Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-09-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 4 May 2016 to Question 35744, when his Department plans to carry out an impact assessment on the local economy of East Kilbride in addition to the People Impact Assessments that have already been conducted.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) location decisions were based on a number of key principles to enable it to deliver more for less. This included retention of its current staff and skills and local and national transport links. It does not plan to carry out an impact assessment on the local economy of East Kilbride in addition to the People Impact Assessments that have already been conducted.

    HMRC is considering a number of sites at each regional centre location, including Glasgow. More details will be available when commercial negotiations have finished.

  • Dame Caroline Spelman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dame Caroline Spelman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dame Caroline Spelman on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will direct the UK’s representatives at the UN to call for an investigation of the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Sudanese armed forces in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​We are very concerned by the allegations of chemical weapons use in Sudan and have raised our concern during UN Security Council consultations and directly with the Government of Sudan. We are aware that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is looking into the allegations and has asked the Government of Sudan to share all relevant information. The UK condemns any use of chemical weapons, by anyone anywhere.

  • Lucy Powell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lucy Powell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost was of (a) external and (b) internal legal advice on the approved and rejected proposals for an annexe to the Weald of Kent Grammar School.

    Edward Timpson

    The Weald of Kent School has set out its plans in expansion proposals. Pupils at the Sevenoaks annexe will attend the Tonbridge site at least once a week to attend a whole school assembly and additional lessons. The school will also operate a house system across the expanded school, regularly bringing students together on a range of curriculum projects. The length of the school day is a matter for the academy trust.

    The newly expanded school will better meet the needs of parents in the community that the school currently serves. Over 41% of pupils at the Tonbridge site already travel from the Sevenoaks area. The travel arrangements between the sites will use existing bus companies to transport pupils who live in Sevenoaks to the Tonbridge site. The proposal indicates that the journey time is approximately 17 minutes and no additional funding is being provided to the academy to cover the costs.

    The decision issued on 15 October 2015 was in respect of a proposal received on 14 September 2015. The Department can comment on the costs of external legal advice once we have the final costs bill.

    The school would not have the required capital funding to expand on this scale at the existing site.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities have agreed to accept Syrian and other refugees.

    Lord Bates

    Local authorities from across the UK participate in the four resettlement programmes which the UK operates. These run on a voluntary basis, and we do not disclose which are involved as resettlement can be a sensitive issue. Providing this information without their consent could deter other local authorities from participating in future.

    It is at the discretion of Local Authorities to disclose whether or not they are involved with the Syrian Resettlement programme.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Review of childcare costs: the analytical report, published by her Department on 25 November 2015, if she will publish the responses to her Department’s call for evidence on childcare costs in full.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    It is not the Department’s policy to publish individual responses to a consultation or to a call for evidence, some of which may have been submitted to the Department in confidence. The Department published the findings of the call for evidence on 8 October 2015 and the report is available from this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/cost-of-providing-childcare-review-call-for-evidence

    The call for evidence was an important part of the government’s review of the cost of childcare and it is one of the sources of evidence that informed the final report which was published on 25 November 2015.

    “

  • Caroline Ansell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Caroline Ansell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with train operating companies on improving the claim process for compensation for delays; and if he will make a statement.

    Claire Perry

    We urge passengers to claim the compensation they are entitled to. When delays occur, we expect operators to make sure their passengers are informed about how to apply for compensation.

    We are committed to improving compensation for delayed rail passengers. As the Chancellor stated in his Autumn Statement, we are committed to reducing the time threshold for which passengers can claim from 30 minutes to 15 minutes.

    We welcome the trial by c2c of automatic compensation to be introduced on the c2c franchise for registered customers if their train is delayed by more than 2 minutes. We welcome the introduction of automatic compensation on Advance tickets bought online, currently available on Virgin Trains West Coast and to be introduced as part of the Northern and TPE franchises and we encourage operators to make sure passengers across the country benefit from schemes like this.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much central government funding has been allocated to (a) the London Local Enterprise Partnership and (b) all Local Enterprise Partnerships to support the creative industries in each year since 2011-12.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    All Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), including the London LEP, have access to funding through programmes such as Growth Deals. However, decisions on what to prioritise rightly rest with the LEPs themselves, ensuring a strong business voice to maximise local growth. In London, for example, the LEP is investing £5m in a Digital Skills Programme to ensure young Londoners have the skills they need to access jobs in the capital’s thriving tech sector.

  • Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner on the removal of people convicted of child abuse and rape from the Sex Offenders Register.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office has not received any representations from the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner on the removal of people convicted of child abuse and rape from the sex offenders’ register.

    Offenders who are on the register indefinitely are only able to seek a police review after 15 years. In 2012, the Home Office issued detailed guidance to police forces on assessing applications for review. All decisions to release a sex offender from the notification requirements must be authorised by a senior police officer. Public safety is at the heart of all decisions taken by police, and those who continue to pose a risk will remain on the sex offenders’ register, if necessary for life.

  • Graham Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Graham Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Evans on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of potential steps to increase provision of (a) court time and (b) relevantly skilled members of the judiciary to ensure the timely management of legal proceedings on complex planning disputes.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Planning Court was established in 2014 and has greatly increased the speed in which planning cases are dealt with.

    A dedicated cadre of lawyers and judiciary have been appointed to deal expediently with all significant planning cases.

    The Criminal Courts and Justice Act 2015 introduced a permission stage in applications for statutory review, to remove unmeritorious statutory challenges to planning decisions as early as possible.

    Current statistical data shows that the average time taken for a planning case to be dealt with in the Planning Court has reduced from 46.9 weeks in February 2014 to 25.9 weeks in March 2016.

  • Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of a vote to leave the EU on policies in the Culture White Paper.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    We have made no assessment. The Government has been clear about its position in respect of the Referendum.