Tag: Nigel Evans

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to ensure that delays in Disclosure and Barring Service checks by (a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) other constabularies are minimised.

Karen Bradley

The DBS is reliant on the police completing their checks in a timely manner. To support this, service level agreements are in place between the DBS and each police force. These include a requirement for forces to complete 100% of local checks within 60 days.

There are a small number of forces, including the Metropolitan Police Service, experiencing difficulties in dealing with the volume of applications that have been referred to them. If police force performance falls below the standard agreed with the DBS, the DBS will work with the force concerned including, where appropriate, implementing a recovery plan.

The DBS is working closely with the MPS to address its performance issues. An MPS Gold Group is overseeing the recovery plan and exploring all opportunities to process cases quickly. Measures include increasing recruitment, introducing an evening team to improve resilience, and prioritising and escalating cases where possible. All police disclosure units, including that of the MPS, are funded by the DBS which agrees a budget for each police force annually based on the expected numbers of local checks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Disclosure and Barring Service has to protect vulnerable groups from exposure to unchecked employees and unregistered employers.

Karen Bradley

The responsibility for protecting vulnerable groups in the workplace lies with employers. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) provides access to criminal records and other relevant information held by the police to assist employers in considering suitability to work with children or vulnerable adults. It also maintains lists of those who are barred from work with either or both those groups.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Disclosure and Barring Service checks were carried out in (a) the UK, (b) Lancashire and (c) Ribble Valley constituency in the last 12 months.

Karen Bradley

Between 1 October 2014 and 30 September 2015, the Disclosure and Barring Service issued 4,209,742 disclosures. Of these, 102,252 were received from individuals living in Lancashire. The DBS does not hold information to show the number of certificates by constituency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to increase the Pension Protection Fund payment cap.

Steve Webb

The Pensions Act 2014 provides for an increase to the Pension Protection Fund compensation cap of 3 per cent for each year of pensionable service above 20 years, to a maximum of double the standard cap. Changes are needed to secondary legislation before the primary legislation comes into force and we are currently aiming for this work to be completed by Autumn this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2015-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people serving in the Army Reserve left in each year since 2010.

Mr Julian Brazier

The available data on outflow from the Territorial Army (TA) for Financial Year (FY) 2011-12 was provided in an answer given by the then Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Andrew Robathan) on 26 June 2012, (Official Report, column 196-197W) to the hon. Member for Shipley (Mr Davies). The outflow from the TA in FY 2011-12 (excluding the Officer Training Corps) was 5,720.

Since then, outflow from the Army Reserves was 4,620 in FY 2012-13 and 3,430 in FY 2013-14.

The year end total for FY 2014-15 will be released in the Quarterly Personnel Report which will be published in May 2015. The outflow from the Army Reserve for the first three quarters of FY 2014-15 was 2,710.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the net benefit to UK defence exports as a result of the recent Farnborough Airshow.

Matthew Hancock

Farnborough is an important showcase for the UK Defence sector, the Department does not make estimates of defence exports arising as a result of the Farnborough Airshow, but recent figures released show that defence exports grew by 11% in 2013 to £9.8 billion. Previous exhibitions such as Farnborough 2012 are likely to have contributed to these figures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the net economic effect of High Speed 2 for the North-West.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Investment in HS2 will deliver widespread connectivity improvements, grow markets and increase opportunities to trade.

The Economic Case for HS2 published in October 2013 estimates that 17% of the transport user benefits of the HS2 Y-Network are generated from trips originating in the North West. This equates to benefits of approximately £342m (PV, 2011 prices) in 2036. Further analysis by KPMG suggests the wider economic effects could be far greater.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints the Pensions Regulator has received in each year since 2010.

Steve Webb

The Pensions Regulator publishes all its complaints statistics in its Annual Report and Accounts.

The figures for each year from 2010 are contained in the table.

Category	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
Stage 1	20	24	18	16
Stage 2	5	3	5	5

Notes:

1. A Stage 1 complaint is a first tier complaint which receives a response from the Corporate Secretary.

2. Stage 2 is where the complainant is not satisfied with the first response and requests a review of the complaint by the Chairman.

3. Further information about the Pensions Regulator’s complaints process can be found at http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/about-us/how-to-make-a-complaint.aspx

4. The Pensions Regulator’s Accounts are published at

http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/about-us/annual-reports.aspx

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has for reform of the Pensions Regulator.

Steve Webb

A report on the Triennial Review of pensions bodies was published by the Department on 9 January 2014. It concluded that the Pensions Regulator should continue in its current role and retain its status as a Non-Departmental Public Body. Accordingly there are no plans for reform of the Pensions Regulator.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which companies have registered an interest in the contract for the JAMES requirement.

Mr Philip Dunne

The current contract for the Joint Asset Management Engineering Solution (JAMES) was let on 1 July 2004. A restricted competition is currently underway to provide JAMES capability from expiry on 31 December 2015.

I am withholding information on those companies which have registered an interest as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.