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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Grocott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Grocott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grocott on 2016-06-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action, if any, they have taken during the last 12 months in relation to the fraud allegations at the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation academy chain.

    Lord Nash

    During the last 12 months, the fraud allegations at the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation academy trust chain have been reviewed as a criminal investigation since first reported to the police in October 2012 by this multi-academy trust. The criminal case against the perpetrator of the fraud began week commencing 6 June at Woolwich Crown Court.

    The Education Funding Agency (EFA) has engaged with the Trust from the outset and immediately requested that the Trust assess financial systems and risks. The Trust carried out an independent and thorough review of its internal control procedures and reported on this to the EFA. The Trust has taken all the appropriate action since the issue was first identified and the remaining key actions now rest with the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

    Academies and free schools face tighter financial scrutiny than local authority maintained schools. They must publish annual, independently-audited accounts, of which there is no equivalent requirement on maintained schools. We take swift action whenever we identify financial irregularities.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have given the rail industry an exemption that allows that industry a year longer than the aviation industry to comply with the provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 in respect of compensation for delays or cancellations to services; and whether they plan to extend that exemption to providers of bus and coach services.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has decided that the Consumer Rights Act (CRA) should apply in full to all transport services, including mainline passenger rail services, from 1 October 2016.

    The 12 month exemption from one of the compensation provisions in the Consumer Rights Act was originally proposed to allow time for train operators to move to a consistent compensation scheme. However, the Government is now of the view that rail customers should not be denied any consumer rights or protections even for a temporary period while the rail industry works to put in place more consistent compensation arrangements between train operators. The Government has therefore withdrawn the draft statutory instrument which was to have been debated by Parliament and which, if approved, would have put this exemption in place.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel about oil and gas reserves off the coast of Gaza.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The gas fields off the coast of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories are a commercial matter. We remain in regular contact with British Gas, the Palestinian Authority and the government of Israel about the exploration of offshore oil and gas.

  • Barbara Keeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Barbara Keeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barbara Keeley on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of in-work households in Salford in receipt of tax credits with an underlying entitlement to working tax credit in each of the last five years had not had a claim with an underlying entitlement to working tax credit in the proceeding tax year.

    Damian Hinds

    The answers are only available at disproportionate cost.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on which date his Department announced the creation of each enterprise zone in (a) urban and (b) rural areas of each region; and what plans he has to create new enterprise zones in what (i) rural and (ii) urban areas.

    Greg Hands

    26 new and extended Enterprise Zones were announced by the Chancellor in his Autumn Statement on 25 November, details of which are available on gov.uk. The government has provided feedback to those Local Enterprise Partnerships that were unsuccessful in their applications, and where possible, will work with them to consider how the proposals could be improved.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of its methods of alleviating road congestion on motorways after an incident; and what plans his Department has to improve those methods.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England Traffic Officers play an important role in keeping traffic moving by helping road users in the event of a breakdown or collision, clearing debris from the motorways and returning the road back to normal.

    To assess how well Highways England are performing in clearing incidents, a target has been set to clear 85% of all lane impact incidents on the motorway network with one hour, as set out in the Roads Investment Strategy (RIS) and reported on annually. Highways England works closely with the other emergency responders including police forces, ambulance authorities, and fire and rescue services to improve its incident response.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department has provided to projects fostering co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians in each of the last five years.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID does not directly fund joint Israeli-Palestinian programmes. However, through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), the UK provides support for the ‘Youth Creating Peace On/Line’ project which encourages educational cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis. The project, run by NGO ‘Kids Creating Peace’, uses dialogue and leadership workshops to train participants to become peace advocates in their communities and beyond. The UK is providing £40,000 to ‘Youth Creating Peace On/Line’ for 2016/17.

    DFID provided £349 million in support of Palestinian development from 2011-15 and will provide a further £72 million in 2015-16. For a breakdown on how financial assistance in the Palestinian Territories is spent, information is published on DFID’s Development Tracker website (https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk).

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  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is providing to the Libyan government to assist the removal of Daesh from Sirte; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We must take action to prevent Daesh from using Libya as a base from which to plan and carry out attacks.

    That is why we are working closely with international partners to develop a comprehensive approach to defeating it. Initial planning has focused on building the capabilities of Libyan security forces to provide their own security. We will seek early discussions with a Libyan Government of National Accord.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will discuss with the European Aviation Safety Agency agreeing a minimum numbers of hours for airline pilots between each flight for EU and non-EU carriers entering EU airspace.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Under the Convention on International Civil Aviation the responsibility for establishing minimum rest periods for airline pilots rests with the state in which an airline is based. The EU cannot therefore impose requirements for rest periods on non EU airlines. Minimum rest periods for the crew of EU airlines are already established by Commission Regulation 83/2014.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Policing, Fire and Criminal Justice and Victims of 24 March 2016, Official Report, column 221, on the Policing and Crime Bill, how many volunteer police community and support officers have been trained in Lincolnshire; what training those volunteers have received; and whether the training those volunteers have received is in line with the guidance to be issued by the College of Policing.

    Mike Penning

    Currently, volunteers already have all the powers of a police constable as a Special Constable and have done so for over a century.

    Chapter 1 of Part 3 of the Bill will enable chief officers to designate police staff with a wider range of police powers. They will also be able to confer police powers – other than the core powers reserved for warranted officers set out in Schedule 9 to the Bill – on volunteers. The intention is that the powers that can be conferred on employed staff and designated volunteers are the same. This includes the power to carry and use defensive sprays, such as CS or PAVA, in situations where the chief officer considers there to be an operational case for this. It is already the case that chief officers can equip police community support officers with defensive sprays; accordingly, the Bill simply codifies the existing position for staff. Chief officers must ensure appropriate training before conferring a power.

    Since opening the recruitment for Volunteer Police Community Support Officers (VPCSOs) in the autumn of 2013, Lincolnshire Police have recruited 80 volunteers, who have been trained to the same standard as paid PCSOs. The College of Policing guidance in respect of VPCSOs has not yet been written.