Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what was the average deposit paid by first time buyers was in each London borough in (a) 2010 and (b) the last year for which figures are available.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not record or collect this information at London borough level.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many civil law suits have been brought against her Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many such suits were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since 2010.

    Andrea Leadsom

    When the Human Rights Act came into force, no specific arrangements were put in place by the then government to record cases in the way requested.

    Litigants in civil cases can rely on arguments based wholly or partly on the Human Rights Act 1998. In some cases, the Act is relied on in addition to other claims. Neither Government Legal Department (GLD) records nor the County and High Courts case management systems distinguish between cases where the Act is invoked and cases where it is not. As a result, there are not currently data published which distinguish between cases where the Human Rights Act was or was not invoked.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of assessment reports conducted by contractors for Scottish claimants of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payments did not meet the contractual standard required in each of the last four quarters for which information is available.

    Priti Patel

    The information you have requested Is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the study of attitudes to work by the Smith Institute that more than two-thirds of British workers are spending longer at their workplace for little or no gain in productivity.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Smith Institute survey of trade union members asked whether respondents thought they were working “harder” and whether they were more productive than two years ago. Given the ambiguity over the term “working harder” and the unrepresentative sample used, caution should be drawn on the relationship between hours worked and productivity.

    However, ONS data indicate that between 2010 and 2015 the total number of hours worked per week in the UK economy has increased by 8.4%1. The vast majority of the increase, around 80%, came from higher employment. While the remainder did come from increased average hours this in part reflects a reduction in the share of part-time work.

    It has been this significant increase in the number of people employed that has driven growth in the UK economy in recent years. The challenge now is to ensure the UK continues to grow through rising productivity. The government’s ‘Fixing the Foundations’ productivity plan, sets out an ambitious vision and the pro-productivity agenda designed to meet this challenge. Productivity, measured as output per hour worked, increased by 1.0% in 2015 as a whole – the largest annual increase since 2011.

    References

    1. ONS UK Labour Market (March 2016): Actual weekly hours worked (seasonally adjusted)

    https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/actualweeklyhoursworkedseasonallyadjustedhour01sa

    “

  • Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the Iranian government on the continued detention of seven Bahá’í leaders.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK regularly raises our concerns at the treatment of the Baha’i community in Iran. We call on Iran to cease harassment of all religious minorities and to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of religion to all Iranians.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with (a) LEAP Academy Trust, (b) teaching trade unions, (c) staff and (d) students and parents on the future viability of Baverstock Academy; and what steps she is taking to ensure that that school remains open.

    Edward Timpson

    Leap Academy Trust has formally requested that the Secretary of State agree to terminate their funding agreement. No decision has yet been made. The Secretary of State will need to be confident that a robust plan is in place to ensure pupils’ education continues without disruption. In the meantime, our priority is to stabilise the academy in terms of school improvement and outcomes for pupils and the future of the staff.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to stop cold-callers who try to lure people into pension scams.

    Baroness Shields

    The Government takes the threat of pension scams very seriously. We are committed to protecting consumers from such scams, by raising awareness and pursuing scammers when these crimes occur.

    The Government has established Project Bloom, a multi-department, multi-agency forum for officials to monitor trends, share intelligence on emerging threats, and help co-ordinate action to tackle scams. Members include the National Crime Agency, police forces, Pension Wise, regulators and key Government departments.

    We are also taking forward a range of legislative measures to tackle nuisance calls, which will increase consumer protection and choice by strengthening the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ability to take enforcement action against organisations that break the law. Recent actions include a measure in the Digital Economy Bill that will strengthen the ICO’s direct marketing guidance by giving it statutory status. We are also exploring proposals to extend the ICO’s powers of compulsory audit to more of the organisations that generate nuisance calls; and the options for enabling the ICO to hold company directors to account for breaches of the direct marketing rules.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he has held discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on privatisation of Channel 4 in the last 12 months.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Secretary of State meets regularly with the Chancellor to discuss matters relating to DCMS policy. The government has made no decisions regarding reform of Channel 4.The government is considering a range of options as to how best to ensure Channel 4’s future sustainability while maintaining its ability to deliver against its remit, including options put forward by Channel 4.

  • Chris Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which parliamentary constituencies do not fall entirely within the 90 per cent coverage of the 4G replacement system being considered as sole bidder for Emergency Services as part of the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme.

    Mike Penning

    The Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) will provide geographic coverage to 97% of the country (including the 90% required by the Regulator) by requiring the Mobile Services supplier to infill commercial coverage area and extend their network over sites provided by ESMCP’s Extended Area Services (EAS) project.

    Listed below are the Parliamentary Constituencies that do not fall entirely within the 90% coverage (as required by the Regulator), and those that do not fall entirely within the 97% coverage (with a further 7% provided by ESN) are:

    Parliamentary Constituency

    Not met 90%

    Not met 97%

    Aberavon Co Const

    *

    *

    Aberconwy Co Const

    *

    Angus Co Const

    *

    *

    Arfon Co Const

    *

    Barrow and Furness Co Const

    *

    Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk Co Const

    *

    *

    Bishop Auckland Co Const

    *

    Brecon and Radnorshire Co Const

    *

    *

    Bridgwater and West Somerset Co Const

    *

    *

    Carmarthen East and Dinefwr Co Const

    *

    *

    Central Devon Co Const

    *

    Clwyd South Co Const

    *

    *

    Clwyd West Co Const

    *

    *

    Copeland Co Const

    *

    *

    Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale Co Const

    *

    *

    East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow Co Const

    *

    Hexham Co Const

    *

    *

    High Peak Co Const

    *

    Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Co Const

    *

    *

    Kilmarnock and Loudoun Co Const

    *

    Lancaster and Fleetwood Co Const

    *

    Ludlow Co Const

    *

    *

    Montgomeryshire Co Const

    *

    *

    North Devon Co Const

    *

    Ochil and South Perthshire Co Const

    *

    *

    Penrith and The Border Co Const

    *

    Perth and North Perthshire Co Const

    *

    *

    Ribble Valley Co Const

    *

    *

    Richmond (Yorks) Co Const

    *

    *

    Scarborough and Whitby Co Const

    *

    Skipton and Ripon Co Const

    *

    *

    South West Wiltshire Co Const

    *

    Stirling Co Const

    *

    *

    Thirsk and Malton Co Const

    *

    *

    Totnes Co Const

    *

    Westmorland and Lonsdale Co Const

    *

    West Dunbartonshire Co Const

    *

    Dwyfor Meirionnydd Co Const

    *

    *

    Ceredigion Co Const

    *

    *

    Torridge and West Devon Co Const

    *

    North Cornwall Co Const

    *

    Berwick-upon-Tweed Co Const

    *

    *

    South East Cornwall Co Const

    *

    South West Devon Co Const

    *

    Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Co Const

    *

    *

    Ross, Skye and Lochaber Co Const

    *

    *

    Moray Co Const

    *

    *

    Na h-Eileanan an Iar Co Const

    *

    *

    Argyll and Bute Co Const

    *

    *

    West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine Co Const

    *

    *

    Gordon Co Const

    *

    East Lothian Co Const

    *

    North Ayrshire and Arran Co Const

    *

    *

    Dumfries and Galloway Co Const

    *

    *

    Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Co Const

    *

    Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock Co Const

    *

    *

    Preseli Pembrokeshire Co Const

    *

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he plans to publish the next quarterly progress report to the House on Syria.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    I updated the House on 16 December 2015. The next progress report on Syria will be made by my Right Hon Friend, member for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields, the Development Secretary, Ms Justine Greening following the 4 February Syria Conference in London.