Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has had on including insolvency litigation in the scope of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    We have recently received representations from insolvency practitioners, including the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3), regarding a permanent exemption for insolvency litigation from the scope of the costs and funding provisions in Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012. Ministry of Justice officials have met with R3 on this matter.

    The LASPO reforms were implemented generally from 1 April 2013, although they were delayed for insolvency proceedings in order to allow stakeholders time to adjust. The Government’s position remains – as announced by written ministerial statement in May 2012 (24 May 2012: Col 94WS) – that the reforms should apply to insolvency proceedings from April 2015.

  • Mike Weir – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Mike Weir – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weir on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the total cost was of production and delivery of the booklet, What staying in the United Kingdom means for Scotland; and what proportion of such costs relate to (a) research, verification and co-ordination, (b) writing, editing, sub-editing and proofing of the text, (c) photography, design, artwork and licensing, (d) printing, (e) distribution and delivery and (f) related communications, administration and public affairs support.

    Greg Clark

    The total cost to-date of What Staying in the United Kingdom Means for Scotland is £723,501 (plus VAT).

    Each booklet cost around 30p to design, produce, print and deliver to every household in Scotland. As is standard practice, detail and spending data will published in the Cabinet Office transparency returns.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to publicise information on changes to child maintenance.

    Steve Webb

    Since the Child Maintenance Service launched in December 2012 we have been talking to clients (via caseworkers and through our Child Maintenance Options service) about the planned introduction of charging, and letters to Child Maintenance Service clients have made reference to the charges.

    More widely we have engaged with stakeholders, partners, MP caseworkers and intermediaries to share information about the reforms to the child maintenance system.

    Ahead of existing Child Support Agency cases closing, a regional media trial is currently running in the Manchester area. The media activity includes digital, radio and press advertising to let parents know that the Child Support Agency is changing and to reassure them that they don’t need to take any action until they receive a letter. We will evaluate the results of this media activity before confirming plans to run this campaign nationally later this year.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Scottish Government regarding environmental and economic effects of the restoration of former open cast sites in East Ayrshire.

    Michael Fallon

    I last discussed this matter with my Scottish counterpart in May 2014.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of all UK visa applications processed by TPContact in all its overseas service centres have been subject to delays outside the stated service standards.

    James Brokenshire

    Any failure against the contractual critical service levels may result in
    deductions against their submitted invoices. In the event of continuous and
    unacceptable failures the Department has the ability to terminate the contract.

    The performance of Teleperformance as with all of our contracts is subject to
    close Home Office scrutiny. The governance processes include regular meetings
    at all levels, from local operational teams up to senior official levels, to
    allow in-depth reviews of performance against the service standards set out in
    the contract, and to provide an escalation route to resolve any issues that may
    arise. We also expect suppliers to provide continuous improvement in delivery
    of customer services over the course of the contract, which is also monitored
    through these processes.

    The Department withheld payment of the contractual transitional payment until
    transition was complete in each country where Teleperformance operates. This
    has now been has now been approved for payment in countries where visa
    application centres (VACs) are operational but withheld in locations still to
    be transitioned. Ongoing contractual payments will be subject to the service
    credit process outlined above.

    The data required to judge performance against contractual service standards is
    not yet available. We are not aware of any withdrawn applications linked to
    delays in processing at the identified visa application centres since they took
    over this service. The Home Office is currently collating data on complaints
    for the period since Teleperformance commenced operations and it is not
    available for publication.

    UK Visas & Immigration has worked closely with Teleperformance from the point
    at which contracts were awarded to prepare for live operations, including the
    summer peak. Annual and monthly application volumes and forecast figures for
    2014 were provided to Teleperformance as part of the tender process and local
    discussions have taken place to determine the number of appointment slots
    available. Opening hours have been extended and appointment availability has
    been increased in a number of locations to prepare for the summer period. Where
    VACs are open every day, the availability of appointment slots is continually
    monitored, with further measures being taken if appointments are consistently
    fully booked.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what meetings he has had with (a) the First Minister of Northern Ireland, (b) the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and (c) both the First and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

    Mr David Cameron

    I regularly meet the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to discuss a range of issues and will continue to do so.

    I visit all parts of the United Kingdom regularly, including Northern Ireland. I last visited Northern Ireland on Thursday 10 – Friday 11 October 2013.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on agency workers to cover uniformed operational support staff in each month since January 2014.

    Andrew Selous

    Since April 2010 we have cut our overall spend on temporary staff by £35.5m. We only use temporary staff to fill business-critical posts and essential frontline services where they can provide a fast, flexible and efficient way to obtain necessary skills that are not currently available in-house. We will continue to examine our use of contractors and look for further reductions.

    In responding to each question we have utilised data provided by our contracted supplier of temporary clerical staff and contracted supplier of temporary operational staff. As the data provided has been supplied by two different third parties there is a slight difference in the way that the answer to question 3 and 4 has been presented.

    Temporary operational staff relate to Operational Support Grades (OSGs) used within HM Prison Service. We have contracts in place to provide temporary OSGs to fill in gaps in requirements, for building projects or to fill vacancies short term. Temporary OSGs are a very small proportion of our staff complement.

    Uniform operational support staff are Operational Support Grades (OSGs).These are uniformed staff who undertake a wide range of duties in prisons, for example operating prison gates, working in security and managing stores areas. They also escort contractors and their vehicles.

    1) The following amounts (exclusive of VAT) have been spent on clerical agency staff across –

    January 2014 – £2,983,633.14 (5 week period)

    February 2014 – £2,613,023.10 (4 week period)

    March 2014 – £2,591,678.87 (4 week period)

    April 2014 – £2,900,742.70 (5 week period)

    May 2014 – £2,398,053.57 (4 week period)

    June 2014 – £658,700.28 (1 week period)

    2) The following amounts (exclusive of VAT) have been spent on uniform operational support staff –

    January 2014 – £1,082,247 (5 week period)

    February 2014 – £1,420,329 (4 week period)

    March 2014 – £1,137,834 (4 week period)

    April 2014 – £1,249,908 (4 week period)

    May 2014 – £2,282,468 (5 week period)

    The spend for May 2014 also includes the backdated annual pay rise for eligible workers from 1st April 2014.

    3) The following number of clerical agency staff have been utilised –

    January 2014 – 1571 (Average headcount)

    February 2014 – 1634 (Average headcount)

    March 2014 – 1624 (Average headcount)

    April 2014 – 1578 (Average headcount)

    May 2014 – 1644 (Average headcount)

    June 2014 – 1674 (Average headcount)

    4) The following number of uniform operational support staff have been utilised –

    January 2014 – 697 (Peak worker number)

    February 2014 – 845 (Peak worker number)

    March 2014 – 867 (Peak worker number)

    April 2014 – 853 (Peak worker number)

    May 2014 – 855 (Peak worker number)

    June 2014 – Peak worker number not available yet.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the Streets Ahead campaign by the charity Guide Dogs; what steps he is taking to reduce parking on pavements; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In London, there is in general a ban on parking on the footway. Outside London, local authorities have wide-ranging powers to make Traffic Regulation Orders to prohibit pavement parking on designated lengths of highway or over a wide area. The former Transport Minister, the Hon Member for Lewes, Norman Baker, wrote to local authorities in February 2011 urging them to take up these powers. Local authorities with Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) powers are responsible for parking enforcement, including that relating to the footway.

    In addition, the Department has developed and authorised new traffic signs for local authorities to use where pavement parking is prohibited.

    With regard to the number of parking tickets issued, individual local authorities are required to keep records of all penalty charge notices issued. The Department for Transport does not record this information centrally.

  • Lord Hughes of Woodside – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Hughes of Woodside – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hughes of Woodside on 2014-06-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 11 June (WA 387), whether they will publish in the Official Report the increase or decrease in crime statistics since 2010 for each of the Police Authorities in England and Wales, including London, and for each area covered by Police and Crime Commissioners.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria his Department uses to measure the performance of each Jobcentre Plus office.

    Esther McVey

    Jobcentre Plus offices’ performance are measured in a variety of ways including in respect of how quickly they help get people off benefits and into work.