Tag: Parliamentary Question

Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2016 to Question 38024, how many visits to the Pensions Wise website were by consumers seeking pensions advice for personal use.

Justin Tomlinson

Pension Wise is a free and impartial guidance service which helps people aged 50 and over understand what they can do with their defined contribution pension pot(s). The service does not offer regulated financial advice.

The Pension Wise service is aimed at members of the public. To the end of May 2016, Pension Wise has had over 2.6 million visits to the website since launch. It does not hold information that distinguishes between visitors to its website.

01/01/2023
Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 32920, what processes his Department uses to collect information on allegations of fraudulent benefit claims; and what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of those processes.

Caroline Nokes

There are a variety of ways that allegations of Benefit Fraud are collected and received by the DWP including telephone calls to the National Benefit Fraud Hotline, online and Letter and Data matching. Once an allegation has been received and, if it meets the required criteria containing enough information, a Fraud Referral Form is completed which is then entered into the internal Fraud Referral and Information Management System.

The effectiveness of these processes is measured by statistics produced and published in May each year and made available in the public domain. These statistics are used to evaluate, develop and support fraud and error policy, strategy and operational decisions.

01/01/2023
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2015-11-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider introducing stronger sentencing powers against those involved in illegal dog fighting.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government recognises the seriousness of offences involving illegal animal fights. We will look to increase the maximum sentence when a legislative opportunity arises.

01/01/2023
Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurses trained abroad were recruited by the NHS in each year since 2010.

Ben Gummer

The Department does not hold information on the numbers of National Health Service nurses that have received training outside of the United Kingdom.

01/01/2023
Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the consistency of sentencing for people convicted of online fraud.

Andrew Selous

Guidelines on sentencing are produced by the independent Sentencing Council, which was established to promote greater transparency and consistency in sentencing while maintaining the independence of the judiciary. The Council published a definitive guideline on fraud, bribery and money laundering offences in May 2014. The Council has a statutory duty to monitor the operation and effect of its guidelines.

The most recent statistics on sentencing for fraud offences is available through the attached link. The courts database does not separate online and offline fraud offences.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014

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01/01/2023
Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will issue guidance to rail companies to ensure they publicise passenger rights for compensation for disruption caused by the recent floods in Northern England.

Claire Perry

We are committed to improving compensation arrangements for delayed rail passengers. That is why we are introducing requirements in all new franchise agreements to both require that train operators make reasonable endeavours to make passengers aware of their rights to claim compensation and also to implement Delay/Repay. It is noteworthy that under Delay/Repay, which will apply to the new Northern and TPE franchises to start in April this year, there are no exclusions for delays outside the control of the rail industry, such as exceptionally severe weather conditions.

This winter’s unprecedented weather conditions have caused disruption to services. Network Rail have been working hard to repair tracks in these atrocious conditions. We remain absolutely committed to getting all lines able to run full services as soon as possible and thank passengers for their patience whilst emergency repairs are made.

01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in which months since March 2012 his Department has withheld performance payments from Capita as a result of it not meeting the recruitment targets required by the Recruitment Partnership Programme contract.

Mr Julian Brazier

I am witholding the information as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

01/01/2023

Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what total value of assets has been transferred from local authority control to control by academy schools or combinations of academy schools in each of the last five years.

Edward Timpson

The majority of the assets that transfer to academy control on conversion are land and buildings. In the vast majority of conversions the local authority (LA) retains the freehold, and will lease the land and buildings to the academy. No academy can dispose of land without the Secretary of State’s consent and – where they retain the freehold – the LA.

In accordance with government accounting requirements the Department for Education is obliged to consolidate academy trust’s accounts into our own and record the total value of net assets that academies control; including land and buildings leased from LAs.

The table below summarises information we hold and have published on the transfer, in accountancy terms, of assets to academies. As the Department for Education has only been required to consolidate academy trust’s accounts into our own from financial year 2012-13, it is not possible to provide individual figures for 2010-11 and 2011-12.

Net assets transferred to EFA on conversion of academy trusts from local authorities.

Year	Net assets transferred from local authorities (£m)
Academies converting before 1st April 2012	13,900
Academies converting in 2012-13	6,213
Academies converting in 2013-14	3,390
Academies converting in 2014-15	2,707
Total	26,210

01/01/2023

Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the purpose is of the training provided by the UK armed forces to the security and armed forces personnel of Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK Armed Forces do not currently provide any training to security and Armed Forces personnel of Burundi or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

We provide some limited training to the Rwandan Armed Forces, largely at the Rwandan Peace Academy and Staff College and through occasional places at UK staff colleges. This training is in support of security sector reform and effective and compliant Rwandan contributions to peace support and disaster relief operations.

We also deliver training to the African Union’s Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF), as part of our effort to build the EASF’s capacity to conduct peace support operations. This training includes elements such as protection of civilians and civil and military cooperation. Some Burundian and Rwandan Armed Forces personnel attached to the EASF may attend this training.

01/01/2023
Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to improve broadband access for small businesses.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government recognises the importance of broadband access throughout the UK for businesses of all sizes. Under the Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme, over 50,000 SMEs across 52 cities took a connection voucher, with around 41,000 businesses already connected to super and ultra-fast broadband.

The Government is also undertaking a Review into Business Broadband, jointly led by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to explore the barriers faced by businesses, including SMEs, in accessing the affordable, high-speed broadband they need. That Review is ongoing and will report later this year.

01/01/2023