The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average time taken was for a rating assessment appeal to be considered by the Valuation Office Agency in the last 12 months.
Mr David Gauke
Based on data used to publish the latest Official Statistics, the average time taken to resolve a challenge to the rating list is 13 months for the 2005 list and 14 months for the 2010 list.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the regulatory requirements of the EU Directive on the safety of offshore oil and gas operations have been fully implemented; and which regulatory bodies are represented on the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator.
Justin Tomlinson
The regulatory requirements of the EU Directive were fully implemented in GB by the Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc.) Regulations (2015) which came into force on 19 July 2015. Northern Ireland is in the process of implementing regulations.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) are represented on the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator (OSDR).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that internet service providers and social media organisations co-operate with the police to combat incidents of cyber bullying and harassment.
Mike Penning
As part of the arrangements for the collection of police recorded crime data the Home Office has introduced an ‘online flag’ allowing police forces to record online instances of crimes such as stalking and harassment. These data are still being developed but will be published once the data are considered to be of sufficient quality. In October 2015, the Office for National Statistics introduced new fraud and cyber questions to the Crime Survey for England and Wales. These new questions mean that we will be able to identify those crimes that had an online component and hence be able to provide estimates of cyber crime. This data will be published in due course.
Legislation is in place to deal with internet trolls, cyber-stalking and harassment, and perpetrators of grossly offensive, obscene or menacing behaviour. Through the Criminal Justice Act 2015, we improved two communications offences which can be used to prosecute misuse of social media: section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, giving the police longer to investigate either offence, and increasing the maximum penalty for the former to two years imprisonment.
Engagement with the industry is essential, and the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) brings together industry, law enforcement, academia, charities, parenting groups, and government departments (Home Office, Department for Culture, Media & Sport, and Department for Education), to work in partnership to help to keep children and young people safe online. As part of this work, the UK’s Communications regulator, Ofcom, recently led a working group to develop good practice guidance for providers of social media and interactive services. Its purpose is to encourage businesses to think about “safety by design” to help make their platforms safer for children and young people under 18. This guidance was published in December 2015. A wide range of partners contributed to this project, including Twitter, Facebook, Google, Ask.FM, MindCandy and Microsoft.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on the availability of women’s refuge services of the local rate of local housing allowance being applied to tenants in supported housing.
Justin Tomlinson
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 January 2016 to Question UIN 20740
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will ring-fence housing payments for tenants in supported accommodation.
Justin Tomlinson
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. As part of this, we have commissioned an evidence review of supported housing. The results of this research will determine any appropriate exemptions.
In addition, the Government has agreed to put in place a year-long exception for all supported housing provided by local authorities and private registered providers from the one per cent rent reduction.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost of supporting electoral registration by (a) local authorities and (b) other groups was in each of the last 10 years.
John Penrose
Since financial year 2012/13 the Cabinet Office has provided funding to local authorities and civil society organisations to support the implementation and delivery of Individual Electoral Registration. Prior to financial year 2010/11 electoral registration policy was under the remit of the Ministry of Justice. The Cabinet Office does not hold any relevant financial data prior to 2010.
Local Authorities are under a statutory obligation to provide Electoral Registration Officers with funding and resources to support electoral registration more generally. Local Authorities are funded from a block grant that is allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The table below notes the funding provided by the Cabinet Office to local authorities and other groups and organisations in Great Britain. This includes core funding to support local authorites in the transition to IER, and the upgrade of hardware, such as printers, to support the new A3 registration forms .The figures also include funding that was allocated to local authorities and other groups to support efforts to increase levels of registration between financial years 2010/11 and 2015/16.
|
2010-2011 |
2011-2012 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
Total |
|
|
Local Authorities |
£0 |
£0 |
£0 |
£9,115,416 |
£39,537,279 |
£25,858,168 |
£74,510,862 |
|
Other Groups |
£0 |
£0 |
£56,545 |
£216,247 |
£1,933,759 |
£0 |
£2,191,401 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his French counterpart on initiatives by that government to convene a peace conference on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has discussed this issue with the French Foreign Minister and also with Ambassador Pierre Vimont, the French Special Envoy for the Middle East Peace Process. British officials have also regularly discussed the initiative with their French counterparts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding streams are available for the construction of new rail stations in the North of England.
Andrew Jones
We have made available up to £20 million towards the construction costs of new and re-opened railway stations through the New Stations Fund, details of which, including bidding criteria, will be published shortly. Promoters of new stations may also be able to bid for funding from Local Growth Deals and to seek contributions from local authorities or other third parties. Under the first round in 2013, funding was awarded to five stations, three of which are now open (New Court, Pye Corner and Lee Bridge).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will assess the balance of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme surplus-sharing arrangements.
Jesse Norman
The existing surplus-sharing arrangements have worked well to date. The presence of the Guarantee has given the Trustees, who are responsible for managing the Scheme and are independent of Government, the freedom to invest in a way that has generated surpluses and, as a consequence, bonuses to members.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average cost to the NHS is of educating and training a junior doctor.
Ben Gummer
The Department does not hold information on the average cost to the taxpayer of training someone to become a junior doctor.
The Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Kent estimates within their report ‘Unit Costs of Health and Social Care 2014’, published in March 2014, that the average cost in 2013/14 of training to become a general practitioner is £485,390, with the consultant training cost being £726,551. These figures reflect the pre-registration costs of tuition, living expenses/lost production and clinical placements and the post-graduate costs of tuition and replacement costs not the average cost to the taxpayer.