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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether Ministers or officials of his Department have (a) met the Attorney General of Nigeria since January 2012 and (b) had any conversations about the sale of the OPL 245 oil concession in Nigeria involving Shell and ENI with (i) the Attorney General of Nigeria and (ii) any other senior official of the Nigerian government.

    Mark Simmonds

    No FCO Ministers have met the Nigerian Attorney General since January 2012. Given the range and frequency of meetings between FCO officials with the Nigerian Attorney General, I am unable to offer a full list of them. The Metropolitan Police Proceeds of Corruption Unit are investigating complaints made about the case of oil block OPL-245 in Nigeria. Because this is an on-going investigation, it would not be appropriate to comment any further.

  • 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 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many unfilled vacancies there were on 1 June 2014 in (a) each community rehabilitation company and (b) the National Probation Service.

    Jeremy Wright

    The National Probation Service (NPS) and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) commenced operation on 1 June, and all staff have now moved to the new structure. Detailed information on vacancies is not held centrally. CRCs and NPS Divisions are currently developing their workforce plans, building on the staff structures inherited from Trusts. Once these are completed, they will be reviewed centrally and will inform the current round of recruitment for trainee probation officers. In the meantime, NPS Deputy Directors and CRCs are continuing to monitor and manage staffing in their areas.

  • Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the delay by the British Embassy in Doha in issuing new passports to children born to United Kingdom parents in Qatar; and whether they have held discussions with the local authorities over the law in Qatar under which fines may be imposed on foreign nationals who are not in possession of a passport by the age of two months.

    Baroness Warsi

    The British Embassy in Doha no longer issues passports. We have raised with the Qatari authorities the issue of fines imposed on British nationals without a passport, and are working to find an agreed solution. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is working closely with Her Majesty’s Passport Office to overcome any problems that result from a delay in the issuing of British passports. In line with the recent statement on 12 June by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right Hon Friend the Member for Maidenhead, South East (Theresa May), any British nationals facing a problem should consult the Embassy to discuss this – including the alternatives for urgent travel to the UK without a full passport.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans are being made to improve the collection of information about children and adults affected by anti-convulsant drugs during pregnancy.

    Earl Howe

    The Department and The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency have met representatives of Independent Fetal Anti Convuslant Trust (In-FACT) to discuss issues relating the prescribing of anti-epileptic drugs to women of child bearing age. We are considering what action might be taken. This includes looking at our current data collection systems to see how information on the incidence of fetal anti convulsant syndrome can be improved.

  • Lord Vinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Vinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost to public funds, in each of the last five years, of compensation payments to illegal immigrants who had been unlawfully detained beyond the statutory period; and what was the legal aid cost of the lawyers undertaking those compensation claims.

    Lord Faulks

    1 April 2008 we have reported on compensation cases and disclosed information on individual cases where the costs exceeded £250,000. We do not report the individual details on cases below this threshold, or prior to this date.

    Information relating to compensation, ex-gratia and adverse legal costs payments is available and can be found within the Losses and Special Payments disclosure in the UKBA Annual Report and Accounts. These are available on the Home Office Website via the attached link.

    www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=uk-border-agency

    Legal Aid Agency data does not distinguish between false imprisonment claims made by illegal immigrants and those made by other individuals.

    “

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints have been made against employers registered in (a) Washington and Sunderland West constituency, (b) the Sunderland local authority area and (c) the North East region for paying employees less than the National Minimum Wage in each of the last three years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government takes the enforcement of NMW very seriously and HMRC enforces the national minimum wage legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and has done so since the introduction of NMW in April 1999. It does that by investigating all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, and carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.

    HMRC does not capture complaints or the outcomes of its investigations by reference to Government regions, constituencies or county. Its management information relates to the work of teams who are multi-located. Additionally, because it resources to risk, work relating to a specific geographical area is not always done by the NMW team based in that area.

    Prior to 6 April 2009, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) issued penalty notices to those employers who failed to comply with an enforcement notice, within 28 days. A new enforcement regime, introduced in April 2009, saw the introduction of automatic penalties for employers who are found to have underpaid their workers.

    I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) on 6 May 2014 contained in Official Report column 110W which gives the number of completed inspections and number of non-compliant cases across the UK in the financial years 2009/10 to 2013/14.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what targets his Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

    Andrea Leadsom

    In common with other government departments the Treasury has diversity targets for its workforce (gender, ethnicity and disability), monitors progress and implements diversity initiatives where appropriate.

    HM Treasury diversity targets for its Senior Civil Service (SCS)

    Group

    Target

    Women

    42 %

    BME

    5%

    Disability

    5%

    HM Treasury’s diversity targets for its employees below the SCS

    Group

    Target

    Women Range E

    50%

    Women Range D

    50%

    BME Range E

    14%

    BME Range D

    18%

    Disability Range E

    6%

    Disability Range D

    8%

    On progress against the targets the Treasury publishes information on the proportion of its employees by gender, ethnicity and disability by each Civil Service pay scale. The most recent information, March 2013, is in HM Treasury’s Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13, page 43, available on the Treasury’s external website.

    The March 2014 data will be published in the Annual Report and Accounts 2014 in due course

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of staff within his Office who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

    Mr Nick Clegg

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by My Rt Hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office today.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what consideration his Department gives to the diversity policies and records of businesses or other organisations when considering their bid for commercial contracts or grants.

    Mr David Lidington

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 434W.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what targets her Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    DFID has aligned with the Civil Service-wide diversity targets for levels of representation in the Senior Civil Service (SCS). These targets are:

    · 39% of the SCS to be women – DFID has achieved this target as 39% of our SCS are women.

    · 34% of top management posts (Director and above) to be held by women DFID has exceeded this target as 42% of such posts are held by women.

    · 5% of the Senior Civil Service to be minority ethnic staff – DFID has exceeded this target as 7% of our SCS are minority ethnic.

    · 5% of the Senior Civil Service to be disabled people – DFID has exceeded this target as 6% of our SCS identify as having a disability.

    In addition to this DFID has made a commitment to improve staff engagement survey scores for people with disabilities as this is recognised as an issue across government. DFID has improved the overall staff engagement survey score for staff with disabilities from 65% in November 2012 to 71% in November 2013.