Tag: 2016

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

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

    To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been prosecuted under the (a) Communications Act 2003, (b) Malicious Communications Act 1988 and (c) Protection from Harassment Act 1997 for offences committed online.

    Robert Buckland

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record to show the number of prosecutions involving defendants prosecuted specifically for criminal activity on-line. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether (a) new or existing Housing Benefit claimants and (b) those in supported accommodation will have their allowance cut to Local Housing Allowance rates from 1 April 2016.

    Justin Tomlinson

    This measure does not apply until April 2018. We value the work of the supported housing sector extremely highly and are working closely with them to ensure they are supported as effectively as possible in advance of the police taking effect.

    The Department alongside the Department for Communities and Local Government has jointly commissioned an evidence review of supported housing.

    The results of this research will determine our future policy development and any appropriate exemptions.

  • 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, what the amount spent was from the public purse was on decommissioning and disposal of (a) HMS Ark Royal and (b) HMS Illustrious.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Much of the work to decommission Royal Navy ships is undertaken using contracts that provide support services for all ships conducting Fleet activities at HM Naval Base, Portsmouth. Costs are not attributed to individual vessels.

    Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) was responsible for the removal of classified equipment and known hazardous materials from the former HMS ARK ROYAL. This work cost £0.7 million. Similar work is being carried out on the former HMS ILLUSTRIOUS which has yet to be sold. Expenditure incurred to date is £0.5 million.

    The Disposal Services Authority (DSA), part of DE&S, disposes of defence equipment that is surplus to requirement. DSA costs are not attributed to individual platforms and information on these ships is not held in the format requested.

  • Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that examination marking is consistent and objective.

    Nick Gibb

    This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked the Interim Chief Regulator, Amanda Spielman, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

  • 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, how many people received payments from the Financial Assistance Scheme in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) government region in the last year; and how many of those recipients were former members of the Allied Steel and Wire pension scheme in that year.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, 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.

    Guto Bebb

    The payroll information requested is shown below.

    Financial Year

    Total Staff

    (a) Payroll Staff Percentage

    (b) Non-Payroll Staff Percentage

    2010/11

    57

    96%

    4%

    2011/12

    55

    98%

    2%

    2012/13

    53

    98%

    2%

    2013/14

    50

    92%

    8%

    2014/15

    49

    88%

    12%

    2015/16

    44

    95%

    5%

    The non-payroll staff are those contracted through an agency.

  • 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, what the average and median waiting time is for users calling the universal credit helpline; and how many calls to that helpline were answered in (a) less than five, (b) between five and 10, (c) between 10 and 15, (d) between 15 and 20 and (e) more than thirty minutes between 1 January and 30 June 2016.

    Damian Hinds

    The data below states the Average Speed of Answer for all UC calls for the period 1 January 2016 – 30 June 2016.

    Universal Credit Average Speed of Answer

    Average Speed of Answer

    January 2016

    00:02:09

    February 2016

    00:02:03

    March 2016

    00:02:01

    April 2016

    00:02:44

    May 2016

    00:02:24

    June 2016

    00:02:41

    Total

    00:02:22

    Data source: Operational Management Information System (OPMIS)

    It would be a disproportionate cost to compute the median in each month, and the breakdown by waiting time intervals.

  • 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 referred to the Independent Assessor for the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last three years.

    Robert Buckland

    The following table shows the number of complaints considered by the Independent Assessor of Complaints (IAC) in the past three years:

    Year

    Complaints referred to the IAC

    2013/14*

    27

    2014/15

    76

    2015/16

    65

    * Part year – IAC role was introduced in May/June 2013

  • Harry Harpham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Harry Harpham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harry Harpham on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the cost to the public purse was of developing proposals for a new carbon capture and storage project in Yorkshire.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government continues to view CCS as having a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors and we are engaging closely with the White Rose developer and wider CCS industry. The Department has paid around £31 million between 2011/12 and November 2015 on developing proposals for the White Rose carbon capture and storage project in Yorkshire. This included the investment in Front End Engineering and Design to determine the cost and feasibility of the project, independent professional technical, legal, financial and commercial advice and civil service staff.

  • Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the timescale for carrying out reviews of post-16 education and training institutions.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Individual area reviews are expected to take about four months, the timescale being dependent on the number of colleges and complexity of the local issues involved in each area. The overall review process has been divided into five waves of area reviews and is scheduled to be completed by March 2017.