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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Freedom of Information requests were (a) submitted to, (b) acceded to and (c) refused by his Department in each of the last five years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Information on Freedom of Information performance for the last five years for all Government Departments, including DWP, is routinely published on GOV.UK.

    These reports are published quarterly and annually and include the number of requests received, acceded to and refused.

    They are published at:

    https://www.gov.uk/search?q=freedom+of+information+statistics+&tab=government-results

    “

  • Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of individuals who are innocent of crimes but have pleaded guilty in order to reduce their liability for the mandatory criminal courts charge since April 2015.

    Lord Faulks

    Section 55 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 places a duty on the Lord Chancellor to carry out a review of the Criminal Courts Charge three years after implementation of the charge. No such assessment has been made to date.

  • Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of freedom of access to Yemen by the UNHCR and non-governmental organisations looking after the most vulnerable in that country.

    Baroness Verma

    Intense fighting on the ground is making it increasingly hard for UNHCR and other non-governmental organisations to reach those in need within Yemen. This is compounded by restrictions on imports of commercial and humanitarian supplies into the country, including fuel. This in turn is hampering the distribution of humanitarian supplies within country, including essential food and medicines.Of the 2.3 million internally displaced people in Yemen, to date UNHCR has provided emergency relief items to 147,386 of them since the end of March.

    The UK continues to call on all parties to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered access to all people in need in Yemen. The UK is one of the largest donors to the crisis and has announced £75m to respond to the crisis in Yemen. UK aid is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter, working with trusted and impartial actors who have a strong track record in delivering assistance in difficult and dangerous places. We also support a UN-led process on access negotiations and the establishment of the Access Working Group where partners report cases of obstruction and accessible routes.

  • Baroness Donaghy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Donaghy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Donaghy on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether initial teacher-training programmes delivered using core places allocated to universities are as schools-led as those delivered through School Direct.

    Lord Nash

    A school-led training course gives trainees the chance to train on the job in at least two schools.School-led initial teacher training is made up of School Direct (tuition fee), School Direct (salaried) and School-centered ITT provider (SCITT) routes. One of the key principles of the School Direct training route is that it gives schools the decision-making power they need to work with their preferred partners in the design and delivery of ITT, and to select and recruit the best possible candidates. A number of different models have been developed by schools working with appropriate ITT providers based on local needs.

    Many schools are choosing to work with universities in the delivery of School Direct training. The same ITT criteria, which specify the minimum amount of time that trainees must spend in schools, apply to all ITT routes, whether school or university-led.

    The increasing availability of school-led routes alongside university-led courses allow applicants to choose the right course depending on personal circumstances, qualifications, and the subject and age group they want to teach.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to continue with the Local Sustainable Transport Fund beyond 2016; and if not, whether they plan to replace it with an alternative fund for sustainable transport.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    All future budgets, including those for the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, remain subject to Spending Review negotiations. Further information will be made available after the outcome of the Spending Review is announced on 25 November.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to provide adequate fire service on bonfire night.

    Greg Clark

    The Government is grateful to all firefighters who continually demonstrate their commitment to protecting their communities, particularly at this busy time of year.

    It is for each local fire and rescue authority to ensure the adequacy of its fire and rescue service provision on bonfire night and throughout the year. Each will have in place an Integrated Risk Management Plan, identifying and assessing the risks facing its communities and determining its priorities in relation to prevention, protection and response.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his proposals for a new junior doctors’ contract, what penalties would be enforceable against employers who fail to keep junior doctors’ hours within safe limits.

    Ben Gummer

    Safeguards will be significantly improved compared to the existing contract, with employers contractually required to ensure safe working including:

    – No junior will be contractually required to work more than an average of 48 hours a week;

    – Those who choose to opt-out of the Working Time Regulations (WTR) (legally allowing them to work longer) will be limited to an average of 56 hours a week;

    – The maximum number of hours in any week will be 72, less than the 91 currently possible under the WTR;

    – There will be limits of no more than four consecutive night shifts and no more than five consecutive long days; and

    – Employers will be required to take action where a junior is concerned about hours as part of an agreed system of work scheduling and review. In exceptional approved circumstances doctors would be compensated for hours worked outside their work schedule.

    Employment contracts are legally enforceable. There will also be external NHS review processes relating to the educational experience and the impact of working patterns on safe care.

  • William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 901670, what recent reports he has received on the imprisonment of Karl Andree in Saudi Arabia; what steps he is taking to secure the return to the UK of Mr Andree; and what recent discussions he has had with his Saudi counterpart on improving extradition arrangements with that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Ministers and senior officials raised Mr Andree’s case with the Saudi Government repeatedly since he completed his sentence in August 2015.

    I am pleased to be able to say that yesterday morning the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, my righ hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) was informed that the public prosecutor is now in the final stages of completing the necessary processes that will lead to Mr Andree’s release and return to the UK. We expect this to be within the next week.

    In regard to extradition arrangements, Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

  • Dr Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Dr Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Poulter on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans her Department has to support electricity grid interconnections between the UK and other countries.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Electricity interconnection can lower consumer bills, improve security of supply and contribute towards decarbonisation.

    A number of interconnection projects are already progressing under Ofgem’s regulatory regime1, designed to bring forward interconnection investment in the interest of GB consumers. This includes projects to France, Belgium, Norway, Denmark and Ireland, which have been assessed by Ofgem as offering over £11.8bn in consumer benefits. The Government has also supported a number of mature interconnector projects to benefit from access to European grant funding as Projects of Common Interest.

    Together these projects represent billions of pounds of infrastructure investment and aim to more than double our interconnection capacity by the early 2020s. This will make Britain more energy secure and will help lower consumer bills.

    [1] Source, Ofgem: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/decision-roll-out-cap-and-floor-regime-near-term-electricity-interconnectors

    “

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to promote the use of credit unions in the work of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government is committed to continuing to support the credit union movement in making financial services more accessible.

    The Government has taken significant steps to support the credit union movement in Great Britain. These include increasing the maximum interest rate that credit unions can charge on loans from 2% to 3% per month; investing £38m in the sector through the Department of Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Credit Union Expansion Project; ensuring that universal credit and pensions payments can be paid into any credit union account; providing £500,000 to help armed forces personnel access credit union services; and launching a Call for Evidence which allowed all credit unions, regardless of size or influence, the opportunity to contribute their vision for the future of the sector to the wider debate.