UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Margaret Beckett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Margaret Beckett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Beckett on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visit visa applications to the UK were made between June 2013 and December 2013; and how many such applications were (a) granted, (b) refused, (c) withdrawn, (d) lapsed and (e) given the right to appeal.

    James Brokenshire

    From the 1st of June until the 31st of December 2013 there were 149,995
    applications for family visit visas. Of those applications:

    • 111,990 were issued
    • 37,370 were refused
    • 65 were lapsed
    • 330 were withdrawn
    • 4,570 were given the right to appeal

    These figures are based upon management information, and have been rounded to
    the nearest 5. Until the 24th June 2013, any family visit visa that was refused
    was given a right of appeal against that decision. The numbers above reflect
    this change to appeal rights.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of homes in the UK served by fibre to the home broadband services.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ofcom monitors and publishes broadband coverage data for the UK indicated in its 2013 UK fixed broadband market report that superfast broadband was available to 73% of UK premises. Ofcom did not, however, publish a separate figure for the number of homes with fibre to the home broadband services.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Steve Rotheram – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many child sex offenders were in prison in each year since 2003.

    Jeremy Wright

    From the data held centrally, it is not possible to separately identify those offenders convicted of sexual offences against children, because the prisoner offence details held centrally do not include information on the age of the victim. Such offenders are included with other sexual offences.

    In order to provide data relating to child sex offenders in prison, it would be necessary to manually examine the individual prison records of over 10,900 sex offenders in prison as at 31 December 2013 – this could only be done at disproportionate cost.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will add a category of name of medal requested to the Certificate of Kinship Request for the Medals of a Deceased Ex-Serviceman/woman form.

    Anna Soubry

    The existing combined medal application and next of kin form contains a box where the applicant can specify which medal they are applying for.

  • Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that people (a) with disabilities and (b) affected by disabilities are given full consideration in the Sustainable Development Goals and their attendant targets and indicators.

    Justine Greening

    The UK is pushing for the principle of ‘Leave no one behind’ to be included in the MDGs successor development framework, which was a central element of the report prepared for the UN Secretary general by the High Level Panel, co-chaired by the Prime Minister. We should ensure that no person, regardless of disability is denied universal human rights and basic opportunities.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the estimated value of the land is for which academy trusts have a freehold interest.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    When community schools convert to academies, the freehold is retained by the local authority and a lease is granted to the academy trust. In some circumstances, where the school governors or supporting foundation already hold the freehold, my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may allow publicly-funded school land to be transferred to an academy trust, which will have satisfied the Secretary of State as to its ability to operate a state-funded school.

    There are strict rules protecting publicly funded land used by academies, regardless of who holds the freehold. This is set out in published guidance, which is available online:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice

    A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.

    The Department does not hold information about the average value of land used for academies on a freehold or leasehold basis. Information about the number of academies that occupy land on a leasehold and freehold basis is not held centrally.

    “

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle domestic abuse.

    Norman Baker

    The Coalition Government’s approach to tackling domestic violence and abuse is
    set out in its Violence against Women and Girls Action Plan, updated in March
    2014. It is a subject we take very seriously.

    In 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
    Constabulary (HMIC) to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with domestic
    violence and abuse. HMIC’s report exposed significant failings. The Home
    Secretary is establishing a new national oversight group, which she will chair, and on which I will sit, to ensure HMIC’s recommendations are acted upon.
    The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it
    clear that every police force must have an action plan in place by September
    2014, to improve their response to domestic violence and abuse.

    The Government is committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have
    the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice
    and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. The
    Government accordingly announced the national roll-out of Domestic Violence
    Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme
    from 8 March 2014.

  • Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental impact assessment the Forestry Commission has carried out in respect of the proposed corridor up to 65 metres wide through Hurn Forest for cables connecting Navitus Bay Offshore windfarm with the national grid.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Forestry Commission is fully committed to protecting and improving the nation’s public forests for the benefit of people, nature and the economy. It is not required to carry out a formal Environmental Impact Assessment in this case but it has considered the potential impact of the cable route and is working with the developer to ensure that the impact is minimised. Any woodland that is lost will be restored to heathland to improve the diversity of habitat, as well as opening the views and improving public access.

  • Gregg McClymont – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregg McClymont – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-04-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the number of staff required at HM Revenue and Customs in Cumbernauld following his Department’s decision to award the mail management contract to the EDM Group.

    Mr David Gauke

    The timetable for implementation is still being finalised, HMRC does not yet have details of how and when teams currently handling post will be impacted.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in the 70 to 79 age group have received a shingles vaccination since the vaccination programme began in September 2013; how many people he expects to take up the offer in the current cohort; when he expects that figure to be met; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Provisional vaccine uptake data for England show that about 360,000 70 to 79 year olds received the shingles vaccine between 1 September 2013 and 30 April 2014. The actual number will be higher as about 20% of general practitioner (GP) practices are not able to automatically submit uptake information. If it is assumed that the non-reporting practices have similar uptake rates to those that have reported, then the estimated total number of people aged 70 to 79 years receiving the vaccine in the first eight months of the programme, would be around 450,000.

    This is the first year of this immunisation programme and there is no formal target for the number to be vaccinated. Eligible patients aged 70 and 79 who have not yet received shingles vaccine during the 2013-14 programme will continue to be offered vaccination under the national programme until 31 August 2014. It is not possible to predict how many will take up the offer of vaccination in this period, but Public Health England expects vaccine uptake to continue to rise, and we would encourage those eligible individuals to contact their GP to arrange their vaccination if they have not already done so.

    Further provisional cumulative coverage data will be published on a quarterly basis, with the final annual coverage data for the 2013-14 programme due to be published in autumn 2014.