Tag: David Hanson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans applied through his Department for the Legion d’Honneur in each month from July 2014 to June 2016.

Mark Lancaster

Following the answer I gave to the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) on 6 June 2016 to Question 38675, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has received approximately 5,200 applications for the Legion d’Honneur between June 2014 and June 2016. We are unable to provide a breakdown by month. As at 24 June the MOD had submitted 3,750 cases to the French authorities. We are not automatically advised when awards are issued, but a list provided by the French authorities on 13 May 2016 showed that 3,200 awards had been made.

It is not possible to give a meaningful figure for an average waiting time for veterans to receive their awards, as this has reduced steadily, from over a year for initial applications to the current time of around two to three months owing to changes in the processing. Some priority cases, particularly where there are health concerns, are processed much more quickly.

The Department is working closely with the French authorities and we are doing our best to ensure that all awards are issued as soon as possible and at the maximum rate at which they can be produced.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-10-24.

To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of the European Arrest Warrant.

Robert Buckland

The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) provides a basis for a swift and cost-efficient extradition process between EU Member States implementing the principle of ‘mutual recognition’ of judicial decisions. The UK continues to work closely with Member States to execute EAW following the referendum.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what alternative arrangements have been made for residents of Flintshire to take driving tests during the temporary closure of the Chester driving test centre.

Andrew Jones

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) are committed to providing testing in the Chester area, from mid-February DVSA will offer both car and motorcycle practical tests from Cheshire County Sports Club as a temporary measure. In the meantime, DVSA is continuing to look for a new permanent site in the Chester area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 22835, in what months the biometric passport chip reading facilities were deactivated in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.

James Brokenshire

For the period for which figures are available, biometric chip reading facilities were deactivated 7 times in 2013 and these occurred during the months of February, March, May & June. In 2014 chip reading facilities were deactivated 3 times and these occurred during the months of September, October and December. In 2015, chip reading facilities were deactivated 3 times and occurred during the months of February, April, and June.

These figures should be considered against the background of the overall volume of transactions which are currently running at over 100 million per year and each of the instances has been thoroughly investigated and we are satisfied that there has been no risk to the border as a result.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average hourly earnings of (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of his Department were in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock

The information is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 22830, whether the Warnings Index Checks system has been affected by high-priority incidents in the last five years.

James Brokenshire

All Border Force systems and services, including the Warnings Index system, are constantly monitored and closely managed so any arising incidents can be quickly and effectively resolved. Whilst there have been a small number of high priority incidents during the period in question with the Warnings Index system, like other Home Office technology services, it has layers of resilience built into it along with supporting continuity arrangements. This resilience and operational arrangements has enabled controls at the border to be maintained with no suspension of checks at any port since November 2011. The migration in the autumn of 2014 of the core Warning Index services to modern data-centres has significantly improved its reliability and stability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications for the Legion d’Honneur had been processed by the Personnel and Training, Defence Services Secretary, Commemorations department but had not yet been processed by the French authorities by 24 June 2016.

Mark Lancaster

Following the answer I gave to the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) on 6 June 2016 to Question 38675, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has received approximately 5,200 applications for the Legion d’Honneur between June 2014 and June 2016. We are unable to provide a breakdown by month. As at 24 June the MOD had submitted 3,750 cases to the French authorities. We are not automatically advised when awards are issued, but a list provided by the French authorities on 13 May 2016 showed that 3,200 awards had been made.

It is not possible to give a meaningful figure for an average waiting time for veterans to receive their awards, as this has reduced steadily, from over a year for initial applications to the current time of around two to three months owing to changes in the processing. Some priority cases, particularly where there are health concerns, are processed much more quickly.

The Department is working closely with the French authorities and we are doing our best to ensure that all awards are issued as soon as possible and at the maximum rate at which they can be produced.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the daily rate or fee will be for members of the proposed review committee on securing the decisive role of the House of Commons on financial matters and secondary legislation.

John Penrose

The Government has asked Lord Strathclyde to lead a review to examine how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to (i) its primacy on financial matters; and (ii) secondary legislation. Lord Strathclyde will be supported by a panel of experts and further details will be announced in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the construction industry who already pay into the Construction Industry Training Board Levy scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles

We have ongoing discussions with the construction sector about the CITB Levy scheme on how existing arrangements are affected, and whether any changes are required, including whether they may wish to see changes to the CITB levy regime when the apprenticeship levy takes effect.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-05.

To ask the Prime Minister, which hon. and Right hon. Members have been appointed by him to which countries as a trade envoy.

Mr David Cameron

Information regarding trade envoys can be found on the gov.uk website.