Tag: Daniel Kawczynski

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the cost of line speed upgrade on the railway line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

Claire Perry

Network Rail and the relevant train operators terminated a line speed improvement assessment in 2014. Detailed work had identified an estimated cost of up to £12.45m to clear structures for higher speed. With these costs the scheme was poor value, having a benefit cost ratio of less than 1.0. No assessment has been made since then.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost was to the public purse of the public inquiry into the death of Alexander Litvinenko; and what the average cost was to the public purse of inquiries into suspicious deaths undertaken by coroners over the last three years.

Mr John Hayes

The public inquiry into the death of Alexander Litvinenko publishes costs on its website https://www.litvinenkoinquiry.org/costs. As of 31st December 2015, the inquiry had spent £2.25m. Final figures are still being calculated.

Coroners are a local service, funded independently of central government by local authorities. The total cost to the public of inquiries into suspicious deaths over the last three years is therefore not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on the financial situation of women of their not being notified about changes introduced by the Pensions Act 1995.

Justin Tomlinson

The 1995 Act started the process of equalising the state pension age of women by phasing in the rise of the retirement age from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020. Changes were communicated by means of State Pension estimates issued to individuals on request since 1995, as well as through a DWP pensions education campaign in 2004. Since April 2000 more than 11.5 million personalised statements have been issued. A 2004 DWP report, Public Awareness of State Pension Age Equalisation, reported its survey findings that 73% of those aged 45 to 54 at the time were aware of the changes to women’s State Pension age.

Following the Pensions Act 2011 the Government wrote to all those directly affected to inform them of the changes to their State Pension age. Research published in 2007 by the DWP showed that, in 2006, 86 per cent of women aged 55-64 and 90 per cent aged 45-54 were aware that the State Pension age would increase in future.

A number of changes to the State Pension with impacts on state pension outcomes have been implemented since the introduction of the Pensions Act 1995. The Pensions Act 2007 introduced beneficial changes to the entitlement conditions for State Pension, which were estimated to result in 75 per cent of women reaching State Pension age in 2010 being entitled to a full basic State Pension compared to only 30 per cent in 2007.

The Pensions Act 2014 introduces the new State Pension from April 2016, available to women born on or after 6 April 1953. Around 650,000 women reaching State Pension age in the first ten years will receive an average of £8 per week (in 2014/15 earnings terms) more due to the new State Pension valuation of their National Insurance record. By 2030, over 3 million women will stand to benefit by an average of £11 per week.

Independent analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown that the rise in women’s State Pension age since 2010 has been accompanied by increases in employment rates for the women affected. For those who are unemployed, or unable to work, working age benefits are still available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the proportion of farmers who have received (a) a payment and (b) full payment from the Rural Payments Agency under the Basic Payment Scheme in 2015.

George Eustice

The Rural Payments Agency estimates that as of 22 May 2016, 86375 (99%) claimants have received a payment on their 2015 BPS claim. Of these 79,633 have received a claim payment; 6561 bridging payments; and 181 a manual hardship payment. There are a number of claims where processing has been completed successfully but they have not resulted in a payment for reasons such as the claim being under minimum claim size, or the Agency awaiting information on probate cases.

The Rural Payments Agency will continue to make full payments throughout the remainder of the payment window up to the end of June 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the building of bungalows and other homes accessible to people with limited mobility.

James Wharton

National planning policy sets out clearly the need for local authorities to plan for the housing needs of all members of the community and that planning should encourage accessibility. In March this year the Department published further planning guidance to make clear how councils can plan ahead to meet the needs of an ageing population, and consider the types of homes they would need to build locally. This can include bungalows and homes designed with older people in mind offering for example, step-free access, downstairs bathrooms, or wider halls and doorways.

New Building Regulations came into force in October which included a new standard for accessibility, higher than the current national minimum standard, which a local authority can apply where needs and viability tests are met.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average cost was to the public purse of police investigations into suspicious deaths over the last three years.

Mike Penning

The Home Office does not directly monitor the costs of such investigations as these are met locally from individual police force budgets.

However, If the police face unexpected or exceptional events, there is an established process by which Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) can apply for Special Grant funding to help with these costs. Special Grant funding is usually only available when the additional costs are more than one per cent of the PCC’s budget, or where the additional costs might threaten the financial stability of the force.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what notification was given to women affected by the Pensions Act 1995.

Justin Tomlinson

Following the Pensions Act 1995, State Pension estimates, issued to individuals on request, made the changes clear. The DWP’s State Pension estimates have been providing individuals with their most up-to-date date of reaching State Pension age since 1995. Over that period, we have encouraged anyone seeking to plan for their retirement to get a pension statement. Since April 2000, the Department has issued more than 11.5 million personalised State Pension statements to people who requested them. We continue to encourage people to request one, as part of our on-going communications.

DWP also ran a pensions education campaign in 2004, which included informing people of the future equalisation of SPA. The campaign included:

• Advertising features in the press and women’s magazines
• A ‘Women’s Pensions Pack’ containing leaflets for women about changes in State Pension age, made available through the Pensions Service
• Direct mailings targeted specifically at women highlighting that women’s SPA is changing
• Sending State Pension forecast letters and accompanying leaflet showing the person’s SPa and explaining who is affected by the changes to women’s SPa (issued to those who requested them)
• Developing an interactive State Pension date/age calculator facility on the Pensions Service website

In addition to these efforts, all those affected by the 1995 Act changes were sent letters between April 2009 and March 2011 using the address details held by HMRC at that time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s policy is on the use by HM Ambassadors of their official Twitter accounts to promote arguments for staying in the EU ahead of the referendum on 23 June.

Mr David Lidington

The Government has published official guidance for Government departments on activities during the period 27 May to 23 June 2016, which is publicly available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/526184/eu-referendum-guidance-for-uk-government-departments-on-activities-during-the-period-27-may-to-23-june.pdf

The guidance states that: “Updates to government websites or social media feeds must not deal with any issues raised by the referendum question or put any arguments for or against any outcome, or be designed to encourage voting at the referendum. Civil servants may respond to specific online queries by providing links to published material. Material that has already been published before 27 May will be regarded as part of the public record and does not need to be removed from websites and social media sites, although links to these sites should be removed.”

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what timetable he has set for the sale of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency testing station in Ennerdale Road, Shrewsbury.

Andrew Jones

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA’s) heavy goods vehicle testing station in Ennerdale Road, Shrewsbury is a fully operational site. As part of its testing transformation programme, DVSA anticipate that the site will cease testing and close by 2019, at the latest. However, DVSA does not currently have a timetable for the closure and subsequent disposal of the site.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Attorney General, what his policy is on use of the charge of treason; and what is his Department’s guidance on sentencing those charged and convicted of that offence.

Robert Buckland

In all cases referred for a charging decision, the Crown Prosecution Service uses whichever offence is appropriate to the facts of the case. Modern criminal offences, including terrorism offences, usually offer a better chance of a successful conviction than a prosecution for treason would. Prosecutions for treason are therefore extremely rare and there is no applicable guidance from the Sentencing Council. The maximum sentence for treason is life imprisonment and it would be for the Courts to determine the appropriate sentence in an individual case, having regard to any analogous case law.