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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with UK Trade & Investment on ensuring that Northern Ireland is represented in planning for the UK pavilion at Milan Expo 2015.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    UKTI and Invest NI have a close working relationship and cooperate whenever possible to attract trade and investment to Northern Ireland.

    I am advised that UKTI has already initiated discussions with Invest NI on Northern Ireland’s representation there.

  • 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, what sanctions have been levied by her Department as a result of TPContact failing to achieve and maintain high standards of customer service while providing services for her Department.

    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 Department for Transport

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consultation he undertook on the content of his Department’s publication, Guidance to the Civil Aviation Authority on Environmental Objectives Relating to the Exercise of its Air Navigation Functions, published in January 2014, with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    During the public consultation period a meeting was held between officials from the Department of Transport and the Department for Regional Development Northern Ireland where the content of the Guidance was discussed. There was no specific consultation with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive.

  • Mark Lazarowicz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Lazarowicz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Lazarowicz on 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to provide training for drivers of heavy goods vehicles to increase awareness of the dangers faced by cyclists.

    Stephen Hammond

    In addition to licence acquisition tests which require drivers to demonstrate knowledge of vulnerable road users, the EU mandated Driver Certificate of Professional Competence requires drivers of heavy goods vehicles to carry out five days of further training in every five year period. Within the confines of the Directive, we would encourage drivers and employers to select the training which best meets their needs, which may be a course on vulnerable road users.

    We welcome initiatives such as ‘Exchanging Places’ events where cyclists and drivers of HGVs and buses get to experience the others’ perspective, and encourage local authorities to consider such activities which can improve road sharing.

  • 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 processes his Department has in place to monitor the welfare of personal independence payment applicants awaiting a decision on their claim.

    Mike Penning

    The Department does not routinely monitor the welfare of people applying for benefits.

  • Lord Morrow – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Morrow – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morrow on 2014-06-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many companies currently providing contracted services to government departments and agencies use zero hours contracts.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken was between an application being made and benefit paid for (a) attendance allowance, (b) bereavement benefits, (c) carer’s allowance, (d) disability living allowance, (e) employment and support allowance, (f) jobseeker’s allowance, (g) maternity benefits, (h) housing benefit, (i) council tax benefit and (j) pension credit in the most recent period for which figures are available in (i) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (ii) Scotland and (iii) the UK.

    Mike Penning

    The information regarding when a benefit is paid is not available as this can vary from each claim depending on circumstances, payment type and frequency of payment.

    The data that is available is the Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT) which is the average time taken between an application being made and the date the customer was notified of the decision on their claim.

    Please see the most recent AACT data in the table below.

    Claims Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT)

    National Year-End 2013/2014

    Scotland Year End 2013/2014

    Attendance Allowance claims AACT

    14.3

    N/A

    Bereavement Benefit Claims AACT

    15.9

    N/A

    Carers Allowance claims AACT

    N/A

    N/A

    Disability Living Allowance claims AACT

    22.4

    N/A

    Employment & Support Allowance claims AACT

    8.6

    8.3

    Jobseekers Allowance claims AACT

    8.1

    7.9

    Maternity Allowance Claims AACT

    7.3

    N/A

    Pension Credit claims AACT

    7.15

    N/A

    Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are administered by local authorities and not the DWP. Processing statistics for these benefits can be found at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?publication_filter_option=statistics

    “

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-06-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will answer the question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 10 June (HL Deb, col 236), and on 11 June (HL Deb, col 418), about whether asylum in the United Kingdom will be offered to Meriam Ibrahim, who has been imprisoned and given a death sentence in Sudan.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The UK has a proud record of offering sanctuary to those who need it. Each claim for asylum is carefully considered and where we find individuals are in need of our protection, asylum is given. However, to be eligible for international protection, a person must be located outside of their country of origin.

  • Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, in what circumstances he uses a calculation of the (a) value of preventing a fatality, (b) willingness to pay and (c) cost-per-quality adjusted life year approach to quantify the value of a policy intervention; what other tools he uses to quantify the benefit of a policy intervention; and if he will make a statement.

    Jenny Willott

    The Green Book and associated supplementary guidance is publicly available on the Treasury web site. It sets out a range of approaches and methods that may be appropriate in a number of different appraisal circumstances.

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness King of Bow – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2014-06-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much Discretionary Housing Payment funding made available to local authorities in 2013–14 was unspent and returned to the Department for Work and Pensions at the end of the year.

    Lord Freud

    The information requested is due to be published shortly as part of wider analysis on the use of Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) in 2013/14.