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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the provisions in Clauses 13 and 14 of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on the welfare of cancer patients.

    Priti Patel

    The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html

    “

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2015 to Question 12539, whether the meeting of the Board Investment and Commercial Committee on 23 March 2015 was attended by (a) Ministers in his Department, (b) special advisers in his Department and (c) officials in the Senior Civil Service grades.

    Claire Perry

    The 23 March Board Investment and Commercial Committee ‎meeting was attended by senior officials from the Department for Transport. No Ministers or advisers were present.

  • Vicky Foxcroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Vicky Foxcroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on publishing a cycling and walking investment strategy.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    I was delighted that the Infrastructure Act included a firm commitment to deliver a Cycling & Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). We will be ready to commence a formal consultation on this in Spring 2016.

  • Baroness Suttie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Suttie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Suttie on 2015-10-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce labour-market wide licensing and enforcement in order to support commitments made in the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

    Lord Bates

    Following a commitment made in section 55 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 the Government has now launched a consultation on tackling exploitation in the labour market. This consultation is seeking views on proposals to appoint a new Director of Labour Market Enforcement and create additional powers for the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to take enforcement action against labour exploitation across the labour market. The consultation proposes a power to vary the sectors subject to licensing following an evidence-based analysis by the new Director.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the One Public Estate programme; and if he will make a statement.

    Matthew Hancock

    In 2013, the Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association came together to launch the One Public Estate programme, a pioneering initiative designed to support central and local government to work collaboratively on land and property solutions.

    It brings together all public sector bodies within a locality to work together in developing a radically new approach to managing their land and property. By pooling data on their asset holdings and developing joint plans to share property and release surplus land and buildings for other uses, the programme is designed to:

    • Deliver significant savings for the taxpayer,
    • Provide better, more integrated local services, in places which are more convenient for users; and
    • Release land and property which can be reused for housing and new enterprise, boosting local jobs, growth and house-building.

    Two years on, the programme has already shown that, with small levels of investment and support, a great deal can be achieved. The 12 pilot areas that joined the programme in year 1 expect to cut running costs in the order of £21 million and to raise £88 million in capital receipts by 2018, as well as creating 7,500 new homes and 5,500 new jobs.

    An additional £6m was announced at Summer Budget to expand the programme, with larger partnerships of councils and more ambitious schemes. 126 councils, working in 29 partnerships, have applied to join a third phase of the programme.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-02-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the proportion of manufacturing jobs held by women in (a) each English region, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Mr Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mr Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Elfyn Llwyd on 2014-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria will be used to identify preferred bidders for probation contracts.

    Jeremy Wright

    Under our Transforming Rehabilitation proposals we are opening up the market to a diverse range of new providers across the public, private and voluntary sectors to bring innovation to rehabilitative services and help deliver reductions in reoffending rates. We are currently engaged in a competition to appoint the 21 owners of the new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) which will be responsible for the provision of services to all but those offenders which pose the highest risk. We will assess the bids we receive over the summer, and appoint CRC owners later this year. Offers will be evaluated using quality and financial criteria. We expect the new owners to implement their new operating models during 2015.

    We are taking a staged approach to implementation and are rolling out business readiness tests at key stages of implementation so that we can ensure we are managing the transition to the new system in a safe and measured way which maintains public protection.

  • Mr Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Mr Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Barry Sheerman on 2014-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to promote gas safety among leaseholders in local authority-managed properties.

    Kris Hopkins

    The Department does not provide advice on gas safety specifically for leaseholders in local authority–managed properties. However, the lease of a property will set out the responsibilities of the freeholder and the leaseholder, including responsibility for maintenance of gas appliances.

    In the private rented and social rented sectors, landlords are required by law to: repair and maintain gas pipework, keep flues and appliances in safe condition; ensure an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue; and keep a record of each safety check.

    For the social housing sector, the Homes and Communities Agency ‘Home Standard’ says that registered providers must “meet all applicable statutory requirements that provide for the health and safety of the occupants in their homes”. The Homes and Communities Agency has recently issued three ‘serious detriment’ notices against Gallions, Your Housing Group and the Guinness Partnership for failing to maintain gas safety and they have all had their Governance ratings downgraded partly based on that.

    The Home Standard is a ‘consumer’ standard and therefore applies to all registered providers, including local authorities.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Doughty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2014-01-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employers participated in the regional employer National Insurance contributions holiday in each region.

    Mr David Gauke

    This Government is committed to helping UK businesses grow and create jobs. The NICs holiday was a temporary, targeted scheme to help start ups take on new staff within their first year of trading. Although take up was lower than expected, the holiday benefitted over 26,000 businesses and supported over 90,000 jobs.

    Building on the lessons learnt from the holiday, we are taking action to reduce the employer NICs burden on small businesses and have created the new Employment Allowance which is simple to administer, permanent and available to all business and charities in the UK, this is reducing their employer NICs bill by up to £2,000 each year. As a result, 450,000 employers will pay no NICs at all in 2014-15.

    According to the latest available figures the break down of employers that applied for the National Insurance Holiday by region, throughout the scheme is as follows:

    Region

    Total

    Northern Ireland

    1265

    Scotland

    3975

    Wales

    1695

    East Midlands

    2645

    North East

    1840

    North West

    4840

    South West

    3975

    West Midlands

    3100

    Yorks. And Humber

    3265

    Total

    26600

    The NICs Holiday attracted around 26,600 applicants over a three year period. Further statistical information on the scheme is available on a factsheet at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/nics-hol.htm. The factsheet only covers periods from the start of the scheme to December 2012.

    “

  • Alun Cairns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Alun Cairns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alun Cairns on 2013-05-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department scrutinises the Fundraising Standards Board; when a review was last conducted; and what the outcome was of this review.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Lord Hodgson assessed the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) as part of his review of the Charities Act 2006 and concluded in his report ‘Trusted and Independent: Giving charity back to charities’ that it had broadly met 10 of the 12 success criteria set out when it was established in 2006. The FRSB and Cabinet Office are members of the Steering Committee established in response to Lord Hodgson’s recommendations to drive forward further progress in strengthening self-regulation.