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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office of 24 March 2016, Official Report, column 209, on the Policing and Crime Bill, how her Department defines warranted in the context of warranted officers; and what assessment she has made of whether Clause 28 of the Policing and Crime Bill would give warranted powers to staff and volunteers.

    Mike Penning

    In the context of warranted officers and in relation to the Policing and Crime Bill, “warranted” means attested as a constable. The Bill sets out a series of reforms, endorsed in a public consultation, that will enhance the powers of chief police officers to designate police staff and volunteers with a broad range of powers or duties, other than those core powers that will be available only to constables. In making this distinction, we are underlining the central place of the constable in policing.

    These reforms will free up police officers to concentrate on the core policing tasks that most require their particular powers and experience, while enabling chief police officers to deploy a flexible and balanced workforce with the appropriate mix of skills and experience to keep our communities safe. We know there is demand from forces to introduce these volunteer roles – Lincolnshire, for example, have already recruited and trained volunteer Police Community Support Officers, who are waiting for this Bill to pass so they can be given powers appropriate to their roles and training.

    If it is acceptable to confer all the powers of a constable on one type of volunteer, namely special constables, it is inconsistent to object in principle to conferring a narrower set of powers on other suitably trained volunteers. Chief officers are best placed to decide how to shape their workforce to meet local need and the reforms in the Bill enable them to do just that.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to close the iPlayer loophole.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government will bring forward legislative proposals to close the iPlayer loophole by the Summer.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will increase its contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

    James Wharton

    The Global Fund has announced its 2017-2019 replenishment target – seeking to mobilise US$13billion to save 8 million lives and avert up to 300 million new infections. The UK is planning to support a successful Fifth Replenishment of a strong, value for money Global Fund and a decision on the size of our investment will be made later in the summer.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of staff on the payroll of his Department who work in Westminster are (a) British nationals and (b) nationals of another country.

    Mr John Hayes

    Many staff self-declare their nationality on the staff system. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks and copies of this evidence are held on file for the duration of the person’s employment and for a further two years after they cease working for the department.

  • Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of services targeted at young people with dementia.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government is clear that all types of dementia remain a priority and will implement the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020 in full to make sure that dementia care, support, awareness and research are transformed by 2020. That is why on 21 February 2015, the 2020 Challenge was launched.

    Under the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020, we wish to encourage greater personalisation in the provision of post-diagnosis services including for younger people with dementia – this means building support around the individual with dementia, their carer and family and providing them with more choice, control and flexibility in the way they receive care and support – regardless of the setting in which they receive it.

    The Challenge recognises that local commissioners and providers need to continue to improve their understanding of the best ways to tailor post-diagnosis support services based on their local population’s needs.

    It is therefore for clinical commissioning groups and local authorities, working together, to ensure that high quality, personalised services are delivered for people with dementia and their carers.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received from business groups on the closure of the Business Growth Service.

    Anna Soubry

    To date I have received no official representations from business groups on the closure of the Business Growth Service.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many new housing developments were built in the period 2010 to 2015 against advice given by the Environment Agency.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The information requested is not collected by the Department. The Environment Agency’s most recent report ‘Managing flood and coastal erosion risks in England’ indicates that between April 2011 and March 2015, over 99 per cent of proposed new homes had planning outcomes in line with Environment Agency advice where they had objected because of concerns about flood risk and had been made aware of the decision.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the provisions of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on social mobility.

    Priti Patel

    The Government has carefully considered the impact of the tax and benefit reforms introduced in the Summer Budget, including those in the Bill, and are committed to improving social mobility.

    The Bill itself proposes a reform to the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission to ensure its focus on this important issue. The new provisions on life chances recognise the crucial role of education in this respect, and the objectives of our welfare reforms are to promote employment, ensure people have the skills and the opportunities they need, make sure that work always pays, and allow people to keep more of what they earn.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in processing times for personal independence payment reassessment cases between the case return from assessment provider to his Department’s case decision since October 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Following a controlled start from July 2015, full Personal Independence Payment (PIP) roll-out commenced in October 2015, with an increase in the numbers of existing Disability Living Allowance claimants being asked to claim PIP.

    In addition and in order to improve the customer journey, the Department has made some changes to the way in which it monitors Assessment Provider performance. These changes mean that Providers now have more time in which to complete assessments and return reports to the Department and also gives them greater flexibility to obtain further evidence to support claims: this therefore allows more time for scheduling appointments that better suit claimants and Assessment Providers, increases accuracy in assessments and reports and ensures opportunities for paper based reviews are maximised thereby reducing the demand for face-to-face appointments. Although these changes may see slightly longer average clearance times, they remain within expected levels.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times on which dates in 2014 specialist contractors were used to facilitate the enforced return to Yemen of people from that country who had unsuccessfully claimed asylum in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    All escorting services to facilitate enforced returns are provided by the Home Office’s main contractor, Tascor. In 2014, detainee custody officers from the Pilgrims Group, who are sub-contracted by Tascor were used on one occasion on 23rd July to facilitate the enforced return of an individual to Yemen.