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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Paul Maynard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Maynard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Maynard on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which organisations have received how much funding from his Department aimed at supporting access to short breaks and respite provision for children, young people and their families experiencing all types of disadvantage in each of the last five financial years.

    Jenny Willott

    Departmental records show that in each of the last five financial years, no funding was made in respect of supporting access to short breaks and respite provision for children, young people and their families.

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders were bailed under an electronic curfew and went on to receive a custodial sentence in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Jeremy Wright

    Information on bail and remand collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice and held on the Court Proceedings Database does not record whether conditions (including the use of electronic monitoring) were attached to bail. To answer this Question would require a data matching exercise between data held by the electronic monitoring contractors and sentencing data held by the Ministry of Justice, which could be done only at disproportionate cost.

  • Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to protect consumers from fraud and other doorstep crimes.

    Jenny Willott

    The Government takes doorstep crime very seriously and the issue has been identified as a top priority by the Consumer Protection Partnership (CPP) which brings together enforcement, consumer education, and advocacy partners to identify, prioritise and coordinate collective action to tackle the issues causing greatest harm to consumers.

    Both the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) and Trading Standards Scotland (TSS), which are funded by BIS, are putting resources into tackling doorstep crime and Trading Standards Officers across the country are cracking down on these fraudsters. In Lincolnshire for example, Trading Standards has teamed up with the Police and Community Lincs to raise awareness of doorstep crime amongst professionals caring for the elderly, including awareness of bogus callers, rogue traders, distraction burglary, and scam mail. To date 330 health and social care professionals who work regularly with 4,300 elderly and vulnerable people have been trained in how to spot potential victims and how to intervene at an early stage of a scam.

    Doorstep Crime will also be the focus on this year’s National Consumer Week in November 2014, when CPP Partners and the Government will work together to in raise consumer awareness of how to spot a bogus salesperson and where to report it.

    We are also hitting the perpetrators of fraud hard. A recent operation involving Trading Standards companies across the country and 20 police forces brought down a trio of fraudsters targeting vulnerable caravan park residents across the country. This resulted in 6 years of custodial sentences being handed down and the recovery of £20,000 in cash.

    We encourage anyone who believes that they have been the victim of doorstep crime or fraud to contact the Citizens Advice Consumer helpline on 08454 040506.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage the government of Pakistan to ensure a fair and just trial in the cases of Savan Masih, Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar, sentenced to death for blasphemy in Lahore in early April.

    Baroness Warsi

    We remain concerned about these and other blasphemy cases particularly where the death penalty has been imposed. We regularly raise the issue of blasphemy laws, and their misuse against both Muslims and religious minorities, at the highest levels in Pakistan and press the government to ensure fair trials.
    The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) raised our concerns regarding these laws and the need for reforms during the visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the end of April. We have consistently pressed the government of Pakistan on the issue of the death penalty and our principled opposition to it in all cases and we will continue to raise both these issues with the government of Pakistan.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran, and what other steps they have taken, following attacks on prisoners held at Evin prison.

    Baroness Warsi

    The UK was disturbed at reports of attacks on political prisoners in Evin prison on 17 April 2014. As we detailed in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Human Rights report, released in April 2014, prison conditions in Iran remain a serious concern. The UK’s non-resident Charge d’Affaires raised human rights with a range of Iranian government officials during his visit to Iran in March. The UK works closely with international human rights bodies and partners to encourage Iran to engage seriously on human rights issues.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the lack of planned rail connection between HS1 and HS2 would mean that HS2 could not be designated as part of the TEN-T network.

    Baroness Kramer

    Removal of the HS1 link proposal should not affect the designation of HS2. Commission Regulation EU No 1315/2013 includes the maps which define the TEN-T network. Phase 1 of HS2 is on the TEN-T Core Network as it is expected to be completed before 2030, the target date in the TEN-T Regulation for the Core Network. Phase 2, the ‘Y’ section, is on the Comprehensive Network as it will not be completed until after this date.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what economic links there are with Burma; and what the value of (a) exports to and (b) imports from Burma was in the last year for which figures are available.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Building a sustainable economy in Burma, including increased responsible international investment, is key to economic growth, alleviating poverty, improving livelihoods and improving stability. As set out in the ‘UK Activities in Burma’ document published on 8 April alongside a Written Ministerial Statement, the Government is working to encourage and support Burma to remove barriers to becoming a stable, prosperous and democratic country with a sustainable economy that benefits all its people and created a positive climate for domestic, international and UK trade and investment.

    We are active in several areas including:
    – establishing a UK Trade and Investment office in Burma to provide practical support to British companies;
    – establishing a UK Financial Services Task Force to support the development of sound financial structures and products;
    – funding two specialist economists from the International Growth Centre to support the Myanmar Development Resource Institute in providing high quality advice to government;
    – providing £1.1m to support Burma’s application to the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative which will help improve the transparency and accountability of the revenues from Burma’s natural resources.
    – supporting work to strengthen Burma’s accountancy profession, to tackle financial crime and to increase local community involvement in investment decisions.

    UK exports of goods to Burma in 2013 were worth £44m (a 243% year on year increase) and imports from Burma were worth £65m (a 44% year on year increase). The top UK exports were transport equipment and road vehicles whilst the top imports were clothing.

    In 2012, the last year for which total goods and services figures are available, UK exports of goods and services to Burma were worth £20.8m and imports from Burma were worth £46m.

  • Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will carry out a public consultation on proposed changes to disabled students’ allowances.

    Mr David Willetts

    We are currently consulting with a wide range of stakeholders to help inform both the Equality Analysis and Disabled Students’ Allowances Guidance for 2015/16.

    I will have due regard to an updated Equality Analysis before a final decision is made and regulations are laid before the House.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 3 April 2014, Official Report, column 809W, on Army: length of service, on how many soldiers in each regiment or corps the figures are based.

    Anna Soubry

    The average strength by Regiment or Corps is shown in the following table.

    Regiment/Corps Regiment/Corps Average Strength

    Household Cavalry & Royal Armoured Corps 1,860

    Royal Artillery 2,210

    Royal Engineers 2,830

    Royal Signals 1,830

    Infantry 8,700

    Army Air Corps 370

    Royal Logistic Corps 4,560

    Royal Army Medical Corps 560

    Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 2,670

    Adjutant General’s Corps (Provost) 400

    Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff and Personnel Support) 870

    Royal Army Veterinary Corps 80

    Small Arms School Corps 20

    Royal Army Dental Corps 60

    Intelligence Corps 240

    Royal Army Physical Training Corps 110

    Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps 140

    Corps of Army Music 180

    Senior Soldier Continuity Posts (Long Service) 140

    Source: Defence Statistics (Army)

    Notes/Caveats:

    The figures are based on the outflow of Army personnel between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2013.

    Underlying outflow figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Payments System Regulator on its market study into the ownership of payments systems by the largest banks.

    Andrea Leadsom

    At Budget 2014, the Chancellor announced that the competition powers of the Payment Systems Regulator would be switched on with immediate effect. This enables the Regulator to conduct a market study on ownership of the payment systems and, depending on the outcome, to refer the question of ownership to the Competition and Markets Authority. The decision about whether to commence a market study is one for the Regulator.