Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government plans to take to engage with trades unions on the proposed reforms to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government consulted on its reforms to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme and considered the responses it received from civil servants and others carefully. It held several meetings with unions during the consultation and then further meetings with unions that agreed to participate. An equalities impact assessment was published on 26 September alongside the Government’s consultation response.

    The Government believes its proposed reforms will provide a firm foundation for the management of the Civil Service and its people for a generation. The new terms compare favourably with exit terms in the wider economy and will align the Civil Service Compensation Scheme with reforms across the public sector. It will support employers in managing their workforce and simplify the exit process while treating employees respectfully and fairly.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11110, how much the NHS spent on cancer services in each year since 2012-13; and what the year-on-year change in that amount was in real terms.

    Jane Ellison

    Overall National Health Service expenditure on cancer services is not available for 2013-14 or 2014-15. NHS England has published clinical commissioning group (CCG) level expenditure on cancer for 2013-14, which was estimated to be £2.8 billion. CCGs are currently in the process of preparing estimates of expenditure for cancer services in 2014-15.

    CCG expenditure is a proportion of overall NHS expenditure, as NHS England commissions some cancer services directly. NHS England is currently reviewing the data on direct commissioning expenditure and plans to publish this when finalised.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the reasons for the delay in the refranchising process for the West Coast Main Line.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The re-timing will ensure that passengers and taxpayers get the maximum possible benefits from both the InterCity West Coast (ICWC) franchise and the HS2 project.

    We are re-timing the ICWC franchise to ensure that it is well aligned with the HS2 programme which is currently progressing through Parliament. The ICWC operator will play an important role during the construction of HS2 and in facilitating the introduction of High Speed services in 2026. This retiming will allow us to continue to engage with the market on the best options for the franchise to do this.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Bahraini authorities about the release from prison of Mahdi Abu Dheeb, President of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have raised Mahdi abu Dheeb’s case with the Government of Bahrain, including at the highest levels. We continue to monitor this case closely as we do with a number of other trials, including through attendance at hearings by a member of staff from the British Embassy. The UK continues to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments and to appropriately address all reports of ill-treatment of detainees. In parallel, we encourage all those with concerns about their treatment in detention to report these directly to the Ombudsman.

  • Huw Irranca-Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Huw Irranca-Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2016 to Question 22432, whether a case considered by the Serious Fraud Office must meet all Statement of Principle considerations.

    Robert Buckland

    The Criminal Justice Act 1987 provides that “The Director may investigate any suspected offence which appears to him on reasonable grounds to involve serious or complex fraud.”

    Each case is assessed on its own facts and merits.

    The Statement of Principle sets out some of the factors that the Director will take into account when considering the matter for investigation. All of these will be considered, and there is no minimum requirement or measure in respect of the different factors.

    Each on its own or taken in combination can establish sufficient grounds for the Director to decide that the case is sufficiently large, complex or of wide public interest that it should be dealt with by the Serious Fraud Office.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what checks his Department has in place to ensure that credit reference firms do not sell-on electoral roll data.

    John Penrose

    Under the Regulation 115 of the Representation of the People (England and Wales)(Amendment) Regulations 2002, anyone who is supplied with the full register is not permitted to sell a copy to any person, disclose any information contained in it, or use it for anything apart from the specified purpose for which the full register has been supplied. In contravening this provision, a person would be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, which currently stands at £5000.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30367, on vocational guidance, whether schools in Jobcentre Plus Districts in which Jobcentre Plus Support for Schools is being rolled out will be contacted by Jobcentre Plus or the Careers and Enterprise Company.

    Priti Patel

    Initial contact is planned to be through the Careers & Enterprise Company to keep communications and contact lines in one co-ordinated process. However, some schools, on hearing about Jobcentre Plus Support, have made direct approaches to JCP to request inclusion in the initiative.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of a majority leave vote in the EU referendum on teacher recruitment and retention.

    Nick Gibb

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department is making on the procurement and appointment process for the construction of a new lorry park around junction 11 on the M20.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England have appointed Mott MacDonald Sweco JV as designers and awarded the contract for the potential construction of a lorry area on the M20 to Balfour Beatty.

    Following the recent consultation, the Secretary of State will make an announcement on the decision on the preferred site in the summer 2016.

    Awarding the construction contract early will ensure that Highways England is in the best position to enable the earliest possible start of construction, following the announcement on the decision on the preferred site by the Secretary of State.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle online abuse on social media.

    Sarah Newton

    The Criminal Justice Act 2015 strengthened two existing communications offences: section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 which can now be used to prosecute misuse of social media. The police now have longer to investigate either offence, and the maximum penalty for the former has been increased to two years imprisonment.

    We have introduced a new law to make ‘revenge porn’ a specific criminal offence. Those convicted will face a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison. We have already seen convictions under this legislation and will continue to monitor its effectiveness.

    To improve police capability, the Home Office has allocated £4.6m of the Police Transformation Fund to begin the critical work of setting up a comprehensive programme of digital transformation across policing. This money will help provide a step-change in digital capability, funding police led programmes that will work to equip forces with the tools to effectively police a digital age and protect victims of digital crime.

    We are also working with the College of Policing to drive improvements in police capability to investigate and prosecute online Violence against Women and Girls offences. For example, we have introduced an ‘online flag’ allowing police forces to record instances of crimes such as stalking and harassment taking place online.

    We are driving work through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) to keep children and young people safe online. UKCCIS brings together industry, law enforcement, academia, charities and parenting groups to help to keep children and young people safe online.