Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lucas on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any guarantee that the current levels of service and functionality provided by the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight System are to be provided in any replacement system.

    Lord Deighton

    Our plans for the future replacement of the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system are that service levels and functionality should be equal to or better than those provided in the current system. This will be a requirement within the “Invitation to Tender” that HMRC issues in respect of the procurement process for a new import and export declaration processing system.

  • 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 2014-06-18.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps the Electoral Commission is taking to increase the number of British overseas electors registered to vote.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it runs public awareness campaigns to encourage British expatriates to register to vote; the most recent took place ahead of the European elections this year.

    Two briefing notes, which included details of the campaign, were circulated to hon. Members in advance of the elections. These notes are available on the Commission’s website here:

    · www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/164449/Elections-May-2014-briefing.pdf

    · www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/165893/The-elections-on-22-May-2014-Briefing-note-2.pdf

    The Commission intends to run a similar campaign ahead of the 2015 General Election. It is currently evaluating the performance of its 2014 campaign to identify improvements that could be made for the General Election campaign. The Commission will ensure that a copy of the evaluation is sent to the hon. Member when it has been completed.

    “

  • Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to Growth is Our Business: A Strategy for Professional and Business Services published in July 2013, what progress his Department has made in establishing the effect of school reporting metrics on the prestige of higher apprenticeships as a destination.

    Matthew Hancock

    These questions ask about a number of actions related to skills development from “Growth is our business: a strategy for professional and business services”, published in July 2013 as part of Government’s industrial strategy. The strategy was developed in collaboration with the professional and business services sector, focusing on the industry’s agenda for long term growth. It is led by the Professional and Business Services Council.

    The strategy reflects two key business priorities in skills development. First, to expand recruitment routes into the sector, in particular higher apprenticeships, to access a wider, more diverse talent pool. Second, to help businesses engage with the education system to raise aspirations and promote work readiness. A business-led skills taskforce for professional and business services has been established. It is developing approaches to implement the strategy and will report progress at the end of this year.

    The skills taskforce is leading work to help towards the strategy’s ambitious target to treble the number of higher apprenticeship starts across professional and business services to 10,000 over five years; and to follow progress in the interim, so that the numbers of these apprenticeships can be monitored. As a first step, the taskforce is supporting the London Professional Apprenticeship scheme, which was launched in December 2013, and is now recruiting apprentices and employers to take part. The scheme will pilot the proposal for a “clearing house” to help small firms access higher apprenticeships in professional and business services. In addition, the taskforce is backing new ‘trailblazer’ initiatives, announced in March 2014, to develop employer-driven standards for apprenticeships in several professional and business services occupations.

    The skills taskforce is currently researching the metrics for schools’ reporting and their effect on the prestige of higher apprenticeships as initial career destinations. It will consider if more could be done to ensure higher apprenticeships have parity of esteem with higher education.

    The taskforce is also mapping current school engagement activity involving professional and business services firms with a view to identifying and sharing good practice.

    The new emphasis on wider use of higher apprenticeships across professional and business services should contribute towards a greater diversity of routes into these careers in the years to come; potentially offering opportunities to a wider pool of talent.

    The skills taskforce intends to consider how the employability of young people can be supported within the national curriculum, but believes that greater engagement between employers and young people is the best way of improving employability skills.

    My noble friend Lord Lingfield has set up the independent Institution for Further Education to take forward work on a new chartered status quality schemeand is considering the application and assessment process for Further Education providers.

    The skills taskforce is exploring how web-based services can support engagement between firms and the education sector, including a planned digital “inspiration” tool being developed by this Department to encourage business-schools engagement.

    Further information on the implementation of “Growth is our business: a strategy for professional and business services” is included in a progress report on industrial strategy, published on 23 April 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-early-successes-and-future-priorities.

    “

  • Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average duration has been of the assessment period for each claim for personal independence payment from a person diagnosed with a terminal illness in each of the three months to June 2014.

    Mike Penning

    I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the Written Answer I gave him on 18 June, Official Report, column 629W. Information on clearance times is not currently available. Statistics on clearance times are intended for future publication.

  • Martin Horwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Martin Horwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Horwood on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether information included in the registry of company beneficial ownership information will be cross-checked against data held by (a) passport authorities, (b) vehicle licensing authorities, (c) electoral registers and (d) other databases.

    Jenny Willott

    Companies House currently undertakes a range of checks across the breadth of documents delivered to them. In 2012-13 over 400,000 documents were rejected because they did not pass these checks.

    We are carefully considering whether any further reform is necessary, whilst ensuring the UK’s company registration regime remains quick, simple and inexpensive. We do not however envisage that this would include cross-checking data against other sources of information.

  • 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 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in how many cases child support arrears have been written off under the Child Support Management of Payments and Arrears (Amendment) Regulations 2012 since November 2012; and how much has been written off in such a fashion.

    Steve Webb

    The circumstances, provided for in The Child Support Management of Payments and Arrears (Amendment) Regulations 2012, in which debt can be written off are:

    – Where the Parent with Care (PWC) requests it;

    – Where the Non-resident Parent (NRP) has died prior to 25/01/2010, or no further action can be taken to recover debt from the estate;

    – Where the PWC has died;

    – Where there is Interim Maintenance Assessment (IMA) debt and the IMA was in place between 5th April 93 and 18th April 95, and the assessment cannot be adjusted in light of a parent’s actual income for this form of debt when it arises over that period; or,

    – Where the NRP has been told that no further action would ever be taken to collect the debt.

    Since the introduction of the write off powers in November 2012 the Department has written off the following amounts:

    – Financial year ended 31 March 2013 £1,133,310

    – Financial year ended 31 March 2014 £15,480,677

    The Department does not hold information on the number of cases this relates to.

  • Martin Horwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Martin Horwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Horwood on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the amount of housing proposed on what had been designated Green Belt land in 2010 in adopted and emerging Local Plans.

    Nick Boles

    It is for local authorities in conjunction with their communities to assess development needs and plan to meet them in a way which is consistent with national policy. Our planning reforms have strengthened the role of Local Plans and abolished the previous administration’s undemocratic Regional Strategies which imposed housing targets and Green Belt reviews. This returns power to local authorities and communities to determine whether it is appropriate to develop on Green Belt land, taking into account the strong protections in the National Planning Policy Framework.

    This Government attaches great importance to Green Belt as a way to prevent sprawl and encroachment on open countryside, and as a vital ‘green lung’ for many communities. The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that openness and permanence are essential characteristics of Green Belt. And that Green Belt boundaries can only be revised in exceptional circumstances through the Local Plan process. Planning guidance published on 6 March re-affirmed Green Belt protection.

  • Gordon Henderson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gordon Henderson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Henderson on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of freezing fuel duty on the price of petrol.

    Nicky Morgan

    Since 2011, the Government has abolished the previous Government’s fuel duty escalator, cut duty by 1 penny per litre, and scrapped four planned duty increases. As a result, by the end of the Parliament, petrol will cost nearly 20 pence per litre less than under the previous Government’s plans.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2014, Official Report, columns 789-90, on special educational needs, when he expects the special educational needs (SEN) gateway will be available for all parents of SEN children.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education is providing funding of £918,000 to Nasen over two years to develop a special educational needs (SEN) gateway. This will provide professionals with access to free high-quality SEN resources and training materials to support children with SEN and disabilities.

    The gateway will be designed primarily for educational professionals in schools, colleges and other educational settings rather than for parents, although they will be able access the gateway. It is due to be launched in May 2014.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what change there has been in the level of household (a) borrowing and (b) debt since May 2010.

    Mr Nick Hurd

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