Tag: 2016

Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to section 7 of the East Anglia franchise Invitation to Tender, published on 17 September 2015, what weighting his Department has ascribed to (a) social characteristics and (b) other factors used to determine the most economically advantageous tender for (i) that franchise and (ii) proposals for new rolling stock orders by bidders for that franchise.

Claire Perry

As you have indicated the winning bid will be awarded to the most economically advantageous tender as set out in section 7 of the Invitation to Tender (ITT). This is determined through a combination of ‘price’ and weighted quality points awarded as part of the Department’s evaluation of initiatives proposed by a bidder to meet or exceed the Department’s requirements set out in each delivery plan at section 5 of the East Anglia ITT.

It is in the delivery plans themselves that references to social characteristics are included. In the main they appear in the Stations, Customer Experience and Leadership delivery plans.

In respect of Rolling Stock, as a minimum, the Department has required that bidders propose either new rolling stock or non-new build rolling stock. If non-new build rolling stock, passengers will perceive the overall design, internal ambience, condition and facilities, and the external condition, as being modern, comfortable and comparable to that of new or nearly new rolling stock.

This link takes you to the full ITT should you require it: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/461470/east-anglia-invitation-to-tender.pdf

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01/01/2023
Lord Jopling – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House of Lords

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Leader of the House, further to her Written Statement on 21 July (HLWS128), what discussion she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the light of that Department’s position as the Department having the worst record in answering Questions for Written Answer within 10 working days, and whether the Secretary of State intends to make a Written Statement to explain what steps have been taken within that Department to match the overall record of government departments in answering 93 per cent of Written Question within 10 working days.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

I take very seriously my responsibility as Leader of the House to encourage Ministers to be punctual in answering written questions. I recently published data on departmental performance in answering Questions for Written Answer for the 2015/16 session, where I was pleased to see that 93% of questions were answered within 10 working days. Nevertheless, we must always strive to do better. I have written to the three departments with the greatest proportion of late responses in the last session to make clear the House’s expectations and to stress the importance of timely responses.

Though the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (formerly the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) received 475 Questions for Written Answer in 2015/16 – more than double the number received in the previous session – Ministers were nevertheless disappointed by the department’s performance. In response the department has put in place a range of actions to improve performance, including strengthening internal deadlines and procedures. Baroness Neville-Rolfe, as the Lords Minister, has stressed to me how seriously the department takes its responsibilities to Parliament and is confident that performance will improve in this session.

My office continues to work with all departments to ensure prompt and comprehensive responses to all Questions for Written Answer. I will continue to publish data on an annual basis to allow analysis of performance over time. This practice is important in highlighting where improvements in timeliness could and should be made.

01/01/2023

Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide a list stating the value of each grant that has been awarded by her Department to each academy sponsor matched to a school with an Academy Order; and what the average value is of those grants that have been made under the provisions of the Education and Adoption Act 2016.

Edward Timpson

As of 24 October 2016, there have been 33 grant payments made as a result of an Academy Order being issued under the provisions of the Education and Adoption Act 2016. They consist of the following:

Grants Paid	Total
1 part payment of grant of £45,000	£45,000
22 grants of £70,000	£1,540,000
2 grants of £80,000	£160,000
7 grants of £90,000	£630,000
1 grant of £110,000	£110,000
Grand Total	£2,485,000

This brings an average cost of £75,303 supporting these sponsored academies. The details of the grant amounts can be found on page 4 of the Sponsored academies funding Advice for sponsors document. This guidance is published online and can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/511128/sponsored_academies_funding_advice_for_sponsors.pdf

This does not include any award of sponsor capacity fund (SCF) which may previously have been made to relevant sponsors as part of their developing greater capacity to support schools.

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01/01/2023

Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answers of 6 January 2016 to Questions 21298 and 21317 on detention: centres, if she will take steps to collect the information referred to and to publish it on a regular basis.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office has no plans to collect or publish the information referred to in Questions 21298 and 21319. Question 21317 had not been answered when this Question was tabled.

01/01/2023
Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-02-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 23641, which of the five findings contained in the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator assessment of Exercise Senator 2011 has not been formally closed out.

Mr Philip Dunne

The finding not yet formally closed out in the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR) assessment of Exercise Senator 2011 called for a review of the hazard assessment for the transport operation. This is to ensure that protection measures remain proportionate to the risk and continue to be based on up-to-date scientific and regulatory advice. DNSR continues to have confidence in the adequacy of the arrangements currently in place, as has been demonstrated at emergency response exercises, but believes it is timely to conduct a review.

We currently expect the finding to be closed out within the next 12 months.

01/01/2023
Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many incidents there have been of the loss of radar or command and control networks since the inception of military action in Syria.

Penny Mordaunt

I am withholding this information for reasons of operational security. The Coalition has appropriate air command and control (C2) and radar capabilities to allow RAF aircraft to operate in a safe and professional manner when conducting missions inside Syrian airspace.

01/01/2023
Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he plans to take to help give the views of young people greater prominence in policy decisions in their community.

Mr Rob Wilson

The Cabinet Office supports the Government’s commitment of giving young people the power and opportunity to play a real part in their community. We promote engagement, advocacy and consultation at both national and local level

We support the British Youth Council (BYC) to deliver its ‘youth voice’ programme, including key activities such as the national annual Make Your Mark ballot, UK Youth Parliament, and the Youth Select Committee.

Cabinet Office has committed to continuing its support for these activities for the remainder of the current Parliament.

01/01/2023
Baroness Deech – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Deech on 2016-05-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on charities operating in Gaza of the freezing of financial transfers to them owing to the orders of the Palestinian Authority to Palestinian banks.

Baroness Verma

The UK remains supportive of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) efforts to strengthen its revenue generation. A transparent and effective tax system is an important part of this. It is also important that the tax system is implemented in a way that does not negatively impact the vital role which NGO’s play in responding to the needs of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is an importtant part of this.

DFID officials have raised concerns with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) about this, particularly the need for clarity on the implications of the tax system for NGOs, and how this could affect issues such as operations in Gaza and banking signatory authorities. The UK, along with other donors, UN OCHA and the NGO community, will continue to be in close contact with PA to clarify their approach.

01/01/2023
John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which EU (a) legislative and (b) other proposals his Department is leading negotiations on for the Government in the Council of the EU.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department for Work and Pensions is leading on one set of negotiations on the following EU proposal:
- Directive 2004/37/EC – Proposal to amend the Directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work.
01/01/2023

Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Attorney General, how many applications under the unduly lenient sentence scheme have been rejected due to falling outside the remit of that scheme in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright

The Government has committed to extending the scope of the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and is carefully considering its approach.

The number of offenders who have had their sentence increased under the unduly lenient sentence scheme in each of the last five years is set out below.

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Offenders who have had their sentence increased by the Court of Appeal	95	62	61	106	102

Some cases attract multiple referrals from various sources and we do not record how many referrals each case has received. The total number of cases where requests were received by the Attorney General’s Office for sentences to be reviewed in each of the last five years is set out below.

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Total number of referrals received by the Attorney General’s Office for sentences to be reviewed under the scheme	377	435	498	674	713

The number of sentences referred to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme that were (a) increased and (b) kept the same in each of the last five years is set out below.

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Total number of sentences referred to the Court of Appeal	117	82	70	122	136
Total number of sentences that were increased	95	62	61	106	102
Total number of sentences that remained unchanged	22	20	9	16	34

The number of referrals under the unduly lenient sentence scheme that have been rejected due to falling outside the remit of the scheme in each of the last five years is set out below.

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Number of referrals that have been rejected due to the offence falling outside the remit of the scheme	62	75	131	194	228
Number of referrals received out of time	3	12	9	10	16

01/01/2023