officers to designate powers to volunteers would allow them to assist police officers in supporting victims of crime and improving service delivery.”

    Volunteers will be subject to the same tests as police staff before they are designated with powers, namely that the chief officer must be satisfied that they are suitable, capable and adequately trained (that is, the tests set out in section 38(4) of the Police Reform Act 2002), so police forces will not be able to deploy volunteers on tasks they are not capable of performing.

    If it is acceptable to confer all the powers of a constable on one type of volunteer, namely special constables, it is inconsistent to object in principle to conferring a narrower set of powers on other suitably trained volunteers. Under this Bill, however, Parliament will retain control of the list of core powers that will only be available to police officers. For example, all powers under counter-terrorism legislation are listed in Schedule 7 to the Bill as core powers of police officers.

    These reforms will place the individual decision-making as to which personnel perform which roles firmly in the hands of chief officers, who have the professional expertise and local knowledge to know which powers are needed in their area. It is important that we do not restrict the operational powers of the police, who retain the right to deploy staff as they see fit.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department’s planned expenditure on resources is for Ofcom in each year up to 2028.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government and Department set Ofcom’s overall spending cap as part of the 2015 Spending Review. Where significant changes are made to Ofcom’s remit or activities, Government will review the spending cap to ensure Ofcom is adequately resourced.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will assess the potential merits of a cost cap applying to welfare claimants requiring a medical certificate as part of a work capability assessment.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Prior to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) claimants are advised that they should only submit information that they already hold with their claim. During the WCA additional evidence may be requested from doctors on behalf of the Department, at no charge to the claimant.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, approximately how many (a) British and (b) non-British nationals are employed cleaning the Westminster estate of his Department.

    Guto Bebb

    The Wales Office does not employ any cleaners. The Department uses Ministry of Justice facilities management contracts, including the provision of cleaning for its Westminster estate.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons his Department has not included a trans woman as an advisor to its review on trans prisoners.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The terms of reference for the review of the care and management of transgender offenders were published on 8 December. The review is in its early stages. We are in the process of identifying a wide range of stakeholders with whom to engage and are keen to hear from all those with an interest. A copy of the terms of reference are available at:

    (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/review-into-the-care-and-management-of-transgender-offenders).

    “

  • Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to develop polices on confirming the date a transgender person has begun living in role.

    Jane Ellison

    Specialised gender identity services are directly commissioned by NHS England.

    NHS England has considered the outcomes of the listening exercise conducted by Professor Field and has put in place a significant programme of work to improve healthcare services for transgender and non-binary people. A dedicated task group has been established to provide leadership and coordination of NHS England’s work to improve transgender and non-binary people’s experience of the National Health Service, and NHS England holds a Transgender Network event twice a year. Regular updates on NHS England’s work to improve gender identity services are given on NHS England’s website by the Regional Director of Specialised Commissioning (London) who chairs the task group.

    A Clinical Reference Group for Gender Identity Services has been established, comprising professional and lay experts. This group makes recommendations to NHS England on clinical matters. Issues around the standardisation of pathways across gender identity services and clinical protocols are being considered as part of the current work to develop a service specification that, it is proposed, will describe how NHS England will commission these services in the future. The process for developing a proposed service specification has included a period of public consultation.

  • Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Margaret Ritchie on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential financial effect of leaving the EU on agriculture in Britain and Northern Ireland.

    George Eustice

    The Government has not made any assessment of the financial impact that leaving the EU would have on agriculture in Britain and Northern Ireland.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average time is for a school to convert to academy status.

    Edward Timpson

    The average time taken for a maintained school to convert to become an academy is 7 months.

  • Kirsty Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Kirsty Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsty Blackman on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what monitoring his Department undertakes of waiting times for immigration appeal hearings.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    HMCTS regularly monitors waiting times for immigration and asylum appeal hearings across the UK. They are considered monthly by the HMCTS Board and the Ministry of Justice Executive Committee. Tribunal Statistics, including average waiting times for appeals, are published quarterly by the Ministry of Justice. These can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics

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