Tag: John Spellar

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department last discussed votes for prisoners with the Council of Europe.

Dominic Raab

I visited the Council of Europe and discussed votes for prisoners on 7 December 2015. We have consistently made clear that prisoner voting is a matter for Parliament to determine. I explained at the September Committee of Ministers meeting that there was no realistic prospect of Parliament lifting the current ban for the foreseeable future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that the food served to members of the armed forces at his Department’s facilities run by Sodexo meets his Department’s standards; and what sanctions are in place to deter violations of such standards.

Mark Lancaster

The Department is aware of concerns that have been expressed about the standard of food served to members of the Armed Forces.

The Department has in place a number of safeguards to ensure a good quality of food. These include; contract monitoring, site visits, reviews, customer engagement and assurance by Single Service catering subject matter experts to improve on the service provided.

Any complaint over food can be raised through the chain of command or directly with the contractor by way of a complaints book.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.

Mike Penning

The Ministry of Justice complies with all public procurement policy notes, published at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/procurement-policy-notes. These include measures to support both British industry and British agriculture.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to announce changes to procedures to deal with motor accident claims for whiplash.

Dominic Raab

In his Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced further reforms to tackle the number and cost of whiplash claims. The Government will consult on the detail of these reforms in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many regular, full-time serving members of the Army there were on the latest date for which figures are available.

Mr Julian Brazier

The full-time trained strength of the UK Army at 1 March 2016 was 79,840.

Statistics are published by Defence Statistics in the Monthly Service Personnel Statistics report. The latest such report which shows figures at 1 March 2016 was published on 14 April 2016 and can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/515805/Monthly_service_personnel_statistics_March_2016.pdf

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department’s purchasing policies support the Government’s commitment to do all it can to ensure UK suppliers can compete effectively for public sector contracts, in line with our current international obligations and guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department issues to the private parking industry on the appropriate levels of penalties for motorists.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government does not issue guidance to the private parking industry on the levels of penalties for motorists. The private parking sector currently operates on a model of self-regulation, and parking companies predominantly obtain access to DVLA data by being a member of one of the two Accredited Trade Associations. These Trade Associations set out in their codes of practice that the maximum level should be no more than £100. Both Trade Associations suggest their members offer a reduced rate of at least 40% if payment is made within 14 days of the issue of the charge notice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.

Joseph Johnson

The Department’s purchasing policies support the Government’s commitment to do all it can to ensure UK suppliers can compete effectively for public sector contracts, in line with our current international obligations and guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department’s purchasing policies support the Government’s commitment to do all it can to ensure UK suppliers can compete effectively for public sector contracts, in line with our current international obligations and guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the costs and benefits of ending the paper vehicle tax disc.

Andrew Jones

The changes to the administration of vehicle excise duty are expected to save the public purse £13.8m per year. These savings are made up of the elements shown in the table below:

No longer having to print or store tax discs.	£1.3m pa
No longer having to post tax discs to customers.	£7.9m pa
No longer having to process applications for vehicle excise duty refunds (which are now paid automatically without the need for an application) or handle enquiries about lost or missing tax discs.	£1.2m pa
Reduction in Post Office Ltd costs as they no longer issue paper tax discs, but offer an assisted digital service instead.	£3.4m pa

Business will also save an estimated £8.6m per year from the changes. The savings arise from leasing companies no longer having to post tax discs to customers or businesses having to apply for refunds of vehicle excise duty and paying to replace lost or stolen tax discs.

There are also one-off costs of £5.7m made up of the elements shown in the table below:

DVLA IT and systems changes/updates,	£4m
Familiarisation costs to the General Public and Business in understanding the changes	£1.7m