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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Earl Attlee – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Earl Attlee – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address the issue of online third parties acting as middlemen between the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and driving licence applicants.

    Baroness Kramer

    The Government is taking decisive steps against such websites.

    Officials are working with various government organisations and search engine providers to raise awareness and ensure appropriate enforcement action is taken. Ministers recently met with Google and as a result, Google has taken down a series of adverts. Similar work will be carried out with other search engine providers.

    The National Trading Standards Board will receive an additional £120,000 to clamp down on misleading websites.

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has issued messages on Twitter and gov.uk to advise customers that gov.uk is the only official website. Officials have worked with the press to inform customers that they may be charged an unnecessary fee if they do not use gov.uk. The DVLA is arranging to amend forms, leaflets and envelopes to make the correct website clearer for customers. Officials will continue to issue appropriate communications to help raise awareness of these sites.

  • Gavin Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Gavin Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Williamson on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what action he is taking to ensure that incidents of assault against prison staff are being effectively investigated.

    Jeremy Wright

    The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) takes assaults on prison staff very seriously. There are systems in place to deal with perpetrators quickly and robustly, with serious incidents referred to the police for prosecution.

    Prisoners engaging in violent behaviour will be subject to an immediate review of their Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) level. There is a strong presumption that such incidents will lead to an immediate downgrade to Basic level unless there are exceptional circumstances.

    Assaults on staff in prison are a particularly serious matter given the need for staff to be able to maintain control and order in what can be a volatile environment. NOMS is working closely with the police and CPS to develop a new joint protocol for the management, reporting and prosecution of crime in prisons. Part of this work will involve the development of more effective measures to enable successful prosecution of prisoners who assault NOMS staff.

    NOMS is committed to exploring options to continue to improve how violence is managed in prisons to keep both staff and prisoners safe. It is currently reviewing the policy and practice of the management of violence.

    Prison Service Instructions set-out the range of options available to Governors to investigate serious assaults. The Governor must ensure that an appropriate level of investigation is commissioned. They must also ensure that any lessons are learned from the incident and disseminated appropriately, those harmed are supported and perpetrators of harm are sanctioned.

  • Lord Chidgey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Chidgey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in relation to aid to Ethiopia, whether they have liaised with the government of the United States about the co-ordination of development assistance in the agricultural sector.

    Lord Bates

    The UK is part of the US-led ‘New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition’ in Ethiopia, which entails regular dialogue and coordination of our work in the agricultural and related sectors. DFID and USAID are co-donors to the national safety net programme, which provides cash and food for some seven million food insecure Ethiopians, most of whom are rural farmers. We also collaborate closely on land issues; DFID’s new land certification programme in Ethiopia builds on work by USAID to test certification methodologies.

  • 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, how many and what proportion of questions answered by the Electoral Commission involving four pages of data or less were (a) placed in the Library without a web link, (b) placed in the Library with a web link and (c) given in full in Hansard in each of the last five years.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Commission informs me that it does not collect this information in the requested format.

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to support the teaching of foreign languages in schools.

    Lord Nash

    The new national curriculum sets out clearly what should be taught to pupils, and gives teachers the flexibility to decide how to teach it. We expect schools to identify the support that they need to prepare for the new curriculum, recognising that different schools will face different challenges.

    We are allocating £350,000 to fund teaching school alliances and others to provide training on the new national curriculum for teachers of modern foreign languages in primary and secondary schools. Also, in terms of overall support for the new national curriculum, we have allocated some £1.9 million to teaching schools to lead curriculum change across and within their teaching school alliances.

    To support the introduction of a compulsory foreign language at key stage 2 (ages seven to 11) from September 2014, the independent Expert Group, chaired by a leading primary headteacher, has provided links to useful resources, which are hosted on the website of the Association for Language Learning.

    We are also making extensive use of social networking, including using high profile headteachers and others to raise the profile of the new curriculum, including for languages, through podcasts, webchats and blogs.

  • 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, how many decisions on applications for personal independence payments from individuals diagnosed with a terminal illness were made 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.

  • 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, whether his Department is on course to run at least two professional and business services dedicated trade missions each year; and what such missions have taken place since the Strategy was published.

    Michael Fallon

    UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is developing professional and business services dedicated trade missions to North America, South America, South East Asia and India this year. These missions will complement other planned trade missions open to this sector, for example the business delegations which accompany the Lord Mayor of London’s overseas visits.

    UKTI delivered a professional services event in Russia with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment and the Royal Society of Chartered Surveyors in November 2013.

  • Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the saving was to the public purse from the reduction of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit for individuals in receipt of a pension income of more than £85 per week in 2013-14.

    Esther McVey

    The information is not available as no such estimate has been undertaken.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what change there has been in the total amount of gift aid claimed by charities between 2008 and 2013.

    Nicky Morgan

    HMRC publishes data on repayments of Gift Aid to charities in Table 10.1 of its National Statistics at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/256802/table10-1.pdf

    “

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many of his Department’s Child Maintenance Group on-site nurseries are due to close from September 2014; and what the location of each such nursery is.

    Steve Webb

    Five Child Maintenance Group on-site nurseries are due to close on expiry of the contract at the end of September 2014. They are located at offices in Birkenhead, Dudley, Falkirk, Hastings and Plymouth.

    Child Maintenance Group childcare subsidy was made no longer available to new entrants from 1 June 2012. This brings Child Maintenance Group into line with the Department’s policy on childcare subsidy.

    As part of its remuneration package, the Department supports employees through a salary sacrifice scheme where employees can give up part of their salary in return for childcare vouchers. This scheme allows for significant savings through tax relief and gives parents support in order to make their own choices for childcare.

    Employees affected by the closure of the five on-site nurseries have been offered a day’s special leave in order to look for suitable alternatives.