Tag: Parliamentary Question

Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on the upgrade of a Voyager aircraft for transporting senior Ministers; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

Following the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, the Ministry of Defence project team are working with Air Tanker Ltd and their supplier, Airbus Defence and Space, on the Voyager enhanced cabin fit and are on target to deliver this in July 2016.

01/01/2023
Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, against what criteria she measures the compliance of local authorities with the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.

Mr Rob Wilson

The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 requires local authorities in England to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service for their local communities. The 1964 Act requires the Secretary of State to superintend, and promote the improvement of, the public library service provided by local authorities in England, and to secure the proper discharge by local authorities of the duties conferred on local authorities under the Act.

The Secretary of State has the power to intervene by directing a local inquiry following a complaint that a local authority has failed to carry out its duties under the Act, or of her own motion. In taking that decision, the Secretary of State gives consideration to a number of factors, including:
- Whether there is any serious doubt or uncertainty as to whether the local authority is (or may cease to be) complying with its legal obligation to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service.
- Whether the local authority appears to be acting in a careless or unreasonable way.
- Whether the decision is or may be outside the proper bounds of the local authority’s discretion, such as a capricious decision to stop serving a particularly vulnerable group in the local community.
- Whether the local authority appears to have failed to consult affected individuals or to carry out significant research into the effects of its proposals.
- Whether the local authority has failed to explain, analyse or properly justify its proposals.
- Whether the local proposals are likely to lead to a breach of national library policy.
- The advantages of local decision making by expert and democratically accountable local representatives.
- Whether there is any further good reason why a local inquiry should be ordered.
Where a complaint is raised we will consider the available evidence in light of the above factors. If there is serious doubt that the library service provided by the local authority offers a comprehensive and efficient service, I will not hesitate to open an inquiry.
01/01/2023
Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many staff (a) of her Department and (b) working in each of its public bodies were employed in NUTS 1 region in the last fiscal year.

Matt Hancock

a) DCMS employed 527 payroll staff (and 57 non-payroll) staff at the 31st Mar 16 (end of the last fiscal year).

b) this information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to maintain the current level of train services between Eastbourne and Gatwick Airport under any proposals for a second Brighton mainline; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

The Government has recently commissioned the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study to examine the strategic case for investment in existing and new rail capacity. The findings of the Study will help Ministers make decisions on future rail network investment, which will help shape service patterns to Eastbourne and other areas of the South Coast. The intent of the Study is to ensure that services meet the current and future needs of passengers on this critical link between London and the South Coast.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 3 December (HL Deb, col 1205), how much of the estimated £600 million additional partnership funding” has been received from private sources; and from which sources.”

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Six months into a six-year programme, £250 million has been secured. A further £350 million of potential contributions has been identified. Of the £250 million secured to date, £61 million comes directly from private sources.

01/01/2023
Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-01-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the effect of the HM Revenue and Customs Location Strategy on future tax revenues.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Location Programme is the result of an extended period of consultation and deliberation. The Department has taken account of a number of criteria in reaching its decisions, including the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, the cost of buildings and asset value, and the need to retain the staff and skills it needs to continue its transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

HMRC’s modelling estimates that the majority of staff in Scotland live within Reasonable Daily Travel of Glasgow or Edinburgh. Reasonable Daily Travel is calculated in line with established HR policies and procedures. Every worker at HMRC will have a one-to-one meeting with their manager to discuss their individual circumstances.

HMRC conducted high level People Impact and Equality Assessments to inform its planning. The Department plans to update these once discussions have been held with its staff.

Activities of trade union representatives are governed by long-standing agreements with departments.

01/01/2023

Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on using debt collection agencies in each of the last seven years.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.

With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.

Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.

The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.

The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.

The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.59m	£8.50m
2010/2011	£1.33m	£9.77m
2011/2012	£2.11m	£13.94m
2012/2013	£1.95m	£14.15m
2013/2014	£2.12m	£15.00m
2014/2015	£2.52m	£17.30m
2015/2016*	£1.64m	£11.05m
*to date

The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.25m	£10.20m
2010/2011	£0.56m	£4.68m
2011/2012	£0.35m	£1.35m
2012/2013	£0.21m	£1.71m
2013/2014	£0.05m	£1.21m
2014/2015	£0.10m	£0.86m
2015/2016 to date	£0.07m	£0.53m

01/01/2023

Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will suspend the process of determining the application for the licence for ship-to-ship transfers in the Cromarty Firth until he has formally consulted Marine Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Mr Robert Goodwill

There are no valid reasons to suspend the process of determining the application for an Oil Transfer licence for ship to ship transfers in the Cromarty Firth.

Officials from Marine Scotland were sent the application details and information by email on 9 December 2015. A reminder about the deadline for comments on this application was sent to the same officials by email on 3 February, five days before the end of the extended consultation period.

A Marine Scotland official confirmed to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on 11 February that they had seen the information and had no intention of submitting a response.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yvette Cooper on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of (a) jobs and (b) businesses that have been created in the North East through European Regional Development Fund projects since 2010.

Anna Soubry

The number of jobs estimated to have been created in the North East through European Regional Development Fund projects from the start of the 2007-2013 programmes to the end of February 2016 is 20,602. The number of businesses created in the same period is 5,888.

01/01/2023
Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19682, how much land in Poole Unitary Authority in hectares is designated as Green Belt.

Brandon Lewis

The Department’s annual Green Belt statistics monitor the amount of land designated as Green Belt in England. The latest figures for 2014-15 show that 1,900 hectares of land in Poole Unitary Authority was designated as Green Belt. This is 29% of the land area of Poole Unitary Authority.

01/01/2023