Tag: Ian C. Lucas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations his Department has made to the Office of Road and Rail on the allocation of rail paths to Manchester Airport in the last five years.

Andrew Jones

The Department has monthly trilateral (Department for Transport, Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and Network Rail) meetings in order to deliver the existing requirements of the current franchise agreements throughout the last 5 years, especially in connection with the bi-annual timetable changes.

Last month, the Department wrote to the ORR in connection with the application from Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) for additional train paths to and from Manchester Airport. The letter acknowledged that the ATW proposal offered passenger benefits but also noted that, on conclusion of the Northern and TPE franchise competitions, there were likely to be other competing pressures for train paths on the route between central Manchester and the Airport. The purpose of the letter was to draw ORR’s attention to the likelihood of such pressures emerging, and to observe that ATW’s application should be considered alongside the proposals from the successful Northern and TPE bidders to ensure that maximum passenger benefit is obtained from the train paths available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for legal aid were (a) made by and (b) granted to victims of people charged with domestic violence in each local authority area in the North West Police Authority in each year since 2010.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The LAA does not routinely collect information on whether applicants for legal aid are victims of people charged with domestic violence.

Prior to 2013, when people applied for legal aid they were not asked to declare whether domestic violence had occurred. Since 2013, applications for legal aid do not routinely request this information. Therefore the data requested is not available.

People seeking protective injunctions, like non-molestation orders, remain eligible for legal aid. Legal aid also remains available in private family cases that involve domestic violence. We have listened closely to any concerns about how the system has been operating, and made changes in response, such as making it easier to prove abuse and so get legal aid.

The number of applications which require Domestic Violence evidence received and granted following LASPO, and figures for civil representation in the ‘Domestic Violence’ category both pre and post LASPO, are published in the official statistics on legal aid published quarterly on the Gov.uk website at the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average travel time is for customers attending a first-time passport application interview; and what she estimates the average travel times will be after the proposed closure of interview offices in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England.

James Brokenshire

HM Passport Office does not collate any information on average travel times for applicants.

In 2015, HM Passport Office interviewed 222,264 adult customers applying for their first passport. Under the planned changes to HM Passport Offices the vast majority of passport application interviewees will see no change to their travel time. In a small number of cases passport application interviewees will have to travel further but this should not be more than 65 miles or one and a half hours from their previous closest office.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-11-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria his Department used to select sites for HM Revenue and Customs regional offices.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the planned locations of its future Regional Centres based on a number of key principles that will enable it to deliver more for less. In addition to cost, HMRC has taken account of the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, and the need to retain the staff and skills it requires to continue its transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

HMRC estimates that Liverpool will be home to between 2,800 and 3,100 full time equivalent employees. Consolidation into the Regional Centre is expected to begin in 2019-20. HMRC plans to open the Regional Centre in Cardiff in 2019-20. It is likely that the office at Plas Gororau in Wrexham will close in 2020-21. HMRC will be holding one-to-one discussions with each of its people to discuss the next steps.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress her Department has made on achieving the goals of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK Government is fully committed to global polio eradication and is the third largest donor to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, providing £300 million for 2013 to 2019.

UK funding has contributed, as part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, to a greater than 99% decrease in polio cases since 1988, with no cases reported in Africa for over a year. Only two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, are now reporting cases of wild polio, meaning we are now closer than ever to global eradication.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will ensure that he consults with S4C before any future agreement is reached with any third party affecting that company’s budget.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government is committed to supporting S4C and values its service to Welsh speaking audiences. In order for S4C to continue to provide a first-class service and have a sustainable future, the Government announced (on Wednesday 3rd February) an extra £400,000 funding for 2016/17 and the intention to carry out a comprehensive review in 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-04-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consultation took place with mesothelioma charities and other organisations before the announcement of the establishment of the National Mesothelioma Centre in Budget 2016.

Greg Hands

The National Mesothelioma Centre will be a collaboration between four leading institutions who have a major interest in the treatment of mesothelioma: National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) at Imperial College; Royal Brompton Hospital; Institute of Cancer Research (ICR); and Royal Marsden Hospital. This collaboration will form the hub of the Centre which will engage with all other hospitals in the UK to which mesotheliomas are referred and treated.

Professor Sir Anthony Newton Taylor, Head of Research & Development at the National Heart & Lung Institute, who made the application for support from LIBOR fines, is working closely with the British Lung Foundation and other charities in order to ensure that experts from across the lung and cancer research community are able to contribute to this important enterprise.

The £5 million grant, which is intended as seed funding, has been profiled over 4 years and will be paid to the National Mesothelioma Centre, once established. The funding will be subjected to standard Grant Terms and Conditions, including a feedback and reporting mechanism, and audit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-11-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of capacity on travel routes from Wrexham to Liverpool for HM Revenue and Customs staff redeployed from Wrexham to Liverpool.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the planned locations of its future Regional Centres based on a number of key principles that will enable it to deliver more for less. In addition to cost, HMRC has taken account of the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, and the need to retain the staff and skills it requires to continue its transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

HMRC estimates that Liverpool will be home to between 2,800 and 3,100 full time equivalent employees. Consolidation into the Regional Centre is expected to begin in 2019-20. HMRC plans to open the Regional Centre in Cardiff in 2019-20. It is likely that the office at Plas Gororau in Wrexham will close in 2020-21. HMRC will be holding one-to-one discussions with each of its people to discuss the next steps.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20252, if she will collect information centrally on convictions for domestic violence.

Karen Bradley

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) publishes an annual violence against women and girls report, which includes national level data on the number of convictions for domestic abuse and supports the assessment of the effectiveness of Government policy on domestic violence.

The latest data, published in June 2015, showed that the volume of convictions in 2014-15 reached 68,601 – a rise of 10,325 convictions since 2013-14 and the highest volume ever.

The Office for National Statistics also publishes data on the prevalence of domestic abuse in the Crime Survey for England and Wales. Latest data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that 6.1% of adults aged 16-59 were a victim of ‘Any Domestic Abuse’ in 2014-15 – the lowest estimate since these questions were first asked in the 2004-05 survey.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-02-01.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what Google operating systems are used by HM Revenue and Customs; and when use of those systems commenced.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses two Google operating systems.

HMRC uses the Android Operating system in a small number of mobile phone handsets, equating to less than 4% of its mobile phone estate. This Operating System was first used in 2012 in a small number of handsets, before being rolled out more widely in 2014.

HMRC also uses the Google Chrome Operating System in our video conference units. The Department started using this operating system for its video conferencing facilities in March 2014.