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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Michael Fabricant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Michael Fabricant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what works are currently being undertaken in King Charles Street, Westminster; and when the scaffolding and road and pavement equipment related to the works will be removed.

    Mr David Lidington

    The works currently being undertaken by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in King Charles Street are part of the Department’s UK Estate Reform Project. This involves the consolidation of the FCO’s London HQ presence into a single office building. The project is a major reconfiguration of the King Charles Street building and will release the Old Admiralty Building to the Department for Education. This will allow leased office space to be vacated and overall Government spending on the UK Civil Estate to be reduced.

    The gantry being installed in King Charles Street will be completed by the end of June 2014 and will remain in situ for the duration of the project, which is due to be completed in summer 2015. The scaffold is part of the Planning & Listed Building Consent granted by Westminster Council. When completed, the gantry will extend over the pavement between Clive Steps and the western side of the main entrance to the FCO building. Pedestrians will still be able to walk up King Charles St and the main entrance to the FCO will remain fully accessible.

  • John Spellar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    John Spellar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the practice of logbook lending.

    Stephen Hammond

    No assessment has been made by the Department for Transport. The regulation of consumer credit, including the practice of logbook loans, is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason callers to NHS England’s EHIC renewal line are assumed to agree to data-sharing if they do not hang up, whilst other government departments require legal data-sharing gateways.

    Jane Ellison

    The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) administers the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) application system and telephone line.

    Applicants for EHIC cards are asked to agree to share their application details for the purpose of validating EHIC applications and claims (for which information is shared with the Department for Work and Pensions and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) and in order to prevent and detect fraud and errors (for which information may be shared with NHS Protect and the Department of Health – International Division). The agreement of customers to share their data is sufficient under the Data Protection Act. No personal medical or clinical data is shared as part of this process.

    Callers to the EHIC telephone service are assumed to agree to share their application details. We acknowledge that the current telephone message advising callers about data sharing could be clearer. The NHS BSA has undertaken that they will not share any further EHIC data which is gathered through the telephone service, until the message has been updated.

  • John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what levels of stock his Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables.

    Mike Penning

    We do not have this level of information on a site by site basis either by value or volume. We operate a LEAN supply chain with minimal stock holding.

    a) Stationery – We are unable to confirm any stock held by sites, inclusive of paper as this information is not collected.

    b) Printer cartridges – as part of the Managed Print Service we operate on the basis of 1 consumable per device as stock, or 3 for a colour device; we also hold some drums and other products depending on the model. There are approximately 7910 devices at present. This does not take into account devices which are not part of the Managed Print Service.

    c) Treasury tags and other fasteners – we do not have this information available, this would require further analysis of Management Information for the desktop stationery contract and definition of other fasteners to identify the appropriate product lines.

    d) Other office consumables – we do not have this information available, this would require further analysis of Management Information for the desktop stationery contract and definition of what constitutes other office consumables in order to obtain information for each individual product.

  • Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pete Wishart on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what account her Department took of the timing of school holidays in Scotland in formulating plans to deal with passport application delays.

    James Brokenshire

    Each year Her Majesty’s Passport Office plans its capacity, taking into account
    the likely level of demand during specific periods, including the run-up to school
    holidays.

  • Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-04-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to help pensioners on low incomes.

    Mr David Gauke

    Supporting pensioners is a key priority for this Government. Due to the triple lock, the full basic State Pension has increased this month to £113.10 a week – a cash rise of £2.95. This is around £8.50 a week higher than it would have been if it had been uprated only in line with average weekly earnings growth since the start of this Parliament.

    We have also passed through the cash rise, due to the triple lock, to the minimum guarantee in Pension Credit. This ensures that the poorest pensioners also benefit.

    This Government also continues to protect universal pensioner benefits, such as Winter Fuel Payments, free eye tests and prescriptions.

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether (a) Serco and (b) G4S will be permitted to bid for community rehabilitation company contracts.

    Jeremy Wright

    G4S and Serco decided to withdraw from the competition to select lead providers of rehabilitation services.

  • Lord Tyler – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Tyler – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for future elections and referendums to be held in the United Kingdom of the relative voting rights in the Scottish independence referendum of (1) electors resident overseas but formerly resident in a Scottish parliamentary constituency, and (2) electors resident in England, Wales or Northern Ireland but registered in a Scottish parliamentary constituency within the last 15 years.

    Lord Bates

    The Government has made no such assessment.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what circumstances offenders can choose not to attend a parole board meeting when a victim reads a victim personal statement.

    Jeremy Wright

    The victims of serious violent and sexual offences, where the offender has been sentenced to 12 months or more, may opt into the statutory Victim Contact Scheme, operated by the National Probation Service. Where they do so, they will be informed of a Parole Board review and offered the opportunity to make a Victim Personal Statement (VPS). The VPS provides victims with a valuable opportunity to tell the Parole Board how the offence has affected them or their family, both at the time it was committed and since, and how they think the offender’s release would affect them. The VPS can contribute to a better and more informed hearing, as it may enable more robust questioning of the offender about the offence, remorse and victim empathy.

    The independent Parole Board is responsible for the conduct of parole hearings. The normal practice is that the offender will not be present when the victim reads his/her VPS, but there may be circumstances where he/she will be. In many cases, the victim does not wish the offender to be present during the reading. Whilst the conduct of an individual hearing is for the Chair of the Panel of the Parole Board, the Chair cannot insist that the prisoner attends to hear the VPS being read if s/he does not wish to do so. No estimate has been made centrally of the proportion of offenders present at the hearing when the VPS is read out.

  • 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.