The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of UK aid to Burma is channelled through Burmese government-approved organisations or mechanisms.
Mr Alan Duncan
The UK does not provide funding directly to the Burmese government. We publish details of which organisations receive DFID funding, and how much they have received, on the gov.uk Development Tracker.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made in ensuring that Palestinian children are interrogated only in the presence of their parents and lawyers.
Hugh Robertson
The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Mr Grayling), raised the treatment of child detainees with the Israeli Supreme Court President during his visit to Israel in May.
As a recent progress report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicates, Israel has taken some positive steps towards addressing the recommendations in UNICEF’s Children in Israeli Military Detention report. These include the introduction of legal obligations to inform the child’s parents of an arrest and grant them legal status to be represented in court, as well as to notify minors of their legal rights, and standard operating procedures on methods of restraint. We will continue to work, both through bilateral engagement and through the EU, to encourage Israel to take further positive steps.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the level of food, fuel and medical supplies entering Gaza each day.
Mr Alan Duncan
Israeli movement and access restrictions, exacerbated by the closure of illegal smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt, have led to serious shortages of fuel and medical supplies and have driven up the price of food. 71% of households in Gaza are either food insecure or vulnerable to food insecurity. The World Health Organisation estimates that 29% of drugs are at zero stock (less than one month’s supply). Due to severe shortages of fuel, Gaza’s power plant operates at half its capacity, triggering power outages of up to 12 hours per day and sometimes shutting down completely.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to increase the penalties for uninsured drivers.
Jeremy Wright
Sentencing in individual cases is entirely a matter for our independent courts and they must follow sentencing guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council.
The Government announced on 12 May this year that it intends to carry out a review of the offences and maximum penalties available for a range of driving offences. This will include offences involving uninsured drivers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2015-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what terms of reference have been set for his Department’s research project on the effect of telematics on young drivers; and when he plans to publish the outcomes of each of that project’s phases.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department has just awarded a research contract for a project which is intended to demonstrate the road safety benefits which could arise as a result of novice drivers using telematics products.
A description of the Department’s research requirement has been placed in Libraries of both Houses.
We expect phase one to be completed in April 2015. The timing of phase two will be dependent on the first phase.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2015-02-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that local authorities commission adult social care services at an hourly rate which provides for staff to receive the national minimum wage and includes travel time between clients.
Norman Lamb
High quality, compassionate care for the most vulnerable in society can only be delivered by a well-trained, motivated and appropriately remunerated workforce. The Government recognises that pay can be a particular concern for those with the responsibility for delivering those services.
Care providers are legally obliged to pay their workers at least the national minimum wage – relevant time spent travelling between care appointments should be treated as working time for national minimum wage purposes in accordance with HM Revenue and Custom (HMRC) guidance. This is the least that care workers deserve and should expect.
Responsibility for enforcement of the national minimum wage rests with HMRC rather than local authorities. However, the Care Act places duties on local authorities to have regard to fostering an effective workforce able to deliver high quality services.
The Government has recently published statutory guidance to support the implementation of the Care Act that describes how local authorities must meet these new duties when commissioning, which directs that local authorities should have evidence that care providers they contract with are paying at least the national minimum wage, including factoring into those calculations any time spent travelling between care appointments and that those providers found to be recently in breach of the law, should be excluded from the contract tendering process.
The Government has also worked with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association to co-produce a set of commissioning standards that were launched in October 2014. These standards amplify the good practice set out in the statutory guidance in regards to fostering an effective workforce.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of how many claim management companies operated in each region since 2008.
Mr Shailesh Vara
With rigorous new measures being brought in across the board, we are taking strong action to rein in the rogue firms operating in this sector.
Continued action to remove licenses from companies with poor practices alongside forthcoming Claims Management Regulation reforms, proves just how much work is going on to get tough on companies that defy the rules and bombard the public with unwelcome calls and misleading information.
We are changing the law to further toughen the regime, including introducing fines, and ensuring firms cannot buy in any contact details which have been gathered unlawfully.
The number of claims management companies (CMCs) operating in each region between April 2008 and April 2014 were as follows:
|
Regional Analysis |
Apr-08 |
Apr-09 |
Apr-10 |
Apr-11 |
Apr-12 |
Apr-13 |
Apr-14 |
|
East |
107 |
134 |
165 |
173 |
146 |
138 |
114 |
|
East Midlands |
56 |
97 |
131 |
139 |
152 |
137 |
120 |
|
London |
253 |
378 |
545 |
531 |
524 |
444 |
340 |
|
Northern Ireland |
0 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
|
North East |
30 |
71 |
95 |
98 |
76 |
68 |
49 |
|
North West |
514 |
685 |
784 |
803 |
775 |
706 |
576 |
|
Overseas |
6 |
11 |
9 |
6 |
3 |
16 |
13 |
|
Scotland |
21 |
26 |
30 |
32 |
28 |
29 |
33 |
|
South East |
193 |
294 |
358 |
370 |
361 |
326 |
267 |
|
South West |
62 |
81 |
100 |
113 |
113 |
100 |
93 |
|
Wales |
61 |
73 |
95 |
81 |
101 |
88 |
66 |
|
West Midlands |
206 |
321 |
408 |
404 |
358 |
292 |
208 |
|
Yorkshire & Humbers |
230 |
316 |
366 |
387 |
329 |
245 |
176 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many instances of car insurance fraud have been reported in each of the last five years.
Karen Bradley
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.
This information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many instances of car insurance fraud in Yorkshire and the Humber have been reported in each of the last five years.
Karen Bradley
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.
This information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many claims management companies were operating in the Yorkshire and Humber region in each year from 2008 to 2014.
Mr Shailesh Vara
With rigorous new measures being brought in across the board, we are taking strong action to rein in the rogue firms operating in this sector.
Continued action to remove licenses from companies with poor practices alongside forthcoming Claims Management Regulation reforms, proves just how much work is going on to get tough on companies that defy the rules and bombard the public with unwelcome calls and misleading information.
We are changing the law to further toughen the regime, including introducing fines, and ensuring firms cannot buy in any contact details which have been gathered unlawfully.
The number of claims management companies (CMCs) operating in each region between April 2008 and April 2014 were as follows:
|
Regional Analysis |
Apr-08 |
Apr-09 |
Apr-10 |
Apr-11 |
Apr-12 |
Apr-13 |
Apr-14 |
|
East |
107 |
134 |
165 |
173 |
146 |
138 |
114 |
|
East Midlands |
56 |
97 |
131 |
139 |
152 |
137 |
120 |
|
London |
253 |
378 |
545 |
531 |
524 |
444 |
340 |
|
Northern Ireland |
0 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
|
North East |
30 |
71 |
95 |
98 |
76 |
68 |
49 |
|
North West |
514 |
685 |
784 |
803 |
775 |
706 |
576 |
|
Overseas |
6 |
11 |
9 |
6 |
3 |
16 |
13 |
|
Scotland |
21 |
26 |
30 |
32 |
28 |
29 |
33 |
|
South East |
193 |
294 |
358 |
370 |
361 |
326 |
267 |
|
South West |
62 |
81 |
100 |
113 |
113 |
100 |
93 |
|
Wales |
61 |
73 |
95 |
81 |
101 |
88 |
66 |
|
West Midlands |
206 |
321 |
408 |
404 |
358 |
292 |
208 |
|
Yorkshire & Humbers |
230 |
316 |
366 |
387 |
329 |
245 |
176 |