The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress he has made on Single Fraud Investigation Service; what plans he has for its roll out; and if he will make a statement.
Esther McVey
Progress has been made with regard to the implementation of the Single Fraud Investigation Service and this will commence from 1 July 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to ensure that local authorities in England pursue continuous improvement in the proportion of their eligible population being (a) offered and (b) taking up NHS health checks.
Jane Ellison
Public Health England (PHE) has set out a long-term aspiration of achieving an uptake of 75% and encourages areas to offer the NHS Health Check to 20% of the local population each year. In 2014-15, PHE has set a short term ambition of working towards achieving a 66% uptake and offers to 20% of the eligible population.
PHE is developing an improvement offer, tailored to the needs of local areas, to support local action. PHE will also enable local authorities to overcome common issues that affect offers by actively disseminating learning on information governance and data flows.
To support improvement in uptake PHE will work to inform the public’s understanding of the programme. In recent weeks PHE has launched NHS Health Check content on NHS Choices and is planning to extend this by developing a directory of services for England.
Research and evaluation on applying behavioural insights to maximise uptake is also taking place. In the coming months PHE will support a network of local authorities to test and disseminate learning on the approaches that maximise uptake.
The quarterly publication of both offer and uptake data brings transparency to local delivery of the programme. This enables local councillors, Healthwatch and the public to use existing local government mechanisms to scrutinise activity and encourage improvements in both performance and quality.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the new Egyptian President about freedom of religion.
Mr William Hague
The Government has been clear throughout recent events in Egypt, that the freedom of religious belief needs to be protected and that the ability to worship in peace is a vital component of a democratic society. I have not yet met President el-Sisi, but will look to work with him and the Egyptian Government to implement the rights contained in Egypt’s constitution, which includes protections for freedom of religious belief.
Hugh Robertson, Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, discussed the situation faced by Coptic Christians and implications of the new constitution in a meeting with Bishop Yulios during his visit to Cairo in December.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many (a) women and (b) men aged 24 and above applied for financial assistance for NVQ levels 3 and 4 in the first and second academic quarters in each year since 2008.
Matthew Hancock
The information is not readily available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the UN on the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Mr Hugo Swire
In October 2013, I met members of the Commission of Inquiry team on a visit we organised for them to the UK. I travelled to the Human Rights Council in Geneva in March to urge action following their report, and I was pleased with the strong resolution which passed later that month.
In April the UK raised the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) human rights concerns during closed consultations between the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Security Council. The same month the UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York met with members of the Commission of Inquiry and expressed our strong support for the work of the Commission. The UK also took part in a public ‘Arria’ briefing with other Security Council members to consider DPRK human rights. In May, we raised the need for continued focus on the situation during a UN Security Council Sanctions Committee meeting. I will travel to the UN in Geneva this week in order to meet the DPRK Special Rapporteur, Marzuki Darusman, and to set out the UK’s concerns to the Council. The meeting of the UN General Assembly in September presents a further opportunity to hold discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for how many vehicles registered in another country applications were made to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority to register them in the UK in each of the last five years.
Stephen Hammond
The table below shows figures for the amount of vehicles registered by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) that were previously registered elsewhere between 2009 and 2012.
|
YEAR
|
NUMBER OF VEHICLES
|
|
2009 |
65,060 |
|
2010 |
62,373 |
|
2011 |
58,379 |
|
2012 |
57,910 |
Since 2013 the way that certain vehicle transactions are processed has changed and the data gathered about foreign registered vehicles is no longer readily available. In 2013, the DVLA processed 99,168 applications to register new and previously registered imported vehicles.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has for the future of the Public Defender Service.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Public Defender Service (PDS) will continue to deliver a range of quality services within the criminal defence market from advice and representation at the police station and magistrates courts through to advocacy in the higher courts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Munn on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations he has received in support of his proposals to allow further delegation of children’s social care functions in order to improve outcomes for children in receipt of child protection services.
Mr Edward Timpson
Responses to the consultation on further delegation of children’s social care functions are currently being considered.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the radioactive forcing from the increase in carbon dioxide concentration will be over the lifetime of Navitus Bay (a) if the project goes ahead and (b) if the project does not go ahead.
Gregory Barker
The Department does not undertake analysis or hold information of this nature relating to specific developments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 394W, on forests, for what reasons the Government did not announce in the Queen’s Speech legislative proposals to protect the public forest estate.
Dan Rogerson
There were many proposals competing for the limited space within the Fourth Session programme and the proposed forestry measures could not be accommodated.
The Government stands by its commitment to establish a new public body to hold the Public Forest Estate in trust for the nation, as set out in its Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement of January 2013, as soon as Parliamentary time allows.