Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment has been made of people’s attitudes towards public bodies using and sharing their data with other parts of the public sector as part of digitally transformed public services; and what plans the Government has to build trust and assurance among people on the Government’s use of their data as part of those public services.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government is committed to improving the way in which data is used and shared between public bodies for the benefit of the citizen, including the use of digital technology to transform public services in a way that is efficient, cost-effective and safe. The Government Digital Service will continue to support public bodies in making the most appropriate use of data and in ensuring that robust safeguards are in place to protect the privacy of individuals. We will continue to encourage public bodies to make non-sensitive administrative and aggregate data available as Open Data, as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency. We have also developed a draft ethical framework(which can be accessed at: https://data.blog.gov.uk/2015/12/08/data-science-ethics/) for how the Government uses data and we are embarking on a public dialogue which will understand and explore public opinion on the opportunities presented by data science

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many motability vehicles were held by people in (a) Wrexham, (b) Wales and (c) the UK in receipt of the enhanced mobility component of personal independence payments in each of the last six months for which records are available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department does not hold this information. Motability is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the administration of the Motability scheme. Whilst the Department meets regularly with Motability to discuss scheme performance, questions relating to the details of the scheme’s operation should be directed to Motability itself.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many publicly-funded jobs related directly to the Northern Powerhouse are located in (a) Cumbria, (b) Northern England, (c) London and (d) other parts of England.

    Greg Hands

    The Northern Powerhouse is the government’s plan to boost the economy across the North of England. This will help businesses grow and increase private sector job creation. Unlike previous failed attempts to improve the economic performance of the North, it is not about just creating publicly-funded jobs.

    There is already evidence that the Northern Powerhouse is working: according to the latest data, private sector employment outside of London and the South East increased by 1.5m between Q3 2010 and Q3 2015, and in the North alone there are almost 412,000 more people in work than in April 2010. Over the last year the number of people in employment in the North has grown faster than in the South. Employment in Cumbria has also grown by 6,700 (3%) since 2010 and 10,900 (4.7%) over the last year.

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the application for a Lancashire combined authority; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department has to date not received any applications for a Lancashire Combined Authority. To make such an application an area must, in accordance with the provisoins of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 1999, as amended by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, undertake a gvoernance review for the area and also publish a scheme setting out propsals for a Combined Authority. They must also undertake a public consultation on these proposals and provide a summary of these proposals to the Secretary of State.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much was spent on improving the road network in the Easington constituency in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Jones

    The maintenance of the local road network in Easington is the responsibility of Durham County Council, as local highway authority. The table below sets out how much funding the Department for Transport has allocated to the Council since 2012/13 financial year:

    £millions

    Financial Year

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    2016/17

    Highway Maintenance Block

    10.679

    10.132

    9.780

    11.886

    10.897

    Incentive Fund

    N/A

    N/A

    N/A

    N.A

    0.666

    Highway Maintenance Block Top Up

    N/A

    1.836

    1.007

    N/A

    N/A

    Integrated Transport Block

    3.183

    3.183

    4.475

    13.949

    13.949

    Wet Weather Payments

    N/A

    1.242

    N/A

    N/A

    N/A

    Flood Recovery

    N/A

    N/A

    N/A

    1.100

    N/A

    Pothole Fund

    N/A

    N/A

    2.198

    N/A

    0.784

    Total

    13.862

    16.393

    17.460

    26.935

    26.296

    Local highway authorities are able to use revenue funding for maintaining their local highways and this is allocated by the Department of Communities and Local Government through the Revenue Support Grant.

    Durham County Council is part of the North East Combined Authority. From 2015/16 Integrated Transport Block Funding has been paid to the North East Combined Authority and Durham will receive a proportion of that funding.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 May 2016 to Question 35790, what data her Department holds on criminal assets abroad and whether such assets are recovered or not.

    Mr John Hayes

    As the Answer to Question 35790 set out, the Action Plan for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance states that there is no definitive measure of the scale of money laundering, but the best available international estimate, by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), of amounts laundered globally are equivalent to 2.7% of global GDP or US$1.6 trillion in 2009. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold data on criminal assets held abroad. Criminal assets recovered since 2009 under asset sharing arrangements were set out in the previous answer.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have made for bilateral and multilateral aid to the Palestinian Authority after the UK has left the EU.

    Baroness Verma

    The Prime Minister has been clear that the negotiation for Britain’s future relationship with Europe will need to begin under a new Prime Minister, and we have now got to look at all the detailed arrangements. In the meantime, Departments continue working to deliver the Government agenda.

  • Andrew Bridgen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Bridgen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Action Fraud.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    Action Fraud is the national reporting point for fraud and financially-motivated cyber crime. We have seen significant improvement in performance; official figures show reports of fraud have trebled since Action Fraud was rolled out nationally, addressing the concern that fraud was an under-reported crime type.

    Since it’s launch the Government has been building the capability of police forces, GCHQ and the NCA to respond to online cyber crime. Over the last year, Action Fraud has introduced an improved system which keeps victims informed of the progress of their case. The number of disseminations to local forces has also increased.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will include physical activity as a top-tier issue of public health when outlining the annual remit of Public Health England for 2016-17.

    Jane Ellison

    We will determine the priorities for Public Health England (PHE) in 2016/17 in due course, and these will be set out in the remit and strategic priorities letter issued to PHE.

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support his Department is offering to businesses affected by flooding in Cumbria in advance of tax payment deadlines.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) operates a dedicated Severe Weather helpline to offer help and advice on any tax matters to those people and businesses affected by the recent flooding. The helpline is 0800 904 7900

    Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 8.00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 8.00 am to 4.00 pm, excluding bank holidays.

    HMRC will also:

    • consider instalment arrangements where customers are unable to pay as a result of the floods;
    • agree a practical approach when individuals and businesses have lost vital records to the floods;
    • suspend debt collection proceedings for those affected by the floods; and
    • cancel penalties when the customer has missed statutory deadlines due to the floods.

      The helpline is in addition to other HMRC telephone contact numbers.