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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many officials in his Department are currently employed to work on the sentence calculation helplines.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Department employs two officials whose principal function is to answer queries on the sentence calculation helpline. The main purpose of the helpline is to provide advice to prison establishments as to the correct way to calculate the key release dates for sentences in complex cases. It also provides advice to courts, probation, the public, solicitors and other government departments on the effect of the legislation governing release on key sentence dates.

    In the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, the government made changes to the release and recall provisions in order to simplify the previous, often incomprehensible and complex legislation, making it easier for sentencers and prison staff to administer, and the public to understand the sentence.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what role she will play in the forthcoming talks between party leaders in Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I welcome the intensification of the party leaders’ talks. The Government will continue to support the parties in their efforts wherever possible. It is essential that early progress is made with every effort to secure an agreement as quickly as possible.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the target was for each voter registration drive of the last five years of the number of electors they hoped to register; how much was allocated for each campaign; and how much the Electoral Commission planned to spend on each registration drive.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that the information requested for the years 2010 to 2013 was provided to the honourable member in response to his PQs 189416 (6 Mar 2014 : Column 892W) and 185198 (3 Feb 2014 : Column 61W).

    In addition, for 2014, the Commission ran a registration campaign for the local and European Parliamentary Elections which were held on 22 May. The campaign budget was £2,800,000 and there was a target of 150,000 registration form downloads. 207,000 downloads were achieved during the campaign.

  • Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to address the current geographical imbalance in Independent Living Fund (ILF) use by local authorities in the allocation of transitional funding as the ILF comes to an end.

    Mike Penning

    The funding that will be transferred to local authorities and to the devolved administrations when the Independent living Fund closes will be distributed in a way that reflects the patterns of expenditure at that time.

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold discussions with Lloyds Bank on (a) the proposed closure of its contact centre in Warrington and (b) the possibility of other jobs being based there.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Lloyds Banking Group, is run on a commercial basis. The bank retains its own independent board and management team with responsibility for determining its own strategies and commercial policies including those which may relate to the location of business functions.

    The Government’s shareholding in Lloyds is managed on an arm’s length basis by UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI). As an engaged shareholder, UKFI works closely with the bank’s management to hold management rigorously to account for performance. UKFI’s role is to manage the investment and ensure that the bank’s strategy maximises value for money for the taxpayer. The Government does not get involved in any of the day to day decisions of Lloyds Bank.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the take-up of tax-free childcare by parents in each income (a) decile and (b) percentile.

    Nicky Morgan

    This information is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his letter of 24 October 2014 to the chief finance officers of English billing authorities, which local authorities have offered a business rate discount to premises with a free-to-use cash machine since the sending of that letter; and if he will make a statement.

    Kris Hopkins

    We do not hold this information centrally. Councils do not need the permission of Whitehall to levy such local discounts.

    The Localism Act 2011 gave local authorities in England powers to grant business rates discounts. We have urged authorities to use their powers to provide relief to cash machines where there is a clear community benefit, such as where cash machine providers commit to introduce extra cash machines or reduce charges on existing machines. Central government now funds 50% of local discounts.

    We also announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 business rates bills in England, bringing the total support from 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement measures to £1.4 billion in 2015-16.

  • Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the contribution of 6 November 2014 by the Minister of State in his Department, Official Report, column 949, what resources the Government is making available to UK Coal in support of the provision of state aid to UK Coal in respect of Thoresby and Kellingley coal mines.

    Matthew Hancock

    I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

    Senior Officials from the BIS Yorkshire Humber North East Office were assigned to assist UK Coal following their interest in applying for additional government funding to extend the operation of their two deep mines. These officials provided feedback, advice and suggestions to help UK Coal prepare a case for Government support and met with them on several occasions throughout this process. On 16 January 2015, UK Coal submitted its request and supporting case for additional public sector support.

    The Government is carefully considering the merits of this request including whether it represents acceptable value for money and is a good use of taxpayer’s money. Should the Government decide to make the case to the European Commission that we should pay state aid to UK Coal we will assign a team across BIS and DECC to take this forward.

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect the four per cent year-in-year efficiency savings requirement has had on (a) staffing levels, (b) patient care and (c) waiting times in NHS trusts.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The 2010 Spending Review protected health funding in real terms. However, in order to continue to meet rising demands from an ageing population while improving services, NHS Leaders estimated that up to £20 billion of efficiency savings would be required over the four years from 2011-12 to 2014-15.

    The NHS is on track to deliver these efficiency savings, having reported around £15 billion of efficiencies in the first three years, all of which are being reinvested into frontline care and have enabled the NHS to continue to meet rapidly rising demands whilst improving the quality of care.

    There are now over 17,200 more professionally qualified clinical staff since May 2010 including:

    – over 9,000 more doctors;

    – over 3,300 more nurses, midwives and health visitors.

    In contrast, the number of central administrative staff has fallen by over 20,200.

    The NHS is experiencing high demand for many services from a growing, ageing population with complex health needs. Performance against quality measures remains high. We have put in place robust year-round operational resilience planning and performance management, backed by additional funding, to help the NHS continue to perform against the access standards.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2015-01-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many agents providing guidance through the Pension Wise scheme will be based in Scotland.

    Mr David Gauke

    Citizens Advice Scotland continue to work with HM Treasury to finalise the number of agents who will be providing coverage for the Pension Wise service across Scotland.