Tag: 2016

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Royal Air Force F35B Lightning II jets have completed testing for shipborne rolling vertical landing in cooperation with US Air Force and US Navy assets.

    Harriett Baldwin

    UK F-35B simulation trials for Shipborne Rolling Vertical Landing (SRVL) are ongoing. SRVL trials at sea are scheduled to commence as part of the UK’s First of Class Flying Trials aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth in late 2018.

    “

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that internet service providers and social media organisations co-operate with the police to combat incidents of cyber bullying and harassment.

    Mike Penning

    As part of the arrangements for the collection of police recorded crime data the Home Office has introduced an ‘online flag’ allowing police forces to record online instances of crimes such as stalking and harassment. These data are still being developed but will be published once the data are considered to be of sufficient quality. In October 2015, the Office for National Statistics introduced new fraud and cyber questions to the Crime Survey for England and Wales. These new questions mean that we will be able to identify those crimes that had an online component and hence be able to provide estimates of cyber crime. This data will be published in due course.

    Legislation is in place to deal with internet trolls, cyber-stalking and harassment, and perpetrators of grossly offensive, obscene or menacing behaviour. Through the Criminal Justice Act 2015, we improved two communications offences which can be used to prosecute misuse of social media: section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, giving the police longer to investigate either offence, and increasing the maximum penalty for the former to two years imprisonment.

    Engagement with the industry is essential, and the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) brings together industry, law enforcement, academia, charities, parenting groups, and government departments (Home Office, Department for Culture, Media & Sport, and Department for Education), to work in partnership to help to keep children and young people safe online. As part of this work, the UK’s Communications regulator, Ofcom, recently led a working group to develop good practice guidance for providers of social media and interactive services. Its purpose is to encourage businesses to think about “safety by design” to help make their platforms safer for children and young people under 18. This guidance was published in December 2015. A wide range of partners contributed to this project, including Twitter, Facebook, Google, Ask.FM, MindCandy and Microsoft.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer 27 January 2016 to Question 23759, whether there is scope for the Work Coach to pass on details of the claimant’s universal credit application to their local authority in order to begin automatically the application for council tax reduction.

    Priti Patel

    A process to automate the sharing of data between Universal Credit and Local Authorities to support applications to Local Council Tax Reduction Schemes will be implemented in the next month.

    There are no plans to automate applications for Council Tax Reduction through Universal Credit. This must be done separately by the claimant with the Local Authority.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s press release, UK to step up NATO maritime commitment, published on 10 February 2016, which Type 45 Destroyer will be deployed to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 in October 2016.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Secretary of State did announce that the Royal Navy will deploy a Type 45 Destroyer to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 in October 2016.

    However, I am withholding details of the ship that will be deployed as such a disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.293 of Budget 2016, how his Department plans to support the establishment of a Life Chances Investment Fund; and how much funding will be allocated to that Fund.

    Greg Hands

    The government will work with Greater Manchester to establish a Life Chances Investment Fund from April 2017. This will bring together into a single pot funding from the Troubled Families programme, the Working Well pilot, the Cabinet Office Life Chances Fund and Greater Manchester’s own resources. The precise size of the Fund will be agreed over the coming months. Further detail on the government and Greater Manchester’s plans for this Fund can be found in the document on further devolution to Greater Manchester agreed alongside the Budget. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/devolution-to-the-greater-manchester-combined-authority-and-transition-to-a-directly-elected-mayor.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of reforming (a) pension protection arrangements and (b) corporate pension schemes.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The pension protection arrangements for defined benefit occupational pension schemes have been robust and effective.

    The Government keeps these arrangements under review, engaging relevant stakeholders, in order to ensure that members of pension schemes are properly protected, and considers long term as well as short term factors for the pension protection landscape.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of staff in his Department were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2015-16.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information is provided in the following table:

    Financial Year

    Proportion of payroll staff (%)

    Proportion of non-payroll staff (%)

    2015-16

    99.4

    0.6

    2014-15

    99.7

    0.3

    2013-14

    99.9

    0.1

    2012-13

    99.9

    0.1

    2011-12

    99.9

    0.1

    2010-11

    99.9

    0.1

    Of the 520 non-payroll staff in the latest year the majority were employed to develop the technology for our major welfare reforms.

  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the recommendations made by the UK Statistics Agency in August 2015, what plans his Department has to extend the range of benefit sanction data available by addressing gaps in information on repeat sanctions and hardship payments alongside the development of sanction data from the universal credit system.

    Damian Hinds

    The sanctions publication strategy which details the approach being taken by DWP statisticians to improve the sanctions statistics being developed, which include the addition of Universal Credit sanction statistics, can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-sanction-statistics-publication-strategy

    The latest release of sanction statistics within the Quarterly Statistical Summary: August 2016 includes an experimental monthly rate of claimants sanctioned and can be found (on page12) at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dwp-statistical-summaries-2016

    The related background information to support this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/monthly-rate-of-claimants-sanctioned-background-information-and-methodology

    Management Information data on the number of applications and awards for hardship payments were published on 18th November 2015 and can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/jsa-and-esa-hardship-applications-and-awards-apr-2012-to-jun-2015

    We will consider the regularity of future publications of hardship statistics alongside our routine prioritisation of our statistical work programme.

    “

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many complaints have been received by each regional office of the Crown Prosecution Service regarding each of those regional offices in each of the last three years.

    Robert Buckland

    The following table shows the number of complaints received by the 13 CPS Areas in the past three years:

    Area

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    Cymru/Wales

    Not available*

    90

    121

    East Midlands

    Not available*

    168

    163

    East of England

    Not available*

    167

    152

    London

    Not available*

    219

    245

    Merseyside & Cheshire

    Not available*

    56

    39

    North East

    Not available*

    97

    69

    North West

    Not available*

    120

    140

    South East

    Not available*

    147

    118

    South West

    Not available*

    86

    84

    Thames & Chiltern

    Not available*

    189

    166

    Wessex

    Not available*

    80

    47

    West Midlands

    Not available*

    228

    293

    Yorkshire & Humberside

    Not available*

    149

    146

    CPS Direct

    Not available*

    118

    66

    * Due to a technical issue which the CPS is currently resolving, the Area breakdown of complaints received in 2013/14 is not available at this time. The CPS will write to the Honourable Member to provide these figures once the issue has been corrected.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what progress the Government is making on negotiating the removal of VAT on women’s sanitary products.

    Mr David Gauke

    I have written to the European Commission and other Member States setting out our strong view that Member States should have full discretion over what rate of VAT they can apply to sanitary products, and that this should be considered in the context of the Commission’s Action Plan on VAT, which is now expected to be published in March 2016.