Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Bradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Bradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance has been issued to the courts to ensure that the option of a mental health Community Treatment Order is considered as part of a Community Sentence.

    Lord Faulks

    The National Probation Service provides sentencers with advice on requirements that could from part of a court ordered community order or a suspended sentence order. Guidance has been produced by the National Offender Management Service that is aimed at all partners, including the National Probation Service and the courts, to support increased use of Mental Health Treatment Requirements. This guidance can be found in the document Mental health Treatment Requirement – a Guide to Integrated Delivery, published on gov.uk.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase the rate of new woodland planting.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Forestry is a devolved matter and the answer refers to England only.

    We encourage tree planting by championing sector-led initiatives, such as Grown in Britain and the Roots to Prosperity strategy. Their work to grow demand for wood from ground level up is helping develop the woodland economy. We also support the Woodland Carbon Code to help to attract private investment in woodland creation.

    The window for Woodland Creation Grant applications for planting over the next two seasons, under the Rural Development Programme, closed on 31 March. We are continuing to process these applications and agreements are expected to be issued this month.

    The Forestry Commission plans to re-open the £1m Forestry Innovation Fund for Woodland Creation Planning Grants for new applications this month. Funding for this has been confirmed by HM Treasury.

    The Forestry Commission continues to support landowners to make applications through a series of workshops and online support.

    As announced by the Chancellor in August, all Countryside Stewardship applications signed or agreed before the Autumn Statement will be fully funded, even when these continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what further steps he plans to take to allow local authorities to use capital receipts from the sale of its assets to fund local authority services; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The time limited flexibility, recently introduced by the government, allows local authorities to use capital receipts to fund the revenue costs of any project that is designed to generate ongoing revenue savings in the delivery of public services. Such projects will deliver an ongoing benefit for taxpayers.

    Parliament has decided that capital receipts cannot normally be applied to finance revenue expenditure. This is consistent with the fundamental principle that long term assets should not be used to finance immediate costs. I have no plans to seek approval from Parliament to revoke this principle and allow local authorities to use capital receipts to fund ongoing service delivery.

  • Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on winter fuel payments for UK citizens living in (a) Cyprus, (b) France, (c) Gibraltar, (d) Greece, (e) Malta, (f) Portugal and (g) Spain in 2014-15.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available. However, the annual numbers and amounts of Winter Fuel Payments paid to all recipients in the EEA and Switzerland, by country, are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/winter-fuel-payments-by-eea-country

    “

  • Mrs Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mrs Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for the HMRC public service helpline.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has recruited 3,000 new staff into customer service roles this year. In particular, this has increased the number of people available on its telephone helplines outside normal office hours, when many customers choose to call.

    HMRC has also undertaken its biggest-ever training programme as it seeks to build its customer support teams. This has included training 1,600 existing staff on a wider range of work to better meet customer demand.

    Average call waiting times have improved significantly. From April to June it was 19 mins; from July to September it was 13 mins; in November it was under 10 minutes.

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect that China’s potential Market Economy Status will have on the UK steel industry; and when he last met the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to discuss that matter.

    Anna Soubry

    My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues, EU Commissioners and EU counterparts about a range of issues, including Market Economy Status (MES) for China. He most recently discussed trade aspects of the steel industry with Trade Commissioner Malmstrom on 20 January.

    We are awaiting a European Commission proposal on granting MES. We understand that the Commission will also be undertaking a detailed assessment of the economic impacts of granting MES as part of their consideration of this issue. We will examine any proposal and assessment carefully. The Prime Minister has previously stated that he will make the case for China to be granted MES but China will need to show that it is committed to becoming more open as it becomes more prosperous. In considering the Commission’s proposal it will be important to consider the wider trade and international political context including compliance with international commitments. If China is granted MES, the Commission will still be able to pursue anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases and impose measures where evidence of dumping or subsidy is found.

    The government is strongly in favour of effective trade defences to tackle unfair trade practices. The Government voted in favour of anti-dumping measures on steel products in July and November and lobbied successfully for an investigation into re-bar. The Government is also pushing for faster, more effective action to deal with dumping of steel: this was one of the conclusions of the Extraordinary Competitiveness Council on Steel in November. The Secretary of State also raised the issue with the Trade Commissioner.

    The Government is playing an active role in the European Commission’s steel stakeholder’s conference summit on 15 February and is supporting a robust discussion of the issue of overcapacity through the EU’s ongoing dialogue with the Chinese.

  • Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers were being accommodated by G4S in the (a) North East, Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) Midlands and East of England regions on the latest date for which figures are available.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office publishes quarterly data on the number of asylum seekers in Section 95 dispersal accommodation, by local authority. In Q3 2015 there were 2,713 in dispersed accommodation in the North East; 3,736 in Yorkshire and the Humber; 4,351 in the West Midlands; 2,289 in East Midlands; 387 in East of England (Asylum Vol 4. Table 16q). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2015/asylum.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of officials of his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of total sick leave that leave was in each such year.

    Mike Penning

    The tables below set out the information you have requested on sickness absence taken by officials in the Ministry of Justice relating to stress for each year in which figures are currently available. Data prior to 2011 is not available as this information is not held centrally.

    Total Number of staff Sick with Stress

    Proportion of staff off with Stress

    2014-2015

    2,593

    3%

    2013-2014

    2,344

    3%

    2012-2013

    2,043

    3%

    2011-2012

    2,221

    3%

    Proportion of Sick Days due to Stress

    2014-2015

    15%

    2013-2014

    13%

    2012-2013

    11%

    2011-2012

    10%

    The information includes staff within Ministry of Justice Headquarters, National Offender Management Service, Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service, Office of the Public Guardian and Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for all four years. Staff within Legal Aid Agency are included from 2013 and UK Supreme Court is in scope for 2011-2012.

    As a department we are actively managing attendance in order to reduce the number of days lost due to sickness. A large proportion of staff absence is within the Prison Service and the challenges they face do not bear a direct comparison with the working conditions of most civil servants. They perform a difficult, physical and sometimes dangerous job.

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

    Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the role of his Department is in overseeing the operation of the Pilotage Act 1987 and in ensuring compliance with the provisions of that Act.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport has no powers to oversee or direct Competent Harbour Authorities in the execution of their duties to provide pilotage services in accordance with the 1987 Pilotage Act.

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

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are in place to ensure that existing secondary schools in areas where a new school is planned do not suffer from inappropriate competition for places or other disadvantages.

    Lord Nash

    The Department for Education’s published document ‘Free schools applications: criteria for assessment’ sets out the criteria which will be used to assess proposals to establish new free schools. This document is attached.

    Prior to the school opening, the Secretary of State considers the impact the new school will have on all schools in the area in which the institution is proposed.