Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the level of accuracy of the credit records held by credit reporting agencies; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    When consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014, the Government decided that, given their central role in helping to inform responsible lending decisions, CRAs should be directly regulated by the FCA. As such, every credit reference agency’s fitness to trade is being assessed as part of the FCA’s robust authorisation process

    Information on a credit report should be purely factual; for example, if arrears were incurred, those lenders who share data through the credit reference agencies will have recorded them.

    A credit reference agency is able to correct factually inaccurate information. However, it is the original lender or organisation that supplies credit to a consumer that provides the agencies with the information held on a credit report. Where inaccurate information has been reported to a credit reference agency, a consumer must contact the lender in the first instance.

    If a problem with inaccurate data is not resolved satisfactorily with a lender, consumers are able to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is able to investigate and take action where necessary. The ICO is the UK’s independent body set up to uphold information rights, and it enforces the Data Protection Act.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the (a) connectivity and (b) affordability of rail travel between Stoke-on-Trent and London.

    Paul Maynard

    For the next InterCity West Coast franchise we ran a public consultation from 10 May to 2 August this year seeking both the public’s and stakeholders’ views and priorities to help inform potential bidders to ensure they meet the needs of the passengers. This included questions about connectivity and minimum levels of service. We are now reviewing and analysing the information and a summary will be published in due course.

    We have capped the rail fares we regulate at inflation (Retail Price Index) for four years running, and will continue to do so for the life of this parliament. This means those fares we regulate will rise by no more than 1.9% in 2017.

    Passengers on long-distance routes such as Stoke on Trent to London can also benefit from unregulated Advance fares, which have helped to make some leisure travel services significantly cheaper for passengers who are able to book ahead and commit themselves to travelling on a specific departure, and has also helped to fill emptier trains.

  • David Winnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Winnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2016-10-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) which food banks he has visited since taking office.

    Damian Hinds

    Details of Ministerial UK official visits and official meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly and made available on the gov.uk website.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the amount paid in road user compensation claims by local authorities in England outside London from 2012-13 to 2013-14.

    Andrew Jones

    The management and defence of insurance claims on the local highway network is entirely a matter for local highway authorities.

    The Department for Transport’s road condition statistics for 2013-14 suggest an improvement to the local road network, since 2012-13.

    The Department supports local authorities to manage their road networks efficiently and effectively, with record funding of £6billion from 2015 to 2021. Also, from 2016-17, the Department is introducing a Local Highways Maintenance Incentive Fund, to reward those authorities who are demonstrating good practice in this regard. The assessment of local authorities’ eligibility for this Fund includes scoring of the effectiveness of their asset management and risk management approaches.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government for (1) England, (2) Scotland, and (3) Wales, how much was spent per capita on cancer services, and what is the national one-year cancer survival rate as a percentage of new patients for the most recent year available.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    As health is a devolved matter, we are unable to provide data for Scotland or Wales.

    The National Audit Office estimated that the cost of cancer services to the National Health Service in England in 2012-13 was £6.7 billion, although precise figures are not available.

    According to the Office for National Statistics, the most recent available one-year age-standardised, all cancer survival rate for England for patients diagnosed in 2012, and followed up to 2013, is 69.3%.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2016 to Question 21436, whether the UK will reconsider humanitarian assistance by air to Madaya in Syria if the Assad regime resumes its blockade; and if the Government will monitor the situation in order to take action if land access is blocked again.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK will consider any option compliant with international law that might save lives in Syria. However, the UK does not plan to drop aid to besieged and hard to reach areas inside Syria. This is not the most effective way to improve the humanitarian situation. It would also involve a considerable risk to slow, low-flying transport aircraft both from hostile air defence systems and even low-technology threats such as machine-gun and small-arms fire.

  • John Woodcock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    John Woodcock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Woodcock on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her policy that police and crime commissioners be made aware of all Independent Police Complaints Commission investigations into appointments of chief constables and acting chief constables.

    Mike Penning

    It is a matter for police and crime commissioners to satisfy themselves that all pertinent facts are taken into consideration when appointing a chief constable. During any period when the chief constable is unable to exercise his or her duties, the current deputy chief constable is required to perform the functions of the chief constable.

    The Police Reform Act 2002 sets out the requirements on the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to provide information about its investigations, including outcomes, to complainants and other parties. For investigations into matters relating chief constables, these requirements extend to Police and Crime Commissioners where they are the appropriate authority. The IPCC publishes its investigation reports subject to a harm test, including consideration of the risk of prejudicing any coronial, criminal or disciplinary proceedings. The IPCC is required by law to publish any learning recommendations it makes.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the value to the economy of the technology sector.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Digital is one of the fastest-growing and most innovative sectors. It currently supports 1.4 million jobs in the UK and according to the DCMS Digital Sector Economic Estimates, published in January 2016, contributed £118.3 billion to the UK economy in 2014 – up 7.2% on the previous year – accounting for 7.3% of the UK economy. Total UK digital exports came to £43 billion in 2013, equalling 8.2 per cent of all UK exports (goods and services).

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to publish an updated timetable for commencing the building of the first T26 Global Combat Ship.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    We are working with industry to develop an optimised schedule for the T26 Global Combat Ship (GCS) programme. As part of this, on 22 March 2016, we announced that agreement had been reached with BAE Systems on the award of a contract to extend the T26 GCS Demonstration Phase to June 2017.

    In addition to maturing further the detailed ship design, investing in Shore Testing Facilities, and extending our investment in the wider supply chain, this extension to the Demonstration Phase will allow us to continue the work to develop a revised baseline for the programme.

    The timing of the award of the contract to build the Type 26 Global Combat Ships will be central to this re-baselining work and, in due course, a revised programme will be produced and considered through the normal investment approvals process. An announcement on the timing of the award of a T26 GCS build contract will be made at the appropriate time.

  • Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people under the age of (a) 18 and (b) 16 reported to hospital having taken more than the recommended daily allowance of non-prescription painkillers in (i) the last 12 months and (ii) each of the last three years.

    Jane Ellison

    This information is not collected centrally.