Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to simplify rail fares for journeys between London and Scotland and reduce the fare anomalies that lead to split ticketing.

    Paul Maynard

    Rail passengers should always be able to get the best deal and the industry must work harder to make this a reality. We are aware that there are a number of routes for which it can be cheaper to purchase two or more tickets for individual parts of the route than a through ticket for the entire journey. Anyone is entitled to purchase two or more separate tickets for their journey so long as the train they are travelling on stops at the stations indicated at the end of each ticket. Apparent anomalies in pricing that may be experienced on long-distance routes like London to Scotland, can sometimes be a result of competition on the railways encouraging one operator to reduce prices when competing with others on the route. Price competition on the railways can be positive for passengers. The Department would need to consider very carefully any action that removed this incentive for operators.

    Train operators are obliged to sell the most appropriate through fare based on the information the passenger gives them. This will depend on what time the passenger wants to travel and how flexible they need to be. The National Rail Conditions of Carriage, which form the basis of the contract you enter into when you buy a rail ticket, allow passengers to use combinations of tickets. However, it is vital that industry improve information available to passengers and I will be raising this with the Rail Delivery Group as a priority.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-10-24.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2016 to Question 48607, on equality impact assessments, if her Department will publish the Public Sector Equality Duty guidance circulated across Whitehall.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Government Equalities Office issues from time to time guidance on the Public Sector Equality Duty to Whitehall Departments. This is circulated with a view to enabling them to add any supporting documentation about their own processes before publishing the material on their intranets.

    The guidance was last issued in September 2014. The Department will publish that guidance in updated form on GOV.UK in due course.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many responses have been received to the feed-in tariff consultation; and what account she will take of those responses in making her final decision on the feed-in tariff support scheme.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC has received approximately 55,000 consultation responses. We currently estimate that just over 2,600 are unique and detailed responses; the rest are briefer and more uniform responses, generated by campaigns. We are currently analysing feedback submitted during the consultation which we will take into account when deciding on the Government Response.

  • The Earl of Clancarty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The Earl of Clancarty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Clancarty on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 2 December (HL3697) regarding the sale of 41–71 Commercial Road, Aldgate, for which school the site will be developed; and whether that school will use the entire site.

    Lord Nash

    The school site has been leased back to the university until August 2016. This allows the EFA to develop the site in time for a school to open there in September 2017.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many women were recruited to the Royal Navy in each of the last three years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The table below shows the number of women recruited to the Royal Naval Service (separated into Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Marines Band Service (RMBS)) for each twelve month period, ending 30 November 2015.

    RN

    RMBS

    TOTAL

    1 Dec 2012 – 30 Nov 2013

    210

    10

    220

    1 Dec 2013 – 30 Nov 2014

    290

    10

    300

    1 Dec 2014 – 30 Nov 2015

    280

    10

    290

    Figures are rounded, in accordance with Defence Statistics policy.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of children (a) under 16 and (b) between 16 and 18 who have been groomed on social media sites in each year since 2010.

    Karen Bradley

    Significant under-reporting of online grooming is likely and it is therefore difficult fully to quantify numbers. The National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime, issued by the National Crime Agency, recognises child sexual exploitation and abuse as one of the highest serious and organised crime risks and the Home Office has published a review of the evidence on cybercrime, including online grooming (Cyber Crime: A Review of the Evidence Research Report 75. Chapter 3: Cyber-enabled crimes – sexual offending against children, McGuire and Dowling 2013).

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2016 to Question 21498, on social security benefits: personal injury, whether the estimated effect of the proposed changes on social security recoupment from injuries other than whiplash are likely to be caught by the changes.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP officials are continuing to work with the Ministry of Justice to assess the potential impact of the proposed changes. The government will consult on these measures which will be accompanied by an impact assessment that will cover claims for compensation which are recoverable under the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what sites are under consideration for the shore-based testing facilities for the power and propulsion systems for the T26 Global Combat Ship.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Shore-based testing facilities for the Type 26 Global Combat Ship power and propulsion system will be established at General Electric’s site at Whetstone, Leicester, and David Brown Gears Systems’ in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

    General Electric will supply the propulsion motor and drive system and David Brown Gears Systems will supply the propulsion gearbox.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, by what average proportion Care Quality Commission registration fees have changed in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Ben Gummer

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC’s income is made up of both fees paid by providers and grant in aid from the Department. Government policy requires that the CQC must increase the fees it charges registered providers so that it can move towards fully recovering the chargeable costs of regulating health and adult social care in England.

    The CQC has set a two-year trajectory to reach full cost recovery for all sectors with the exception of the adult social care domiciliary care sector, which will be subject to a four year trajectory and dentists who are already at full cost recovery. The Government has made available £15 million extra funding for general practice (GP) from April 2016 to reflect a number of increasing cost pressures, of which increased CQC fees are a part.

    The CQC has provided the following information. The CQC has revised the fees that providers will have to pay from April 2016. The table shows how close each sector is to full cost recovery in 2016-17.

    Average fee increase by sector inspected by the CQC1

    Sector

    2012-13 to 2013-14

    2013-14 to 2014-15

    2014-15 to 2015-16

    2015-16 to 2016-17

    Percentage of CQC costs recovered through fees in 2016-17

    NHS Trusts

    0%

    3%

    9%

    75%

    67%

    Adult social care – residential

    0%

    0%

    9%

    12%

    96%

    Adult social care – community

    0%

    1%

    9%

    72%

    44%

    Independent healthcare – hospitals

    0%

    3%

    9%

    12%

    96%

    Independent healthcare – community

    0%

    12%

    0%

    5%

    98%

    Independent healthcare – single specialty

    0%

    3%

    9%

    0%

    96%

    Dentists

    6%

    9%

    0%

    0%

    100%

    National Health Service GPs

    n/a

    2%

    9%

    255%

    56%

    ¹To establish the average percentage increase the CQC has compared the fees in each fee band by category and then taken the average increase per category. In most cases the increase is consistent for each band within the category.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget is of the Mk4A upgrade programme.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The UK currently fields the Trident Mk4 warhead as part of the Trident Strategic Weapons System. In order to ensure continuity of the Mk4-based capability, the Mk4A Arming, Fuzing and Firing system is a non-nuclear component being introduced into the UK Trident warhead to replace a similar component. The Mk4A programme will not increase the destructive power of the warhead.

    Approval to procure the new Arming, Firing and Fuzing mechanisms, to manage obsolescence in Mk4 and to adopt a Mk4A component was given in January 2006. I am withholding further details of the date of the Mk4A component’s entry into service, the cost of the Mk4A programme and the extension in operational life expected for the purposes of safeguarding national security.