Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Mike Wood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mike Wood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visa applications are presently deferred or on hold awaiting the outcome of the legal action in respect of the financial requirement that is presently before the courts.

    James Brokenshire

    According to Home Office management information, as at 31 March 2014, 3,134 family visa applications were on hold following the July 2013 High Court judgment in MM & Others.Following the Court of Appeal ruling in favour of the Home Secretary which confirmed the lawfulness of the income threshold policy, as a rational and reasonable means of achieving the legitimate aims of reducing taxpayer burdens and promoting integration, from 28 July, the individuals whose applications were on hold, pending this judgment, will now receive a decision. Decisions will take account of all the information presented. Any application which met all the requirements apart from the minimum income threshold now stands to be refused. The applications which have been subject to the hold will be decided as soon as possible. It is likely to take several weeks to complete this work. Overseas our regions are rebalancing resources to ensure decisions are made as quickly as they reasonably can be, allowing full consideration of the facts of the cases. This is with the aim of resolving all applications within three months in line with service standards for settlement applications.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on the VSO ICS programme in each year since 2010.

    Lynne Featherstone

    DFID spending on the International Citizen Service (ICS) programme since 2010 is as follows:

    2010/11: £1,860,025

    2011/12: £4,849.043

    2012/13: £21,999,068

    2013/14: £19,863,471

    2014/15: £4,262,167 (to date)

    All of the spending in 2010/11, 2011/12 and £2,135,397 in 2012/13 was on the ICS pilot scheme with the remainder being the current contracted programme.

    All of this information is published on the development tracker website http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/

    “

  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he received on the decision to give permission to the Russian company Rosoboronexport to exhibit its military technology at the Farnborough International Air show in July 2014.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    It is a commercial matter for Farnborough International Ltd (FIL) to whom they sell exhibition space, however the Prime Minister has not received any representations following their decision to allow Rosoboronexport to exhibit. In light of the continuing suspension of military cooperation with Russia, no representatives from the Russian government were issued with Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) invitations to the event. Russia was also removed from the list of countries eligible to use post-exhibition Open General Export Licenses (OGELs). The organisers also took the decision to ensure that no Russian military hardware was displayed and that there was no Russian military participation in the flying display.

  • Nigel Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nigel Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the net economic effect of High Speed 2 for the North-West.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Investment in HS2 will deliver widespread connectivity improvements, grow markets and increase opportunities to trade.

    The Economic Case for HS2 published in October 2013 estimates that 17% of the transport user benefits of the HS2 Y-Network are generated from trips originating in the North West. This equates to benefits of approximately £342m (PV, 2011 prices) in 2036. Further analysis by KPMG suggests the wider economic effects could be far greater.

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the expenditure was of the Technology Strategy Board in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Wales in each of the last three years.

    Greg Clark

    Technology Strategy Board expenditure, including its support for Catapult centres, in each of the last three years in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales was as follows:

    Fiscal Year

    England

    Scotland

    NI

    Wales

    FY 11/12

    £210.38m

    £8.64m

    £2.32m

    £3.49m

    FY12/13

    £321.89m

    £17.49m

    £3.16m

    £4.18m

    FY13/14

    £378.46m

    £44.35m

    £7.05m

    £6.45m

    Total

    £910.73m

    £70.48m

    £12.53m

    £14.12m

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many additional Merlin helicopters will be upgraded from Mk1 standard to Mk2; and what the total cost of each upgrade will be.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Royal Navy Merlin Mk1 fleet is being modernised through the Merlin Capability Sustainment Programme. A total of 30 Merlin Mk1 helicopters are being modified to address existing and forecast avionic obsolescence and will then be known as the Merlin Mk2. The approved cost of the Demonstration and Manufacture phases of the programme is £805 million.

  • Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of amending the road traffic construction and use regulations to prohibit blue lights on non-emergency vehicles.

    Andrew Jones

    The specification including colour and use of lamps on road vehicles are the subject of The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989. Only emergency vehicles are permitted by this legislation to have blue special warning lamps and warning beacons. No assessment has been made to amend these regulations for blue lamps or warning beacons on non-emergency vehicles, as the prohibitions already exist.

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what analysis his Department has carried out on the comparative living costs of people (a) in the work related activity group of employment and support allowance and (b) on jobseeker’s allowance.

    Priti Patel

    The Department has not carried out any analysis on the comparative living costs of these two groups.

    If claimants experience additional costs as a result of their illness or disability, they may be eligible to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) which we have exempted from the Benefit cap and will continue to uprate by inflation.

  • Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the removal of a tenant’s right to choose whether to have a payment of the housing element of the universal credit paid directly to their landlord on (a) private sector and (b) social sector landlords.

    Priti Patel

    The independent evaluation of the Universal Credit (UC) Direct Payment Demonstration Projects report showed that asking claimants to take responsibility for paying their rent did not lead to big increases in rent arrears. We are drawing on the findings from these Projects as part of our approach to continually improving the service. The reports can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/direct-payment-demonstration-projects-final-reports

    “

  • Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government (a) has taken and (b) plans to take in response to the finding on page 99 of the Final Report of the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions that internships operate as part of an informal economy where opportunities depend on personal contacts rather than ability.

    Nick Boles

    The Government believes in fair wages for fair work and opportunity for all. When an intern meets the legal definition of a worker they must be paid at least the National Minimum Wage. We actively promote fair and open access to paid internships through the BIS-funded Graduate Talent Pool, and our Social Mobility Business Compact and Common Best Practice Code for High Quality Internships ask employers to ensure that any internships they offer are advertised openly and transparently and are paid fairly. We have also made it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with national minimum wage regulations and, in addition, complaints from interns are now fast-tracked by HMRC.