The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will conduct an assessment of the effect on carers of the implementation of the Welfare Reform Act 2012.
Mike Penning
The Universal Credit Impact Assessment was published in December 2012, full details of the report can be found here
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/welfare-reform-act-2012-impact-assessments
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Harrington on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) enhanced frequency and (b) restoration of late night trains are mandatory requirements in the specification for the tendering process of Abbey Line between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey station.
Stephen Hammond
The Department for Transport intends to negotiate a Direct Award for the West Midlands franchise to run from April 2016 to June 2017. We will work with the incumbent train operator, London Midland, to consider service enhancements and we will include the Watford Junction – St Albans route in our discussions. Any improvements will have to demonstrate both a positive business case and that they are affordable within the budget provided for the franchise.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2014-06-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of members of credit unions and (b) their total savings in each (i) region of the UK and (ii) London borough in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12, (C) 2012-13 and (D) 2013-14; and if he will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government does not hold information on the numbers of credit union members or their total savings or lending by region. The data is held by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) permanent and (b) agency staff were employed by the Passport Office in (i) 2012, (ii) 2013 and (iii) 2014.
James Brokenshire
Table A sets out the requested information in respect of how many telephone
calls were received during the requested periods.
Table B shows income received in fees for premium and fast track services.
Table C provides information on the number of full time equivalent staff
employed by HM passport Office on 31 December for each of the years from 2010 –
2013.
Table D sets out the number of first time passport applications and the number
of passport renewals received during each month between January 2013 and May
2014.
In the period between 1 January and 31 May 2014, 31,188 straightforward
passport applications processed by Her Majesty’s Passport Office were not
processed within the 3-week target.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael McCann on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much public interest lawyers have received in legal aid for cases against the Minstry of Defence in each of the last 10 years.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) cannot separately identify legal aid cases against the Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office. Opponents are not systematically recorded against Legal Aid cases.
The net payments to Public Interest Lawyers over the past ten tears were:
|
Financial Year |
Net Payments |
|
FY2003-2004 |
£139,620.72 |
|
FY2004-2005 |
£158,282.52 |
|
FY2005-2006 |
£251,844.27 |
|
FY2006-2007 |
£299,667.99 |
|
FY2007-2008 |
£577,263.60 |
|
FY2008-2009 |
£628,527.75 |
|
FY2009-2010 |
£267,433.88 |
|
FY2010-2011 |
£439,268.02 |
|
FY2011-2012 |
£331,238.85 |
|
FY2012-2013 |
£50,633.27 |
These payments cover all work undertaken by the firm under legal aid. The payments made will be offset by recoupment on successful cases where the opponent has paid the costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to recognise the service of members of the Royal Navy in patrolling operations to tackle piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Anna Soubry
The UK contribution to counter-piracy operations is held in the highest regard by our Coalition partners and by this Government, and it is right to pay tribute to all those involved in maintaining maritime security vital to the European and global economy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to exempt people in receipt of attendance allowance from paying vehicle excise duty.
Nicky Morgan
Consistent with the approach taken by successive governments there are no plans to exempt Attend Allowance recipients from Vehicle Excise Duty. However, all taxes are kept under review as part of the annual Budget process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much of the Government’s Business Rates Relief Fund for flooded businesses has been (a) allocated to local authorities and (b) received by businesses to date.
Brandon Lewis
As at 2 June 2014, 979 businesses were in receipt of a business rates relief from their local authority as a result of the impact of flooding. There are no set or advance allocations to councils. The fund works by councils retrospectively claiming back the cost of the business rate relief (in the same way, for example, as the Bellwin Scheme has always worked). 66 local authorities recently submitted claims for reimbursement; the deadline for applications was 26 May. Subject to data checking, we expect reimbursement payments in the region of £4 million to be made shortly.
Further information on the available flood support schemes is available on the gov.uk website at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/flood-support-package-for-homeowners-and-businesses
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which companies that have been asked to report on progress relating to the Responsibility Deal have not yet done so.
Jane Ellison
Reports from Responsibility Deal (RD) partners are published on the RD website as they are submitted and processed, which takes place throughout the year. Full details of the 675 partners signed up to the RD, the pledges they have signed up to and their annual updates are available on the RD website at:
https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/partners/
As at 5 June 2014, more than 70% of expected reports had been submitted for the 2013-14 reporting cycle.
Partners new to the RD (signed up after 1 October 2013) and those signed up to new pledges launched during 2013, were not expected to provide an annual update. Other partners signed up to one or more of the majority of collective pledges were asked to provide an annual update.
The RD reporting cycle does not always map with organisations’ cycles (for example clearance at board level) and end of fiscal year is a busy period for most partners. Some updates will also be in a ‘draft’ status where they are partly completed by partners and not yet submitted. This means there can be delays, and we expect further submissions over the next few months. Partners can also update their submissions in-year, reporting on further progress made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times his Department has provided top-cover fixed-wing search and rescue assets for a search and rescue mission in each of the last two years; and what aircraft were used in each case.
Mr Mark Francois
Information on the occasions when Ministry of Defence (MOD) aircraft have provided top-cover fixed wing search and rescue (SAR) assets for a SAR mission is provided in the following table:
| Year | Aircraft Type | Number of SAR Missions |
| 2012 | E3-D Sentry | 1 |
| 2013 | None | 0 |
| 2014* | C130 | 1 |
*To 5 June 2014
Aircraft provided by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency or overseas Governments may also be tasked by MOD to participate in rescue missions.