Tag: David Lammy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of cases the Disclosure and Barring Service did not resolve within 60 days in (a) the UK, (b) London, (c) Harringey and (d) Tottenham in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Sarah Newton

In the last 12 months (July 2015 – June 2016) , the proportion of disclosure cases which took longer than 60 days to resolve was as follows: (a) all applications (including those from people residing outside the UK at the time of their application), 5.2%, (b) London, 14.6% (c) Haringey, 14.6% and (d) Tottenham, 16.8%.

The Disclosure and Barring Service is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner and is working closely with those forces whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that like-for-like replacements are provided in the same local authority area for (a) properties sold under the Right to Buy scheme and (b) properties sold to fund the discounted sale of properties sold under the Right to Buy scheme.

Brandon Lewis

The voluntary Right to Buy agreement with the National Housing Federation states that housing associations will have the flexibility to replace nationally.

The 2012 Reinvigorated Right to Buy scheme introduced for the first time ever, a requirement to provide a new affordable home for every additional sale nationally. There is a rolling 3 year deadline for local authorities to deliver additional affordable homes through new build or acquisition under the reinvigorated Right to Buy, and so far they have delivered well within sales profile.

The Government is committed to using a portion of every receipt from our value vacant housing policy to fund the building of additional homes. The Housing and Planning Bill currently going through Parliament allows the Secretary of State and a local authority to enter into an agreement for the local authority to retain part of its receipts from the policy to lead on the delivery of more homes that meet housing need. Recognising London’s particular housing need, where these agreements are with a local authority in London, every empty dwelling assumed sold will be replaced by at least two new affordable homes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) status and (b) purpose is of the Defence Diversity and Inclusion Programme established in September 2013.

Penny Mordaunt

The Defence Diversity and Inclusion Programme (DDIP) is a high priority change programme aimed at increasing the diversity of our workforce – both military and civilian. The Defence Board agreed in 2014 that the DDIP should be regarded as core business, on a par with other Defence Transformation activities.

The main purpose of the DDIP is to ensure that Ministry of Defence outputs are delivered by the right mix of capable and motivated people that appropriately represent the breadth of the society we exist to defend, now and in the future. The programme continues to drive real change in the core areas of leadership and culture; recruitment; retention and progression; and outreach, seeking to remove barriers where they might exist.

The benefits of this will be better access to talent for Defence’s workforce and improving the Armed Forces’ ability to achieve overall recruitment levels; improved decision making as a result of the different perspectives that come from a more diverse workforce; greater levels of cultural understanding so that we are more effective and trusted in our international operations and activities; improved workforce engagement and morale; and better relations with, and support from, the wide range of communities within British society as a result of a more representative workforce.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many gambling licenses were in effect in (a) Tottenham and (b) Greater London (i) in 2010 and (ii) on the most recent date for which figures are available.

David Evennett

The requested information is not held centrally. Local authorities are responsible for the issuing of gambling premises licences, in accordance with the Licensing Objectives and their own Statement of Licensing Policy. Local Authority license registers listing the number of licences in each borough are available to access by the public. The Gambling Commission estimates there are around 2,800 licences in operation in the greater London area, based on feedback from Local Authorities. Haringey Borough Council’s licensing register can be found at the following address: http://www.haringey.gov.uk/business/licensing-and-regulations/licensing/licensing-register

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the letter he received from the hon. Member of Tottenham of 2 June 2016, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the privatisation of the Land Registry on the amount of money related to corruption entering the UK property market.

Anna Soubry

A Government consultation seeking views on options to move Land Registry operations to the private sector closed on 26 May. My department is analysing these responses and the Government will issue a response in due course. Anti-fraud and corruption protections are amongst the factors being considered as the Government is committed to tackling corruption and increasing corporate transparency. No decision has been taken on the future of Land Registry.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to publish its assessments of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU conducted in the six months before the EU referendum.

Mr David Davis

The Government published its assessments of the long-term and immediate economic impact of leaving the EU in April and May this year. These can be found at the following web addresses:

– https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-analysis-the-long-term-economic-impact-of-eu-membership-and-the-alternatives

– https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-analysis-the-immediate-economic-impact-of-leaving-the-eu

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of refugee children seeking reunion with family in the UK who are currently in Europe.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We are unable to provide an estimate. Determining such figures is extremely difficult given the mobility of children within and between Member States, differing collection methods at different times and due to lack of registration and monitoring of children. The majority of estimates rely on partial censuses given different access rights and as such, figures can vary greatly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Environment Agency is taking to respond to the oil spill on the River Lea near Tottenham Lock.

Rory Stewart

The Environment Agency attended the site on the morning of 5 April and worked with Thames Water Utilities (TWU) Ltd to trace the source, identifying it as a ruptured diesel oil tank.

The Environment Agency is working alongside contractors and the Canal and River Trust (CRT) to clear up the oil. Absorbent booms are in place to contain the spread of the oil. Any residual patches of oil not trapped by the booms are being mopped up by absorbent pads. The Environment Agency attended the site on 11 April and will continue to oversee the clean-up operation.

The Environment Agency is continuing investigations with a view to possible enforcement action.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the intake of BAME servicemen and women was as a proportion of total intake for each year from 2006 to the latest available figures.

Penny Mordaunt

The information held by the Ministry of Defence is as follows:

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) intake as a proportion of Total UK Regulars¹ Intake each year April 2008-April 2015.

12 Months ending	1 April 2008	1 April 2009	1 April 2010	1 April 2011	1 April 2012	1 April 2013	1 April 2014	1 April 2015
% BAME	8.3	9.4	6.8	5.6	7.3	7.9	7.0	5.7

Source: Defence Statistics (Tri-Service)

Older information is not available as the current systems date back to 2007 only. Information on Reserves intake is due to be released as part of the UK Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics on 26 May 2016. The most recent data can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2015

Notes

¹UK Regular Forces comprises Full-time personnel but does not include Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service personnel and Reservists. Percentages exclude those personnel with an unknown ethnicity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what Tech City UK’s (a) total operations budget, (b) communications budget and (c) expenditure on third party communications consultancy and public relations agencies was for (i) 2014, (ii) 2015 and (iii) 2016.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Tech City UK (including Tech North) total operations budget was £2,500,000 in 2014-15; £4,223,000 in 2015-16; and £4,100,000 in 2016-17. Tech City UK (including Tech North) communications costs were £173,091 in 2014-15; £279,355 in 2015-16; and £5,000 in 2016-17 (YTD). These costs were all expenditure on third party communications, consultancy and public relations agencies

Tech North’s communication costs were nil in 2014-15 and 2016-17 (YTD), and £74,500 in 2015-16. These costs were all expenditure on third party communications, consultancy and public relations agencies.