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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the proportion of the total annual cost of energy bills in the UK which results from EU legal requirements.

    Amber Rudd

    My Department has made no estimate of the effect on annual energy bills in the UK resulting from EU legal requirements. Given that much of EU energy policy supports UK energy and climate objectives it is not possible to attribute particular cost elements of bills wholly to individual EU policies.

    Much EU legislation helps to keep down the level of energy bills – EU energy market liberalisation and integration and legislation such as product standards to improve energy efficiency provide significant benefits to UK consumers.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether employers who pay the proposed apprenticeship levy and provide training will be able to use levy vouchers in their own organisations.

    Nick Boles

    Employers will be free to spend levy money on apprenticeships training which they judge best meets their needs. If the employer is a registered training provider, they could use the levy money on in-house training which meets the required quality standards for an apprenticeship.

    Where an employer wishes to provide their own in-house training, they must be registered on the Skills Funding Agency’s Register of Training Organisations. All providers are subject to inspection and reports by Ofsted on apprenticeship training provision.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures are in place to ensure that the appropriate health services, mental health services and sexual health services are available to asylum seekers dispersed to (a) current dispersal areas, (b) new dispersal areas and (c) Scotland.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office maintains an active partnership with local governments across the UK, including those in Scotland, and funds Strategic Migration Partnerships to plan for the most appropriate dispersal of asylum seekers. The partnerships consider the impact on communities and local services so that adjustments to dispersal patterns can be made where appropriate.

    Free access to NHS healthcare is provided to asylum seekers. Asylum Health Teams are commissioned by NHS England and Scotland to provide healthcare and screening. Strategic Migration Partnerships work with Care Commissioning Groups to plan for the health care needs of asylum seekers in their regions.

    All children are entitled to free primary and secondary education. To enable access to education, internal checks are in place to triage applications involving children of school age for priority dispersal into permanent accommodation. Strategic Migration Partnerships discuss education provision as part of their local authority engagement. Asylum seekers are able to access legal advice via the Legal Aid system and are provided details of local solicitors as part of their induction into their dispersal region.

    Local authorities are consulted before asylum seekers are placed in their area, so that the potential impact on communities and local services is fully considered. During discussions on widening dispersal in Scotland we are and will continue to ensure that Local Authority leads and partners on health and education, as well as the Scottish Government and the Scottish Law Society, are involved to address any concerns and to ensure the close and successful partnership working in Glasgow is replicated elsewhere.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the UN on forced organ harvesting in China.

    Alok Sharma

    The Government has no plans to make representations to the UN on organ harvesting in China. We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China, including allegations of organ harvesting and encourage China to implement its public commitment to stop the use of organs from prisoners. Our current assessment of the human rights situation in China can be found in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 44948, what the ratio of (a) nurses and (b) midwives is to administrators in the NHS.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The ratio of nurses to administrators in the National Health Service is 2.6:1. The number of nurses includes health visitors as they are qualified and registered nurses.

    The ratio of midwives to administrators in the NHS is 1:5.1.

  • Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of maintenance of facilities at (a) Prestwick, (b) RAF Benbecula, (c) RAF Buchan, (d) RAF Lossiemouth, (e) RAF Tain, (f) RRH Saxa Vord, (g) HMNB Clyde, (h) Redford Barracks, (i) Dreghorn Barracks, (j) Glencorse Barracks, (k) Fort George (l) Kinloss and (m) Leuchars in each of the last five years.

    Mark Lancaster

    Reliable information on maintenance costs is only held since financial year (FY) 2012-13 as shown in the following table:

    Financial Year

    2012-13 Total

    2013-14 Total

    2014-15 Total

    2015-16 Total to 31/10/2015

    HMS Gannet (Prestwick)

    Information not held

    £117,000

    £118,690

    £70,616

    RAF Benbecula

    £56,000

    £74,000

    £86,981

    £61,339

    RAF Buchan

    £81,000

    £106,000

    £116,784

    £76,931

    RAF Lossiemouth

    £1,683,000

    £1,731,000

    £1,618,861

    £1,288,955

    RAF Tain

    £11,000

    £20,000

    £11,667

    £0

    RRH Saxa Vord

    £43,000

    £51,000

    £86,445

    £79,373

    HMNB Clyde

    £122,000

    £132,000

    £77,000

    £14,000

    Redford Bks

    £694,000

    £724,000

    £585,831

    £279,097

    Dreghorn Bks

    £526,000

    £633,000

    £487,636

    £166,740

    Glencorse Bks

    £491,000

    £547,000

    £433,281

    £159,876

    Fort George

    £246,000

    £319,000

    £331,140

    £254,079

    Kinloss

    £1,050,000

    £1,118,000

    £1,254,464

    £936,217

    Leuchars

    Information not held

    Information not held

    £530,590

    £1,220,826

  • Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Deduction from Earnings Orders (a) have been issued and (b) are in place in respect of cases using the 2012 statutory maintenance scheme.

    Priti Patel

    This information is not readily available and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities have received how many Syrian refugees.

    Richard Harrington

    My rt. hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced on 16 December that we have delivered on the promise to resettle 1,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees before Christmas. We can also confirm that as of the beginning of December 2015, 55 local authorities across the UK had signed up to participate in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and made confirmed offers of places.

    In order to help protect the privacy of those arriving, we will not be giving a running commentary on location or numbers of persons resettled. Notwithstanding, the Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics. The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release in February 2016 and will cover the period October-December 2015. This adheres to the standard practice for the release of information about the work of the Department, ensuring statistics are published properly in a way which is open and accessible to all.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have taken up the voluntary early departure scheme in each month since May 2010; how much has been paid in severance in each month to those prison officers; what average amount is paid in severance to those prison officers; and what the average continuous service was of those prison officers.

    Andrew Selous

    Information on the number of prison officers taking voluntary early departure has been published in PQ 25478. The total and average amount of severance they received and their average length of service in each month since May 2010 is contained in the table below. The severance amounts in the table relate to the payments made to the officers who left during the particular month and may not reflect the actual date that the money was received. For this reason the information will not match with accounting records.

    All prison officers who left on voluntary early departure had at least 24 months continuous service.

    Voluntary exit was used in the last Parliament as a result of the closure of uneconomic prison places. These prison closures and benchmarking reforms have delivered savings of £300 million a year, with the average cost per prison place falling in real terms by 19% since 2009/10.

    Prison Officers Taking VEDS, May 2010 to September 2015

    Year

    Month

    VEDS Leavers

    Total Severance Received (£)

    Average Severance Received (£)

    Average Length of Service of VEDS leavers (Years)

    2010

    May

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    June

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    July

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    August

    70

    £2,132,290

    £29,209

    17.6

    September

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    October

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    November

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    December

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    2011

    January

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    February

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    March

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    April

    30

    £1,108,573

    £38,227

    17.1

    May

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    June

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    July

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    August

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    September

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    October

    20

    £617,345

    £38,584

    22.7

    November

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    December

    10

    £360,949

    £36,095

    21.8

    2012

    January

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    February

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    March

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    April

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    May

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    June

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    July

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    August

    30

    £1,257,194

    £41,906

    21.1

    September

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    October

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    November

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    December

    40

    £1,121,641

    £30,315

    14.6

    2013

    January

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    February

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    March

    180

    £6,204,024

    £33,718

    19.5

    April

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    May

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    June

    180

    £6,353,177

    £35,100

    20.3

    July

    170

    £7,010,396

    £40,290

    19.7

    August

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    September

    720

    £25,920,953

    £35,802

    18.9

    October

    130

    £4,964,209

    £37,608

    20.8

    November

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    December

    40

    £1,298,680

    £29,515

    17.2

    2014

    January

    100

    £3,152,467

    £32,838

    20.0

    February

    10

    £425,167

    £38,652

    24.5

    March

    30

    £1,308,937

    £39,665

    19.8

    April

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    May

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    June

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    July

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    August

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    September

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    October

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    November

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    December

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    2015

    January

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    February

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    March

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    April

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    May

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    June

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    July

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    August

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    September

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    Notes:

    All figures are rounded to the nearest 10, with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting. However the database itself is dynamic, and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate, and to present unrounded figures would be to overstate the accuracy of the figures. Rounding to 10 accurately depicts the level of certainty that is held with these figures.

    ~ denotes suppressed values of 5 or fewer or calculations based on a population of 5 or fewer. Low numbers are suppressed, in conjunction with the rounding policy to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 1998.

    Information in the table relates to cases of voluntary exits where payment information is available. In a small number of cases information on severance payments does not reflect the reason for leaving held on the central reporting system and may vary slightly from leavers figures published from that source in the NOMS Workforce Bulletin.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that bus operators have an incentive to invest in new vehicles when franchising is an option open to local authorities.

    Andrew Jones

    Local transport authorities with access to bus franchising powers will wish to ensure that local operators are aware of their intentions, so that investment decisions can be taken and services continue to be provided in the best interests of passengers.

    Any authority that chooses to implement franchising will have the ability to specify its requirements of operators as part of any franchise contract. This could include requirements relating to the standards of vehicles to be used by operators.