Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the recent change in the proportion of rape cases that result in a conviction; and if he will make a statement.

    Robert Buckland

    In 2015-16 the CPS conviction rate in rape cases rose to 57.9% from 56.9% in 2014-15. The volumes of convictions reached 2,689. This is the highest volume ever recorded and represents a rise of 108 defendants (4.2%) since 2014-15.

    The CPS continues to prioritise its response to cases involving allegations of rape and other forms of serious sexual offending and has taken a number of steps to improve the conviction rate. These include increasing the number of specialist staff within its dedicated Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) Units; providing revised and up-dated specialist training for prosecutors, and developing closer working arrangements with the police, including enhanced arrangements for the provision of early investigative advice to assist the police to build stronger cases.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their plans to deal with the increase in the United Kingdom population to 70 million within 12 years and 74.3 million by 2030, as projected by the Office for National Statistics, and what estimate they have made of the cost of those plans.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The recent 2015 Office for National Statistics projections predict the United Kingdom population to reach 70 million in 2027. This is consistent with their previous 2013 projections which also predicted the UK population would reach 70 million in 2027. The new projections forecast the population to increase to 71 million by 2030, as did the previous projections.

    Population growth does not necessarily cause an equivalent increase in demand for all public services, because at different points in their lives people will use different services. For instance, population increases caused by people living longer than previously, might increase demand for health services but probably would not increase demand for classroom places.

    However, as these increases are largely consistent with the previous population projections, they are well covered by existing plans and planning processes. Public services are provided local authorities and central departments. Local Government and Departmental budgets are set in advance through multi-year Spending Reviews. This allows the Government to make decisions on all areas of public spending in the context of projected demand and available resources while ensuring the public finances remain sustainable in the long term. Departments are responsible for deciding how this money is then allocated, subject to strict Treasury rules on the proper management of public funds. This allows money to flow to where it is most needed, given demographic pressures and other considerations.

    The independent Office for Budget Responsibility produce 50-year forecasts of the sustainability of the public finances in the biannual Fiscal Sustainability Report. For instance, the most recent report highlighted pressures from growth in health spending, state pension costs, and the costs of long-term social care. In response to these pressures, the Government introduced reforms that will save £500 billion over the next 50 years.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish National Lottery income statistics for each region in England.

    Tracey Crouch

    Information on the derivation of National Lottery Good Cause income by region is not currently collected by Government.

    National Lottery good cause money is allocated by expert bodies at arm’s length from Government and information can be found on the National Lottery Grants Database at the following link (http://www.lottery.culture.gov.uk); and from Lottery Distributors’ own websites.

  • Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of research from the University of East Anglia forecasting that the introduction of Individual Voter Registration will lead to a decline in levels of electoral registration.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Government is aware of research by the University of East Anglia into Individual Electoral Registration (IER) that was submitted to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee in 2011. The electoral registers used for the 2015 General Election contained over 400,000 more entries than the last registers published prior to the introduction of IER. As such, suggestions that IER would lead to a decline in registration levels were proved incorrect.

  • Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Dowden on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2016 to Question 23018, what steps he is taking to enforce the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.

    Anna Soubry

    Consumer products such as laser pens intended for use by consumers are regulated under The General Product Safety Regulations 2005. BIS is responsible for the legislation but it is enforced by Local Authority Trading Standards Services.

    Under the rules, Trading Standards Officers have a range of powers available to them with regards enforcement of the legislation such as requirements to mark or to warn, or to issue withdrawal or recall notices. They also have the power to prosecute traders.

    This is a well-established regime that has seen many hundreds of dangerous products taken off the market including laser pens.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the maintenance of entrepreneurial relief over the course of this Parliament.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is committed to supporting UK businesses and entrepreneurs’ relief is an important way of doing this. It is widely used and valued.

    The Government keeps all tax reliefs under review to ensure they continue to fulfil their policy objectives. At Autumn Statement 2015, the Chancellor announced that he will consider bringing forward legislation to amend the changes made by Finance Act 2015 to entrepreneurs’ relief, in order to support businesses by ensuring that the relief is available on certain genuine commercial transactions.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent violence in Israel and the West Bank on relations in that region.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are deeply concerned by the recent violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which has had a negative impact on relations. Since the start of the current violence, Ministers and officials have spoken regularly to both the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority on the urgent need to de-escalate the tensions. The current violence underlines that a just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department’s expenditure was on external room or venue hire in each year from 2010-11 to 2015-16; and what the proportion of such expenditure was on such hire in London in each of those years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The following table shows the expenditure on external room and venue hire in the financial years listed:

    Financial year

    2010-11

    £859,964

    2011-12

    £455,641

    2012-13

    £663,479

    2013-14

    £741,825

    2014-15

    £797,156

    2015-16

    £940,775

    Over the above 6 years the average annual expenditure was £743,140. The spend in 2009-10 was £819,612.

    The response covers the core department and three of its four executive agencies (Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency). The Vehicle Certification Agency’s finance system does not separately identify expenditure on room and venue hire.

    It is not possible to identify the proportion of this expenditure incurred in London.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the NHS England Five Year Forward View on Mental Health, published in February 2016, what progress has been made on Recommendation 32 on a multi-disciplinary workforce strategy.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government is working with delivery partners to carefully consider the independent Mental Health Taskforce’s recommendations and aims to publish a strategic implementation plan in the autumn that will set out how Government and partners will deliver the recommendations.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 15 July 2014 to Question 205172, what assessment his Department carried out prior to July 2014 of the suitability for storing hard copy records in the building used on Diego Garcia.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    Prior to July 2014 hard copy records were held in storage facilities on Diego Garcia that local immigration officials deemed to be suitable for the task.