Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to improve customer satisfaction with South Eastern, Southern, and Govia Thameslink train services, and whether they have plans to take over any of those franchises.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    It is for the operators of the relevant franchises to take steps to improve customer satisfaction and deliver the requirements set out in their respective Franchise Agreements.

    Gatwick Express and Southern are operated as part of the Thameslink Southern and Great Northern franchise operated by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR). The Franchise Agreement includes a Passenger Experience Metric which was developed for this franchise to measure, reward and incentivise good levels of customer satisfaction. GTR failed to meet its benchmark for cancellations set out in its Franchise Agreement. In order to address the poor performance, the Department issued GTR with a Remedial Plan Notice that requires them to set out the measures they will take to improve their performance. GTR submitted its Remedial Plan and discussions are on-going to ensure the plan is robust. Once the measures are agreed they will become contractually binding through a Remedial Agreement.

    This year GTR will introduce new trains on the Gatwick Express service, replacing the current 25-year-old trains with a fleet better suited to the needs of airport passengers.

    The Southeastern franchise includes a financial penalty regime if the operator does not achieve the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) benchmarks for stations, train services and customer service. We will review performance against these benchmarks in March 2016, and any penalties incurred must be re-invested into raising passenger satisfaction, with plans agreed by the Department.

    The Department has no plans to take over either of these franchises.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2016 to Question 27234, how many of the 135 women referred to in that Answer became widows after 31 March 1973.

    Mark Lancaster

    A war widow(er) is the spouse of an ex-Service person whose death in Service, or subsequently, was attributable to injury or illness caused by Service in the Armed Forces before 6 April 2005.

    Of the 135 women who remarried between 6 April 2005 and 1 April 2015, 110 registered as a war widow from 1 April 1996 onwards and 20 women registered as a war widow prior to 1 April 1996. The Ministry of Defence is unable to determine the registered date for war widows prior to 1996, and therefore cannot confirm whether they were registered before, or after, 31 March 1973.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will estimate the proportion of rebel ground forces in Syria which could be considered moderate.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Prime Minister, the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) stated in Parliament in December 2015 that we assessed at that time that there were around 70,000 non-extremist fighters in Syria, standing up to both the tyranny of the Asad regime and the poisonous and murderous ideology of Daesh. Since the time of that assessment, there have been significant shifts on the ground, particularly as a result of Russia’s military escalation, the majority of which has directly targeted the moderate opposition.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of disability benefits for which disabled refugees in the UK are eligible.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Refugees who are eligible must meet the same basic conditions of entitlement for disability benefits as other recipients.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the number of police call-outs of reductions in staffing in (a) mental health units, (b) hospitals and (c) social care services.

    Mike Penning

    Decisions on the deployment of a police force’s workforce in relation to local requirements are operational matters for individual chief constables, working with their Police and Crime Commissioners. However, a range of initiatives at both local and national level including the Crisis Care Concordat partnership arrangements and street triage scheme have already helped to reduce inappropriate mental health demands on the police.

    The use of police cells in England as places of safety under the Mental Health Act, for example, reduced from 8,667 instances in 2011/12 to 3,996 in 2014/15. Legislative changes being introduced in the Policing and Crime Bill currently before Parliament, to prohibit the use of cells as places of safety for children and further limit their use for adults, as well as reductions in detention periods, will ensure progress in maintained.

    In addition, the Government has committed to invest an additional £1 billion in mental health services by 2020 to ensure improved mental health support in the community and for people in Accident and Emergency, as well as crisis response provision and treatment options for both adults and children. In the last Autumn Statement, the Government also gave local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of ne support for social care per year by 2019/20.

  • Helen Grant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Helen Grant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Grant on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment has she made of the effectiveness of regulations on advertising of gambling products on social media.

    Matt Hancock

    The Government is committed to ensuring that people, particularly the young and vulnerable, are protected from the risk of gambling-related harm. We are keeping the issue of advertising, including via social media, under review to ensure that sufficient protections are in place, and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to assist families who are in a position to lose their homes as a result of county court judgements.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    If a person finds that a county court judgment has been entered against them and they did not owe the money, they can apply to the court to have the judgment ‘set aside’. The Ministry of Justice is working with other government departments to check that creditors are using accurate address details when making money claims.

    The Department for Communities and Local Government is responsible for housing policy. Under the homelessness legislation (Part 6 of the Housing Act) any family with dependent children will be provided with accommodation. Homelessness teams will often be able to help families with debt advice or assist them to obtain that advice.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Government’s report, Fixing the Foundations; creating a more prosperous nation, Cm 9098, published in July 2015, what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) proposed changes to the rail industry and (b) the rail investment programme on productivity.

    Claire Perry

    The country’s railways are an important enabler of productivity and national prosperity, which is why the Government has committed to delivering investment of a record £38 billion across the country’s network.

    We have appointed Sir Peter Hendy as Chair of Network Rail to ensure the rail investment programme is delivered sustainably.

    We have also asked Nicola Shaw to advise Government on how we should approach the longer-term future shape and financing of Network Rail. She will publish her final report before Budget 2016. In addition, we have appointed Crossrail chair Terry Morgan to develop a transport and infrastructure skills strategy. We will consider their recommendations in due course.

  • Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the (a) average cost of building new prisons planned by the Government and (b) length of time it will take from conception to completion to build such a prison.

    Andrew Selous

    £1.3bn will be invested to reform and modernise the prison estate to make it more efficient, safer and focused on supporting prisoner rehabilitation. The government will build nine new, modern prisons, five of which will open in this Parliament and the rest shortly after.

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to review the licensing arrangements for airside bars and restaurants in airports.

    Karen Bradley

    Under the Licensing Act 2003, airside bars and restaurants at airports designated by the secretary of state do not require a licence. There are no plans to review this.