The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many of his Department’s 24 vacant Deputy Director posts have been filled.
Mr David Jones
The Department for Exiting the EU now has over 200 staff in London, plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and we are still growing rapidly. We are not in a position to give a final total nor a breakdown by directorate as recruitment is ongoing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2015 to Question 15934, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in receipt of carer’s credit in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Justin Tomlinson
Historical information on the number of people in receipt of Carers Credit in each of the last five years is not available. To comply with Data Protection, dormant Carers Credit cases which have been closed for 14 months or more are removed from the Carers Credit Operating System and clerical records destroyed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prescriptions for anti-depressants were dispensed by the NHS for patients aged under 18 in each year since 2010.
Alistair Burt
Information is not available centrally concerning the age of patients prescribed and dispensed specific medicines.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Merchant Navy on implementation of that organisation’s dry ship policy.
Mr Robert Goodwill
It is for individual shipping companies to determine their policy on alcohol; the Department has not had any discussions on the matter. The Department is aware of the guidelines to shipping companies on alcohol misuse produced by the industry’s National Maritime Occupational Health and Safety Committee, and commends this advice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that companies with which the Government contracts to provide housing or other services for asylum seekers (a) treat such people with care and respect and (b) avoid measures which may make asylum seekers a target for hate crime.
James Brokenshire
The general principles section of the statement of requirements within the COMPASS contract is clear: asylum seekers need to be managed with sensitivity, treated in a polite and courteous manner and their safety and security is of absolute importance and must not be jeopardised.
I have asked for, and received assurances from, all accommodation providers that there are no further policies or practices that allow asylum seekers to be identified as such by the public.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what proportion of his Department’s (a) Senior Civil Servants and (b) core policy civil servants are based in London.
David Mundell
The Scotland Office currently has 50% of its Senior Civil Servants and 44% of its core policy civil servants based in London.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of (1) the effect of immigration, and (2) the effect of immigration from the EU, on the UK’s GDP per head in the last 10 years.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
No such estimate has been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the London Power Tunnels Project is (a) on schedule for completion in 2018 and (b) within budget.
Andrea Leadsom
National Grid has said that:
The London Power Tunnels Project is on schedule for completion in 2018 with all significant work completed in 2017 a year ahead of the original programme.
The London Power Tunnels Project is currently within budget.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, (a) who holds responsibility for training magistrates and (b) how many magistrates have received training on the use of (i) slavery and trafficking risk orders and (ii) slavery and trafficking prevention orders.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Judicial training is the responsibility of the Lord Chief Justice and is exercised through the Judicial College.
To fulfil their judicial decision making responsibilities magistrates, their legal advisers and District Judges (Magistrates’ Courts) receive comprehensive induction and continuation training in across the jurisdictions, which includes new legislation.
It is not however possible to identify where magistrates have received standalone or direct training on the use of slavery and trafficking risk orders or slavery and trafficking prevention orders.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Leader of the House what explanation she has received from the Department for Education concerning its failure to answer by 9 September two Questions for Written Answer that were asked on 19 July (HL1338) and 21 July (HL1440).
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Evans of Bowes Park):
I regularly stress to departments the importance of giving timely answers to Questions for Written Answer. My office immediately approach departments who have not responded to questions after 10 working days, and remain in contact with them until the questions are answered. This process has been followed in both of the cases to which the noble Lord refers.
In the case of the Ministry of Justice question, I am informed that the delay related the process of transferring it to the right department for response. After discussion it was transferred to the Cabinet Office, who will provide a substantive answer by close of play this week. As regards the Department for Education questions, I am informed that the delay related to gathering complex data spanning a long period and the need to obtain clearance from across government. Both of the questions concerned have now been answered.
Regarding timely replies more generally, I have recently written to the three departments with the greatest proportion of late responses in the last session and I regularly set out the House’s expectations as they apply to QWAs to my frontbench team. Notwithstanding the cases referenced above, I am pleased to say that the proportion of on-time responses from the Ministry of Justice rose from 74% of questions in 2014-15 to 87% in 2015-16; while the Department for Education answered well over 90% of questions on time in both sessions.