The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-02-20.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many incidents of domestic violence were reported in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in each year since 2010.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-02-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many domestic violence courts sat at each magistrates’ court in Lancashire in 2014.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The table below sets out the number of domestic violence courts scheduled to be sat in each magistrates’ court in Lancashire in 2014:
|
Magistrates Courts in Lancashire |
Number of half day sessions scheduled to sit on domestic violence during 2014 |
|
Blackpool Magistrates’ Court |
100 |
|
Lancaster Magistrates’ Court |
50 |
|
Preston Magistrates’ Court |
100 |
|
Chorley Magistrates’ Court |
50 |
|
Ormskirk Magistrates’ Court |
50 |
|
Blackburn Magistrates’ Court |
100 |
|
Burnley Magistrates’ Court |
100 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-02-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of whether the Coastguard Service’s VHF radio systems are fit for purpose (a) generally and (b) in relation to the work of the Maritime Operations Centre at Fareham.
Mr John Hayes
There were no issues experienced with the VHF radio network on 2 February 2015.
However, on 8 February 2015 there was a temporary reduction in HM Coastguard’s ability to broadcast on VHF Channel 16 from Marsland Mouth, Cornwall to Beachy Head, East Sussex and River Towey, Carmarthen to Mull of Galloway. This lasted for 1 hour 47 minutes.
During this time the 999 service and the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) Distress alert systems were unaffected. There was no reduction in HM Coastguard’s ability to task rescue resources, such as lifeboats, volunteer Coastguard Rescue Teams or SAR Helicopters, to any incident around the coast.
HM Coastguard’s well established Business Continuity Plans allowed remedial action to be promptly undertaken and enabled vessels on the waters affected during the period of the breakdown to make contact with the Coastguard Service. The specific issue that caused the reduced ability to broadcast on VHF Channel 16 has now been resolved.
The Coastguard services (VHF systems) are currently fit for purpose both (a) generally and (b) specifically for the new national network.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-02-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which staff of Rail North will be involved in formulating the response to the consultation for the Northern Rail and TransPennine Express franchises.
Claire Perry
We have been working closely with Rail North on the response to the Northern and TransPennine Express consultation, which has been developed jointly and will be published as a joint document. Rail North officers and senior managers have been involved in the formulation of the response to the consultation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-02-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the Universal Credit IT system in Leigh, Greater Manchester, was out of action for three consecutive days in the first week of February 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Mark Harper
The Universal Credit IT core system was fully operational throughout February. In Leigh, however, there was a problem in non-UC IT which was remedied promptly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-02-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his Department’s training budget was in each of the last three financial years.
Jo Swinson
The training budget for 2012/13 was £2,992,186
The training budget for 2013/14 was £2,735,104
The training budget for 2014/15 was £2,277,029
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the UK Border Agency’s handling of the case of Aidah Asaba.
James Brokenshire
The general policy of the Home Office is not to disclose personal information
about another person. This is because we have obligations under the Data
Protection Act and in law generally to protect this information.
The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection
and we consider every claim for asylum on its individual merits.
We believe that those with no right to be in the UK should return to their home
country and we will help those who wish to leave voluntarily. However, when
they refuse to do so we will take steps to enforce their removal at the
earliest opportunity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what scientific purposes she has licensed procedures on animals that were likely to cause severe suffering since 2010; and what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of animals experiencing severe suffering in scientific procedures.
Norman Baker
The information asked for is not held centrally and could only be obtained at
disproportionate cost.
The Government only authorises procedures on animals after rigorous checks.
Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 there is a statutory
requirement for scrutiny by, in the first instance, the Animal Welfare Ethical
Review Body at the Establishment where the work will be performed, and then an
assessment is made by the Home Office Inspectorate. In addition, projects are
referred to the Animals in Science Committee for scrutiny where they propose
the use of non-human primates in severe protocols and other projects that ministers
consider require further consideration.
One of the key factors in the assessment of licence applications is the
harm-benefit analysis, which has been part of our assessment process since
1986. The parameters considered in this analysis are described in Appendix I of
the Operational Guidance to the 1986 Act. A harm-benefit analysis determines
whether the proposed harms to the animals are justified by the likely benefits to be
delivered from the project. Inspectors give advice on minimising harms during
their assessment of project licence applications. Licensees have a legal
responsibility to ensure that work is undertaken on animals in the least severe
manner possible whilst delivering their scientific objectives. This year we
are undertaking a review of the harm-benefit analysis process, with advice from
the Animals in Science Committee, to determine if there are further refinements
we can make to the process.
I am committed to working to reduce the number of animals used in scientific
procedures. The Coalition Commitment delivery plan "Working to reduce the use
of animals in research" was published in February 2014. In particular, the Home
Office Inspectorate is working with the Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals on methods of refinement of the most severe models to avoid
or reduce animal suffering. This has included careful consideration of models
of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, seizures, rheumatoid arthritis
and sepsis. Inspectors are actively promulgating the recommendations from each
of these reports.
In addition, the Home Office has published advisory notes on recording and
reporting actual severity, as required by the transposed European Directive
from 2013. From data collected we will provide clarity on the burden of harm
and, over time, should give an indication of the effectiveness of refinement
methods, particularly for the most severe procedures.
It is imporant to note that procedures classified as severe represent only a
small percentage of total procedures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the UK Statistics Authority has made of the median gross weekly earnings of (a) men, (b) women and (c) all people employed (i) full-time and (ii) part-time in the areas covered by (A) York travel to work area, (B) City of York local authority area and (C) York Central constituency (1) in cash terms and (2) at constant prices in each year since 1997.
Mr Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber received how much funding from Local Enterprise Partnerships in each year since 2010-11.
Michael Fallon
The Regional Growth Fund has supported eight Local Enterprise Partnership-led (LEP) programmes in Yorkshire and Humber, 4 each in Rounds 3 and 5, with allocations totalling £95 million. So far £23.8 million has been paid to small and medium-sized enterprises which has achieved 987 jobs and £66.9 million in private sector leverage.
The Yorkshire and Humber LEPs have also received a total of £72.9 million from the Growing Places Fund to support infrastructure projects resulting in the creation of jobs, housing, commercial floorspace and businesses. Thus far, the LEPs have allocated this to 34 projects which will lead to the creation of 25,500 jobs, 4,900 housing units, 1.5 million sqm commercial floorspace, and 320 businesses.